The aim of this study is to discuss "human resource" focus in total quality management awards (TQM Awards). TQM Awards are Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, European Quality Award (EFQM), Deming Prize of Japan, and ISO9000 Series. The Baldrige emphasizes performance excellence. Deming Prize aims to achieve organizational quality. ISO9000 is to set up quality management system in organizations, and EFQM targets to obtain business excellence for organizations. TQM Awards have human resource focus due to employee involvement and process management in TQM. Firstly, human resources implement in organizational processes such as production, supply, marketing, and after-sale. Secondly, employees participate to solve quality problems in organizations through TQM practices. This is employee involvement. Employee involvement is that employees join to decision-making process, and they participate to solve quality problems to obtain quality assurance, i.e., employee involvement is that human resources participate to TQM practices in organizations such as brainstorming, quality circle, quality function deployment, Poke-Yoke, managerial boards to improve quality; therefore, TQM awards contain "human resource" variation in prize nomination.


Asymmetry, the idealized variation of the Asymmetry that many philosophers have been trying to solve. The second is the Real-World Asymmetry, a non-idealized variation that applies explicitly to cases of ordinary human reproduction. I argue that the Real-World 1 McMahan (1981, p. 100) was the first to give this union of claims this title, and most other philosophers have followed his lead when referring to this issue.


A solid modeling method is developed in this paper. In order to satisfy the tangential continuity, a fourth order partial differential equation is proposed and the boundary conditions defining the solid are presented. Since an analytical expression of solid models is the fastest in the geometric modeling, a unified closed form solution to the partial differential equation is sought which accurately satisfies the boundary conditions of solids. A number of examples are presented to demonstrate the applications of the developed method in solid modeling and the effects of vector-valued parameters, force function, geometric parameters and basic functions on the shape of solids.


We consider a mechanism design setting with multidimensional signals and interdependent valuations. When agents' signals are statistically independent, Jehiel and Moldovanu (2001) show that efficient and Bayesian incentive compatible mechanisms generally do not exist. In this paper, we extend the standard model to accommodate ambiguity averse agents. We obtain a characterization theorem for incentive compatible mechanisms. In a single object auction, we exhibit necessary as well as sufficient conditions under which the efficient allocation can be implemented. In particular, we derive a condition that quantifies the minimal amount of ambiguity sufficient for efficient implementation. We further provide a definition of informational size such that given any nontrivial amount of ambiguity, the efficient allocation can be implemented if agents are sufficiently informationally small.


A rapid method for complete analysis of complex mixtures of rare earths is based on the use of the homologous pairs in combination with the stage weakening of the spectrum. The method permits determination of all the individual rare earths in the range of concentrations (0.1 to 2) to 100%, with an accuracy of plus or minus 10 to 20% (relative). The method is 8 to 10 times more rapid than the other spectrographic methods. (auth)


SYNTHESIS MATERIAL OF ZEOLITE NANOPOROUS (ZSM-5) FROM COAL FLY ASH. Coal fly ash (CFA) is the waste of coal usage that requires serious attention on handling because it is have the large quantity and containing a dangerous substances for environmental. The interesting method of waste processing of CFA is using CFA as zeolite raw material because CFA have a rich silicate and alumina. In this study, CFA is used as a raw material for zeolite synthesis nanoporous (ZSM-5) so that expected could be a solution for waste processing of CFA and also could be deliver a valuable materials that needed on many applications. Based on the result of characterization XRD and SEM, was known that structure of ZSM- 5 and other zeolites (Na 12 Al 12 Si 12 O48 .27H 2O and Na 0,3 Al 2,564 Si 100 O203,996 ) have been successfully synthesized on hydrothermal processing at temperature of 97°C and the pressure of 1,3 bar.


We would like to congratulate the authors for the recent article entitled "The effect of Kinesio Taping application for acute non-specific low back pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial".1 This is a high quality clinical trial that investigated a very relevant topic given the enormous popularity of Kinesio Taping (KT) in patients with musculoskeletal conditions in general. Although various systematic reviews and clinical trials indicate that KT is not effective for most musculoskeletal conditions,2 including patients with low back pain,3,4 this study1 concludes that "Kinesio Taping provided significant improvements in pain and disability; thus, it can be used as a complementary method in acute non-specific low back pain". Our interpretation is that this conclusion is based on statistical significance only, but not in relation to the magnitude of the effects. This is not uncommon, given that many trials that investigated the effects of KT tends to present overestimated conclusions.2 We observed that the authors did not present the between-group differences in Table 1. Therefore, we calculated the between-group differences and their respective confidence intervals for the primary and secondary outcomes (i.e. pain intensity and disability) at the shortest follow-up (i.e. 12 days after randomization). For the outcome pain intensity measured by the 11-point Numerical Pain Rating Scale, the between-group difference at four weeks was 1.1 point (95% CI 0.4 to 1.7, p = 0.003). Similarly, the between-group difference for disability measured by the Oswestry Disability Index (0–100%) at 12 weeks was 6.3% (95% CI 1.7 to 10.9, p = 0.011). The effects are very similar at four weeks after randomization. None of these differences reached the minimum clinical important difference suggested by a panel of experts in back pain.5 Secondly, and probably more important, is that the control group is a very simple "advice and stay active" group. This means that the additional benefit of using KT over an "advice and stay active group" is very small to be considered clinically relevant to patients, although statistically significant. The mismatch between statistical significance and clinical relevance is not uncommon,6 but has important consequences in clinical practice as busy clinicians may decide to use this intervention to their patients based upon an overestimated conclusion. It is crucial that conclusions from high quality clinical trials like this one could be better balanced, taking the magnitude of the effects, costs and harms into consideration.


This paper presents a case study on utilizing a clone detection technique for deriving commonalities among four different industrial simulation software systems. We have examined cloning both within each system and across the four systems. We have showed that several commonalities can be identified with the help of clone detection. The analysis results can support domain analysis, identification of reusable components and the design of a reference architecture.


The invention discloses a computer group performance monitoring interface which is suitable for monitoring one or more computer groups. Each computer group comprises a plurality of nodes. The computer group performance monitoring interface comprises a plurality of node monitoring interfaces, wherein each node monitoring interface corresponds to each node and displays a performance index for the corresponding node; each node monitoring interface comprises a plurality of monitoring subparts; each monitoring subpart comprises a plurality of monitoring units; each monitoring subpart displays the index of certain category performance of the corresponding node in real time, and each monitoring unit displays the current index of certain performance in the category performance in real time; each monitoring unit displays the index of corresponding performance in a histogram; and the column height in a histogram reflects the corresponding performance index, and all the node monitoring interfaces have same monitoring subpart distribution. The invention also discloses a corresponding computer group performance monitoring method.


The scheme of intelligent Building based on distributed generation and micro-grid is presented in this paper. There are five parts in the scheme: distributed generation, storage device, charge-discharge device of EV, micro-grid control and energy management system, smart home system. The scheme of the intelligent building in this paper has been realized in displayed project of intelligent community in china. The feasibility of establishing a micro grid system at the branch of power grid is analyzed after evaluating the performance of the micro grid system on saving power, reducing cost in transmit line, and increasing the security. Due to the analysis, this micro system has good performance in these aspects and has a great future in the power grid.


The Dutch Subcatchment Rijn-West is situated in the middle of the Netherlands and stretches from east to west. Different types of sedimentary deposits and hydrologic characteristics are present: sand, clay/peat, salt, brackish and sweet groundwater, infiltration and exfiltration, and different land uses such as nature, and agricultural, urban and industrial areas. Because of the diversity of the area, it has been selected for a case study within the BRIDGE project (ECFP6). The overall aim of BRIDGE is to develop and test a method for the derivation of pollutant threshold values for groundwater bodies in support of the Status provisions of the Water Framework Directive and the Groundwater Daughter Directive. Threshold values for pollutants are quality standards in groundwater which are set by individual Member States and represent a concentration of pollutant which must not be exceeded in order to protect human health and the environment. In this case study, we apply and evaluate the methodology designed in Work Package 3 of BRIDGE to define threshold values. In addition to this methodology, we apply and compare some other methods to derive thresholds. These other methods are based on studies that were carried out in the Netherlands to define threshold values, semi-natural background values, and (area specific) target values (e.g. Fraters et al., 2001; Passier and Broers, 2004; TCB, 2005). In this case study, threshold values are determined for groundwater subareas in Subcatchment Rijn-West, until a depth of about 30 meters below the surface. Different subareas in Rijn-West are, for example:


The background of this research is still at least a scientific approach oriented teaching materials including student worksheet (LKS) and learning methods that are less attractive, including of SMA state 2 Padang. In curriculum requires tecahers to be able to utilize the entire potensial of the students in the teaching, so that the student centered learning. One approach with regard to these demands is the scientific approach, so that learning can be implemented with either the necessary teaching materials and methods that support the learning process. This purpose of research to investigate the influence of LKS oriented scientific approach in the method of quantum learning to learning outcomes-physics class X students of SMA state 2 Padang in the school year 2014/2015. This type of research is a "quasi experimenal" with the draft "only randomized control group design. Sampling was done by using cluster random sampling. Data research include learning outcomes in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The research instrument in the form of a written test for cognitive learning outcomes, observation sheet for affective learning outcomes, and the scoring rubric for the assessment of psychomotor performance. Data analysis of learning outcomes in the cognitive and psychomotor the experimental class is better than the control class, except for affective learning outcome. On the affective obtained t h = 0.955 t t = 1.67, and the psychomotor obtained t h = 2.50 > t t = 1.67. Based on the data analysis can be presented  result of research. The hypothesis that there is a significant effect of giving LKS oriented scientific approach in the method of quantum learning to learning outcomes-Physics class X students of SMA state 2 Padang can be accepted for learning outcomes in the cognitive and psychomotor except for affective learning outcome at the 0.05 significance level


The present invention relates to a rainwater-collecting permeable concrete pavement system. It is characterized by that said pavement structure includes rammed earth layer whose thickness is greater than 10mm, general concrete base layer whose thickness is 80-100 mm, permeable concrete structure layer whose thickness is 100-150 mm and permeable concrete face layer whose thickness is 40-60mm from bottom to top. Said pavement system is adjacent to green belt, under the green belt a rainwater-collecting pool is set, and the bottom portion of said rainwater-collecting pool is equipped with a submersible pump. Along the length direction of said pavement structure two sides of said pavement system are respectively equipped with a rainwater-collecting channel, the outlet of said submersible pump is connected with pipe network, and said pipe network is distributed in the green belt.


similar import are statements to the effect that judges or politicians "must have" had a particular reaction or thought a certain way, in view of the institutional circumstances in which they found themselves. Although his political sympathies are on the side of the critics of the courts, Ross judges their proposed reforms harshly. For example, he says the judicial reform plans of Senators Borah and LaFollette suffered from "myopic expediency" (p. 219), and concludes that when many progressives failed to support FDR's court-packing plan it showed once again that their opposition to the judiciary was "merely rhetorical and tactical" (p. 310). Ross nevertheless argues that although none of the critics' reform proposals was ever adopted, protest against the courts served a useful constitutional purpose. He speculates that it probably helped persuade the Supreme Court, on those occasions when it made more liberal decisions, to listen to public opinion and accommodate "the changing values of society" (p. 323). (Meyer v. Nebraska, Wolff Packing Co. v. Court of Industrial Relations, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, and Gitloiv v. New York are cited as liberal decisions.) Although Ross takes pride and satisfaction on behalf of progressive critics that the Supreme Court finally accepted the regulatory welfare-state liberalism that they advocated, his work supports an interpretation of judicial review that transcends his ideological affinity. Along the lines set forth in John B. Taylor's article in this journal ("The Supreme Court and Political Eras: A Perspective on Judicial Power in a Democratic Polity," Review of Politics, vol. 54, Summer 1992), Ross views the Court as part of the dominant coalition, responding to political pressures and sharing responsibility for constitutional interpretation with the political branches and other constituent institutions of the polity. Ross's account illuminates the principle of American constitutionalism which justifies critics of the liberal activist judiciary in the late twentieth century, like critics of the laissez-faire Court at the beginning of the century, in their efforts to keep the Supreme Court abreast of public opinion and the changing needs of society.


In the Thesis a new method is developed for optimising the shape of mechanical elements by considering the interaction of these elements with a multiphase uncertainty environment whose approximation model achieves a significant number of degrees of freedom (DOF). The Thesis analyses the process of dust formation during the handling of granular material. Different experimental designs are used to derive metamodels and to analyse the segregation of granular material in the silo discharge depending on the oscillation frequency, amplitude, and geometrical characteristics of the silo.


Based on anew fact that kinetic energy complement betweer subtropical westerly jet in winter and west pacific snbtropical high in winter and west pacific snbtropical high in summer ,the predictability of drought and flood in summer in East China are confirmed by using meteorological data from 1965 to 2000 in this paper.


Darwin's ideas about emotion are known from his published scientific writings [e.g., Darwin, 1872/1998, 1877], which focus primarily on the evolutionary origins of emotional expressions. The present paper offers an analysis of a personal document – Darwin's memorial of his daughter Annie, who died at age 10 [Darwin, 1989] – which reveals additional elements of Darwin's view of emotion. Analysis of the text of the memorial indicates that Darwin did not employ rhetorical strategies conveying objectivity as outlined by Gergen [1994]. Darwin's rhetorical decision to locate himself in the memorial as a writer and observer in relation to his daughter Annie allowed him to emphasize social functions of emotion and to delineate an implicitly relational perspective on emotion. The memorial demonstrates the value of considering the child in social encounters as the unit of analysis, showing that emotion is accorded meaning in relational contexts, integrating multiple expressive channels in emotional action, and accounting for ways that emotion helps convey the individuality of a child in her social world. Darwin's style in the text of the memorial enabled a perspective of embodied participation that permits finely detailed observation, yet locates the observer's point of view, and represents the relational complexity of observations even when the observer himself is involved.


It is almost 20 years since the first edition of this book became available and, in that time, there can hardly be a department of clinical genetics anywhere that has not felt the need to acquire a copy. It has carved a special and much respected place in our professional affections. This new edition, after a gap of over five years of momentous scientific discovery and relentless reshaping of clinical practice, will require the provision of very significant shelf space, stretching, as it does, to three packed volumes and offering not just an updating of previous work, but the addition of over 20 new chapters.

They are virtually all represented within these covers - the great and the good among geneticists, some famous, others awaiting the call of fame, but common to all contributors is …


the effect of adding strawberry pulp to yogurt on its physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity and sensory characteristics was studied. For this purpose, experimental yogurts were produced by the addition of strawberry pulp (at 8, 12 and 16%) to plain yogurt and analyses were car ried out through 14 days of cold storage. the titratable acidity and viscosity values of yogurts increased with the increasing of strawberry pulp concentration. conversely, the total solid, fat, protein, ash, pH and syneresis values decreased. Antioxidant activity (β-caroten bleaching assay) and Ic 50 (DPPH radical scavenging assay) in yogurts ranged from 77.71 to 86.12%, 205.70 to 2241.09 μg ⁄mL during storage, respectively. For the sensory properties of yogurts, yogurt including 16% of strawberry pulp received the highest overall acceptability score on the first day of storage.


Collecting new experience is costly in many robotic tasks, so determining how to efficiently explore in a new environment to learn as much as possible in as few trials as possible is an important problem for robotics. In this paper, we propose a method for exploring for the purpose of learning a dynamics model. Our key idea is to minimize a score given by a discriminator network as an objective for a planner which chooses actions. This discriminator is optimized jointly with a prediction model and enables our active learning approach to sample sequences of observations and actions which result in predictions considered the least realistic by the discriminator. Comparable existing exploration methods cannot operate in many prediction-planning pipelines used in robotic learning without hardware modifications to standard robotics platforms in order to accommodate their large compute requirements, so the primary contribution of our adversarial exploration method is scalability. We demonstrate progressively increased performance of our adversarial exploration approach compared to leading model-based exploration strategies as compute is restricted in simulated environments. We further demonstrate the ability of our adversarial method to scale to a robotic manipulation prediction-planning pipeline where we improve sample efficiency and prediction performance for a domain transfer problem.


While using the non-linear analytical model of the flow over the mountains, orographic disturbances and the model adequacy were studied. Theoretically calculated trajectories, disturbances of temperature and humidity were compared with the actual stereophotogrammetric measurements of wavy clouds. It was shown that the model successfully describes the spatial structure and amplitudes of disturbances in the troposphere beyond the turbulent surface air. It was established that, on the days of clouds observations, turbulent processes in the surface air did not have any significant impact on wavy processes at the heights over 2.5 km.


Within the framework of the article, the author formulates problems associated with the legislative design of criminal law norms that provide for criminal liability for unauthorized connection to oil pipelines, oil product pipelines, and gas pipelines, or for making them unusable. The aim of the article was to develop and formulate approaches to the elimination of legal conflicts arising from the incorrect formulation of criminal law norms and to improve the practice of applying the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, provided for by Art. 2153 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article is based on the doctrinal provisions of the science of criminal law concerning the legal technique of designing criminal law norms, as well as materials of law enforcement practice. As a result of the study, the author demonstrates an internal inconsistency in the prescriptions of Art. 2153 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, associated with excessive overload and fundamental incompatibility of signs of corpus delicti within the framework of one norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, mandatory signs of a particularly qualifying corpus delicti must include a special subject, a person subjected to administrative punishment for a similar act, and consequences, in the form of disruption of the normal operation of the oil pipeline and selfish or hooligan motives in the perpetrator's behavior. Thus, it is impossible to apply the provisions in practice without violating the principle of legality and using the analogy of criminal law. The author states that in many ways the nature of the origin of the problems that we have to speak about more and more often are constant questions about the competition between general and specific norms, and, if these questions are undecidable, we have to speak about the widespread use of the banned analogy. The conclusions of the study are: the author's proposals on amending Art. 2153 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and other norms of the criminal law; an indication of the need to eliminate unnecessary duplication of the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and to create more and more highly specialized special norms that compete with general criminal law prohibitions. In addition, the ways of changing approaches to the qualification of these acts have been identified; these ways allow for a consistent counteraction to negative socially dangerous acts and respect for the interests and rights of citizens.


Sustainable Mobility—Challenges for a Complex Transition Gerald Berger, Peter H. Feindt, Erling Holden & Frieder Rubik a Institute for Managing Sustainability, Vienna University of Economic and Business, Vienna, Austria b Section Communication, Philosophy and Technology, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, Wageningen, The Netherlands c Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Sogn and Fjordane University College, Sogndal, Norway d Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IOW), Heidelberg, Germany Published online: 25 Sep 2014.


The concept "mentality" from positions of authors of different scientific interests, including author's definition is analyzed in article. Factors that influence formation and development of professional mentality are considered. Specific conditions of formation of female professional mentality are described. Female professional mentality is the base on which female career constructs. Emotional and psychological installation belongs to its features on overcoming prejudices of society against female professionalism. It is considered that strongly taken social and psychological installations concerning women in a profession limit their possibilities to be successful. 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Russian Psychological Society.


Paradox is used in organizational studies to describe the tensions between two seemingly opposite entities that are in fact complementing each other. Leadership has been shown to deal with such dualities on a daily basis. The transformation process required for implementing Lean principles in manufacturing organisations, involves leadership paradoxes in their pursuit for successful Lean transformation that adds value for their organizations. This article documents a systematic literature review with the objective of investigating the extant literature on the subject that falls under the umbrella of "Lean Leadership Paradoxes". The review is limited to peer reviewed using search terms such as lean, leadership, lean leadership, leadership paradoxes, and lean leadership paradoxes. The research has found that limited research was conducted on Lean Leadership and leadership Paradoxes while research on Lean leadership paradoxes is almost non-existing in academic journals. The value of this study lies in 1) highlighting the gaps in this body of knowledge and 2) identifying areas for possible future academic and practitioner research.


China's decades-long endeavor in introducing a deposit insurance scheme does not look like an "easy win" for the reform of the financial sector. The layout of the system has its own distinctive features, which underlines the need to carry out an evaluation of its salient legal and institutional elements. This article offers a detailed analysis over four key issues linked with the framework: the legal status of this deposit insurance scheme should be elevated to the level of laws instead of subordinate administrative regulations; the creation of a deposit insurance scheme makes it essential to have a bank resolution process in place; the cost of maintaining coverage would not be a heavy burden to banks; and bank bailouts could only happen as a last resort to those systemically important banks. For a sound legal system and a robust institutional mechanism of deposit insurance in China, the author expects a gradual phasing in of a multi-year plan following the adoption its first deposit insurance scheme. Even so, shifting from an implicit to explicit deposit insurance represents a remarkable volte-face in both government thinking and the setup of China's banking sector. This first part of the article explores key features of the Deposit Insurance Regulation ("DIR"). The final parts of the article, which will appear in upcoming issues of The Banking Law Journal, will discuss the immediate impact of the DIR on China's financial stability and potentially serious flaws in the DIR.


McPherson and Schapiro analyze data from the American Freshman Surveys of 1980, 1989 and 1993 to determine how family income has affected choice of institution, and how this has varied over time.


BEFORE discussing the pathology and treatment of diseases of the ovary, even in such limits as this essay must be restricted to, it is necessary that some account should be given of the anatomy and physiology of the gland ; for, in proportion as our knowledge of normal processes has grown, the riddles of pathology have come nearer to our understanding. For interest, there is, perhaps, no gland in the body which surpasses the ovary; for, though it may be of comparatively little importance to the life of the individual, yet it and its functions may well be said to be the pivot on which our race depends. Even in the individual, though life may be endangered only in a certain class of ovarian diseases, yet the frequency of, and the discomfort attending, all the others are enough to exalt the gland into a structure of extreme im-


Artificial neural networks are efficient computing techniques that are widely used to solve complex problems in many fields. In this study, a counterpropagation neural network is used to locate structural damage for a beam, a frame, and support movements of a beam in its axial direction. The investigation considers a variety of diagnostic parameters, including static displacements, natural frequencies, mode shapes, and other parameters based on mode shapes. The method is first demonstrated on a plane frame, based on static displacements. It is then applied to continuous beams using dynamic properties of structures. The required data are obtained through computer simulation by finite-element analysis. The results demonstrate that these parameters can be used as diagnostic parameters for artificial neural networks in structural engineering. An anticipated application to bridge monitoring is discussed.


The field experiment was conducted in Kharif season of 2017 at Agronomy farm, College of Agriculture, Nagpur to assess the effect of nutrient fortification and spacing on yield and economics of Bt cotton under protective irrigation. Four nutrient levels and three spacing's were tested in split plot design with three replication and there were twelve treatment combinations. Study revealed that, higher seed cotton yield kg ha-1 was recorded with the treatment combination of 125% RDF fortified with humic acid under spacing of 90 cm x 45 cm (N4S1). But, it was remain at par with the treatment combination of 100% RDF fortified with humic acid under spacing of 90 cm x 45 cm (N1S1). Also, gross monetary returns, net monetary returns and B:C ratio were highest with the treatment combination of 125% RDF fortified with humic acid under spacing of 90 cm x 45 cm (N4S1).


A new optical sensor for the continuous monitoring of the dew formation inside organ pipes was designed. This aspect is particularly critical for the conservation of organs in unheated churches since the dew formation or the condensation on the pipe surfaces can contribute to many kinds of physical and chemical disruptive mechanisms. The working principle is based on the change in the reflectivity which is observed on the surface of the fibre tip, when a water layer is formed on its distal end. Intensity changes of the order of 35% were measured, following the formation of the water layer on the distal end of a 400/430 m optical fibre. Long-term tests carried out placing the fibre tip inside the base of an in-house-made metallic foot of an organ pipe located in an external environment revealed the consistency of the proposed system.


Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Excess weight is thought to contribute adversely to this disease and has been associated with both an increased incidence and severity of asthma in multiple studies. However, this information does not seem to be conclusive, since there are also studies showing either no relationship or a relationship only in certain subpopulations of children. The aim of this study was to see if we could identify any pattern in the relationship of weight and asthma severity and control in our pediatric population at a university affiliated clinic in rural West Texas. We were unable to find statistically significant differences either in the overall population or in the boys or girls subpopulations. We estimate based on our results that future studies would need at least 800 children to achieve adequate statistical power. More well designed studies are needed to clarify and confirm the relationship between obesity and asthma control and severity in children.


Winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2008 appeared to be a turning point for the translation and introduction of the French writer J.M.G. Le Clezio in China. Firstly, before winning the award, only a few of his works were translated into Chinese; after winning the award, Chinese publishing houses immediately accelerated the speed of translation and printing. Secondly, before the award, there were few research papers on his creation; after the award, academic studies about him immediately began to increase. 2009 was a year in which the Chinese translations and academic researches about Le Clezio have dramatically grown. Thirdly, in the eyes of Chinese readers, there exists a controversy of opinions about his works. Chinese general readers hardly know Le Clezio, but he's appreciated and highly recommended by Chinese translators and scholars. During the past ten years, with the active promotion of Chinese scholars, Le Clezio has maintained a certain influence in China. But his influence mainly stayed in the foreign literary research circles.


Complex system governance (CSG) is an emerging field encompassing a framework for system performance improvement through the purposeful design, execution, and evolution of essential metasystem functions. The goal of this study was to understand how the domain of asset management (AsM) can leverage the capabilities of CSG. AsM emerged from engineering as a structured approach to organizing complex organizations to realize the value of assets while balancing performance, risks, costs, and other opportunities. However, there remains a scarcity of literature discussing the potential relationship between AsM and CSG. To initiate the closure of this gap, this research reviews the basics of AsM and the methods associated with realizing the value of assets. Then, the basics of CSG are provided along with how CSG might be leveraged to support AsM. We conclude the research with the implications for AsM and suggested future research.


LBA9002 Background: Complete lymph node dissection (CLND) following positive sentinel node biopsy (SLNB) was evaluated in a randomized phase III trial.

METHODS
1,258 patients with cutaneous melanoma of the trunk and extremities and with positive SLNB were evaluated. Of these, 483 (39%) agreed to randomization into the clinical trial. 241 patients underwent observation only, 242 received CLND. Both groups had a subsequent 3-years follow-up. Recurrence-free (RFS), distant metastases free (DMFS) and melanoma specific (MSS) survival were analyzed as endpoints.

RESULTS
Patient enrolment was performedfrom January 2006 to December 2014. In the intent to treat analysis, both groups did not differ significantly in distribution of age, gender, localization, ulceration, tumor thickness (median 2,4 mm in both groups), number of positive nodes, or tumor burden in the SN. The mean follow-up time was 34 months (SD ± 22.1). No significant treatment-related difference was seen in the 5-years RFS (P = 0.72), DMFS (P= 0 .76) and MSS (P = 0.86) in the overall study population.

CONCLUSIONS
In this early analysis of trial results, no survival benefit was achieved by CLND in melanoma patients with positive SLNB. A subsequent analysis three years after inclusion of the last patient is planned.


Background: Regulation of brain pH is a critical homeostatic process. Changes in brain pH modulate various ion channels and receptors and thus neuronal excitability. Tissue acidosis, resulting from hypoxia or hypercapnia, can activate acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), a family of primarily Na+ permeable ion channels, although ASIC1a homomeric channels are also permeable to Ca2+. During brain acidosis, ASIC activation produces neuronal death through a process called acidotoxicity, which acts alongside glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. Naked mole-rats (NMRs, Heterocephalus glaber) are long-lived, fossorial, eusocial rodents that display remarkable behavioral/cellular hypoxia and hypercapnia resistance. In the central nervous system, ASIC subunit expression is similar between mouse and NMR with the exception of much lower expression of ASIC4 throughout the NMR brain. However, ASIC function and neuronal sensitivity to sustained acidosis has not been examined in the NMR brain.
Results: Whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology of cultured NMR and mouse cortical and hippocampal neurons demonstrated that NMR neurons have smaller voltage-gated Na+ channel currents and more hyperpolarized resting membrane potentials. We further demonstrate that acid-mediated currents in NMR neurons are of smaller magnitude than in mouse, and that all currents in both species are fully blocked by the ASIC antagonist benzamil. Using the ASIC1a blocker Psalmotoxin-1 (PcTx1), we find that ASIC1a plays a major role in ASIC-mediated currents in mouse neurons, whereas in NMR neurons, only a few responses were blocked by 10 nM PcTx1. However, when nmrASIC1a was heterologously expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, neither 10 nor 100 nM PcTx1 inhibited acid-evoked currents. We also show that nmrASIC1a channel is Ca2+ permeable. Finally, we demonstrate that NMR neurons show greater resistance to acid-induced cell death than mouse neurons.
Conclusions: NMR neurons are less excitable than mouse neurons and show significant cellular resistance to acidotoxicity, likely resulting from smaller ASIC-mediated currents, which may be neuroprotective against acid-induced neuronal death.


AUTHOR Gillooly, William B.; Thomas, Charles L. TITLE The Effects of Familiarization on the Verbal Intelligence Test Performance of Socially Disadvantaged Youth. Final Report. INSTITUTION Indiana Univ., Bloomington.; Rutgers, The State Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. SPONS AGENCY Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of Research. BUREAU NO BR-8-B-041 PUB DATE 30 Jun 70 GRANT OEG-0-8-080041-3659(010) NOTE 23p.


Inverse free matrix pencil/descriptor form formulae for the two-Riccati solution of the suboptimal /spl Hscr//sup /spl infin// problem for the case 0/spl les//spl sigma/~(D/sub 11/)</spl gamma/ are presented and are used to provide a complete analysis of /spl Hscr//sup /spl infin// plant/controller pole/zero cancellation phenomena. Using matrix Nevalinna-Pick interpolation theory, we further provide a method that enables us to generate a /spl Hscr//sup /spl infin// controller that selectively avoids cancelling plant poles/zeros.<<ETX>>


Infrared radiation characteristic measurement uses the infrared thermal imager that has been calibrated to measure and invert the infrared radiation characteristics of the target, which is a direct method to obtain the real radiation characteristics of the target. This paper proposes a method for infrared radiation characteristics based on real-time calibration of atmospheric correction parameters. This method first completes the radiation calibration of the long-wave thermal imager, then uses the surface blackbody as the standard radiation source, and uses the long-wave thermal imager to obtain the actual atmospheric transmittance. By establishing an exponential model, the correction factor between the theoretical atmospheric transmittance calculated by MODTRAN and the measured atmospheric transmittance is obtained, and the theoretical atmospheric transmittance calculated by MODTRAN is corrected by this correction factor, so that the measurement and inversion of the infrared radiation characteristics of the target to be measured can be realized. The experimental results show that the error of the target characteristic measurement result obtained by this method is less than 5%, which is higher than the traditional target radiation characteristic measurement accuracy obtained by directly using MODTRAN to correct the influence of atmospheric transmission.


Routine screening of all newborns for inherited disorders began in the 1960s after the American microbiologist Robert Guthrie, MD, PhD, developed a simple test to identify neonates with phenylketonuria. Neonates who tested positive could receive treatment before they became symptomatic. Since then, newborn screening (NBS) has become the standard approach to screening populations for several rare disorders, including inherited metabolic diseases. However, as more and more conditions have been added, priority has been given to improving test performance and reducing false-positive results. False positives can disrupt parent-child bonding during the critical first weeks of life and can cause lasting distress for parents. Therefore, NBS must ideally have high sensitivity and specificity and a minimal need for manual review. Quality control is an essential component of NBS; for example, the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studied samples submitted by 648 laboratories in 85 different countries in 2019. NBS has been recommended for 34 health conditions in the United States (although the exact number varies by state and country) and is performed with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). NBS by MS/MS has 99% sensitivity and almost 100% specificity. For some disorders, MS/MS has low positive predictive value, and results may be nonspecific. It is imperative that NBS minimizes false positives while identifying true positives. Rapid advances in next-generation sequencing technology and computing power have led to the widespread adoption of whole-exome sequencing (WES) in clinical practice within the last decade. In some countries, WES is now commonly used for the rapid diagnosis of seriously ill children expressing a disease phenotype. Although this application presents the opportunity to collect and analyze large amounts of DNA sequence data in the newborn period, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding population-wide performance characteristics, predictive value, and utility of newborn genomic sequencing. Now, Adhikari et al report on the first comprehensive comparison of WES and established screening technology, MS/MS. In California, between July 2005 and December 2013, the Genetic Disease Screening Program screened dried blood spots from nearly 4.5 million neonates using a multiplex MS/MS platform. The authors obtained a set of 1728 residual, deidentified, archived dried blood spots representing all cases with inborn errors of metabolism. They also obtained selected blood spots that were initially screened as positive from neonates who were later found to be unaffected. As a primary screen, they analyzed an "exome slice" of 78 genes associated with the 48 inborn errors of metabolism ascertained by NBS in California. Their pipeline correctly identified 571 of 647 Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM)-affected infants as having a potentially pathogenic IEM genotype, revealing an overall sensitivity of 88%. In the clinically confident subgroup of individuals, their pipeline achieved 93.7% overall sensitivity. Wider WES analysis identified 11 exome-positive infants for genes unrelated to their IEM. This produced an overall specificity of 98.4%. This would extrapolate to 8000 false positives among the half a million annual births in California alone. This is far more than the actual 1367 MS/MS false-positive cases in 2015. Collectively, these data show that, when used alone, sequencing underperforms the classical MS/MS pipeline and misses some affected babies while identifying many healthy neonates as "positive" and targeting them for unnecessary followup testing. One limitation to the report by Adhikari et al. is the relatively low number of cases studied (1728 vs half million NBS per year in California). The sensitivity of their screen varied largely by disorder and performed better for more prevalent IEMs reaching close to 100% sensitivity. Statistical confidence for very rare IEMs would require larger cohort sizes and more data before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the utility of newborn genomic sequencing in NBS. Abnormal results trigger second-tier testing critical to distinguishing a false-positive from a true-positive result. Second-tier tests are typically more sensitive and specific than the primary newborn screening assay, but for various reasons, including cost, time, and complexity, they are not suitable to be used as primary screening assays. Performing newborn genomic sequencing as a second-tier test when the primary screening results are DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12303


High-quality crack-free GaN epitaxial films were successfully grown on Si(111) substrates using metal–organic chemical vapor deposition by in situ depositing SiN on a 3-dimensional (3D) GaN template. The GaN epitaxial films with 0–600 s 3D GaN templates were grown. It was found that the crystalline quality of GaN epitaxial films could be optimized and the cracks could be suppressed within the window of the growth time of the 3D GaN template between 0 to 600 s. For the sample with 180 s 3D GaN template, X-ray rocking curve measurements revealed the minimum full-width at half-maximum values of 348 and 406 arcsec for GaN(0002) and GaN(10−12), respectively, indicating the best crystalline quality among all the samples. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and in situ reflectance curves suggested that the 3D GaN template growth time changed the size and density of the GaN islands on the 3D GaN template surface, thus affecting the subsequent coalescence process of GaN islands after SiN deposition, and consequently resulted in variation in the crystalline quality and the stress of GaN epitaxial films. This work broadens the approach to achieve high-quality crack-free GaN epitaxial films on Si substrates for applications in GaN-based devices.


Prior work demonstrated that female rats (but not their male littermates) exposed to methamphetamine become hypersensitive to myocardial ischemic injury. Importantly, this sex‐dependent effect persists following 30 days of subsequent abstinence from the drug, suggesting that it may be mediated by long term changes in gene expression that are not rapidly reversed following discontinuation of methamphetamine use. The goal of the present study was to determine whether methamphetamine induces sex‐dependent changes in myocardial gene expression and whether these changes persist following subsequent abstinence from methamphetamine. Male and female rats received daily injections of saline or methamphetamine for 10 days. Changes in gene expression were assessed by RNA sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting 24 hours or 30 days following the last injection. Methamphetamine induced changes in the myocardial transcriptome were significantly greater in female hearts than male hearts both in terms of the number of genes affected and the magnitude of the changes. The largest changes in female hearts involved genes that regulate the circadian clock (Dbp, Per3, Per2, BMal1, and Npas2) which are known to impact myocardial ischemic injury. These genes were unaffected by methamphetamine in male hearts. All changes in gene expression identified at day 11 returned to baseline by day 30. These data demonstrate that female rats are more sensitive than males to methamphetamine‐induced changes in the myocardial transcriptome and that methamphetamine does not induce changes in myocardial transcription that persist long term after exposure to the drug has been discontinued.


Chapter 1 Technique, protocols, image interpretation. Chapter 2 Liver. Chapter 3 Gallbladder and Biliary Tree. Chapter 4 Pancreas. Chapter 5 Spleen. Chapter 6 Gastrointestinal Tract. Chapter 7 Peritoneal Cavity. Chapter 8 Adrenal Glands. Chapter 9 Kidneys. Chapter 10 Retroperitoneum and Body Wall. Chapter 11 Bladder. Chapter 12 Male Pelvis. Chapter 13 Female Urethra and Vagina. Chapter 14 Uterus and Cervix. Chapter 15 Adnexa. Chapter 16 Fetus. Chapter 17 Pediatric. Chapter 18 Chest. Chapter 19 Breast. Chapter 20 Contrast Agents.


This explains the scientific writing about the construction of a virtual lab website using PHP and MySQL based e-Learning. Development of this website aims to facilitate students in conducting experiments that run on the course. In completing this web development using literature studies, both authors of books and authors who have personal experience using an integrated lab at the University Gunadarma as reference and comparison. Virtual lab that built this author, is expected to assist and facilitate students in conducting lab because students can perform laboratory work whenever and wherever they are located. Virtual Lab is also designed web-based e-Learning so that students can do in addition to laboratory work, students can also get content directly by downloading the material and follow the forum there on the virtual lab yng this.


A new pitch estimation method for song sounds using twelve comb filters and singular value decomposition (SVD) processing is presented. This method is based on the ability of a comb filter, corresponding to one tone, to eliminate the tone's pitch and harmonic frequencies, and also on the relationship between the number of singular values obtained from the SVD and the number of the signal frequency components. The pitch of a song sound can be estimated by using a set of twelve comb filters connected in parallel to eliminate one tone in the input, and by identifying outputs with a smaller number of singular values. Pitch estimation results for duet and trio songs with this method are presented. Key-Words: Musical transcription, Pitch estimation, Comb filter, Singular value decomposition


Based on the characteristics of cemented carbides,the development trends are described of the two series cemented carbides respectively applied in cutting tools and mining tools.And the emphasis is put on the comparison and analysis of high-performance cemented carbides and the preparation techniques of the powders prepared with special raw materials.


This paper proposes a discussion on opportunities offered by 3D visualization to improve the understanding and the analysis of cadastre data. It first introduce the rationale of having 3D visualization functionalities in the context of cadastre applications. Second the publication outline some basic concepts in 3D visualization. This section specially addresses the visualization pipeline as a driven classification schema to understand the steps leading to 3D visualization. In this section is also presented a brief review of current 3D standards and technologies. Next is proposed a summary of progress made in the last years in 3D cadastral visualization. For instance, user's requirement, data and semiotics, and platforms are highlighted as main actions performed in the development of 3D cadastre visualization. This review could be perceived as an attempt to structure and emphasise the best practices in the domain of 3D cadastre visualization and as an inventory of issues that still need to be tackled. Finally, by providing a review on advances and trends in 3D visualization, the paper initiates a discussion and a critical analysis on the benefit of applying these new developments to cadastre domain. This final section discusses about enhancing 3D techniques as dynamic transparency and cutaway, 3D generalization, 3D visibility model, 3D annotation, 3D data and web platform, augmented reality, immersive virtual environment, 3D gaming, interaction techniques and time.


Several non-bitter cucurbitacin glycosides were isolated together with two bitter cucurbitacin glycosides from the immature fruits of Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), and four of the non-bitter glycosides, momordicosides G, F1, F2 and I, were characterized from chemical and spectral evidence as folows ; G, 3-O-β-D-allopyranoside of 5, 19-epoxy-25-methoxy-5β-cucurbita-6, 23-dien-3β-ol ; F1, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside of 5, 19-epoxy-25β-methoxy-5β-cucurbita-6, 23-dien-3β-ol ; F2, 3-O-β-D-allopyranoside of 5, 19-epoxy-5β-cucurbita-6, 23-diene-3β, 25-diol ; I, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside of 5, 19-epoxy-5β-cucurbita-6, 23-diene-3β, 25-diol.


As an very important part of vocal arts,Lieder are indispensable part that we have to learn in the process of learning lieder,of course,they also include Chinese lieder.Lieder which are treasures of vocal arts have a deep connotation,while Chinses lieder play an improtant role in the musical culture of the Chinese nation as a whole,so howto perform Chinese lieder well will have an important impact on the developement of the Chinsese vocal arts.


On the basis of groundwater flow model in the suburbs,the paper built the solute transport model of the third plant of water source in the western suburbs by generalizing the model.It calculated the maximum allowa ble emissions of the acceptable typical pollutants within a certain period by using the couple of SCE algorithm with the solute transport model.The result indicated that under the circumstance of water quality being no more than the class III water standard within twenty years,the maximum annual emissions of NO-3and Cl-of landfills in the north of Tiancun,Xirancun,and the east of Beiwucun in the protected area of the third plant of water source are as follows,the density of NO-3,the east of Beiwucun is 18.59 t /a,the north of Tiancun is 42.29 t /a,Xirancun is 21.45 t /a;and the density of Cl-,the east of Beiwucun is 235.66 t /a,the north of Tiancun is 441.13 t /a,Xirancun is 290.13 t /a.The result can provide the basis for the establishment of water pollution early-warning system and the protection of water source.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 50% red beans ethanol natto extracts fermented by Bacillus subtilis on hyperlipidemia in hamsters. Forty male hamsters were randomly assigned to normal control, high-fat control, and high-fat with RBNE (red beans natto extracts) (200 and 1000 mg/kg BW) groups. RBNE treatment for 8 weeks significantly decreased the body and visceral fat weight in hamsters. Compared to the high-fat diet group, the plasma total cholesterol (TC), total triacylglycerol (TAG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and oxidized LDL (oxLDL) concentrations as well as atherogenic index of plasma AIP [Log(TAG/HDL-C)] were significantly lower in the RBNE-fed group. The consumption of RBNE significantly reduced the liver contents of TC, esterified cholesterol (CE) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and increased a regulator of lipid metabolism: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-alpha). Furthermore, the circulating level of irisin was decreased.

Practical Application

The oral administration of Bacillus subtilis-fermented red bean natto extract (RBNE), a popular Asian dessert, effectively moderated the metabolism of lipids and positively affected the blood and liver profiles of hamsters fed with a high-cholesterol and high-fat diet. Importantly, RBNE significantly suppressed the increase in visceral fat mass. Additionally, RBNE appears to protect the liver and alleviate the magnitude of fatty liver development. RBNE also upregulated PPAR-alpha protein expression in the liver, suggesting that supplementation may improve lipid metabolism in part through the beta-oxidation of lipids and promotion of lipid secretion. Furthermore, RBNE may ameliorate hyperlipidemia involving irisin, a newly identified hormone, in hamsters fed a cholesterol- and lipid-enriched diet. In conclusion, RBNE with high hypocholesterolemic activities may be helpful for patients with atherosclerosis.


 Abstract— A GIS is a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information. GIS works by relating information from different sources. The power of a GIS comes from the ability to relate different information in a spatial context and to reach a conclusion about this relationship. Most of the information we have about our world contains a location reference, placing that information at some point on the globe. . Geographic Information System (GIS) plays an important role in crime mapping and analysis.GIS uses geography and computer-generated maps as an interface for integrating and accessing massive amounts of location-based information. GIS allows police personnel to plan effectively for emergency response, determine mitigation priorities, analyse historical events, and predict future events. GIS can also be used to get critical information to emergency responders upon dispatch or while en route to an incident to assist in tactical planning and response. GIS helps identify potential suspects to increase investigators suspect base when no leads are evident. This paper presents a survey on how GIS is implemented in various crime activities.


The structural damage that happens during earthquakes explains the necessity for seismic evaluation, which is used to forecast the potential of structural damage. This paper compares the vulnerability of steel buildings with and without supplemental damping system. Fragility curves are used to describe the degree of vulnerability. Supplemental damping system is a new design and retrofit idea that deals with a well-designed damping system. It is an additional cable damping system that can considerably reduce the risk of damage. A combination of cables, fuse-bars, and dampers are used in the system. Dampers are used to protect buildings from earthquakes. It is proven that the main response would be considerably lessened. The damage will be concentrated on the system while the main structure will remain elastic or with minor inelastic deformation. A well designed fuse bar acts as a sacrificial element which will dissipate seismic energy by inelastic deformation and thus protects the structure by keeping it elastic. Therefore only the fuse can be replaced making the repair works much easier and economical. This methodology is used to design a nine storied steel building and is evaluated using linear and nonlinear analysis. The modeling, linear and nonlinear analysis is carried out using SAP 2000. The seismic performance of building models were analyzed using fragility curves.


This study examines the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and corporate social performance (CSP) and the moderating role of family ownership in the relationship between BGD and CSP. This study has leveraged on 4 theories (i.e. social role theory, feminist theory, institutional theory, and stewardship theory). The population of this study represents the top 100 public listed companies in Malaysia based on their market capitalization in year 2016 and the final sample is 83 companies. Secondary data was used for this study and all the variables were measured using content analysis method. The result shows a positive relationship between BGD and CSP. In terms of family ownership, the empirical evidence suggests that the presence of family ownership moderates the relationship between BGD and CSP. This study provides useful insights, practically, this study helps managers, NGO's and fundraisers to understand the dynamism of CSP, BGD and family owned companies better and able to apply them in their daily life. Not only that, this study also provides implications for enforcing female quotas on corporate boards of directors. This is because greater gender diverse board may lead to greater monitoring of the firm.


Biocide SW303 prossesses biodegradability,photo-degradability and hydrolysis.Its full biodegradability is correlative with the chemical initial concentration and initial bacterial content in water sample;its photo-degradation depends on light source,As the light adsorption peak of the compound is in UV area,under the irradiation of UV light,SW303 degrades quickly,while under the irradiation of sunlight,it degrades slowly;SW303 hydrolysis is affected by temperature and pH,but its main degradation behavior is biological degradation,then photo-degradation;hydrolysis has little influence on SW303.


Structural and spectral characterizations of the title compound, 2,4-bis((1-n-butyl-2(1H)-quinolylidene)methyl)-1,3-cyclobutadienediylium-1,3-diolate (BQMS), a prime candidate for a solar energy material, have been carried out. Crystals are monoclinic, P2/sub 1//n with a = 9.586 (2) A, b = 9.730 (2) A, c = 13.894 (3) A, ..beta.. = 99.77 (9)/sup 0/, and Z = 2. The structure has been solved by direct methods and refined by using 1078 reflections for which F > 2 sigma (F) with anisotropic temperature factors on the non-hydrogen atoms to R = 0.098 and R/sub w/ = 0.074. Quasi-metallic reflection is observed along both principal directions for the (101) and (001) faces. The transition moment is found to be polarized along the long axis of the molecule. 16 references, 5 figures, 1 table.


Abstract : The Army is moving towards civilianizing many green suit comptroller positions or limiting them to finance officers whose understanding of Army systems is limited to disbursing money. The key comptroller green suit positions should be increased and occupied by Combat Arms Officers. These officers should be trained in comptrollership through a combination of normal Combat Arms Jobs, Comptroller Jobs, and a new Internship Program. This Internship Program should bring officers into high level pentagon comptroller areas to increase their knowledge and experience. No Combat Arms Officer could have more experience on the battlefield than our civilian counterparts. Their experience in dealing with the political bureaucracy of our government is critical. Key experience from the field should be used more at that level. Key experience from Combat Arms Officers who can communicate the needs of the field is essential. Even more importantly, corps and lower level resource managers must be Combat Arms Officers who understand the needs and problems in the field and can effectively communicate them to higher levels of Resource Management. These resource managers would then be able to more effectively translate needs to our civilian counterparts at the highest levels of comptrollership. The position that comptrollers should be heavy in both the Pentagon and in Corps and lower levels can best be communicated in terms of comptroller skills and qualities. Acquisition, Accounting, Allocation, Communication, and Analytical skills best describe those necessary in comptrollership. Vision, Credibility, Integrity, and Innovation best describe the qualities necessary for good comptrolling.


The modern geography of the Iberian Peninsula, which Spain shares with Portugal, seems so familiar that we might assume that the two countries were destined to evolve toward their modern borders. If we trace the late medieval history of the peninsula, however, there was no inevitability about the process. Castile might have amalgamated with Portugal, a possibility that informed the contingency plans of a succession of monarchs in both Spain and Portugal. And, instead of the amalgamation of Castile and Aragon in the late fifteenth century, those two kingdoms might have remained separate. In short, depending on the vagaries of dynastic politics and demographic realities, the Iberian Peninsula might have had a very different configuration from the familiar borders we recognize today. To understand why events unfolded as they did requires recognition of the contingent nature of events in every aspect of the late medieval history of Spain. For example, in diplomacy, each of the Iberian kingdoms looked outward to strengthen diplomatic ties with various parts of Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe, as well as with North Africa, and those ties inevitably affected internal politics as well. Economically, growth in the Spanish kingdoms in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries – based on stock-raising, agriculture, and manufacturing – supported an expanding export trade that benefited from Spain's location at the nexus of Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe. Over the course of the late Middle Ages, that economic growth prepared Spain to become the first world power. Paradoxically, economic development took place against a background of enormous upheaval. The Black Death of the mid fourteenth century, in addition to causing a major demographic decline, also had widespread effects on Spanish economy and society. With a smaller population and fewer available workers, the herding industry, with low requirements for labor, could take advantage of the vast grazing lands available throughout the peninsula, at the same time that agricultural production declined. The Black Death also affected politics in ways both subtle and immediate. One of the most dramatic events was the death of King Alfonso XI of Castile in 1350, stricken by the epidemic as he besieged Muslim Gibraltar. Alfonso was the only reigning monarch in Europe killed by the Black Death, and his demise set the stage for a struggle and eventually a long civil war between his legitimate heir and his bastard son, Enrique of Trastamara.


The forced vibration of a single-degree-of-freedom piecewise linear system containing fractional time-delay feedback was investigated. The approximate analytical solution of the system was obtained by employing an averaging method. A frequency response equation containing time delay was obtained by studying a steady-state solution. The stability conditions of the steady-state solution, the amplitude–frequency results, and the numerical solutions of the system under different time-delay parameters were compared. Comparison results indicated a favorable goodness of fit between the two parameters and revealed the correctness of the analytical solution. The effects of the time-delay and fractional parameters, piecewise stiffness, and piecewise gap on the principal resonance and bifurcation of the system were emphasized. Results showed that fractional time delay occurring in the form of equivalent linear dampness and stiffness under periodic variations in the system and influenced the vibration characteristic of the system. Moreover, piecewise stiffness and gap induced the nonlinear characteristic of the system under certain parameters.


Objective:To investigate the effect of intercostal nerve root infiltration anesthesia with ropivacaine in thoracoscopic resection of benign pulmonary nodules.Methods:To observe the analgesic effect intraoperatively and postoperatively in 21 cases received thoracoscopic resection of benign pulmonary nodules by intercostal nerve root infiltration anesthesia with ropivacaine and to compare it with that in 26 cases by general anesthesia.Results:Operations of local anesthesia group were successful,in which there were 5 cases(23.8%) with obvious pain,without case with severe pain.With intraoperatively stable parameters,there was no obvious bleeding and perioperative death.There was no statistically difference in postoperative drainage time,drainage volume and proportion of analgesia between local anesthesia group and general anesthesia group(P0.05).Conclusion:Ropivacaine local infiltration anesthesia assisted thoracoscopic resection of benign pulmonary nodules,compared with general anesthesia,can achieve the same effect,reduce adverse effects of anesthesia and medical costs.


I HAVE to record a case of exceptional interest resembling sympathetic ophthalmitis, following an iris-inclusion operation for advanced chronic glaucoma. Iritis set in ten days after the operation, and soon involved the other eye also. It persisted in both eyes for several months practically untreated, spreading to the ciliary body and the deeper layers of the cornea of the operated eye. But the case differed from traumatic sympathetic ophthalmitis in some important particulars 1. Both eyes had repeatedly suffered from iritis before, as a complication of recurring subacute rheumatic feever. 2. The post-operative inflammation was evidently of exactly the same rheumatic type as the earlier attacks, though lasting considerably longer in both eyes, and being distinctly severer in the operated eye than ever before. There was a sudden onset with precisely the same pain as before, extending backwards with tenderness of the scalp, early ciliary congestion and some tendency to lacrymation. There wvas slight early turbidity of aqueous, with grey lines on the back of th,e cornea, and later, at one time there was considerable loose exudate in the anterior chamber of the operated eye, with coarse deep blood-vessels in the semi-opaque cornea. The course of events was quite different from that of recognized sympathetic disease, with its quiet gradual onset, slight subjective svmptoms, keratic precipitates or early plastic exudate. 3. Alore important, there was an absolutely free period of ten days before the onset in the operated eye, emplhasized by a very exceptionally wide dilatation of the pupil-a legacy of somewhat ovrerfree use of cocain, adrenalin and atropin immediately before operation, but fully maintained afterwards by the routine sing,le daily instillation of atropin. I should like to emphasize the fact that this is a very different condition from that of low grade ectogenous infection. In the latter, though pain and congestion tend to be late in development, in my experience it is quite impossible to dilate the pupil at all fully, however early one attempts to do so after operation. One per cent. atropin drops used to the maximum from the first day after operation-nine or ten daily instillations-induce only partial mydriasis, and the pupil and coloboma, on careful examination with a loupe, fail to present a quite clean ap,pearance from the beginning. 380


The optimal parameters of polarimetric scattering decomposition are critical to classify the pixels in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images by utilizing the method of machine learning. Therefore, span-based mutual information (Sp-MI) is proposed to lighten the dependence on labeling information, and then a heuristic representative learning scheme is also given by artificial neural network (ANN) to classify parameters separately with the increasing sequence according to the values of Sp-MI. Furthermore, an innovative method of using the sine function is presented to map the parameters of angular, and a min-max scaling method is applied to complete the procedure of normalization. Except for the support vector machine, three ANN-based classifiers are implemented to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed representative learning and normalization scheme. Meanwhile, the classification method is compared with four similar comparison methods on three real PolSAR images. Finally, the classification results show the effectiveness of the proposed Sp-MI and the validation of the representative learning scheme in the aspect of classification overall accuracy and visual effect.


The new fast ramping accelerators will require NbTi conductors with lower ac losses than hitherto. Finer filaments will be needed, which will demand significant improvements in the double stack production process. Eddy current coupling between filaments within the wire must be reduced by increasing the transverse resistivity across the matrix, but this increase must be achieved without increasing the longitudinal resistivity too much. Coupling within cables must be reduced without impeding current sharing between strands. Cored cables offer the best way of achieving this compromise.


As organizations become flatter, smaller, and more flexible, managers must master the arts and skills of self-control, self-management, and selfleadership. Among a manager's many challenges and possibly the most critical is influencing subordinates. In The New Leadership Paradigm: Social Learning and Cognition in Organizations Henry Sims and Peter Lorenzi present a stream of theory and research that promises to help managers understand how employees think, and how this influences the way they behave and perform in organizations. The New Leadership Paradigm is not a traditional text book offering comprehensive coverage of current theories and topics in organizational behavior. Rather, it is a book that traces and articulates the theories of employee motivation, behavior, and performance that constitute the framework of a new way of thinking about leadership. It is written for a multifaceted readership including researchers, executives, undergraduate and graduate students and college professors, and its discussion of social learning and cognition in organizations is, as the authors set out to achieve, &dquo;theoretically sound and eminently practical.&dquo; Sims and Lorenzi organize the book around theoretical perspectives beginning with an excellent overview of the historical foundations of social learning and cognition. The contributions of Watson, Pavlov, Skinner, Luthans, Kreitner, Locke, Bandura, and others are duly outlined in Part I.


This paper presents a study of the comparison of different healthcare services to identify the characteristics and of a pervasive and ubiquitous healthcare system which is described as the healthcare provided for home based and moving patients that could enable remote and continuous monitoring and medical services anywhere and anytime. The study has identified the different classification of healthcare services such as the traditional healthcare service, location-based healthcare service, the home and mobile healthcare service and the ubiquitous healthcare services. The important characteristics required in ubiquitous medical service management systems in order to get some clues for ubiquitous healthcare service system architecture design are identified.


. The main focus of this paper is a comparison of results from studies on cycles in value change of the British and West German political systems. While the British data span more than two hundred years and the German data not more than 35 to 65 years, the British data are taken as a reference or constant. The comparison results in the observation that there is no indication of a general cyclical process of value change. This result contrasts with former results of British and American studies, which indicated a common cyclical process for these two nations.


Medical information retrieval suffers from a dual problem: users struggle in describing what they are experiencing from a medical perspective and the search engine is struggling in retrieving the information exactly matching what users are experiencing. We demonstrate interactive symptom elicitation for diagnostic information retrieval. Interactive symptom elicitation builds a model from the user's initial description of the symptoms and interactively elicitates new information about symptoms by posing questions of related, but uncertain, symptoms for the user. As a result, the system interactively learns the estimates of symptoms while controlling the uncertainties related to the diagnostic process. The learned model is then used to rank the associated diagnoses that the user might be experiencing. Our preliminary experimental results show that interactive symptom elicitation can significantly improve user's capability to describe their symptoms, increase the confidence of the model, and enable effective diagnostic information retrieval.


PURPOSE: To provide an improved method for retrieving similarity to the collection of big document while using a memory less than a conventional method. CONSTITUTION: The retrieving method of similarity is composed of a step 20 for retrieving the 1st document, a step 23 for deciding the number of collation words to be generated in the 1st document, a step 25 for retrieving the next document, a step 28 for deciding the number of collation words to be generated in the next document, and a step 30 for repeating these steps until the plural documents are respectively retrieved and the numbers of collation words to be generated are respectively decided for the plural documents. COPYRIGHT: (C)1994,JPO


Certain acaricides were tested on apple for three seasons as control agents for the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), and the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus telarius (L,), according to three plans: (1) single acaricides alone at standard concentration in consecutive acaricidal applications; (2) two acaricides separately at standard concentration in alternate applications; (3) two acaricides mixed, with each at one-half standard concentration, in consecutive applications. In the third season of continuous use according to plan 1, the acaricides failed to control the European red mite, an indication that the use of each chemical had developed a strain of this pest resistant to it. The same acaricides continued to give a high degree of control of this pest in the third season of continuous use according to plans 2 and 3.


The study aimed at determining effects of marketing strategies on the growth of small businesses in Kenya with reference to Businesses at Kariakor Market in Nairobi. The study focused on the owners, staff and activities of Kariakor Market, Nairobi, and included the marketing activities and strategies applied by the staff and the management of the small businesses at the market. The researcher adopted a descriptive research design as there are variables which cannot be quantified but can only be described in descriptive statistics. Through random stratified sampling method, the researcher selected 105 respondents out of total population of 210 of the business owners and the staff at the market. Data was collected through administering of questionnaires to the respondents. Quantitative and qualitative techniques of data analysis were used to collect data and the findings were presented through charts, tables and graphs for simple understanding of the findings. The study found out that use of various marketing strategies affect the growth of small businesses. The study recommended that it is not only important that businesses advertise but also be able to choose the right media to reach as many people as possible. The study acknowledges that word of mouth could only be effective if the quality of goods is good and that the customers are highly satisfied. The study also recommended that the organization should identify mentors that can encourage them to achieve the profitability they desire. The organization should also establish the right contacts that can help the business in its growth and also create a good and a strong customer base. The business must also identify the best social media strategy that is easy to use and one that can easily be acccessed at very minimal cost.


The economic crisis of 2008 led to a significant erosion of trust in the countries that were hit hardest. However, whether this fall can best be explained by external economic factors or by the lack of response on the part of the institutions to civic needs and demands is unclear. This study uses the extreme case of Spain to bring new insights to this debate. Its aim is to analyse, in comparison with perceived institutional performance and other factors, the effect of increasing economic inequality and its polarisation on levels of social and institutional trust. The study examines the respective impact of these factors upon different social groups according to their degree of exposure to the effects of the crisis. It uses a simultaneous equations model to jointly examine interpersonal and institutional effects. Our results show that the social groups most severely affected by the recession lose a great deal of trust in others. We also find that polarisation of economic conditions has different effects depending on the institution. Institutional trust seems to vary according to the interest of different groups, but the economic position is an underlying factor, especially for specific segments of the population. Without calling into question the importance of institutional performance, our research sheds new light on the importance of economic polarisation and its joint impact on social and institutional trust. We suggest that, in severe economic recession scenarios, rising inequalities have a direct impact on the institutional trust of certain social groups and deteriorate a lot interpersonal confidence among the most disadvantaged.


In this article, poly(lactic acid)/metal–organic framework composites were prepared by melt-blending methods and the effects of MOFs on the non-isothermal crystallization, thermal degradation and mechanical property of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and tensile testing, respectively. The Jeziorny and Mo methods were applied to describe the kinetics of the non-isothermal crystallization process. The results demonstrated that the presence of MOFs accelerated the crystallization rate and increased the crystallinity (Xc) of the PLA/MOF composites. The XRD results confirmed that the addition of MOFs decreased the crystallite size of PLA. The TGA results indicated that MOFs increased the initial thermal degradation temperature of PLA and decreased the thermal stability at high temperature regions. The tensile strength of PLA was increased from 66.23 MPa to 92.44 MPa, 96.03 MPa and 95.25 MPa with MOF loadings of 0.5 wt%, 1 wt% and 1.5 wt%, respectively, but the strain at break was decreased.


In women of reproductive age (15-49 years) somatic health status is determined by high rates of circulatory system diseases, diseases of the genitourinary system and neoplasms. Our experience in follow-up of pregnant with benign tumors of the uterus showed that pregnancy and childbirth pass in these women with complications. In addition, previous studies of placenta in women with leyomioma of the uterus and thyroid disease, conducted at the Institute , which were aimed at determining the morphological and immunohistochemical features placenta showed changes in tumor markers horial structures with the presence of the expression of CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) p53 (tumor marker), proliferative markers (PCNA, Ki-67), cytokeratin YII and Vimentin. Therefore, determination of the characteristics of pregnancy, childbirth, obstetric and perinatal complications in women with uterine leiomyoma, where during the last pregnancy tumor markers were found in the placenta, is important in our view, the more especially that the available domestic and foreign literature we have not found this answer about this question. The purpose of the research was to study peculiarities of pregnancy flow, delivery, obstetric and perinatal complications in women with uterine leiomyoma where during the last delivery tumor markers were found in the placenta. We have processed data of archival birth stories of women with uterine leiomyoma and thyroid disorders who gave birth in obstetric clinics of the Institute and the tumor markers in the placenta were identified during previous labors. Analysis of pregnancy flow and childbirth was provided in 12 women with uterine leiomyomas in the placenta of which in previous labors were identified tumor markers (I subgroups). Comparison group consisted of 15 women with thyroid disease, in their placenta in previous labors also were found tumor markers (subgroup II).


Originally designed as a pure trailership, MATSONIA was reconstructed as a combination container-ro/ro vessel to suit the West Coast-Hawaii trade. This paper traces the design, economic analysis, reconstruction, reactivation and early operation of the ship and discusses its many unique features that were developed during the design process. The paper emphasizes the comparison of the design and reconstruction process for MATSONIA with that of the reconstructed sister ship LURLINE, the method of analysis to compare two viable methods of expanding MATSON's fleet capacity, the major events that occurred during the reconstruction process, the improvements made to the machinery to improve cycle efficiency, the procedures necessary to implement the work to reactivate existing systems during the reconstruction period, and MATSON's early operational experience with the ship.


This paper studies the impact of social insurance on private insurance and individual welfare in a dynamic general equilibrium model with uncertain medical expenses and individual health insurance choices. I find that social insurance (modeled as a combination of the minimum consumption floor and the Medicaid program) crowds out private health insurance coverage, and this crowd-out is important for understanding the welfare consequences of social insurance. When the crowding out effect on private insurance is taken into account, the welfare gain from social insurance becomes substantially smaller and under some certain conditions it becomes a welfare loss. The intuition for these results is that the crowding out effect partially offsets the insurance benefits provided by social insurance. The findings of the paper suggest that it is important to consider the endogenous responses on private insurance choices when examining any social insurance policy reform. They also imply that the existence of social insurance programs may be one reason why some Americans do not buy any health insurance.


This paper focuses on the analysis of various feature selection algorithms and a comparative study on heterogeneous classifier predictive accuracy problems to work with high dimensional data. Especially we conduct experimental comparisons of IBK (KNN), SVM, NBTree and J48 on KDD Cup99 intrusion detection dataset and one cancer disease diagnosis microarray datasets and analysis their performance with vote generalizations. Based on the fact a large number of features can cause a noise of data and degrades a performance of learning algorithm.To tackle these problems identifying a suitable feature selection method is essential for a given machine learning algorithm tasks. So feature selection plays a great role in intrusion detection, bioinformatics, and medical data analysis. Thus this paper deals the application of best feature selection techniques to improve learning algorithm predictive accuracy in microarray dataset and KDD (Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Tools Conference) Cup 99 dataset with a respective classification and feature selection algorithms. basically, this approach shows the application of feature selection algorithms when a large number of features represented in a small sample data and small numbers of features represented with a high number of samples by taking the above two different datasets.


Objective To detect the methylation of APC gene promoter in plasma from lung tumor patients and determine its meaning in early lung cancer diagnosis.Methods Plasma was collected from 92 patients with lung solid tumor diagnosed by CT-guided punctuation and 23 healthy volunteers.All the 92 patients,in whom 58 were lung cancer,31 were benign lung disease and 3 were indefinite diagnosis,were confirmed by histology.Plasma DNA was extracted by Chemagic Viral DNA/RNA kit.Real-time MSP was used to detect the methylation of APC gene promoter after bisulfite modification.Results In 58 lung cancer patients 11 cases were positive(11/58,19%),but no positive case was found in the other patients(31 benign lung disease,3 indefinite diagnosis) or healthy controls.Conclusions The detection of APC gene promoter methylation in plasma by the real-time MSP may be useful in the early diagnosis of lung cancer.


ABSTRACT:
 Flightless Transylvanian Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera transsylvanica is subendemic to the Carpathians and the Pannonian basin and one of ten species of European Community interest. In the last few years we have increased survey efforts aimed to obtain distributional data for this species along the northern range margin in Western Carpathian mountains covering most of Slovakia and reaching also south of Poland. Thus in Slovakia, where only 5 sites were known in 1996, 56 sites are known in 2017. The species was discovered for the first time in Poland in July 2017, in two sites in the south-eastern part of the country. Both sites are located in submountain mesophilous meadows of the alliance Arrhenatherion elatioris Luquet 1926, in its various successional stages along mainly mixed forests dominated with European beech and in alluvial vegetation. The presence of the species in these new sites is at the northern edge of its distribution area, and we suppose that only lack of data and no surveys in the past caused this knowledge gap. Data on its habitat and main threats and conservation measures of the species are discussed, and accompanying orthopteran species are characterised.


Our paper investigates whether the troubled conditions of the global financial crisis times (GFC) reflect in the management subjectivity to recognize an impairment of goodwill. We base the study on a sample of European companies during the period of 2006-2011, pre and during GFC, and we test whether the setting of the crisis has influenced management to use the impairment of goodwill for adjusting earnings. Our results indicate that in times of crisis managers use the goodwill impairment when earnings are unexpectedly low, by taking a big bath charge. We also find that a country's laws and regulations impact both the decision and the magnitude of goodwill impaired. We do not find industry levels or auditor size to be determinant for the impairment of goodwill, for the sample and the time period analyzed.


Abstract Liquid-state vermiconversion (LSV) of excess activated sludge by vermifilter (VF) is a low-cost and ecologically sound process. A VF (with earthworms) and a conventional biofilter (BF; no earthworms) were steadily performed in parallel to treat sewage sludge for 200 days. Elemental analysis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, gel filtration chromatography, and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy were used to identify changes in organic substances through LSV. Results demonstrated that after BF and VF treatment, the C/N and H/C ratios increased in the VF treatment and decreased in the BF treatment. On the basis of elemental analysis and Fourier transforms infrared spectra, the vermicast in the VF treatment appeared increasingly similar to native excrement expelled by earthworms. Additionally, the VF played a crucial role in converting large molecules (160 kDa) into intermediate molecules (141.9 kDa), while the BF had no effect on the conversion of the larg...


In this study, we applied potentiodynamic polarization to the analysis of surface corrosion in a 2017‐T4 alloy during a stress corrosion cracking (SCC) test in 1 m NaCl solution. A constant load SCC test was chosen, classifying the applied load into three categories – no load, medium load, and high load – with the material's yield strength as a maximum load. Electrochemical measurements carried out during the SCC test allowed us, by plotting the current density versus the applied potential on a logarithmic scale, to determine the electrochemical characteristic parameters for each load category. These parameters, combined with both cross‐sectional and surface morphological analysis, were used to qualitatively characterize the corrosion of the aluminum alloy. All tests performed revealed two different attack behaviors, one characterized by shallow pits and the other by a deep, intergranular penetration. The presence of each behavior depends on the intensity of the applied load, which involves variations in the polarization curve and therefore modifies the electrochemical parameters. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A microstrip leaky-wave antenna based on one-dimensional composited left/right handed transmission line possesses dominant-mode,simple feed and frequency-scanned properties,but it isn't fit for practical use.Through adding varactors,a new structure is introduced and it realizes controllable wave-beam of fixed frequency which is better for practical use.


The diurnal variation of mass divergence and vertical velocity is documented for tropical summertime oceanic weather systems in the Western Pacific, Western Atlantic and the GATE region. It is shown that it is large and has the same basic character in all regions.

Gray and Jacobson (1977) proposed that the diurnal variation of mass convergence is a result of diurnal differences in the net radiative and convective heating rates in the thick cirrus-shield covered weather systems and their surrounding clear areas. Fingerhut (1978) has developed a numerical model which appears to substantiate this hypothesis. A comparison of observations with results from his model reveals that a simple radiation-condensation model simulates most of the observed diurnal variations of convergence. The hypothesis is that radiational forcing is one of the major contributors to the maintenance and modulation of tropical weather systems.


A crystalline form, Form I, of 4- [5- (4-fluorophenyl) -3- (trifluoromethyl) -1H-pyrazol-1-yl] benzenesulfonamide having a diffraction pattern of x-ray powder comprising peaks expressed in degrees (± 0.1 degree) of two theta angle of 14.0, 18.9, 21.3, 21.9, and 25.7 obtained using CuKα1 x-ray (wavelength> = 1.5406 angstroms).


Toxicity of bitumen on Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter from Tekulu Waterside, Bodo in Gokana Local government area of Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria was carried out using standard analytical procedures. The density, API and flash point of the bitumen used in this study at 15°C was 0.9898 g/cm3, API at 60°F value of 11.46 and >200°C respectively. The total TPH and PAH constituent of the bitumen was 20,549.77 mg/L and 924.09 mg/L respectively. Analysis of the effect of different concentration (50 mg/L, 250 mg/L, 500 mg/L, 750 mg/L and 1000 mg/L) of bitumen on Nitrosomonas sp. over a period (24hrs, 48hrs. 72hrs and 96hrs) revealed that the mortality of the organism increased as the concentration of the toxicant. The mortality was also affected by the duration of exposure. The probit analysis on the lethal concentration (LC10, LC20 and LC50) of the bitumen on Nitrosomonas sp. was 223.32 mg/L, 369.682 mg/L and 969.622 mg/L respectively and Nitrobacter sp. 587.837 mg/L, 765.74 mg/L and 1269.841 mg/L respectively, when exposed for 96 hours revealed a varying mortality status. The LC50 of the bitumen on Nitrosomonas sp. peaked at 48hrs. The study shows that bitumen was more toxic to Nitrosomonas than Nitrobacter sp. based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that test organisms (Nitrosomonas sp. and Nitrobacter sp.) could serve as a potential tool for eco-toxicological assay and pollution biomarker.


In this paper a fuzzy-based recommendation method is presented. Its main goal is to improve the recommendation recall maintaining high recommendation precision. The formal model has been built to describe the method and to analyze how the measures used in traditional Information Retrieval may be adapted to evaluate the effectiveness of recommendation process. The original contributions consist among others of proving several properties which show that the method is able to adapt to changing user's needs and achieving the maximum effectiveness if the component methods work properly.


The afflux caused by bridge-pier constriction derives importance from the increased economic costs incurred for flood protection. The empirical equations suggested by earlier investigators for choked and unchoked flow conditions for determining afflux are of limited use as most of them are applicable for contractions larger than those in many modern bridges. The present study aims to develop the relationships valid for a wide range of flow and contraction based on experiments conducted on bridge-pier models of different shapes and length-width ratios. The study also explores the possibility of using bridge constrictions for flow measurement.


The buried depth of river- crossing pipeline is an important parameter in pipeline design. Taking for instance the section of crossing the Yellow River,based on the empirical formulas two new calculation models of scour depth were established and compared with four common scour formulas. The results show that: a) the relative error of the first new established model is considered high,however,it is good for designing safe pipeline and the value can be used as conference in the practical engineering on the premise of non standard formula; b)the improved scour formula takes the factors below in consideration,such as the time and the change of scour rate with the discharge and sediment concentration,thus,the safety margin is moderate and it is more realistic for the calculation in the section of crossing the Yellow River.


The goal of the paper is to analyze which computational methods and modeling tools based on Fuzzy Logic helped by Genetic Algorithms are available right now. The emphasis is put on the analyses and design of spacecraft control systems due to its complexity. A spacerraft control system measures the position and attitude of the craft and produces guidance and rotation commands to place it in a specific orbit and with a specific orientation. Spacecraft control units are complex systems difficult to handle during the analysis and design phases of the engineering life cycle.