Delegation of authority is one of modern trends practiced by managers, and a key management skill in the business world. It enhances human relations amongst organizational members, increases self-confidence among employees and raise the level of tasks accomplishment in tasks. The study sought to assess the effect of delegation on employee morale and productivity in public sector organisations in Ghana. The target population included all the workers in the public sector of Ghana from which the simple random sampling technique was employed to select 128 workers from 20 public sector organisations across the country. The findings from the study show that delegation of authority has a positive and significant relation with employee morale and productivity. Subsequently, the study also revealed that delegation fully mediates the relationship between employee morale and productivity. Based on the findings, it is recommended that organisations should utilise or adopt the concept of delegation in performing organisational duties. Again, organisations should implement measures or strategies that can help build the morale of employees.


Empirical adsorber design procedures based on sorption equilibrium conditions are important to predict the adsorber size and performance. The design of a single-stage batch adsorption system is the most common method that researchers used to evaluate their materials as commercial adsorbents. Not all adsorption studies provided by empirical design procedures, thus the studies still need more information for adsorbent application at industrial field. This review lists different studies that designed single-stage batch adsorption system.


In this paper, a color holographic display system based on the effective utilization of the spatial light modulator (SLM) is proposed. Color reconstruction is achieved by using a single SLM. The effective viewing area of three color reconstructed images is analyzed based on the geometrical optics principle and the holographic diffraction theory. Then the effective holograms of three colors are calculated based on the calculation of the effective area of the SLM. When three color parallel light sources are used to illuminate the SLM, color chromatic aberration is compensated by adjusting the blazing grating that loaded on the SLM. At last, three color reconstructed images can be coincided in the same position with a fast speed. The experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed system.


A census was conducted to determine both the number of longleaf pines left in Virginia and their stand characteristics. A total of 4432 trees and 121 seedlings were counted in Isle of Wight and Southampton Counties, and Suffolk City, Virginia. Most trees ranged in diameter between 10-20 cm. with the champion tree in Suffolk City at 66 cm. Since remaining longleaf pine stands in Virginia represent only a fraction of the estimated original 1.5 million acres we recommend a restoration and reforestation effort within this tree's historic Virginia range. "l like 500 species of plants, l like red-cockaded woodpeckers, but I also like money."


The work in this thesis splits naturally into two parts: (1) experimentally oriented work consisting of experimental proposals for systems that could be used to implement quantum information tasks with current technology, and (2) theoretical work focusing on universal fault-tolerant quantum computers which we hope can be scaled as experimental capabilities continue to move forward.


Abstract : The BRCA2 gene is associated with hereditary tendency to breast cancer. Mutations in BRCA2 cause a dominantly inherited predisposition to breast cancer. Recent evidence has indicated that BRCA2 protein plays a role in genome stability and in DNA repair mediated by homologous recombination. The BRCA2 protein has been shown to physically interact with Rad5l, the key protein for DNA recombinational repair. In these BRCA2-deficient cells, formation of Rad5l foci is severely impaired. The evidence for the functions of BRCA2 in DNA repair has suggested a new concept for their role in predisposition to breast cancer. BRCA2 consists of two Rad5l-binding domains, eight BRC repeats and a C-terminal region. These eight conserved BRC repeats (designated as BRCl to BRC8), located in the central portion of the protein, are encoded by exon 11 and cover nearly a third of the protein. To demonstrate that BRCA2 is an essential component of the Rad5l-dependent DNA repair complex and understand how BRCA2 regulates homologous recombinational repair (HRR), we have made construct of BRCl-4, BRC5-8 and BRCl-8 fragments of BRCA2 and to determine how it would affect the complex formation of Rad5l paralogs and in vitro biochemical activities of Rad5l.


Objective To study the clinical effect of transurethral resection and partial cystectomy for bladder tumor.Methods All of 58 patients were divided into two groups randomly.The transurethral resection and partial cystectomy were used in two groups,and the recurrence in three years was studied.Results Surgery time,hospital time,postoperative catheterization time and surgical blood loss,3-year recurrence rate had the statistically significant difference(P﹤0.05) compared with the control group.Conclusion The clinical advantages of transurethral resection and partial cystectomy are different.The recurrence rate is lower after partial cystectomy.The surgical time is shorter,the bleeding is less,the recovery is faster and the time in hospital is short.


Objective
To study the reliability and validity of an aphasia battery of Uighur (ABU).

Methods
The Chinese Aphasia Battery (ABC) was translated into Uighur. Appropriate adaptation was made according to the features of Uyghur language, but the overall structure was unchanged. Three rounds of comments and revisions were conducted by experts and the ABU was back-translated into Chinese after language adjustment and pretesting. The ABU was then applied to evaluating 104 cases of stroke aphasia among Uighur speakers, among which 30 cases were retested one week later. The construct validity, internal reliability, retest reliability and split-half reliability of the scale were tested using factor analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis.

Results
The discrepancy between the original and back-translated ABC was less than 10%. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was 0.917 and the p value of the Bartlett's test for sphericity was ≤0.005. Three common factors were extracted using principal component analysis with a varimax orthogonal rotation: a writing factor; and a listening comprehension factor. Together they explained a total of 81% of the variance. The Cronbach's α of the components were 0.969 for oral expression, 0.922 for listening comprehension, 0.966 for reading and 0.924 for writing, giving a total α coefficient of 0.978. The test-retest correlation coefficients of 22 items were greater than 0.8, with only another two below 0.7. The split-half reliability of the scale was 0.906.

Conclusions
The aphasia battery in Uighur has good validity and reliability, and can quantitatively reflect the functional status and language changes among Uighur's with stroke aphasia. It may also be suitable for application in the clinical rehabilitation of other sorts of Uighur-speaking aphasics.

Key words:
Uyghur language; Aphasia test; Reliability; Validity


The three-pointer is a kind of strafegic weapen.it is also the key element to win the match.Through the collection of the data of the relevant materials in domestic and abroad and the observation of competition,as well as the statistics and the analysis of these data,this text elaborates the value of three-pointer and the utilization character of the three-pointer in competition,and summarizes the primary factor that influences the three-pointer hit probability,thus formulates the training method of enhancing the three-pointer hit probability.


A child's earliest years present a window of opportunity to improve outcomes later in life. A growing body of literature demonstrates that lack of investments in children in early years can have dramatic negative consequences for their future ability to learn and lead healthy and productive lives. The opposite also holds: Investing in young children can generate very high returns, particularly when compared to equivalent investments made at later stages in life. The course builds on face-to-face training workshops implemented over the last two years and consists of three interactive web-based modules with 15 topics and a total learning time of approximately four to five hours. The three modules are devoted to three simple questions: (1) why invest in ECD? (2) What matters for ECD? (3) How should ECD interventions be implemented? At the end of each module, participants are invited to take a quiz with questions related to the materials covered in the module, and upon completion of the three quizzes with at least 80 percent of correct answers, participants receive a certificate of completion for the course.


For pt.I see ibid., vol.11, no.22, p.3913 (1978). The electron impact excitation spectrum of O2 has been studied for the scattering angle range from 10 to 130 degrees and the energy-loss range from 0 to 7.1 eV. Differential and integral cross sections for excitation of the a1 Delta g and b1 Sigma g+ states and a group of states ranging from about 4.5 to 7.1 eV energy loss (broad maximum at 6.1 eV) have been determined in the impact energy ranges E0=20-200 eV, 20-150 eV and 20-500 eV, respectively. They are the first experimental data on the cross sections for excitation of these states at collision energies larger than 50 eV. The 6.1 eV broad peak is designated as the sum of the excitation to the A3 Sigma u+, C3 Delta u, and c1 Sigma u- states by virtue of the angular distribution and energy dependence of the differential and integral cross sections.


Enterprise education is an important part of education for higher vocational college students,which cultivate people's pioneering consciousness and the comprehensive quality.Southern Jiangsu's economy can promote enterprise education development of vocational colleges.And the economic advantagesshould be applied in the enterprise education of vocational colleges by improving the mechanism and studying the new modes of government-university-industry cooperation.Therefore,it will have a positive impact on regional economy.


Background: Crescentic extra-capillary glomerulonephritis (ECGN) is a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency. In black Africans, little data are available on this lesion. This study aimed at determining the clinical/biological and evolutionary patterns of ECGN and identifying factors of poor prognosis. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 5 years. All patients with extra-capillary proliferation of ≥ 50% in Bowman's space upon kidney biopsy were involved. The researchers compared 2 groups of patients: group A (patients, who fully recovered from renal function after 3 months of treatment) and group B (patients developing signs of chronic renal insufficiency) in order to identify factors responsible for a poor renal prognosis. Results: Forty cases of crescentic glomerulonephritis were found in 750 kidney biopsies, i.e. a prevalence of 5.33%. The mean age of thepatientswas33.9 ± 16.65years,withagenderratioof0.53. Uponadmission,85% ofcaseshadrenalinsufficiency,witholigoanuria presentin62.5%. Byemployinglightmicroscopy,thecrescentswerefoundtobecellularin60%,fibro-cellularin32.5%,andfibrousin 7.5%. The etiologies were mainly lupus in 32.5% of cases, followed by ANCA-related vasculitis in 27.5% of cases, and infectious causes in 17.5% of cases. Outside of the infectious context, basic treatment relied on immune suppression combining corticosteroids and cytotoxicdrugs. Theevolutionwasmarkedbytransitiontoachronicstatein72.7% of cases;18.2% of patientsrecoverednormalrenal function. The factors responsible for a poor renal prognosis were oligoanuria (P = 0.0008), high creatinine level upon admission (P = 0.0001), use of hemodialysis (P = 0.0001), and evidence of fibro-cellular and fibrous crescents (P = 0.013). Conclusions: Crescentic glomerulonephritis was relatively common inthe current patients. Theetiology was dominated by lupus in the study's context. This rapidly causes chronic renal failure, hence explaining the interest in early management.


Purpose: The key step in survival from out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is early defibrillation. A Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program has been deployed in North & West Belfast (NWB) from January 2005, utilizing a mix of mobile responders and defibrillators in fixed locations. Success will depend on the ability to dispatch responders to SCA events. We investigated the efficacy of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatch mechanism in predicting sudden cardiac arrest. Methods: The sensitivity of the dispatch mechanism was determined by combining the details from the EMS dispatch log with data collected prospectively on all 159 SCA events in NWB through 2004. This data was extracted from autopsy reports, EMS Patient Report Forms and medical records. The im- pact of sensitivity on the scheme was explored via Monte Carlo simulation. SCA incidence was modeled as a Poisson process. The response times were modeled using a log-logistic distribution. Results: The sensitivity of the dispatch mechanism in 2004 was 62.5% (95% Confidence Interval ¼ 54.1% to 70.4%). Sending volunteers to all patients whose dispatch code was ''unconscious'' would improve the proportion of true SCA cases reached before the EMS by 2%. However, this would be at the expense of attending 650 incidents in addition to the 180 coded as SCA. The po- tential impact of such a change in the dispatch mechanism would yield at most one extra life every 17 years. Conclusion: The existing dispatch mechanism constrains the effectiveness of a PAD scheme. African-American women are at high risk for Systemic lupus erythemato- sus (SLE). Studies have shown that women with lupus are 5 to 8 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women in the general population. Inflammation is now suspected to be important in the process of atherosclerosis, and lupus patients have a greater risk for inflammation in their bodies. Many studies have demonstrated that intima media thickness (IMT) is a reliable marker of heart disease in its early stages. However, study participants have not been representative of the minority groups most affected by lupus and its complications. Therefore, a case-control study of 50 SLE cases and 100 controls was conducted to investigate the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and inflammation in a predominantly African-American sample. Participation consisted of a questionnaire, phys-ical examination, fasting blood draw, and ultrasound of the carotid arteries. Independent samples t-tests and multiple logistic regression models were used to define the relationship between lupus and traditional cardiovascular risk factors and characterize the role of inflammation in subclinical atherosclerosis and lupus. Cases displayed increased carotid IMT compared to controls. There were no significant differences between cases and controls with regard to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. However, levels of inflammation markers were significant independent predictors of subclinical atherosclerosis. This study generated a better understanding of the role of inflammation in the increased risk of CVD associated with lupus in African-American women.


![Figure][1]

A humpback whale breaching. Photo credit: Project BRAHSS (Behavioural Response of Australian Humpback whales to Seismic Surveys).

Little is known about the effects of loud sounds on migrating whales, but Rebecca Dunlop, from the University of Queensland, Australia, explains


The present invention discloses a propylene phenylene aromatic diester comprises a homopolymer of a substituted thermoformed articles thereof. The thermoformed article having high rigidity, good compressive strength, excellent workability and excellent optical properties.


A major requirement in the application of FACTS devices in power systems is to develop techniques which enable system planners to manage with great confidence the uncertainty associated with these devices. This paper presents an approach to evaluate transmission system reliability when employing a unified power flow controller (UPFC). This paper provides a framework within which the risk associated with management and the development of the transmission network can be quantified. Reliability indices such as the loss of load probability (LOLP), loss of load expectation (LOLE), the loss of energy expectation (LOEE) and the system minutes (SM) are utilized to examine the impact of UPFC on the transmission system reliability. The technique is illustrated by application to a hypothetical system.


The proposed new suite of European geotechnical codes and standards (Euronorms) is described. It will consist of the following documents: Eurocode 7 Geotechnical design - Part 1: General rules (EN 1997-1); Eurocode 7 Geotechnical design - Part 2: Ground investigation and testing (EN 1997-2); a set of execution standards; a set of testing standards and technical specifications; and two ISO documents. Each country in the EU is required to implement the Eurocodes by publishing them without alteration. Local changes are permitted in a National Annex. The British National Annex for EN 1997-1 is in preparation. The timetable for the introduction of the geotechnical Eurocode is outlined.


In this paper, we provide a general form for sparse generator matrices of several families of Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check codes. Codes of this kind have a prominent role in literature and applications due to their ability to achieve excellent performance with limited complexity. While some properties of these codes (like the girth length in their associated Tanner graphs) are well investigated, estimating their minimum distance is still an open problem. By obtaining sparse generator matrices for several families of these codes, we prove that they are also Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Generator Matrix codes, which is an important feature to reduce the encoding complexity, and provides a useful tool for the investigation of their minimum distance.


This article emphasizes the critical role of local policy networks for the implementation of agricultural watershed management and the adoption of environmental best management practices. Local networks facilitate diffusion of innovations, the development of social capital, and cultural change. All of these elements are essential for the ability of watershed management programs to successfully solve the water quality collective action problems caused by agricultural nonpoint source pollution. Analyses of survey data from 408 orchard growers in California's Sacramento River watershed demonstrate that exposure to policy networks substantially increases the probability of adopting environmental practices. These findings have important implications for public administration and policies where implementation depends on widespread cooperation and the development of networks with public agencies.


The thermal characteristics of 1 .3 µ m ridge waveguide InAsP/InGaAsP MQW lasers, including their temperature distribution and thermal resistance, have been simulated by using finite-element methods. The process of three-dimensional model of laser simulation is presented in this paper. The results show that FEM is a useful tool to simulate the thermal conditions of the lasers, which are critical to the design of the laser structure as well as package.


A BO genotyping is not a routine practice for donors and patients in clinical transfusion. However, it is useful for resolving the cases of ABO blood group discrepancies. The genotype of the variant is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of the ABO blood subgroup. Here, we report a molecular basis of missense mutation (c.518T>C) in Exon 7 of the B glycosyltransferase gene, which is responsible for a weak B variant.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of competitive strategies on the performance of small and medium enterprises in Kenya. Methodology: The study employed a descriptive correlation design using primary data collected using questionnaires. The study targeted 4,560 SMEs in Nairobi CBD. The collected data was coded and entered into SPSS (V.20) to create a data sheet that was used for analysis. Data was analyzed using quantitative techniques. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of collected data. Pearson's Correlation, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to establish the relationships among the study variables. Findings: Cost leadership, differentiation, market focus and strategic alliance were all found to have a positive and significant influence on SME performance. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that: SMEs should embrace and invest in cost leadership strategies most especially forming linkages with service providers, suppliers and other supplementary institutions since it will enable them achieve competitive advantage; SMEs ought to focus and invest more on differentiation as it could be used as a major competitive advantage tool against competitors; SMEs should know on what basis to segment their products, services and operations; and that SMEs should embrace strategic alliances to increase their market share.


In the face of different civilization changes threatening human health and life, risky behaviours of youth have become one of the essential research areas of present-day psycholo- gy. The conclusions of this research can be used to design programmes and preventive measures in this area. The purpose of this research was to determine the structure of risky behaviours of youth at secondary-school age. It was assumed that within a group of youth from the second class of the secondary school, most of the risky behaviours associated with the use of alcohol, nicotine and drugs occurred at least once during the 12 months preceding the research. It was also assumed that sex differentiates risky behaviours in terms of their frequency and structure. The research was conducted on a group of youth of the second class of secondary school. This group consisted of 158 people. To determine the risky behaviours the diagnostic survey meth- od was used. The conclusions of the research made it possible to outline a picture of the spread of these dysfunctions in the school environment of the youth. The vast majority of the respon- dents declared that during the 12 months preceding the survey, they most frequently used alco- hol. Only one out of ten respondents claimed to have abstained from alcohol. Also popular was the use of tobacco and cannabis (marijuana and hashish). The most signifi cant differences be- tween girls and boys occurred primarily in the fi eld of tobacco use, with the frequency of '1-5 cigarettes daily' in favor of girls.


The greatly increasing number of base stations needed to support the micro-cell architecture means that a number of issues have to be addressed. NTT's answers to surmount these various problems and expand its service offerings are the MOST system (Micro-cell Optical fiber microwave signal Switching and Transmission system), the zone-to-zone hand-off system, the simple zone expanding system, and the automatic station allocating system. The MOST reduces the facilities, the hand-off and expanding systems support services, and the automatic station allocating system eases the problems of construction. The paper provides an overview of the MOST system and zone-to-zone hand-off system.<<ETX>>


Abstract Introduction: Evidence establishes that COVID-19 patients with DM2 are at increased risk for severe disease and worse outcomes. Peer reviewed data is sparse comparing glycemic control and clinical outcomes among COVID-19 patients with vs. without DM2, and thus we sought to address this gap. Methods: We selected patients at least 18 years old who expired or were discharged between March 16, 2020 through September 15, 2020. Principal analysis compared glycemic patterns among patients with DM2 vs. non-DM2. Median, coefficient of variation (CV), maximum and minimum glucose parameters were computed to characterize longitudinal glycemic patterns. Logistic regression modeling identified significant (p<.05) associations between composite outcome vs. glycemic parameters and putative risks for progression to severe COVID-19. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve identified cut points for glycemic parameters. Cox regression models were employed to control for significant confounders. Continuous data summarized as median was compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. Discrete data were compared with Pearson's chi-square test. Two-tailed p<.05 was significant. Results: Among 494 patients, 157 (32%) had DM2 with no intergroup differences in age (68 [56–79]), sex (52% male, 48% female), or race (68% Caucasian, 19% Other, 13% African American). Insulin was administered to DM2 (93%) and non-DM2 (54%) patients (p<.0001). Comorbidities were more prevalent in DM2, including cardiovascular (68% vs. 54%, p=.003), renal (72% vs. 52%, p<.0001) and obesity (51% vs. 38%, p<.0001). Markers including D-dimer (0.98 [0.61–1.95] mg/L), lactate dehydrogenase (308 [230–392] U/L), ferritin (436 [174–856] ng/mL), and triglycerides (172 [109–239] mg/dL), were not different in DM2 vs. non-DM2 (p>.05). CRP was greater in patients with (8.6 [3.6–14.6]) vs. without (6.1 [2.0–12.6]) DM2 (p=.005). Baseline glucose in DM2 (163 [121–253] mg/dL) vs. non-DM2 (107 [96–124] mg/dL) was significantly greater, with former an independent predictor of composite outcome (p=.0005). Cox modeling of other glucose parameters in DM2 vs. non-DM2 demonstrated various impact regarding risk for composite outcome including median (155 [128–209], p=.46) vs. (103 [94–118], p=.09); coefficient of variation (28 [19–38], p=.08) vs. (15 [9–20], p=.002); maximum (252 [187–362], p=.0005) vs. (129 [110–156], p=.002); and minimum (99 [79–128], p=.95) vs. (89 [81–98], p=.02). The unified baseline glucose cut point for composite outcome risk controlled for significant covariates was 138 gm/dL (p<.0001), which included respectively 20% and 10% of patients with and without DM2. Conclusion: Glycemic dysregulation in COVID-19 patients is independently associated with ICU admission and/or hospital mortality. Presence of DM2 amplifies glycemic dysregulation, but risk stratification appears warranted in all COVID-19 patients.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the results of several food safety audits carried out by the Food Standards Agency in meat and poultry-processing companies and slaughterhouses in the UK and audits in aquacultures carried out by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Marine Scotland.

Design/methodology/approach

Specifically, both a quantitative and a qualitative review were carried out.

Findings

It was revealed that in meat and poultry companies, the highest average proportion of major non-conformities (MNCs) within the total number of companies was recorded in slaughterhouses, while based on the type of product, the corresponding percentage of MNCs was found in poultry companies. Both in meat/poultry companies and aquacultures, small-sized companies presented the highest average percentage of MNCs. It was also revealed that a very high percentage of MNCs and minor non-conformities were recorded in relation to "record keeping."

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the present study can be summarized into the fact that although a high number of audit reports were taken into account, and record keeping and past actions were reviewed as part of the audits, the audit represents only a snapshot in time and can heavily depend on the skills of the auditors.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is very limited literature available that analyzes the results of audits and looks for trends in the food industry in the UK. The conclusions of this study can be of significant value to both the auditors and the industry by enabling a more targeted approach in the conduction of audits.


We characterize the sequences of Kleinian surface groups with convergent subsequences in terms of the asymptotic behavior of the ending invariants of the associated hyperbolic 3‐manifolds. Asymptotic behavior of end invariants in a convergent sequence predicts the parabolic locus of the algebraic limit as well as how the algebraic limit wraps within the geometric limit under the natural locally isometric covering map.


Waterhyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms) and common salvinia ( Salvinia minima Baker) are two floating aquatic plants that can cause wide-spread problems in the southern United States. These species can cause reductions in ecosystem function as well as the abundance of native plant species. Herbicides are often used in an attempt to control both species; however, few recommendations exist for common salvinia. Penoxsulam (2-(2,2-difluoroethoxy)N (5,8 dimethoxy [1,2,4] triazolo [1,5c ] pyrimidin-2-yl)-6 (trifluoromethyl) benzenesulfonamide) is newly registered for use in aquatic environments and is efficacious on floating plants as a submersed application; however, foliar application rates are largely undefined. The objectives of these studies were to determine the effect of foliar application rates of penoxsulam for waterhyacinth and common salvinia, and to evaluate the effectiveness of combinations of penoxsulam with diquat against these same plants species. A mesocosm study was conducted using foliar rates of penoxsulam (24.5, 49.1, and 98.2 g ai ha -1 ) alone and in combination with diquat (130.8 g ai ha -1 ). At six weeks after treatment (WAT), penoxsulam alone at all rates resulted in 100% control of waterhyacinth, and at 10 WAT control remained ≥ 90%. Penoxsulam was not as effective at controlling common salvinia. The combination of herbicides did not increase efficacy, and there was evidence of antagonism at the rates tested. Future studies should assess lower rates for waterhyacinth control and influences of salvinia mat thickness on application timing and herbicide efficacy.


Blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) with different biodegradable additives have been subjected to an outdoor soil burial test. The effect of the degradation process on the structural and morphological properties of the samples has been studied by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic-mechanical spectroscopy. The thermogravimetric results show that the additive is more affected by the degradation process than the polymeric matrix. Changes both in the crystalline morphology and the activation energies of the relaxation processes take place in different stages, and can be described using polynomial equations. These changes occur on different time scales depending on the additive used. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 174–185, 2002


It'll be essential to cooperate with foreigners during a rise in the percentage of the aged population in recent years, because of this unsustainable national medical emergency situation as well as problems of other industries in Japan. In November 2009, we made a contract for our sister hospitals between National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center and Khon Kaen Regional Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. And we began to share our knowledge and experience with staff in kinds of medical fields each other to promote the mutually beneficial international cooperation initiatives. We tried to compare the medical issues between our aging countries and pave the way for elderly care in Thailand in the future to reveal. Because Thailand will face a critical situation in which the rate of aging is increasing rapidly. It's necessary for Thailand to prepare for the super-aging population in the near future. From our experiences evaluation of health and social services for Thai elderly is not ready to face the situation of aging population. The health care system for elderly people should be required to reform soon.


We conduct a meta-analytic study to check the association between Personality Disorders and battering and specifically whether PD would be a risk marker for IPV onset. We selected 15 controlled studies and we calculated the associations between IPV and Antisocial PD, Borderline PD and Psychopathy. In all three cases the average effect size was small: ṝ=0,15; ṝ=0,13; 􀀀=0,16 respectively for Antisocial, Borderline and Psychopathic variables. We evaluate the possible influence of mediator variables on each study's results. Concerning Borderline variable, we saw a sample size bias (r=-0,416; p<0,007). With regards to Psychopathy, the mean sample age accounted for 36% of the effect size variance. As regards Antisocial variable, we did not find a possible reason for effect size heterogeneity. These Personality Disorders do not seem peculiar IPV markers.


Oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between free radicals and reactive species production, and antioxidant defense mechanisms [1-3]. Several studies have shown that oxidative stress is closely linked to the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis and certain types of cancers [1,4,5]. However, reactive species also are very important for normal metabolism, signal transduction and regulation of cellular functions. Therefore, each cell should maintain the homeostasis between the pro-oxidant and antioxidant species [6].


Delivery of blood to bodily tissues and organs is the responsibility of the arterial side of the circulatory system. The inner most component of the vascular wall that is in contact with circulated blood is a layer of cells known as the endothelium. Normally, endothelial cells interact with blood in a fashion that influences the smooth muscles of the vascular wall and prevents adhesion of platelets and other circulating cells. Such interactions involve production and release of substances that maintain vascular diameter or dilate it. Healthy endothelium ensures proper patency of vessels and, consequently, proper tissue perfusion. The purpose of this review is to briefly explain the role of healthy endothelium, causes of endothelial dysfunction, assessment of endothelial dysfunction, and the consequences of such dysfunction in relation to cardiovascular disease. This review also explores aspects of maintaining a healthy endothelium and remedies for the reversal of its dysfunction.


I lived for eighteen months with James Henry Paine, the miser. He occupied a garret room at 177 Bleecker Street, New York; the little house belonged to the Oothout estate. He was apparently 70 or 75 years old, tall, slim-built, with pointed chin; had a sharp, beak-like, rather red nose, whose point turned in to the upper lip; his mouth firm set; his eyes keen, furtive; his forehead high, retreating; bald on the top of the head, and he bore his head carried forward, bent from his shoulders; his walk was a shuffling of one foot in front of the other, about six inches to a step. His face was bearded. He dressed shabbily, or worse; no stockings, shoes tied together with pieces of twine. It was his habit to go out every morning, at 9 o'clock, and return about the same hour at night or later. When he returned


Inurbanintersection ofintelligent control system, detection ofrowsofvehicles isessential tothecontrol algorithm, and density estimation methodand vision-based detection algorithm arepresented inthis paperforsakeofthelimitation of using loopdetectors method. Firstly, background segmentation and rebuilding isintroduced and algorithm forvehicles segmentation inHSV color spaceisdiscussed. Thenlength and density oftraffic flowarecalculated. Finally, experimental results andanalysis areincluded. I. INTRODUCTION


The new polycrystalline compounds Co1-xNixTeO4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1) were prepared by sol-gel method and their structural properties have been studied. Structural investigation through Rietveld method shows monoclinic structure with space group P21/c for all compounds. All compounds polyhedral structure found to be in octahedral form with cations (M) at the center and six oxygen atoms at corner of octahedral structure. The lattice parameters variation with Ni substitution are found to be decreasing with Ni substitution.


The invention relates to a double-orientation adjusting structure. The double-orientation adjusting structure comprises a valve body (1), a valve rod (2) and a valve element (5) and is characterized in that the valve rod (2) comprises a spindle (9); the bottom end of the spindle (9) is fixedly connected with a spline shaft (11); the spline shaft (11) is fixedly sleeved with a sector gear (10); the sector gear (10) is engaged with a rack shaft (3); the rack shaft (3) is fixedly sleeved with the valve element (5). By the adoption of an adjusting valve of the double-orientation adjusting structure, as an inner cavity of the valve body is in a through streamlined type, conversion of energy such as vibration, interference flow and washout is minimized through concentric movement of the valve element and the valve body, vibration and noise generated by energy conversion are lowered, and meanwhile flowing resistance is reduced. Another valve element orientation structure is additionally arranged at the outlet of the valve, so that movement of the valve element is more stable, the service life of a sealing ring is effectively prolonged, and the accuracy of adjusting precision is effectively protected.


Lung cancer is the 2nd most common and 1st deadliest cancer worldwide [1]. It presents an enormous burden on society in China, because of its high incidence and mortality rate [2, 3]. About 80%-85% of lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Lymphatic metastasis is a critical event in disease progression that influences clinical treatment and determines the prognosis for NSCLC [4]. Unlike the tightly joined smooth muscle cells and pericytes that make up the walls of blood vessels, lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) of lymphatic capillaries loosely overlap due to the lack of a complete basementmembrane. Due to the high interstitial pressure in tumor tissues and the loose structure of lymphatic capillaries, initial lym-


In this work, a generalized self-adaptive algorithm implementation to remove the humidity dependent gas sensor response of metal-oxide based sensors has been investigated. The sensor output analysis has been divided into steps of baseline stabilization, maximum deviation search, leak detection and recovery. The baseline search using consecutive slope comparison is accurate with an error of 0.225 to 26.88 %. Using an adaptive baseline model, the saturation value for 3 ppm NO2 is accurately detected with a maximum error of 2.7 % and response magnitudes were found to have negligible variation. Using Ordinary Least Squares and QR Factorization, the baseline in the presence of gas was predicted using historical data of temperature and humidity relationship with current to find the point of recovery of baseline, hence considerably reducing the humidity & temperature effect which can be applied to all metal oxide-based gas sensors.


Electronic Government applications aim to deliver efficient, seamless, customer-focused services to the public using various distribution channels. One of challenges in building such applications is the requirement to rely upon preexisting, often heterogeneous government applications. In order to enable communication between such applications, middleware software is required. In this paper we present a research line for formal specification and development of programmable message-oriented middleware, a foundation for infrastructure development for Electronic Government.


The utility model discloses a front longitudinal beam of an automobile. The front longitudinal beam comprises a front longitudinal beam body provided with a bent structure, wherein the front longitudinal beam body at least comprises two sections which are assembled together, and an assembled surface is arranged on the bent structure of the front longitudinal beam body. The front longitudinal beam body has a multi-section assembled structure, so that the problem that the front longitudinal beam body is easily wrinkled in the process of molding is solved, and the front longitudinal beam body can be produced by using a material with relatively high strength and light weight; an oblique supporting beam of the front longitudinal beam is added to the joint of the front section and the back section of the front longitudinal beam, so that when vehicles collide against each other, the oblique supporting beam of the front longitudinal beam can transmit the energy which is generated during collision in the front to a bottom framework and achieves a buffering effect; a crushing rib is added to the front section of the front longitudinal beam, so that when the vehicles collide against each other, the crushing rib absorbs energy by deforming, and the injure to a passenger is reduced; and the front section, the back section and the oblique supporting beam of the front longitudinal beam are molded by using an aluminum alloy material, so that the weight of the front longitudinal beam is reduced, and the weight of the entire automobile is reduced. Besides, the front longitudinal beam is suitable for automobile fittings.


This study is aimed at determining the acute and Sub-chronic oral toxicity of Melissa officinalis essential oil and to
serve as criteria to recommend the ethno pharmacological uses of the plant. In the..


Building Information Modeling (BIM) and its implementation have been continuously reshaping the construction industry. Fundamental changes are taking place to address the dual challenges of BIM in technology utilization and business operation. The lack of competent BIM talent has been identified as a major obstacle in BIM transformation. However, there has been little published research on the impacts of BIM on future workforce and how companies can adapt to BIM-driven business transitions with appropriate workforce planning and talent acquisition. This paper discussed key issues in workforce planning and adaptation strategies for companies that are looking into BIM adoption. The paper reviewed and identified the unique skill set requirements of BIM and desired changes in current talent planning and acquisition practices. A preliminary Workforce Planning/Succession Model was proposed to facilitate industry adaptation to BIM at the company level. The model outlined the procedures that companies could follow to align workforce analysis with their strategic goals oriented to BIM business, identify competency and skill gaps in existing workforce, create and implement development plans, and monitor, assess and continuously improve workforce plans. A case study was performed to verify the model. Results of this research provide valuable insights into intellectual preparation in companies who are at the early stage of BIM adoption and implementation.


In recent years, many studies have been carried out on the pre-emptive analgesia of pregabalin for various types of surgery with varying results. Preemptive analgesia in caesarean section (SC) usually uses pregabalin at a dose of 150 mg, and there have been no studies using low doses (75 mg) Objective This study aimed to determine the effects of pregabalin 75 mg vs 150 mg doses for controlled pain, their sedation score in patients after C-section under spinal anesthesia. Methods This study was a double-blind randomized trial study examining 20 samples of patients who underwent elective C-sections under spinal anesthesia and divided into 2 equal groups, P75 (who received oral pregabalin 75 mg) and P150 (who received pregabalin 150 mg).  The Results There were no significant differences in NRS between the 75 vs 150 mg group (p>0.05), and there were significant differences in Ramsay sedation score between the 75 vs 150 mg group on 2 and 6 hours after surgery(p<0.05) and there were no significant differences about the need for fentanyl rescue between 75 vs 150 mg group (p>0.05). Pregabalin has an opioid-sparing effect and larger doses of pregabalin may increase its efficacy. The sedative effect that arises is due to the mechanism of action of pregabalin which binds potently to the 2δ subunit calcium channel and modulates calcium influx at nerve endings, thereby reducing the release of several excitatory neurotransmitters (glutamate), such as the mechanism of action of various intravenous and inhaled anesthetic agents. Preemptive administration of pregabalin 75 mg is recommended for C-section surgery because it might reduce NRS and the need for fentanyl rescue with minimal sedation side effects.


This paper has discussed the trend of developing of foreign language periodical management under Network Environment,and expounded the problems of foreign language periodical management.


The Large Hadron Collider restarted in 2015 with a higher centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The instantaneous luminosity is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. An upgraded Level-1 trigger system was deployed in the CMS experiment in order to maintain the same efficiencies for searches and precision measurements as those achieved in 2012. This system must be controlled and monitored coherently through software, with high operational efficiency.The legacy system was composed of a large number of custom data processor boards; correspondingly, only a small fraction of the software was common between the different subsystems. The upgraded system is composed of a set of general purpose boards, that follow the MicroTCA specification, and transmit data over optical links, resulting in a more homogeneous system. The associated software is based on generic components corresponding to the firmware blocks that are shared across different cards, regardless of the role that the card plays in the system. A common database schema is also used to describe the hardware composition and configuration data. Whilst providing a generic description of the upgrade hardware, this software framework must also allow each subsystem to specify different configuration sequences and monitoring data depending on its role.We present here, the design of the control software for the upgrade Level-1 Trigger, and experience from using this software to commission the upgraded system. Presented at TIPP2017 International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics 2017 Common software for controlling and monitoring the upgraded CMS Level-1 Trigger Giuseppe Codispoti, Simone Bologna Glenn Dirkx, Christos Lazaridis, Alessandro Thea, and Tom Williams 1 University of Bologna and INFN, Bologna, Italy, 2 CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, 3 University of Milan-Bicocca and INFN, Milano, Italy, 4 Dept. of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A 5 STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, U.K. Abstract. The Large Hadron Collider restarted in 2015 with a higher centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The instantaneous luminosity is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. An upgraded Level-1 Trigger (L1T) system was deployed in the CMS experiment in order to maintain the same efficiencies for searches and precision measurements as those achieved in 2012. This system must be controlled and monitored coherently through software, with high operational efficiency. The legacy system was composed of a large number of custom data processor boards; correspondingly, only a small fraction of the software was common between the different components. The upgraded system is composed of a set of general purpose boards, that follow the μTCA specification, and all transmit data over optical links, resulting in a more homogeneous system. The associated software is based on generic components corresponding to the firmware blocks that are shared across different cards, regardless of the role that the card plays in the system. A common database schema is also used to describe the hardware composition and configuration data. Whilst providing a generic description of the upgrade hardware, this software framework must also allow each subsystem to specify different configuration sequences and monitoring data depending on its role. We present here the design of the control software for the upgrade L1T, and experience from using this software to commission the upgraded system. The Large Hadron Collider restarted in 2015 with a higher centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The instantaneous luminosity is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. An upgraded Level-1 Trigger (L1T) system was deployed in the CMS experiment in order to maintain the same efficiencies for searches and precision measurements as those achieved in 2012. This system must be controlled and monitored coherently through software, with high operational efficiency. The legacy system was composed of a large number of custom data processor boards; correspondingly, only a small fraction of the software was common between the different components. The upgraded system is composed of a set of general purpose boards, that follow the μTCA specification, and all transmit data over optical links, resulting in a more homogeneous system. The associated software is based on generic components corresponding to the firmware blocks that are shared across different cards, regardless of the role that the card plays in the system. A common database schema is also used to describe the hardware composition and configuration data. Whilst providing a generic description of the upgrade hardware, this software framework must also allow each subsystem to specify different configuration sequences and monitoring data depending on its role. We present here the design of the control software for the upgrade L1T, and experience from using this software to commission the upgraded system.


A new apparatus for kinetic energy measurements of fragment ions has been developed. This apparatus is based on a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer with a pulsed electron gun. We can distinguish between thermal ions and energetic ions on a TOF spectrum obtained from this apparatus, using the time-lag defined by the time between the ionization and the application of the extracting pulse. During this time-lag, since energetic ions are dispersed from the ionization region, we can't detect the energetic ions except ones that move in the direction of the detector. On the other hand, since the thermal ions move little, all of thermal ions can be detected. The kinetic energy distributions of fragment ions were calculated by considering the collection efficiency of ions. The performance of our new technique is evaluated by the comparison between our experimental data of kinetic energy distributions of the protons dissociated from a methane molecule and those of the previous works.


Abstract Woodpeckers typically excavate and nest in cavities high above the ground, avoiding predators or potential disturbances like fire or floods. I report the exceptionally low nesting attempt of a Melanerpes carolinus (Red-bellied Woodpecker) pair, 40 cm above the ground, in a small Cocos nucifera (Coconut Palm) snag in Everglades National Park, FL. I monitored the nesting progression and eventual failure with a nest camera. The placement of this nest seemed particularly disadvantageous, and I describe the setting of the nest and discuss the circumstances surrounding the nest failure.


Suicide is a fatal act which represents the individuals wish to die. The latin word suicide denotes "self murder". India is an agrarian country with around 60% of its population depends directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Farmer suicide account for 11.2% of all suicides in India. Activists and scholars have cited a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicide; such as high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, government policies etc. The current study aims at understanding the various stressful life events that lead to suicide of the farmers in Kamrup district, Assam.


The present invention relates to thermoplastic polymer compositions which contain polyamide and also have a good compromise between properties, in particular mechanical properties and high fluidity in the molten state. The present invention specifically relates to a composition containing at least a high melt linear polyamide and optionally a filler such as glass fibers, and a process for producing said composition.


Adequate nutrition is needed for optimal immune response. We examined the relationship of energy intake to disease progression in asymptomatic HIV+ adults in Botswana.


concentrations, whichwerecollected 30 minutes aftertheend of the infusion. Peaks andtroughs were collected at approximately thefourth doseofantibiotic. Statistical differences weredetermined using a Student'sr-test andchi-square analyses. There were 46 patients in each group (Table I). The patients in both groups had a similar duration of therapy (group A 6.78 ± 3.74 d; group B 6.95 ± 2.7 d), gestational age (group A 35 ± 3.94 wk; group B 32.6 ± 5.28 wk), birth weight (group A 2.4 ± 0.9 kg; group B 2.11 ± 1.1 kg), postnatal age of the initiation of gentamicin therapy (group A 6.69 ± 10.2 d; group B 9.45 ± 21.4 d), and urinary output on the day serum samples were collected (group A 2.82 ± 1.57 mUkg/h; group B 3.17 ± 1.4 mUkg/h). The average dose group A patients received was 2.17 ± 0.22 mg/kg/dose. The most common dose was 2 mg/kg/dose ql2h. There were significantlyhigher peaks and significantlylower troughs in patients receiving I dose of gentamicin 3.5 mg/kg/d (p < 0.00I). Patients in group A had significantly shorter half-lives (p < 0.001) and smaller volumes of distribution (p < 0.0 I) than group B patients. There were more therapeutic peak concentrations in group B patients (p < 0.25). There were significantly more therapeutic trough concentrations in the neonates receiving once-daily gentamicin (p<O.OOl).Additionally,significantly more patients receiving 3.5 mg/kg/d had both a therapeutic peak and trough (p < 0.005). Moore et al. demonstrated a significant decrease in mortality from gram-negative sepsis in patients who had a peak of gentamicin of more than 5 mg/L within 24-48 hours of therapy.' Another study compared treatment responses in patients with therapeutic serum concentrations versus subtherapeutic serum concentrations within 72 hours of therapy.3 Significantly more patients with therapeutic peaks (83%) were considered clinically cured, but only 23% of the patients with subtherapeutic peaks were considered cured. In a review of gentamicin dosing in 100 neonates, Watterberg et al. demonstrated a need for a loading dose of 4 mg/kg to achieve peak concentrations of more than 5 mg/L in therapy.' These researchers reported that approximately 50% of these neonates would not have appropriatepeaks after a single dose of 2.5 mglkg. Interestingly, after 3 doses of gentamicin (2.5 mg/kg/dose) with or without a loading dose on an every 12-hour regimen, troughs were more than 2 mg/L in 39% and 50% of these patients, respectively.Forty-five percent of our neonates receiving 2 mglkg/dose qI2h (n = 40) had peaks of less than 5 mg/L after 2 days of therapy.Of the neonates receivingq12hdosing (n = 36), 30% had troughs of more than 2 mgIL. Once-dailydosing of gentamicinappears to be a viable alternative for the administrationof this agent in premature neonates.This dosing regimen represents a lower daily dose and fewer doses, and requires less nursingadministrationtime,


Experimenters sometimes insist that it is unwise to examine data before determining how to analyze them, as it creates the potential for biased results. I explore the rationale behind this methodological guideline from the standpoint of an error statistical theory of evidence, and I discuss a method of evaluating evidence in some contexts when this predesignation rule has been violated. I illustrate the problem of potential bias, and the method by which it may be addressed, with an example from the search for the top quark. A point in favor of the error statistical theory is its ability, demonstrated here, to explicate such methodological problems and suggest solutions, within the framework of an objective theory of evidence.


The maximum multiplexing gain of orthogonal relaying protocols has, so far, been limited to 1/2. We propose a new orthogonal decode-and-forward protocol that employs rotated n-dimensional constellations. With a single relay, the proposed protocol achieves a linear diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) connecting the points (0,2) and (n/n+1,0), where n+1 is the frame length. With NR relays, our proposed protocol achieves a linear DMT connecting (0, NR+1) and (n/n+NR,0).


Objective To observe the effect of nanometer amorphous diamond film on the wearing resistance of resinic artificial teeth. Methods The resinic artificial teeth were deposited with 50nm or 100nm nanometer amorphous diamond film after pretreated with ultraviolet radiation or polarization.The effect of different methods of pretreatment and thickness of nanometer amorphous diamond films on the wearing resistance of resinic artificial teeth was evaluated. Results Resinic artificial teeth deposited with 50nm amorphous diamond film after pretreated with polarization are most close to the natural enamel. Conclusion Nanometer amorphous diamond film improves significantly the wearing resistance of resinic artificial teeth.Resinic artificial teeth should be deposited with 50nm nanometer amorphous diamond film after pretreated with polarization.


THE DEVELOPMENT IS OUTLINED OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES WITH REFERENCE TO EXCAVATION AND EARTHWORKS, DRAINAGE, AND SUB-BASE, BASE AND SURFACING CONSTRUCTION. EXAMPLES ARE QUOTED FROM CONSTRUCTION WORK ON THE N.1 MOTORWAY. DEVELOPMENTS IN CONCRETE ROAD CONSTRUCTION, PARTICULARLY THE SLIP FORM PAVER, AND ITS STEEL AND CONCRETE BRIDGES ARE DESCRIBED. A DISCUSSION IS APPENDED. /RRL/


In a special boiling cell, vapor bubbles are generated at single nucleation sites on top of a 20 μm thick stainless steel heating foil. An infrared camera captures the rear side of the heating foil for analyzing the temperature distribution. The bubble shape is recorded through side windows with a high-speed camera. Global measurements were conducted, with the pure fluids FC-84 and FC-3284 and with its binary mixtures of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 mole fraction. The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in a binary mixture is less than the HTC in either of the single component fluid alone. Applying the correlation of Schliinder showed good agreement with the measurements (1982, "Uber den Warmeubergang bei der Blasenverdampfung von Gemischen, " Verfahrenstechnik, 16(9), pp. 692-698). Furthermore, local measurements were arranged with high lateral and temporal resolution for single bubble events. The wall heat flux was computed and analyzed, especially at the three-phase-contact line between liquid, vapor, and heated wall. The bubble volume and the vapor production rate were also investigated. For pure fluids, up to 50-60% of the latent heat flows through the three-phase-contact region. For mixtures, this ratio is clearly reduced and is about 35%.


The condition of women continued to deteriorate from post Vedic period till the Medieval period and it became worst during the advent of British in Punjab. There was nothing which could be said as the rights of women and women empowerment. Many crimes were committed against her. In the present work the crimes of female infanticide, trafficking of women, prostitution and Sati in the province of Punjab have been discussed during 1861 to 1919, along with the endeavors made by the British in this period to suppress these crimes. The causes which led to the commission of such crimes have been also discussed in this work.


Many XR devices use bare-hand gestures to reduce the need for handheld controllers. Such gestures, however, lead to false positive and false negative recognition errors, which detract from the user experience. While mediation techniques enable users to overcome recognition errors by clarifying their intentions via UI elements, little research has explored how mediation techniques should be designed in XR and how a user's task and context may impact their design preferences. This research presents empirical studies about the impact of user perceived error costs on users' preferences for three mediation technique designs, under different simulated scenarios that were inspired by real-life tasks. Based on a large-scale crowd-sourced survey and an immersive VR-based user study, our results suggest that the varying contexts within each task type can impact users' perceived error costs, leading to different preferred mediation techniques. We further discuss the study implications of these results on future XR interaction design.


Performance optimization of decision support queries has always been a major issue in data warehousing. A large amount of wide-ranging techniques have been used in research to overcome this problem. Bit-based techniques such as bitmap indexes and bitmap join indexes have been used and are generally accepted as standard common practice for optimizing data warehouses. These techniques are very promising due to their relatively low overhead and fast bitwise operations. In this paper, we propose a new technique which performs optimized row selection for decision support queries, introducing a bit-based attribute into the fact table. This attribute's value for each row is set according to its relevance for processing each decision support query by using bitwise operations. Simply inserting a new column in the fact table's structure and using bitwise operations for performing row selection makes it a simple and practical technique, which is easy to implement in any Database Management System. The experimental results, using benchmark TPCH, demonstrates that it is an efficient optimization method which significantly improves query performance.


We propose a new theory to treat fluctuation phenomena in heavy-ion reactions. In practical terms, the method is an extension of the theories of the one-body density based on mean-field plus collisional dynamics. In an exploratory study of the Ne+ Ne reaction, we find considerable fragmentation with a rapidly falling mass spectrum. There has been a large amount of theoretical work recently devoted to the study of the fragmentation of highly excited nuclei. The models discussed employ a broad variety of physical assumptions. They involve such concepts as thermodynamic phase transitions, ' statistical equilibrium, percolation, molecular dynamics, and more complicated hybrid models that use mean-field dynamics. By itself mean-field theory lacks enough fluctuation to produce realistic fragmentation. Up to now, the important fluctuations were introduced by ad hoc assumptions. In the work of Knoll and Strack the initial compressional phase of the reaction was assumed to produce a local equilibrium, and only the expansion phase was simulated by time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory. In another class of hybrid model, the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) theory was used for the initial stage of the reaction. At some point in the time evolution, the single-particle density matrix is replaced by particle wave packets. Here we shall present the beginnings of a theory that includes the important quantum eflects and also has sufhcient fluctuations to show qualitatively realistic fragmentation. Theories of nuclear dynamics are founded on various approximations to the wave function or propagator of the system. The TDHF theory follows when the wave function is approximated by a single Slater determinant. The extended TDHF theory, which is the quantum parent of the classical BUU theory, evolves the single-particle density, including the mixing of many Slater determinants perturbatively. However, the potential field is calculated from the single-particle density, and so does not have any additional fluctuations. As in the extended TDHF theory, we assume that the mixing of Slater determinants can be calculated perturbatively. We also assume that any coherence between the determinants can be ignored. The neglect of coherence is a crucial assumption which allows the evolution of the systern to be calculated stochastically on a Markov chain, jumping from one configuration to another. Thus only one determinant need be considered at a time, and the mean field will be correct for that state. The major ambiguity with this approach is the choice of single-particle basis for the determinants. The basis aAects the evolution of the system if the coherence between determinants is neglected. Obviously, the basis should be chosen to minimize the error in this fundamental approximation. Couplings between configurations are minimized by our choosing orbitals that localize the particles as much as possible in coordinate space. Of course, the perturbative


The aim of this study was to examine the relations between the achievement in acquiring the program of rhythmic gymnastics (RG) and the motor abilities important for success in this sport discipline, in the students of different genders. The study included 58 Faculty of Sport and Physical Education students (29 male students and 29 female students, aged 20-21). Balance was measured using the 'Flamingo' balance test; overall coordination was measured using the test of 20 lunges with a stick; coordination in rhythm using the Drumming with legs and arms test; flexibility was measured using the Active straight leg raise test; explosive muscle power of the leg extensors was measured using the Split squat vertical jump test and High jump after a dismount and repetitive muscle power of the leg extensors was measured using the test of a Series of repetitive jumps lasting 15s. The success in RG was operationalized through the expert assessment. To determine the relationship between motor abilities and expert assessment Pearson's correlation analysis was used (Pearson-product moment). The results of this research indicate the conclusion that the motor abilities i.e. flexibility and coordination are significant for successful acquisition of the program contents of RG among the students of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education.


The world-changing scientific achievements of the Manhattan Project, which created the first atomic bomb, will be honored with a new national park. Under an agreement signed last week, the Departments of Energy and the Interior will preserve some of the historic sites that were crucial to the project and make them accessible to the public through the U.S. national park system. When it opens to the public—the date hasn't been announced yet—the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will include sites in Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Los Alamos, N.M.; and Hanford, Wash. The park might include historic locations such as the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge, shown in this undated historical photo, which converted uranium into plutonium for the Manhattan Project. ...


Let $G$ be a finite connected graph on two or more vertices and $G^{[N,k]}$ the distance $k$-graph of the $N$-fold Cartesian power of $G$. For a fixed $k\ge1$, we obtain explicitly the large $N$ limit of the spectral distribution (the eigenvalue distribution of the adjacency matrix) of $G^{[N,k]}$. The limit distribution is described in terms of the Hermite polynomials. The proof is based on asymptotic combinatorics along with quantum probability theory.


"Dumping" describes the practice of international price discrimination whereby a producer or exporter sells merchandise in an export market at less than fair value. The U.S. antidumping statutory framework is embodied in the Tariff Act of 1930. The Act states that "dumping" refers to the sale or likely sale of goods at less than fair value. 19 U.S.C. § 1677(34). The Commerce Department and the Commission are jointly responsible for administering the antidumping law. Commerce determines whether foreign merchandise is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, and the Commission determines whether a domestic industry producing a product like the imported merchandise has been materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of that product. Recently, in U.S. v. Eurodif, the Supreme Court held the question whether the Commerce can reasonably determin that foreign merchandise has been sold within the meaning of the antidumping law in U.S.. Should 19 U.S.C. Section 1673, which calls for "antidumping" duties on foreign goods, but not services, that sell at less than fair value in the U.S., apply to imported low enriched uranium? Yes. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice David H. Souter, the Supreme Court held that the Commerce Department's view of imported low enriched uranium, as the sale of goods rather than services, was permissible. It reasoned that, since 19 U.S.C. Section 1673 did not specify whether it applied to the production of low enriched uranium, it was left to the reasonable interpretation of the Commerce Department to determine. Accordingly, the Court found the Commerce Department interpreted the statute reasonably.


To create a green energy educated population in the Southwestern Peninsula of Haiti, a team from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) partnered with L'Institut Technique de la Cote-Sud (ITCS) in Coteaux, Haiti. Through the partnership and funding from the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC) the CU Boulder team guided the design and installation of a photovoltaic (PV) system to provide for daily educational needs while simultaneously serving as a living laboratory for hands-on teaching at the ITCS. The students and teachers at the green energy institute had the opportunity to install the entire system and learn about two different battery chemistries, Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LPF) and Lead Acid. Discussed in the paper will be the reasoning behind the approach presented, the objectives and motivation, the trips to Haiti, the PV system, the results, future plans, and the sustainable growth of the ITCS.


All academic fields have their traditional divisions in ideology, style and subject matter. Legal study is no exception. Indeed, the creation of such divisions is intrinsic to the practice of labelling a 'body of knowledge' as unique and as belonging to one discipline or another. Much has been made and said of the emergence of so-called socio-legal studies and critical legal studies. These rather loose terms (which are frequently used but rarely defined) refer to diverse attempts by legal scholars in the last two or three decades to look beyond the traditional boundaries that have enclosed legal study. Socio-legal scholars wish to place different areas of law into their social contexts, to see the relationship of their fields to other disciplines and to see how their subjects actually affect the realities of social existence. The critical legal scholars are perhaps more distanced from their disciplines and are more concerned with de-constructing them, analysing their constituent parts and determining the philosophical and ideological premises on which they are based. Not surprisingly, these scholars frequently have drawn on critical political perspectives such as Marxism and Feminism. Obviously, the extent of the influence of these enterprises varies enormously between different areas of legal study, different institutions and different individuals. It is surprising, however, that the subject of criminal law as it appears on most law curricula and in most textbooks has, on the whole, remained immune to these interdisciplinary forces. As Lacey et al say, most courses and books on the subject revert quite quickly to 'the complexities of legal doctrine.' Despite the massive increase in knowledge about crime and criminal behaviour this century (particularly in the post-war period), the discipline of criminal law has continued to confine itself to the discussion of legal rules and their interpretation by lawyers. The explosion in criminal justice studies, the diversification of criminological theories and developments in the sociology of deviance have left intact the boundaries of criminal law. Ashworth's Principles of Criminal Law (hereinafter PCL), along with Lacey, Wells and Meure's Reconstructing Criminal Law, provides a notable exception to this tendency. The latter attempts to lay open the political and ideological forces behind


We found some Lagrangian submanifolds of the adjoint semisimple orbit in two cases. For the first, the compact case, also known as the Generalized flag manifolds, we prove that the real flags can be seen as infinitesimally tight Lagrangian submanifolds with respect to the KKS symplectic form and we give a complete classification. And for the second, the complex case, we prove that the orbits of real forms are Lagrangian submanifolds with respect to the Hermitian symplectic form.


<?Pub Dtl?><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math></inline-formula>-dimensional fuzzy sets theory is a broad research area extending fuzzy set theory where the membership values are <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $n$</tex-math></inline-formula>-tuples of real numbers in the unit interval <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $[0,1]$</tex-math></inline-formula> orderly increased, called <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math> </inline-formula>-dimensional intervals. The set of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math> </inline-formula>-dimensional intervals is denoted by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{n}([0,1])$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. This paper investigates a special extension from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$[0,1]$</tex-math></inline-formula>—<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-representable fuzzy negations on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{n}([0,1])$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, summarizing the class of such functions that are continuous and monotone by part. The main properties of (strong) fuzzy negations on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$[0,1]$</tex-math> </inline-formula> are preserved by representable (strong) fuzzy negation on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $L_{n}([0,1])$</tex-math></inline-formula>, mainly related to the analysis of degenerate elements and equilibrium points. The conjugate obtained by the action of an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math> </inline-formula>-dimensional automorphism on an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math> </inline-formula>-dimensional fuzzy negation provides a method to obtain another <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math></inline-formula>-dimensional fuzzy negation, in which properties such as representability, continuity, and monotonicity on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{n}([0,1])$</tex-math> </inline-formula> are preserved. Finally, we provide a method for multiexpert decision-making problems based on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal{N}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-reciprocal <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math></inline-formula>-dimensional fuzzy preference relations over a set of alternatives preserving the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal{N}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> -reciprocity for an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math></inline-formula>-dimensional fuzzy negation <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal{N}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>.


This file is a facsimile of an obituary for Anders Celsius, published in the Acta (Proceedings) of the Uppsala-based Societas Regia Literaria et Scientiarum (Royal Society of Learning and Sciences, or Kungl. Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala) for the years 1744 to 1750.


[Objective]The effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on tobacco physiological properties and quality after baking was studied to determine the optimum fertilizer proposal. [Method]Tobacco in different growth stages in each area was selected to determine the botany characters. Total sugar content was determined with anthrone colorimetric determination,and nicotine content was determined with nicotine hydrochloride extraction. [Result]Organic fertilizer contained more complete plant nutrition,but as to its speed of release of the nutrient in the soil,belonged to the delayed available fertilizer. Defined amount of organic fertilizer with quick-acting chemical fertilizer could meet the demand of tobacco growth. [Conclusion]The growth of the tobacco with organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer of 50 of 50 was the best.


Low average distance and high clustering coefficient are two main attractive properties of Small-world network for overlay network.A low average distance implies a small latency for lookup while a high clustering coefficient implies the underlying network has the potential to provide service even under heavy loading.In this paper,based on semidirect product of two groups,a new Cayley based interconnection network with smallworld properties is proposed,then a novel structured overlay network called CayDHT is presented,which has O(l)route table size,O(logN)network diameter,optimal fault tolerance and additionally has better Small-world features when compare with other structured overlay network.


A Judahite envoy is probably mentioned alongside an Israelite envoy in one of the Wine Lists from Nimrud (Calah) dated to the 780s BCE—that is, the time of Jeroboam II. This reference antedates by about 50 years the earliest available mention of Judah in extra-biblical sources. In light of the enmity between Israel and Judah during the time of Joash and Amaziah, the article examines the significance of the new evidence for evaluating the relations of the two kingdoms at the time of Jeroboam II (786–746 BCE) and Uzziah (788–737 BCE).


Today, factors as internet and social media lead to changes in the way of life of individuals. Due to these factors, consumption has begun to be interpreted in different forms. Hedonic consumption that comes from consumption by gaining the emotional satisfaction from shopping has gained importance rather than physical necessity. Social media is another factor that influences the emotional satisfaction of individuals and their consumption behavior. This paper is an attempt to analyse the impact of social media on consumer towards hedonic shopping. Chunk sampling technique is used to collect data. Both primary and secondary data were used. 150 samples were collected through a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed through statistical tools like percentage, Descriptive statistics, Garrett ranking score.


As a community of professionals, forensic nurses are in dire need of rigorous scientific research, grounded in valid evidence, supporting the clinical work of forensic nurses all over the world. Such research would focus on vulnerable populations including victims of violence, children and adults at especially high risk for victimization, and incarcerated individuals. But as we know, designing research interventions within these specialized groups necessitates that we carefully consider, in advance, issues from Institutional Review Board approval to the reporting of results. I offer the following observations specific to measurement in an effort to open discussion about how we can, as researchers, think proactively about some of the potential challenges unique to the vulnerable populations we seek to serve. Measurement is a complicated issue, made more so by technical considerations and statistics. Because of a lack of research in vulnerable populations, we may lack reliable tools for measurement. In the broadest terms, reliability refers to the consistency of measurement and validity refers to how well a tool measures what it is supposed to measure (McDowell, 2006). Researchers are obliged to ensure that the tools they use demonstrate good reliability and validity and that we are appropriately qualified to administer any tool we choose. Validity is the issue most relevant here: specifically, how do we know that any particular tool is right for our particular study and population? That means asking very specific questions. Has this tool been used with this population before? Are the variables defined the same way as the original tool developers intended? Quality of life measures are frequently problematic here–can one measure "quality of life" in a recent female victim of crime with the same tool that was designed to be used with "healthy" young men? Also, researchers may need to take into consideration the unique situation of the individual, such as incarceration or community living. For example, let us posit that one wants to measure health-promoting behavior of women incarcerated at halfway houses. Issues such as exercise, diet, and leisure-time activities are significantly different in community and institutional living, and frequently choices are not made by individuals themselves. Accurate data about health-promoting behaviors would have to include these types of details, and tools may need to be amended (and then retested) to fit the situation. Also, what is important–the participant's current life situation, or his/her "normal" circumstances? For a woman with a recent history of interpersonal violence currently residing in a shelter, researchers need to make sure their tools ask questions appropriate to the investigatory context. Is the subject of study her life in the shelter, or her previous life experience? Does the question make that clear? Strickland, Dilorio, Coverson, & Nelson (2007) reviewed nursing research in vulnerable populations and found significant problems with measurement and inadequate attention to issues related to measurement. They made several important recommendations to researchers hoping to improve the quality of their studies, such as


This paper deals with abnormal noise failures for domestic automobiles by means of fuzzy mathematics. Some fuzzy mathematic models are set up, a fuzzy matrix for a diagnostic system of abnormal noise failure is given, and a scheme of diagnostic system is put forward. Then abnormal noise failures in an EQ1090 auto's transmission were diagnosed as an example. The results show that the diagnostic method is feasible.


This article explores some aspects of the role of race and gender in shaping women postgraduate students' experience of intercultural study. It focuses on various social and cultural aspects of their sojourn. These were suggested by data from two small pilot research projects investigating the experiences of two cohorts of international women postgraduate students, the one studying in an Australian university and the other, a Canadian. The authors focus particularly on the intersections between the students' representation of themselves as women and the way they see themselves represented by their host cultures. In other words, they are interested in the students' understandings of themselves as 'other', and how this impacts on their representations of 'self'. The authors suggest that these representations reflect a process of negotiation of identity that occurs in what they call the globalising university 'contact zone'. The concept of contact zones derives from post-colonial theory. A further goal of this article, then, is to examine how such data appear when viewed from a post-colonial perspective.


When fecal samples were examined from 2.138 dogs, 166 (7.16 per cent) yelded Salmonellae of 30 different serotypes. The most frequent serotypes found were S. saint paul, S. typhimurium, S. hadar, S. haifa, S. brandenburg, S. london, S. agona, S. enteritidis, A. meleagridis, S. bredeney, S. infantis, S. panama, S. reading. The antibiotic susceptibility tests against 11 drugs showed resistance to sulphonamides.


Because of his short, prolific life, Vygotsky has been likened to Mozart (Das & Gindis, 1995); but I think he must be our Shakespeare, for how else could Korsakova & Balashova have evoked the mise-en-scene of an entire lifetime of cognitive-affective work using nothing but Vygotsky's two-word stage direction "mediating activity"? And how, other than through raw force of language wedded to fundamental verities, could Vygotsky the writer have inspired and informed so many of the world's productions regarding mental development? In these comments I hope to facilitate understanding of one such production, if possible, for readers who are not adherents to Vygotsky. Aficionados will need no assistance.


Medical coding is a process of classifying health records according to standard code sets representing procedures and diagnoses. It is an integral part of health care in the U.S., and the high costs it incurs have prompted adoption of natural language processing techniques for automatic generation of these codes from the clinical narrative contained in electronic health records. The need for effective auto-coding methods becomes even greater with the impending adoption of ICD-10, a code inventory of greater complexity than the currently used code sets. This paper presents a system that predicts ICD-10 procedure codes from the clinical narrative using several levels of abstraction. First, partial hierarchical classification is used to identify potentially relevant concepts and codes. Then, for each of these concepts we estimate the confidence that it appears in a procedure code for that document. Finally, confidence values for the candidate codes are estimated using features derived from concept confidence scores. The concept models can be trained on data with ICD-9 codes to supplement sparse ICD-10 training resources. Evaluation on held-out data shows promising results.


Market reaction to surprises in earnings announcements has long been used to measure the quality of the information content of the announcement, and studies have explored various factors affecting the response. This study adds to this body of research by factoring in the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) exhibited by the firm and employs a relatively new measure of a company's level of CSR, rankings published by JUST Capital. I hypothesize that financial information reported by higher ranked companies is weighed more heavily by investors than those reported by non-ranked or lower-ranked companies. Using earnings response coefficients as a measure of the perceived quality of the financial information reported by the firms, my results provide direct support of the hypothesis, indicating that the market reacts more strongly to earnings surprises for firms with high JUST rankings than for unranked firms or firms with lower rankings. This result contributes new insights into the impact of a firm's CSR in terms of the perceived quality of a firm's financial reporting.


HEINICKE, CHRISTOPH M.; DISKIN, SUSAN D.; RAMSEY-KLEE, DIANE M.; and GIVEN, KAYLA. Pre-Birth Parent Characteristics and Family Development in the First Year of Life. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54, 194-208. Findings based on the study of a representative sample of 46 families lend support to the general hypothesis that the nature of the parent-infant interaction and infant development as assessed at 1.2 months is anticipated by a complex pattern of variables, beginning with the parents' characteristics observed before the birth of their first child and extending via parent-infant and infant behavior throughout the first year of life. More specifically, the relation of various antecedents to 12-month infant and parent-infant criterion measures was expressed in the form of stepwise regression equations. For example, significant predictors of the 12-month infant's endurance in the Bayley test situation included the pre-birth maternal characteristics of adaptation-competence, her confidence in visualizing herself as a mother, her MMPI index of ego strength, and such aspects of the postnatal transaction as the 1-month infant's soothability and the parent's affectionate responsiveness and tendency to stimulate new cognitive and social experiences at 6 months.


The courtship behavior of the blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus, is described from underwater observations off southern California. Courtship activity corresponded with male gonadal recrudescence, beginning in late summer-early fall, and extending until early winter. Courtship occurred just above the substratum at reefs deeper than 15 m. Males were the active participants during courtship while females were relatively inactive. Males performed a sequence of stereotyped movements to the motionless females that included a "front position," "lateral pass," "tail fan" and "turn." Females attracted varying sized entourages of males, but only a few males actually courted the female. Females were frequently courted within short periods of time but never appeared aroused. Arguments are presented that courtship behavior in blue rockfish functions in persuasion leading to mate selection.


Using the vertex degrees of the graphs, Mpolynomials of several types of graphs consisting of concatenated pentagonal rings are obtained and studied in this paper. The vertex degree based indices like Randic, Geometric – Arithmetic, Sum Connectivity, Harmonic, First Zagreb, Second Zagreb, Second Modified Zagreb, Inverse Sum, Alberston, Atom – bond Connectivity, Symmetric – Division index and Augmented Zagreb indices etc., of penta-chains can be calculated easily by using the proposed M-Polynomials of the penta-chains for single, alternating and double-row pentachains of two types.


This case study presents the main findings from the community of Chawama, in Lusaka, Zambia, part of a four city comparative project in countries experiencing economic stresses in the 1980s, which aims to help policymakers design more effective locally-based solutions. The research concerns the strategies adopted by the urban poor to reduce vulnerability and prevent impoverishment. Labor, Social and Economic Infrastructure, Housing, Household Relations (also associated with inequalities), and Social Capital are treated as assets buffering the poor against vulnerability. The key findings of the Chawama study show: (1) Poor households frequently respond to declining real income by mobilizing additional labor -principally women's labor, and in the poorest households, children's labor; (2) The decline in public spending diminished social and economic infrastructure, impeding the poor's household incomes, as they are unable to substitute more effective but expensive private services for inferior and time-wasting public services; (3) The use of housing as a cushion against severe poverty was affected by the regulated Zambian land market, which forced young residents unable to afford the rent to move in with relatives, increasing the households' dependency ratio and decreasing their per capita incomes. Housing did provide important opportunities for home-based enterprises, allowing home-bound women to contribute to household income; (4) Economic stresses increased the prevalence of extended households headed by women, who, because of their disproportionate share in adjusting to adverse economic circumstances, were less able to respond to new income-generating opportunities; and (5) Social relations within communities were strained by households forced to focus on their own survival; and escalating crime and violence forced isolation and reduced community participation.


Pain is a well-recognized nonmotor manifestation of Parkinson disease (PD). This might be related to not only peripheral factors but also abnormal processing of nociceptive input in the central nervous system (CNS). To investigate possible dysfunction of pain pathway or of the processing of pain input in the CNS, we recorded pain-related evoked potentials induced by intra-epidermal electrical stimulation in patients with PD. Pain-related evoked potentials were recorded in 13 patients with PD and 21 healthy controls. The evoked potentials were recorded from the Cz electrode by intra-epidermal electrical stimulation, which is known to selectively stimulate A delta fibers, at the second digit on each of the 4 limbs. The amplitudes between N1 and P1, which are thought to originate from the cingulate cortex and the insula, were significantly lower in patients with PD compared with controls. Patients with PD showed no significant correlation between the severity of clinical parameters, such as Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale or Hoehn and Yahr score, and the amplitudes between N1 and P1. In addition, no differences were found in mean N1 or P1 latency between the two groups. These results may reflect the existence of abnormal central processing of pain inputs in PD, which appears to be independent of the clinical expression of motor dysfunction.


Eukoenenia hanseni (Silvestri, 1913) has been reported as being widely distributed in Mexico and in other countries. In this study, a multivariate analysis was used to compare two distinct geographic populations, including the type locality in Jalapa, Veracruz. Eukoenenia hanseni is redescribed based on the male holotype and additional male and female topotypes, and a new species is described, Eukoenenia chilanga sp. n., from Mexico City. A new morphologic group, chilanga-florenciae, is proposed within the genus Eukoenenia.


AMONG THE MOST VALUED possessions, in the Blindiana Collection at Perkins School for the Blind is a file of pictures and prints selected from museums all over the world, each depicting blind people as seen by the .artists of every period. This file of pictures has been the source of portraits which have been appearing in the New Outlook for the past several years. Of all of this great collection, possibly the most unusual examples are those of the representations df blind persons produced by the great potters of ancient Peru. From Egyptian times we have figures in relief which, in the stylized manner typical of all Egyptian art, show a group of blind musicians ; and on up through the centuries in Western art we have hundreds of representations of blind persons, mostly two-dimensional paintings or drawings which often do little else but "type" the blind as a mendicants or musicians. Rarely are the pictures pathologically detailed or stated in such a way that the emotional effects of loss of sight are observable. It is all the more notable, then, when one looks at the photographs here shown, to find with what extraordinary observation these early Peruvians produced in clay the facial externalities of so many visual anomalies. In the case of nearly all


Feed and Farm Supply Store Managers' Perceptions of Employee Training as a Contributor to Competitive Advantage. (December 2008) Henry Clark Springfield III, B.S., Texas A&M University; M.Agr., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. James R. Lindner The purpose of this study was to assess the perception held by managers of feed and farm supply stores in Texas regarding the contribution of employee training to the competitiveness of the firm, determine if managers of feed and farm supply stores perceive that employee training can improve their competitive strength, and to determine if they will invest in employee training in order to gain a competitive advantage. The objectives of this study include: describe the operating environment of feed and farm supply stores in Texas; describe feed and farm supply store managers' perception of employee training's contribution to their firm's competitive advantage; identify barriers to employee training in feed and farm supply stores; determine Internet availability and potential use for employee training in feed and farm supply stores; and describe the willingness of feed and farm supply store managers to engage in employee training delivered via the Internet.


This paper focuses on motion planning for mobile manipulators that can be used to plan both the base and the manipulator. An Optimized Hierarchical Mobile Manipulator Planner (OHMP) is proposed, which consists of two phases: two‐dimensional mobile base path planning and three‐dimensional manipulator trajectory planning. In the two‐dimensional mobile base path planning phase, a hybrid sampling strategy combining bridge test and uniform sampling is adopted to optimize Probabilistic Roadmap‐based basic planning and improve the efficiency of overall planning. In the three‐dimensional manipulator trajectory planning phase, if the current manipulator configuration is in a collision state, then a secure configuration is searched, and the trajectory between them is planned. Given start and goal configurations, the OHMP can efficiently produce a collision‐free path in complex environments. The estimates are backed up by the experiment result. It proves the validity and rationality of the planner, and it is effective for motion planning in complex static environments. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.


The mental health counseling literature has consistently noted that prevention is integral to the field, yet largely neglected in graduate training programs. This article provides an in-depth discussion of a prevention seminar course in an effort to provide resources and incentive for training programs addressing this area of mental health counseling. A detailed overview of the course, including resources used, is provided. Suggestions are also offered for incorporating prevention into standard counseling courses.


Many problems in digital image processing are problems in digital image restoration. Our goal in this technical report is to examine what benefits are incurred when we impose an intensity constraint in the context of total variation regularization, which is a common image restoration tool that works be encouraging smoothness of the restored image--Abstract.


In the modern era vehicles are increasing exponentially with respect to its population. The urban cities are facing many challenges in transportation and energy consumption. The foremost approach will be taxi ride-sharing which effectively reduces traffic congestion, gasoline consumption, and pollution. Our proposed method will simulate a real-time data-driven framework for analysing the taxi ride-sharing in various scenarios. In this approaches the taxies and trips are modelled as separate entities for simulating a rich set of realistic scenarios. A new optimization algorithm is described to address the computational complexity and scalability is achieved by an efficient indexing scheme combined with parallelization. The framework is evaluated using a real-time streaming information obtained from the user.