In this paper, we have performed first principles calculations to study optoelectronic, thermodynamic and transport properties of Fe2TiGe using density functional theory (DFT). The semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory is used to investigate transport properties. The calculated energy bands indicate that Fe2TiGe is an indirect band gap semiconductor with band gap 0.734 eV for TB-mBJ functional. Fe-3d and Ti-3d orbitals have the dominant contributions to the density of states due to strong hybridization between them. The maximum value of absorption coefficient is found to be 224×10 cm in the ultraviolet region. It is found that the static refractive index of Fe2TiGe is 5.18 which is very close to that of Ge (5.974) and much higher than that of GaAs (3.29–3.857). The obtained refractive index implies that Fe2TiGe is a potential optical material that can be used in optical devices such as photonic crystal, wave guides and solar cells. The Debye temperature at ambient condition is 570 K and decreases slowly with temperature. The Gr neisen parameter at ambient pressure and 300 K is ~2.1 and slightly higher than that of PbTe (1.5). The calculated Seebeck coefficient and power factor at 300 K using TB-mBJ functional are 271 μV/K and 5.9 μWcmK, respectively. Therefore, the calculated optoelectronic properties implies that Fe2TiGe is a potential candidate for photovoltaic device applications. Keywords: TB-mBJ potential; Electronic properties; Optical properties; Thermodynamic properties; Transport properties 1. Introduction Energy is the key ingredient for all kinds of development and its necessity is increasing rapidly to hold the sustainability of development. The natural sources of energy are fossil fuels like gas, coal and oil and these are non-renewable. Fossil Fuels are rapidly diminishing and hence a huge attention has been paid to find the alternative energy sources and energy efficient materials. Solar energy can help us greatly to face the biggest challenges of energy crisis in the 21 century. The materials with high absorbance and tunable band gap in the visible range of light are suitable for photovoltaic or solar energy applications. On the other hand, one of the hot topics of energy research is the development of efficient thermoelectric materials that are used to convert waste heat (generating in many human activities such as thermal power plants, cement plants, steelworks, vehicles engines, factories, incinerators, etc) to electricity. The efficiency of a potential thermoelectric material is determined by the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT= , where S, σ, = + and T are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity (consisting of electronic and lattice thermal conductivity) and absolute temperature, respectively. To realize the efficient thermoelectric energy conversion, the thermoelectric materials should have low thermal conductivity (κ), high electrical conductivity (σ), and large Seebeck coefficient (S). In the last decade, the intermetallic Heusler compounds has gained tremendous attention because of their interesting physical properties such as half-metallicity, spin gapless semiconductivity, giant magnetocaloricity, thermoelectricity and superconductivity [1–6]. In various technological applications these properties have been utilized [7–11]. The general formula of Fe2 based Heusler compounds is Fe2YZ (Y is transition metal and Z is a main group element) and these compounds exhibit very interesting structure, electronic and magnetic properties [12–14]. Fe2YZ display a large magnetization and high Curie temperature are of special interest for potential magnetic applications [15,16]. V. Sharma and G. Pilania studied the electronic, magnetic, optical and elastic properties of Fe2YAl (Y=Ti, V and Cr ) and they obtained 100% spin polarization in Fe2CrAl compound in the vicinity of Fermi level [12]. The half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) have intensively studied for their potential applications in the field of spintronics [17–19]. Z. Ren et al. studied structure and magnetic properties of Fe2CoGe synthesized by ball-milling and the ferromagnetic Fe2CoGe does not show half metallic character [20]. It has been reported that Fe2VAl-based full-Heusler alloys show a large power factor which is substantially higher than that of Bi2Te3 [21] and this higher power factor implies that full-Heusler alloys are potential candidate for thermoelectric applications. The total number of valence electrons in Fe2VAl and Fe2TiSn are 24 and according to Slater–Pauling rule the total spin magnetic moment vanishes and these two alloys show semi metallic or semiconducting properties [1, 22–24]. The thermoelectric properties of Fe2VAl has been studied intensively [21, 25–29] and increasing attention toward the search for and study of new thermoelectric materials based on full-Heusler alloys has been observed over the last few years [30, 31]. Hongzhi Luo et al. reported that Fe2TiGe and Fe2TiSn are nonmagnetic semiconductors [32]. The origin of large Seebeck coefficients in semiconducting Fe2TiSn and Fe2TiSi have been investigated by Shin Yabuuchi et al. [33]. Both Fe2TiSi and Fe2TiSn have flat bands at the bottom of the conduction band along Γ–X directions and possess a high Seebeck coefficient [33]. Recently Bhat et.al studied the thermoelectric properties of Fe2TiGe, Fe2TiSi and Fe2ZrSi using PBE potential and they found semiconducting nature in electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient [34]. The high value of Seebeck coefficient and low resistivity is the prerequisite for promising thermoelectric materials. The TB-mBJ functional yields band gaps in good agreement with experiment in contrast to the local density approximation (LDA) or the Perdew, Burke and Ernzerhof (PBE) functionals. Therefore TB-mBJ potential is suitable to predict the accurate band gap and a lot of theoretical studies have been carried out to explore thermoelectric transport properties using this potential [35–41]. The precise band gap calculation is essential to study the optical properties of semiconducting materials. The optical and thermodynamic properties of Fe2TiGe is still unexplored. The above discussion motivate us to study the optoelectronic, thermodynamic and thermoelectric transport properties of nonmagnetic semiconductor Fe2TiGe using TB-mBJ exchange potential. In this paper, we have presented first-principles study of electronic, optical, thermodynamic and thermoelectric transport properties of Fe2TiGe by using density functional theory (DFT) [42-43] and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory [44]. The calculated band structure and density of states of Fe2TiGe confirms the semiconducting nature and the predicted optoelectronic properties imply that Fe2TiGe is a potential material for optoelectronic device applications. 2. Computational details Electronic and optical properties were studied by using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (LAPW) implemented in WIEN2k [45]. For good convergence, a plane wave cutoff of kinetic energy RKmax =8.0 and (15 × 15 × 15) k-point in Brillouin zone integration were selected. The muffin tin radii 2.42 for Fe, 2.3 for Ti, and 2.3 for Ge, were used. The PBE and modified TB-mBJ [46] functional were used in the electronic structure, optical properties and transport properties calculations. The convergence criteria of energy and charge were set to 10 and 0.001e, respectively. The transport properties were calculated by BoltzTraP code [47]. For this, we used (43 × 43 × 43) k-point in WIEN2k to generate the required input files and the chemical potential was set to the zero temperature Fermi energy. By solving the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation, we can easily calculate the transport coefficients. The transport coefficients are defined in the Boltzmann transport theory [48–50] as ( , ) = ! " # ($) %− '()( , *) '* + ,$ (1) ( , ) =
 ! ./ " # ($)($ − ) %− '()( , *) '* + ,$ (2) 0
 ( , ) = ! " # ($)($ − ) 1 %− '()( , *) '* + ,$ (3) where V is the volume of a unit cell, α and β represent Cartesian indices, μ is the chemical potential and 23 Fermi-Dirac distribution function. The energy projected conductivity tensors can be calculated by using the following equation # ($) = 4 ∑ 67, 8 (9, )8 (9, ) 7, :(* *;,<) =* (4) where N is the number of k-points for BZ integration, i is the index of band, v and τ represent the electrons group velocity and relaxation time, respectively. In BoltzTraP program, the constant relaxation time approximation (CRTA) is used. 3. Result and Discussions The equilibrium crystal structure of Fe2TiGe is shown in Fig.1. The Fe2TiGe is a face-centered cubic crystal with space group >?3@m (225). The occupied Wyckoff position for Fe, Ti and Ge atoms are 8c (0.25, 0.25, 0.25), 4b (0.5, 0.5, 0.5) and 4a (0, 0, 0), respectively [51]. The optimized lattice parameter is 5.79 Å and this is very close to theoretically predicted value (5.74Å) [34]. 3.1. Electronic properties The electronic band structures of Fe2TiGe are presented in Fig.2. The bands are non-dispersive and there are no overlapping between the valence band and conduction band at the Fermi level. The conduction band minimum (CBM) and valence band maximum (VBM) are found at X and Γpoints, respectively. Thus, Fe2TiGe is an indirect band gap semiconductor. It is found that the band gap obtained using PBE-GGA potential is much smaller than that obtained by TB-mBJ potential. Our calculated band structure of Fe2TiGe using PBE-GGA potential is consistent with others previous result [52]. The values of band gaps obtained from PBE-GGA and TB-mBJ exchange potentials are 0.145 eV and 0.734 eV, respectively. The band gap obtained from TB-mBJ potential is much closer to that of TiPdSn (0.74 eV) [53] The energy bands of Fe2TiGe are mainly d-like character, although Ge-p orbitals have very little contributions as indicated in Fig. 3. From the band structure (Fig. 2), one can observe a flat band in


In this paper, considering the dynamical model of tyre–road contacts, we design a nonlinear observer for the on-line estimation of tyre–road friction force using the average lumped LuGre model without any simplification. The design is the extension of a previously offered observer to allow a muchmore realistic estimation by considering the effect of the rolling resistance and a term related to the relative velocity in the observer. Our aim is not to introduce a new friction model, but to present a more accurate nonlinear observer for the assumed model. We derive linear matrix equality conditions to obtain an observer gain with minimum pole mismatch for the desired observer error dynamic system. We prove the convergence of the observer for the non-simplified model. Finally, we compare the performance of the proposed observer with that of the previously mentioned nonlinear observer, which shows significant improvement in the accuracy of estimation.


This chapter discusses about modernity. The exact point at which this modernity began has long been disputed, its purported heralds ranging from Petrarch, the "first modern man", who portrays man as the subject of experience, the agent of all knowledge, and the center of one's own thoughts. The chapter argues that our modern age was made possible not by one figure but by one traumatic event: the discovery of the New Worlds, which a German aristocrat, Martin Waldseemuller, called "America." It highlights the tangle of elements underneath the epoch-making, decisive phenomenon of modernity: the discovery of the "new world" and its relationship to the "old world." The chapter discusses that the discoveries of New Worlds by the likes of Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Vasco de Gama came out of the intellectual challenges and ways of thinking articulated by the Florentine Quattrocento. Keywords:Columbus; modernity; new world; old world; Petrarch


This study mainly focused on the rainwater availability assessment in Turtle Islands Park, Sabah, Malaysia. Consisting of three small islands, this marine park is home to two endangered turtle species – Green and Hawkbills turtles. This special feature of the islands attracts tourist around the world, thus increasing the demand of freshwater supply for tourism development in the marine park. However, due to the shortage of freshwater from the ground due to salinity intrusion, rainwater is seen to be an alternative in fulfilling the freshwater demand. To evaluate the source of freshwater in these islands, information is obtained from the main users of the water source, which are the Sabah Park officers, the approved tour operator on the islands and the security forces. The rainwater tanks available on the islands are calculated to assess the storing capacity of rainwater. The water demand was estimated by multiplying the number of visitors with the average water usage per visitor. With the existing water tanks, this study found that the Turtle Islands Park has the ability to store 414 m3 of rainwater in Selingaan island, 3.2 m3 in Gulisaan island, and 102.1 m3 in Bakkungan Kechil island. However, the monthly water demand of each island exceeds the existing storage tanks, hence it is proposed that the number of rainwater tanks be increased to harvest as much rainfall as possible for the use of the islands' inhabitants.


A complete model to analyse and predict future losses in the property portfolio of an insurance company due to hurricanes is proposed. A novel statistical model, in which weather data is not required, is considered. Climate data may not be reliable, or may be difficult to deal with or to obtain, hence we reconstruct the storm behaviour through the registered claims and respective losses. The model is calibrated using the loss data of the property portfolio of the insurance company Fidelidade, from hurricane Leslie, which hit the center of continental Portugal in October 2018. Several scenarios are simulated and risk maps are built. The simulated scenarios can be used to compute risk premiums per risk class in the portfolio. These can be used to adjust the policy premiums accounting for a storm risk. The risk map of the company also depends on its portfolio, namely its exposure, providing a hurricane risk management tool for the insurance company. Keywords— Risk; Hurricanes; Property Insurance; Regression Models


Chemistry: School of Natural and Enviro Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. E-mail Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisie Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France. E-mail: guill Central Laser Facility, Research Comple Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK † Electronic supplementary information reaction procedures, characterization voltammograms, spectroelectrochemic absorption spectra. See DOI: 10.1039/c8sc Cite this: Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 5578


Many complex engineering problems have multi-objectives where each objective is conflicting with others. However, a lot research Jiradej Ponsawat et al. 2 works in optimization by Competent Genetic Algorithm are focused on single objective methods. These algorithms work very well for single objective problems but stumble when trying to discover a large number of solutions naturally occurred in multi-objective problems. There are many multi-objective problems where solutions share common characteristic, for example decomposable multi-objective problems. This characteristic can be exploited to identify and compose these common structures. This work proposes to apply the concept of Building Blocks to improve evolutionary algorithms to tackle such problems. Building Block Identification algorithm is used to guide the crossover operator in order to maintain good Building Blocks and mix them effectively. The proposed method is evaluated by using Building Block Identification guided crossover in a well-known Genetic Algorithm to solve multiple-objective problems. The result shows that the proposed method is effective. Moreover, it obtains a good spread of solutions even when the Building Blocks are loosely encoded.


Borosilicate based glass formulations have been found suitable for vitrification of high level nuclear waste (HLW) generated during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors. These glasses possess desirable properties like high chemical, mechanical, thermal and radiation stability for HLW storage. Also, the amorphous nature of the glass helps accommodate the waste containing a variety of elements easily. Because of the presence of the radioactive components, such as, fission /activation products and minor actinides present in the waste, the glass containment experiences radiation damage that can significantly alter the glass structure which may influence their long term leaching behavior. Spectroscopic techniques provide direct and non-invasive method for investigating this radiation damage in the glasses. The present paper gives a glimpse of the current status and issues regarding the investigation of radiation damage in the glass matrices.


The Russian option is a lookback option which pays the maximum-to-date of the underlying, subject to some discounting factor. In this thesis we examine the properties of the value function for the Russian option problem in a jump-diffusion model, generalizing the results of Peskir (2004). In particular, we use the theory of viscosity solutions to show that the value function is smooth inside the continuation region. Furthermore, we show that optimal stopping boundary can be characterized as the unique solution to a free boundary problem under the same assumptions given in Pham (1998) for the American put option


The reasons for the continued use of legacy software are numerous. In addition to the prohibitive cost of rewriting, the original source code has already been certified and quality controlled. Today, these legacy applications are moving to the Web to ta..


Through providing management reports, accounting can supply information that could help in the company's management processes. The challenge of current accountants is to deliver data that might be useful and relevant for managers. There are four Global Principles of Management Accounting that guide and rise the practice on Management Accounting: influence; relevance; trust and value. In its essence, Management Accounting can offer an organizational management approach that benefit the development and the execution of the strategy in the company. For that matter, this study aims to identify how accounting services companies help during the management processes of their clients. The methodological technique was data collection; by means of applying open questions questionnaires to eight accounting services companies from Rio Grande do Sul. The results highlighted that all interviewed organizations are helping the clients in the management process by supplying the management reports and with communication with all other areas of the organizations. In addition, the accounting companies revealed that they are following seven from fourteen central area of the Management Accounting function, according to the Global Principles of Management Accounting. However, clients have little interest, but it was verified that the decisive factor is the change in posture so it in order to have the recognition of Management Accounting as a determining factor to the decision-making. It is concluded that all survey participants demonstrated interest with management business and its clients, because this make the posture of entrepreneurs change, about the use in accounting to ancillary obligation.


The method of building the model library of Descriptive Geometry has been introduced in this paper,which combines Pro/ENGINEER,Visual Basic and Access.The function of the model library and the code realization are explained detailedly.


Recently, direct reduced iron (DRI) has been highlighted as a promising iron source for electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking. The two typical production methods for DRI are gas-based reduction and reduction using carbon composite pellets. While the gas-based reduction is strongly dependent on the reliable supply of hydrocarbon fuel, reduction using ore-coal composite pellets has relatively low productivity due to solid–solid reactions. To overcome the limitations of the above two processes, and to achieve a more efficient direct reduction process of iron ore, the possibility of combining these two methods was investigated. The experiments focused on performing an initial direct reduction using ore-coal composite pellets followed by a second stage gas reduction. It was assumed that the initial reduction of the carbon composite pellets would enhance the efficiency of the subsequent reduction by gas and the total reduction efficiency. The porosity, as well as the carbon efficiency for direct reduction, were measured to determine the optimal conditions for the initial reduction, such as the size ratio of ore and coal particles. Thereafter, further reduction by the reducing gas was carried out to verify the effect of the preliminary reduction. The reduction kinetics of the reducing gas was also discussed.


Push notification is a key component for E-commerce mobile applications, which has been extensively used for user growth and engagement. The effectiveness of the push notification is generally measured by message open rate. A push message can contain a recommended product, a shopping news and etc., but often only one or two items can be shown in the push message due to the limit of display space. This paper proposes a mixture model approach for predicting push message open rate for a post-purchase complementary product recommendation task. The mixture model is trained to learn latent prediction contexts, which are determined by user and item profiles, and then make open rate predictions accordingly. The item with the highest predicted open rate is then chosen to be included in the push notification message for each user. The parameters of the mixture model are optimized using an EM algorithm. A set of experiments are conducted to evaluate the proposed method live with a popular E-Commerce mobile app. The results show that the proposed method is superior than several existing solutions by a significant margin.


This article highlights influential scholars and developments in women's and gender history through an analysis of the phenomenon of feminist tributes to senior scholars, often at the cusp of their retirement. In Canada, as elsewhere, we argue, such tributes have both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, feminist tributes, as this article itself illustrates for the Canadian context, allow us to recognize and reflect on the impressive work accomplished over the past forty years. These tributes are not without their problems, however, and we also outline some of the pitfalls, as well as unevenness, of these celebrations, highlighting, for instance, the paradox of valorizing individual accomplishment at the expense of a more collective, and accurate, narrative.


Objective To observe the effects of Cordyceps militaris(L) Linr (CML) on monoamine oxidase (MAO-B) activity, and contents of lipofuscin and hydroxyoroline in senile Wistar rats. Methods The activity of MAO-B was detected by ultraviolet-spectrophotometry, the content of lipofuscin was measured by spectrofluorimetry, and the content of hydroxyproline was tested by spectrophotometry 14 days after administration of CML. Results The MAO-B activity, the contents of lipofuscin and hudroxyproline in tissues were significantly different in experimental groups compared with control (P0.05). Conclusion CML can reduce the MAO-B activity in brain and liver, and decrease the lipofuscin content in heart, liver, and brain. It also can increase hydroxyproline content in skin.


Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate transversally the clinical correlation between lower incisor crowding and mandible third molar. Study Design: Three hundred healthy volunteers (134 male and 166 female), aged 20.4 (±2.4) years-old were submitted to a complete clinical examination and filled up a questionnaire about gender, age, total teeth number and presence or absence of superior and inferior third molar. After a recent panoramic radiography were evaluated. The multiple logistic regression showed that none of the studied factors influenced the mandibular incisor crowding. Results: The proportion of both molars present or both absent was higher than the other conditions (Chi-square, p<.0001). The multiple logistic regression showed that any of the studied factors, influenced (p>.05) the mandibular incisor crowding. Despite the statistical significance, wear orthodontics appliances showed a little correlation (odds ratios < 1.0) in the mandibular incisor crowding. Conclusion: Presence of maxillary and/or mandibular third molars has no relation with the lower incisor crowding. Key words:Malocclusion, third molars, lower incisor crowding, mandible.


THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE RELATIONSHIP OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PARTICIPATION, GOAL SETTING, FEEDBACK (PGF) AND EMPLOYEE ACCEPTANCE ON KEY APPRAISAL RELATED OUTCOMES (RATER INTERVIEW EFFICACY, RATEE SATISFACTION, AND THE SYSTEM'S INFLUENCE ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY). THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT EMPLOYEE PGF EXERTS BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS ON THE OUTCOME VARIABLES. APPRAISAL ACCEPTANCE IS A KEY INTERVENING VARIABLE IN THE RELATIONSHIP OF PGF AND APPRAISAL OUTCOMES. HIGH PGF RATERS CULTIVATE HIGHER LEVELS OF ACCEPTANCE, PERCEPTIONS OF RATER EFFICACY IN CONDUCTING THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEW AND FAVORABLE EFFECTS ON RATEE MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY. APPRAISAL ACCEPTANCE, IN TURN, IS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER LEVELS OF EMPLOYEE APPRAISAL SATISFACTION AND FAVORABLE OUTCOMES RELATED TO EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY. THE SAMPLE CONSISTS OF 191 MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES DRAWN FROM A SMALL SOUTHEASTERN CITY. THE ARTICLE CONCLUDES WITH A NUMBER OF SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH.


We report on measurements of the time-evolving velocity profile of a turbulent boundary layer subjected to a strong adverse pressure gradient (APG) at Reynolds numbers up to Reθ ≈ 55 000 with an upstream friction Reynolds number exceeding Reτ ≈ 10 000. Near the point of flow separation high-resolution imaging at high camera frame rates captured the time evolving velocity profile using the so-called "profile-PIV" technique in a nested imaging configuration of two cameras operating at different image magnifications. One camera used an image magnification better than unity to resolve the viscous scales directly at the wall while the remainder of the roughly 200 mm thick boundary layer is simultaneous captured by the second camera. In the APG the variance of the stream-wise velocity exhibits no "inner peak" commonly found in turbulent boundary layers without pressure gradient influence. Spectral analysis further shows that the peak energy within the boundary layer shifts away from the wall toward lower frequencies. The overlap between the simultaneously imaged areas allows to assess and, to first order, correct for the effect of spatial smoothing on statistical quantities, spectra and related quantities. A multi-frame cross-correlation algorithm was used to process the extensive data base. In addition, a newly developed 2D-2C "Shake-The-Box" algorithm (STB) provided highly resolved particle tracking data beyond the reach of conventional PIV processing.


The effect continuous blood gas monitors and computerized perfusion documentation systems have on the performance and reproduction of clinical events during cardiopulmonary bypass was studied. Patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass procedures were randomly placed into three classifications. Group one received no continuous monitors and manual documentation. Group two had continuous monitoring and manual documentation. Group three has continuous monitoring and computerized case documentation. The implementation of computerized monitoring and documentation systems reduces the number of events outside of desired physiological limits and improves the ability to re-create clinical events.


A detailed analysis of martensite transformations in 18/8 (3b4) stainless steel,.utilizing transmission electron microscopy and diffraction in conjunction with X-ray and magnetization techniques, has established that the sequence of transformation is y ~ E ~ a. E is a thermodynamically stable hcp phase whose formation is greatly enhanced as a result of plastic deformation. Comparison with the E ~a transformation in pure Fe-Mn alloys lends further support to the above sequence and suggests that a transforma .tion line between E and a in Fe-Cr:-Ni alloys can be expected. In the 304 stainless steel used in this investigation, formation of a was induced only by plastic deformation and subsequent to formation of E. Nucleation of. a occurs heterogeneously at intersections of E-bands or where E-bands abutt twin or grain boundari~s (which represent unilaterally compressed regions) . . From electron diffraction, the Nishiyama relationship between y and a phases appears to predominate at the start of the transformation, but then changes ·to that of Kurdjumov-Sachs. Based on these observations, a sequence of atom· movements from the hcp structure to the bee structure is proposed which has the basic geometric features of the martensitic transformation.


Calibration of aerial mapping camera has an important influence on the applications of earth observation. However, the traditional aerial mapping cameras calibrations depend on large-scale calibration target or collimated light, moreover, it is difficult to build the large-scale calibration targets and the collimated light method requires an accurate turntable and a high-precision goniometer, which is a kind of expensive instrument. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel high-precision calibration method which is not restricted by the rigorous conditions, such as small aperture, unevenly energy distribution and expensive equipment. Specifically, a collimator and an elaborately designed multiple pinhole mask are firstly used to generate the collimated light of a large aperture with known directions to simulate the calibration targets at infinity. Then, the camera takes pictures for the aperture of the multiple pinhole collimator at multiple angles to ensure that the image points cover the entire detector. Thirdly, the final calibrated results are obtained by solving the data acquired from multiple angles. Finally, the proposed method is verified by Monte-Carlo simulation and real experimental data, whose results indicate that our method can reach the same accuracy performance as the existing methods at lower cost and faster speed, and thus is practical for engineering application.


Due to the scarcity of well-developed moraines that indicate glacial stabilization/readvance, the reconstruction of the deglaciation history of major inner-Alpine valleys remains challenging. Despite significant advances in dating techniques (e.g. surface-exposure dating) allowing for some temporal constraints, little is known about the exact timing and behaviour of retreating glaciers between their recessional phase from the Alpine foreland to the deglaciation of the inner-Alpine ice cap. New seismic stratigraphic data of an inner-Alpine subaquatic moraine complex and its detailed seismic facies architecture contribute to novel insights and a so far unknown tie point to the understanding of the deglaciation process.


The article is devoted to the problem of formation of information and digital competence of students of medical vocational colleges. The scientific analysis of the content of the concepts "information and digital competence" is carried out. The components of information and digital competence of students of medical vocational colleges are determined. Criteria (motivational, cognitive-informational, procedural, reflective-effective), indicators (motives, needs, interests that motivate the formation of information and digital competence of students of medical vocational colleges; positive attitude of students to the formation of information and digital competence; desire to use ICT training in the process of occupational practice, understanding the role of information and prospects for the use of ICT in medicine, knowledge of basic concepts related to ICT training, information and digital tools in educational and professional activities, a set of skills needed by a medical vocational college student to search, transmission and storage of information, the ability to adequately assess their own activities using ICT training in medicine, control, self-control, evaluation and self-evaluation of the process and results of activities for further reassessment) and the level of readiness of information and digital competence of students of medical vocational colleges (high, medium, low). The technology of formation of information-digital competence of students of medical vocational colleges, which includes motivational-target, cognitive-activity, reflection-corrective stages, is scientifically substantiated and developed. The effectiveness of the technology is ensured by the following didactic conditions: actualization of motivational and value training of medical vocational college students; organization of interaction of students and teachers of medical vocational colleges on the Internet through the creation of information and digital learning environment based on individual student support; creation of individual educational routes of students during training and occupational practices.


Anticipating FDA's eventual release of new dietary ingredient (NDI) guidance, the greatest challenge the botanicals industry will face depends on whether the new guidelines will allow ingredients to be grandfathered in simply by ingredient name, or if they will be grandfathered in by specific production method.


Reproductive efficiency in terms of fertility, Prolificacy and survival rate are considered the major components of overall efficiency in sheep productivity. While fertility of Awassi ewes is moderate to high depending on feeding and management practices, however, litter size is low and Awassi is not considered a prolific breed. Heritability estimates of these traits are rather low, and reflect small genetic variation in these traits. The possible avenues for increasing reproductive capacity environmentally and genetically are discussed in the text of this review article.


4579Background: Cabo shows robust clinical activity in advanced clear cell RCC. nccRCC, a heterogeneous mix of diseases, have been underrepresented in clinical trials and effective systemic therapy...


MAKING, H., SATO, S., YAJIMA, A., KOMATSU, S. and FUKAO, A. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Cervical Cancer Screening: A Case-Control Study in Miyagi, Japan. Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1995, 175 (3), 171-178 To estimate the effectiveness of screening for invasive cervical cancer, a case-control study was performed in Miyagi, Japan. A total of 198 cases (129 mass screen-detected and 69 outpatient-detected) of invasive cervical cancer were identified between 1984 and 1990. The results of the Papanicolaou smear of these cases were compared to those of 396 age(±5 years) and area-matched controls. Compared with women who had no prior screening (cases 51.6%, controls 16.2%), women who were screened had an odds ratio (OR) for invasive cervical cancer of 0.14 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.088-0.230). The OR for the 175 cases of squamous cell carcinoma was 0.13 (95% CI 0.077-0.215), while the OR for the 23 cases of screened women with adenocarcinoma was 0.40 (95% CI 0.091-1.753). The time intervals following the last negative smear were assessed and we found an OR for a one-year interval and a two-year interval of 0.09 (95% CI 0.055-0.163) and 0.17 (95% CI 0.083-0.335), respectively. In conclusion, screening for invasive cervical cancer is not only effective but also the degree of protection is high for one to two years. cervical cancer; case-control study; cervical cancer screening


Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is a surface modification approach by which the surface characteristics of materials can be improved. The materials that are subjected to the FSP can significantly alter the tribological well as the mechanical and metallurgical features by transforming a heterogenous microstructure to a more homogeneous and refined microstructure. In the present work, Zirconia (ZrO2) and Boron Carbide (B4C) nanoparticles along with Graphene Nano platelets (GNP) were reinforced into the surface of the Aluminum AA6061-T6 alloy by FSP. Studies on the effects of the reinforcement on the mechanical and microstructural changes were carried out. As a result of the FSP, the reinforcement particles are uniformly dispersed on the substrate material's surface. The zirconia/graphene reinforced aluminum composite (Al-ZrO2-GNP) has a significant improvement in hardness about 130% when compared to the as-received AA6061 alloy whereas the hardness of B4C/graphene reinforced composite has shown an increase of 87% when compared with the base metal. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope images reveal the presence of the reinforcement particles and microstructural changes in the friction stir processed aluminum alloys. The Tensile properties of the developed composites have also increased reasonably when compared to the base metal. Wear analysis was carried out and it was found that the B 4 C/graphene reinforced surface composite has higher wear resistance (40% increase) when compared to the ZrO 2 /graphene reinforced surface composite (22%increase).


Summary

The aim of this paper was to use geometric morphometry as a helpful tool to clarify the overlap between meristic characters (such as the number of anal fin rays) of different fish identification keys employed for the two sister species, Ameiurus melas and Ameiurus nebulosus. Geometric morphometry included shape analysis of 15 landmarks on 432 specimens. The analyses showed significant differences among groups based on the sampling site, while there was no difference among groups based on the number of anal fin rays (used to distinguish species). This suggests that the use of meristic characters for the determination of these two sister species is rather questionable.


Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly Reveals Signifificant Gene Expansion in the Toll and IMD Signaling Pathways of Dendrolimus kikuchii by Zhou, J., Wu, P., Xiong, Z., Liu, N., Zhao, N, Ji, M, Qiu, Y and Yang, B. (2021) Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly Reveals Significant Gene Expansion in the Toll and IMD Signaling Pathways of Dendrolimus kikuchii. Front. Genet. 12:728418. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.728418


The development of human computing games requires the implementation of different game mechanics to make them challenging, interesting and motivating. These mechanics are often borrowed from popular video games, but their outcomes on the quality of solutions obtained and player motivation are not fully understood. We analyze the effect of showing a timer, an achievable (top) score and a live leaderboard on players' scores, puzzle completion time and motivation using different versions of a human computing game. We show that presenting a top score on a puzzle results in better solutions, but at the expense of completion time, whereas the presence of a timer has the opposite outcome. As for the live leaderboard, we have observed an almost significant interaction effect with the timer. This work offers guidance for human computing game developers about what to expect from these different game mechanics, and how players react to them.


The purpose of this study was to investigate oral health behavior according to brushing education of 471 middle and high school students in Gyeong-Nam Province. Data were analyzed by Predictive Analysis Software SPSS 22.0 for windows, SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL. USA. The largest group (74.9%) brushed the...


A method for estimating the available strength level (load and resistance factor design) seismic resistance of light-frame cold-formed steel shear walls is discussed. The proposed method attempts to account for the early onset of inelastic behavior in light-frame shear walls by evaluating the strength level resistance in terms of an equivalent shear wall yield strength. Application of the proposed method is illustrated using shear wall data from an independent test program and wall performance is compared to current light-frame bearing wall design requirements and expected system performance. It is shown that the proposed method results in design values that are generally conservative compared to current design recommendations and the overall performance of the tested walls is characterized using five parameters that relate common design strength and displacement quantities.


It is clear that an important issue such as cell homeostasis must be controlled in a multicellular organism. However, as any other mechanism, the control of cell numbers can also be dysregulated under pathological conditions. For instance, inflammatory diseases are normally associated with an increase in the numbers of inflammatory cells. Therefore, allergologists have occupied themselves with trying to understand the marked accumulation of eosinophils associated with chronic allergic inflammation for many years. In this issue of Clinical and Experimental Allergy , Kodamaet al. [1] report on the role of eosinophil apoptosis in vivo in a mouse model of eosinophilic inflammation. In this study, apoptotic eosinophils were identified using electron microscopy and a specific technique to identify DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptotic cells. The data by Kodamaet al. suggest that the resolution of eosinophilic inflammation is most likely the consequence of the induction of eosinophil apoptosis. These findings are not surprising since apoptosis is the most common form of physiological cell death. Moreover, the resolution of eosinophilic inflammation and its association with eosinophil apoptosis has been previously described in in vivomouse [2] and human [3] systems. Taken together, the importance of apoptosis for the removal of eosinophils in vivo is now well established. Perhaps more exciting is the fact that apoptosis can be dysregulated and may then contribute to pathogenic processes. For instance, defective regulation of apoptosis may play a part in the aetiology of cancer, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders [4,5]. Interestingly, the process of eosinophil apoptosis is delayed in allergic inflammatory sites [6] and, perhaps, also in the blood [7] of atopic patients. Therefore, it appears that delayed apoptosis contributes to the accumulation of these cells in chronic allergic inflammation. The article by Kodama et al. [1] also provides evidence for a delayed apoptotic eosinophil death, although a direct demonstration has yet to be provided in their model of eosinophilic inflammation. In addition, the suggested delay of eosinophil death in the current study [1] does not appear to be as dramatic as observed in nasal polyp tissues [6]. The reason for this could be that the ovalbumin-sensitized and challenged mouse represents an acute inflammatory response and may not be the best model for studying chronic eosinophilic inflammation. Why is the mechanism of delayed eosinophil apoptosis important for the specific accumulation of this cell type in chronic allergic responses? Previously published work suggests that eosinophils specifically adhere to the endothelium and migrate into tissues with the help of eosinophil-specific chemoattractants. For instance, IL-4, an important cytokine in allergic responses, induces vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 in microvascular endothelial cells. VCAM1 binds to cells bearing the integrin very late antigen (VLA)4. The expression of VLA-4 by eosinophils, but not neutrophils, suggests that the VCAM-1/VLA-4 adhesion pathway contributes to the preferential migration of eosinophils into allergic inflammatory sites [8,9]. However, eosinophilia have also been observed under conditions where IL-4 is not or barely expressed [6,10]. On the other hand, mice over-expressing IL-4 in the lung demonstrated a cellular infiltrate consisting of macrophages, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and neutrophils [11]. Moreover, the intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1/integrin CD11/ CD18 pathway appears to be equally important for eosinophils and neutrophils [12,13], suggesting that IL-4-induced VCAM-1 expression alone cannot explain the accumulation of eosinophils in allergic inflammation. Another possibility to achieve selectivity in the migration of circulating leucocytes into tissues is the differential expression of receptors for chemoattractants. For instance, eotaxin has been reported to selectively stimulate eosinophils [14,15], although recent reports suggest that eotaxin can also activate basophils [16] and possibly even T cells [17]. Eotaxin binds, like regulated upon activation normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-4, to the chemokine receptor CCR3, which is expressed by eosinophils but not neutrophils, suggesting a possible specific recruitment pathway for eosinophils mediated by these chemokines. However, other chemoattractants present in allergic tissues, such as plateletactivating factor (PAF) [18], complement factors [19], leukotrienes [20], and IL-8 [21], act on both eosinophils and neutrophils. Therefore, it is unlikely that selective accumulation of eosinophils occurs exclusively at the level of chemotaxis. This view is strongly supported by observations i vivo. After antigen challenge, an increased initial, non-specifc recruitment of inflammatory cells, including neutrophils, has been reported in murine and human models [22,23]. Thus, the story of how eosinophils accumulate in tissues appears to be more complicated than we have thought so far. Meanwhile, specific delayed eosinophil apoptosis was


The cyber security field has more challenges and analysing pcap files for identifying the network traces provides important details. The web traffic consists of different types of transfer. Some data can be malicious and it can fall into different categories. Analysing and extracting features and applyying machine learning algorithms can prove to be more useful for indentifying the network information. Todays' big data environment provides more way to security threats.


Environmental pollution is a non-negligible issue for most mines and becomes an urgent task when acidic and metal loaded waters are created. "SPOP" is an environmentally friendly low-energy concept to protect water as a resource: the purified water can either be reused in various processing steps or discharged without environmental impact. The solid residues consist of precipitated oxides and native metals. This makes SPOP to a powerful method for secondary mining due to the economically attractive recovery of metals dissolved in aqueous solutions.


Abstract Considerable interest has recently been directed at the relationship between coping styles and depression. However, a systematic understanding of this relationship has been impeded because of the use of coping measures with problematic psychometric qualities. The present study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and coping styles in a college sample, using the recently developed Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI) to assess coping styles. The relationships between depression and both state and trait anxiety were also examined, since there is accumulating evidence that the constructs of depression and anxiety are difficult to distinguish in a college population. The study found gender differences in coping behaviour, with females reporting more emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping behaviours than males. Males and females scoring high on depressive symptoms were found to use more emotion-oriented coping than those scoring low. A strong relationship was found between ...


White rice husk ash obtained from complete uncontrolled burning of rice husk contains more than 94% silica. The ash, which consists of crystalline silica of the type tridymite and -crystobalite, was used directly as a source of silica in the synthesis of zeolite beta. The mole oxide ratio of the initial gel of 1.25-8Na2O: 10-120SiO2: Al2O3: 1-20TEA2O: 150-1000H2O was prepared and heated at 150C in a static condition for 6 d. The solid phases formed were monitored by XRD technique. Influence of reaction mixture ratio in the initial gel to the crystalline products formed was studied. Results showed that the pure zeolite beta was formed in a certain range of reaction mixture, i.e.: 1.25-4Na2O : 15-45SiO2 : Al2O3 : 4-10TEA2O : 240-480H2O. The other ratio of reaction mixtures produced crystalline phases such as analcime, Na-P, mordenite, and gismondine, and non-reacted of -crystobalite and tridymite.


This paper describes the numerical analysis on the generation mechanism and on the control of discrete tone noise radiated from a two-dimensional wing immersed in uniform flow. Linearized approximate equation of the small perturbation of the boundary layer flow and of the wake flow is introduced to the interactive dynamical model between the perturbed flow and the sound near field emitted from the trailing edge. The numerical solution of the Green function of the Fourier-Laplace transformation of the perturbed flow variables is derived given the mean velocity profile of the boundary layer. The solution estimates well the configuration of the perturbed flow development and also predicts the experimental result of active control of the sound at the discrete sound frequency.


The paper presents an analysis of the results of monitored on-line Enercon E40/6.44 wind turbine with gearless designed synchronous generator and a nominal power of 600 kW. In recent months, this plant underwent with high frequency emergency stopped, the source of which was the acceleration control system located in the nacelle. This situation causes signi cant and unnecessary overload of the power plant components but most of all causes signi cant losses of production of renewable energy due to operational downtime. This article analyzes the circumstances of errors reported by the turbine control system associated with the acceleration sensor based on data recorded during several months of using on-line SCADA system. An assessment of the impact of a number of indicators related to the wind speed and direction of the nacelle on the operation of the safety system of the turbine has been carried out. Also the possible causes of irregularities were proposed, which may be the subject of further research, especially with the use of advanced diagnostics based on vibroacoustic method.


Photo elicitation is a technique to take data based on including photographs in a research interview. This article analyzes the use of this tool on studies about the collective memory. In order to do this, we will show the high and critical aspects emerging through the fieldwork of an investigation that tries to build a model of how a fishermen's community make up the story of their common past.


SUMMARY We present three cases with diagnose of bilateral pseudopapilledema secondary to optic disk drusen. The consulting reason was subjective symptoms of reduced visual acuity, cephalgia and vertigo. During the ophthalmologic exploration we found one case with significant reduced visual acuity; fundoscopic exam revealed elevated disc with visible drusen in two cases and one with elevated disc only. Retinal fluorescein angiography, visual evoked potential, optic coherent tomography, computerized axial tomography and resonance magnetic imaging were made. In all cases campimetric defects were found, one case reached legal blindness.


The PostScript language has long been known for very precise, device independent page descriptions of potentially very complex pages consisting of text, graphics, and images. However, in the past the description of color in PostScript has not done justice to the term device independence since the exact meaning of the colorants in a color space was not explicitly specified, but instead was left to the interpretation of each device receiving the given page description. Device independent color is the ability to describe color in a manner independent of the color forming properties of any particular device. Instead color is described based on the CIE system of color specification. PostScript has been extended to afford his manner of color specification.


1. The development of radiometric techniques at millimeter wavelengths with particular attention directed toward low-noise parametric amplifiers and solid-state devices. Low-noise preamplifiers are of prime importance to radio astronomical investigations and have been developed and applied to observational programs for wavelengths longer than approximately 1 cm, and it is our objective to extend this study to millimeter wavelengths. Solid-state devices, chiefly local oscillators at millimeter wavelengths, are required for many satellite applications of radiometry.


President Vicente Fox's 2000 characterization of the Mexican community in the United States as "heroes" delighted most of his paisanos on both sides of the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande. The Mexican diaspora in the United States had finally come of age. The heroes of the Mexican diaspora had braved the hardships of migration to define a new life for themselves in the United States. Many had achieved marked success and had supported their Mexican families (and the Mexican economy!) by remitting about $10 billion annually by the onset of the new millennium. In the Foxista view, they were a credit to the raza and a boon to the Mexican economy. Fox's accolades helped bestow increasing dignity and credibility upon the Mexican diaspora in the United States. Their new status differed from the disdain frequently voiced of old by posturing Mexico City pseudo-aristocrats and their super- nationalistic brethren. But Fox's declaration was hardly an abrupt break with the past. Rather, it capped an evolution embedded in Mexican history and pursued consciously and consistently since the early 1970s. Focusing on the 1990s and the first years of this millennium, this paper describes and analyzes two components of contemporary Mexican policies and programs touching Mexicans in the United States: the political connection and the economic connection between the Mexican homeland and Mexicans living in the United States - the Mexican diaspora. The evolving connections reflect general global trends and more localized Mexican national developments. At the global level, affiliation with more than one traditional nation-state flows from advances in transportation and communications and from increasing streams of migrants, goods and services, capital, and intellectual currents. These global trends contribute to expanding the links between ancestral countries and com


A tract of 20 year old Eucalyptus sp. forest in the Yaoshan Mountain of Guilin was selected as research subject for monitoring of diurnal variation of soil respiration and environmental factors in the four seasons,separately,from January to November 2013.(1) The diurnal variation of soil respiration in the forest was quite apparent,displaying a single-peak or double-peak curve. The soil respiration rate varied sharply,rising to the peak at 17:00- 19:00,and dropped to the valley at 5:00- 9:00,in a day in all the four seasons,which demonstrates that soil respiration was high and active during the day,but low and fluctuating within a narrow range at night.(2) Total soil respiration rate differed significantly between the seasons(P 0. 05),displaying an order of summer spring autumn winter. In terms of autotrophic respiration contribution rate,the four seasons followed an order of spring winter summer autumn.(3) Soil total respiration rate,soil autotrophic respiration rate and soil heterotrophic respiration rate were significantly and positively related to soil temperature(P 0. 05),and the latter could be held responsible for 64. 18%,15. 43% and 83. 58% of the changes in the three rates,respectively.(4) Soil total respiration rate,soil autotrophic respiration rate and soil heterotrophic respiration rate were also significantly and positively related to soil moisture content(P 0. 01). Soil moisture content in a certain range could promote soil respiration.


Occupant behavior in buildings is a leading factor influencing energy use in buildings. Low-cost behavioral solutions have demonstrated significant potential energy savings. Estimating the behavioral savings potential is important for a more effective design of behavior change interventions, which in turn will support more effective energy-efficiency policies. This study introduces a simulation approach to estimate the energy savings potential of occupant behavior measures. First it defines five typical occupant behavior measures in office buildings, then simulates and analyzes their individual and integrated impact on energy use in buildings. The energy performance of the five behavior measures was evaluated using EnergyPlus simulation for a real office building across four typical U.S. climates and two vintages. The Occupancy Simulator was used to simulate the occupant movement in each zone with inputs from the site survey of the case building. Based on the simulation results, the occupant behavior measures can achieve overall site energy savings as high as 22.9% for individual measures and up to 41.0% for integrated measures. Although energy savings of behavior measures would vary depending upon many factors, the presented simulation approach is robust and can be adopted for other studies aiming to quantify occupant behavior impact on building performance. the energy savings potentials of behavioral ECMs in this case study. This study defines five typical occupant behavior measures in office buildings, then simulates and analyzes their individual and integrated impacts on energy use in buildings. Although actual energy savings of occupant behavior measures depend upon many factors, including building type, energy services systems (lighting, plug loads, HVAC), climate, and occupants in the buildings, the presented methodology is robust and can be adopted for other studies aiming to quantify occupant behavior impact on building performance.


In a study of the interaction of the components in the Yb-Cu-Al system, the authors discovered a new compound with the approximate composition YbCu 2 Al 7 , in equilibrium with a solid solution based on aluminum. The aim of this article is to determine the crystal structure of this new aluminide


We investigate the scattering of fermions off domain walls at the electroweak phase transition in the presence of a magnetic field. We consider both the bubble wall and the kink domain wall. We derive and solve the Dirac equation for fermions with momentum perpendicular to the walls, and compute the transmission and reflection coefficients. In the case of kink domain wall, we briefly discuss the zero mode solutions localized on the wall. The possible role of the magnetic field for the electroweak baryogenesis is also discussed.


The estimation of the long-term wind resource at a prospective site based on a relatively short on-site measurement campaign is an indispensable task in the development of a commercial wind farm. The typical industry approach is based on the measure-correlate-predict (MCP) method where a relational model between the site wind velocity data and the data obtained from a suitable reference site is built from concurrent records. In a subsequent step, a long-term prediction for the prospective site is obtained from a combination of the relational model and the historic reference data. In the present paper, a systematic study is presented where three new MCP models, together with two published reference models (a simple linear regression and the variance ratio method), have been evaluated based on concurrent synthetic wind speed time series for two sites, simulating the prospective and the reference site. The synthetic method has the advantage of generating time series with the desired statistical properties, i...


A system for computing a depth map comprising depth values representing distances to a viewer for respective pixels of an image. The system includes an optimization unit 902 for determining the current pixel, the depth related cost value as the minimum cost value among a plurality of candidate cost values, at least one of the candidate cost values, together based on the depth related cost value of at least one pixel in the local neighborhood of the current pixel, the color attribute of the at least one pixel in 該局 unit neighborhood, based on the difference between the corresponding color attribute of the current pixel it is. Furthermore, at least one of the candidate cost values is based on the depth-related cost value for at least one pixel outside the local neighborhood. Selector 906 randomly selects the latter of at least one pixel.


Millimeter-wave (mmWave) cell-free massive multiuser (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems combine the large bandwidths available at mmWave frequencies with the improved coverage of cell-free systems. However, to combat the high path loss at mmWave frequencies, user equipments (UEs) must form beams in meaningful directions, i.e., to a nearby access point (AP). At the same time, multiple UEs should avoid transmitting to the same AP to reduce MU interference. We propose an interference-aware method for beam alignment (BA) in the cell-free mmWave massive MU-MIMO uplink. In the considered scenario, the APs perform full digital receive beamforming while the UEs perform analog transmit beamforming. We evaluate our method using realistic mmWave channels from a commercial ray-tracer, showing the superiority of the proposed method over omnidirectional transmission as well as over methods that do not take MU interference into account.


University of Alberta.-The Sociology Division inaugurated an M.A. program this year and is also developing a community research laboratory. Earle H. MacCannell, formerly of San Diego State College, Cecil L. French, formerly of Drury College, and Richard Laskin, formerly of Brandon College, Manitoba, have joined the staff as assistant professors of sociology in the new Department of Philosophy and Sociology. Professor Laskin spent the summer doing research at the Center for Community Research at the University of Saskatchewan and is now analyzing data from the project. Amal Vinogradov is special lecturer in sociology this year. Gordon Hirabayashi has under way a study of factors relating to attitudes and voting behavior in a recent plebiscite on fluoridation. He is also directing a two-year study sponsored by the Alberta Tuberculosis Association relating to the re-incidence of tuberculosis among persons of Indian descent, assisted by Professor French. Brigham Card, who was also involved during the initial phase of the study, is on sabbatical leave. Ralph L. James is making a study, supported by a University research grant, of the ecology of the aged and their problems in Edmonton. Milton Maxwell, formerly of Washington State University, has joined the Alcoholism Foundation in Edmonton.


The invention provides a passivation layer etching method, a manufacture method of a pad and a manufacture method of a semiconductor device. A first etching gas of relatively high fluorocarbon content is used to etch a passivation layer structure, an etching polymer can be prevented from accumulating in an etching cavity or in the sidewall of the passivation layer effectively, and the etching effect of the passivation layer is ensured; and a second etching gas of relatively low fluorocarbon content is used to etch an etching barrier layer under the passivation layer structure, over etching time of the etching barrier layer can be shortened greatly, top-layer metal below is prevented from excessive etching, and etched top-layer metal is prevented from accumulation in the etching cavity. Thus, the problem that the etching speed is decreased is solved effectively, and performances of the pad and the semiconductor device are ensured.


Submarine cables are commonly used in the offshore industry: moorings, towings, umbilical cables, etc. In order to predict the immersion depth of towed bodies, it is usually assumed that the cable drag coefficient is between 1.8 and 1.9. The mean shape of the towed cables can be measured by a testing device used by the authors, an the vibration frequency at the top cable is determined. Systematic tests were performed on cables which can be ballasted or not. They gave a guide in proposing a new computational method to determine the mean shape when the drag coefficient is not a constant along the cable. In the examples, a good agreement can be observed between theoretical and experimental results.


This article discusses the relationship between the intentions of adult artists who create works of theatre for young audiences and the responses of young people who view those performances. It reviews the results of a mixed-methods case study conducted with middle school students who viewed a production of Y. York's Getting Near to Baby. The young spectators sometimes responded to themes in the play the way that the artists envisioned they would; at other times, they did not; and in some instances, they responded to themes the artists did not envision at all. The data suggest little correlation between artists' investment in conveying particular ideas and young audience members' responses to those ideas. Rather, the nature of the ideas and the ways in which they are presented seem more likely to influence audience response.


This article analyses the functionality and cooperation economy, which is the basis for new economic approaches funded on the sustainability, in response to the dominant economic model. Based on the extraction, manufacturing, and disposal, the configuration of the hegemonic model is opposed to the very sustainability of the planet, which is in the roots of its legitimacy crisis. To face this assumption, it is expected that the functionality and cooperation economy presents a viable alternative, as a holistic system and a referential of action based on sustainability. By providing solutions integrated to services and goods, the functionality economy is based on service relations and immaterial resources. This holistic and sustainable system, with a strong territorial bound, acts in cooperation with its actors, developing long-term relationships adapted to the local needs. This study uses as methodology a qualitative approach of exploratory nature, composed of a bibliographical research and a case study. This article intends to demonstrate that the functionality and cooperation economy can contribute to more sustainable business models, which are already being applied by European companies. For a better understanding of the subject and its feasibility, the case of the French company Gesnord, in which these principles were successfully applied.


Background Chemotherapy is the standard of treatment for metastatic gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). It is unclear whether chemotherapy plus surgery improves the survival outcomes of patients with isolated liver metastases from GBC. We aimed to investigate the survival benefits of chemotherapy plus surgery in GBC with isolated liver metastases compared to those of chemotherapy alone. Methods We identified 406 patients with isolated liver metastases from GBC who underwent chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus surgery between 2010 and 2015 from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results. Patients were divided into 3 subgroups: group I, chemotherapy alone (n = 263); group II, chemotherapy combined with cholecystectomy (n = 116); and group III, chemotherapy combined with cholecystectomy plus hepatectomy (n = 27). The cancer-specific survival and overall survival were evaluated. Results Compared with group I, group II revealed a longer survival time (P < .001). In addition, the survival time of the group III was also prolonged (P < .001). Multivariate cox analysis showed that treatment strategy was an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion Chemotherapy combined with resection of the primary tumor plus or not plus resection of the metastatic lesions may be beneficial in GBC with isolated liver metastases.


This article argues for the importance of Ted Joans within histories of surrealism, which seldom acknowledge the existence of the movement post-World War II or its participants outside of interwar Paris. Since the early 1960s, Joans contributed to both the Paris and Chicago groups of surrealists, who continued to proclaim the relevance of mad love, the marvellous, and dreams to a radical politics long after the movement was alleged to have deceased. The majority of the article, however, addresses Joans' work composed prior to his formal involvement with surrealism, exploring how his invocation of surrealist influence was framed by a narrative of surrealism's legacy of radical anti-colonialism and anti-racism to diasporic writers, artists and intellectuals such as Etienne Lro and Aim Csaire. Joans' work self-consciously embeds his engagement with surrealism within a matrix of transatlantic cultural dialogues which dislodge it from its supposed headquarters in Paris in the interwar years, undermines its profile as white, Francophone and bourgeois, and problematizes unilateral models of influence. Drawing on Surrealist aesthetics, his early work deploys modernist formal innovation as a means to reflect on the historiography of modernism, and performatively protests the unequal access to the political and cultural ideals of modernity.


Objective : To document trends in the distribution of general practitioners (GPs) in Australia between 1986 and 1996, adjusted for community need.


People have accumulate a large number of formulae by numerous clinical practices and TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine) theory research on asthma in the past thousands of years.Most of cluster algorithms based on distance has bad performance on formulae's dataset.This paper a new hierarchical cluster algorithm based on largest frequent itemset which much better performance on bronchial asthma dataset,and a data mining platform based on the existing TCM data is designed and implemented by integrating TCM data retrieval functions with data mining functions,which brings great convenience.


Joakim Garff has written a voluminous biography on Siren Kierkegaard (1813-55) which has been received with much well-deserved praise. Going along with the praise, which concerns both the presentation of the man, the Danish culture of his age and the language used, this review nevertheless questions Garff's basic premise, the aesthetical point of view. It is argued that it is based on a problematic reading, and furthermore that it causes serious flaws. One is the missing presentation of Kierkegaard's most important philosophical and theological works, an other is the lack of the wider intellectual horizon: Greek philosophy, and German thinkers such as Hamann, Lessing, Kant, Hegel and Schleiermacher.


The medical significance of paediatric obesity needs little introduction. It is estimated that in 2025, there will be more than 268 million children and adolescents who are overweight and obese around the globe (1). Despite numerous novel and exciting findings on the gut microbiome, xenobiotics and environmental, genetic and epigenetic changes relating to paediatric obesity, the adiposity of children is still related to their diet and levels of activity (2). Therefore, until those exciting findings from basic science studies are translated into clinical treatments, we have to continue to focus our efforts on the fundamental aspects of energy balance when treating children with obesity. The causes of obesity in children and its treatment were already well understood decades ago. In 1920, Professor C G Kerley wrote that 'Exceedingly fat children will usually be found to be hearty eaters and of inactive habits', adding that 'Obesity is rarely a serious condition and ordinarily requires little more than certain restrictions in diet and regularity in exercise' (3). Little has changed a century later, as dietary modifications and regular physical activity are still the mainstay of therapy in many countries (4). While eating less and exercising more are probably an axiom with regard to obesity treatment, the well-known problem is how to achieve this effectively in the long term. That is where scientific research and the strength of the evidence are of utmost importance. Dozens of paediatric obesity treatment programmes that have administered different combinations of diet, exercise and behavioural changes have been carried out over the years. Updated meta-analyses of interventions for the treatment of children and adolescents with overweight or obesity were published in 2016 and 2017 (5–7). Clinicians might be extremely discouraged to learn from these key papers that the general quality of evidence is still low to moderate, probably due to the inherent limitations of such research. Examples of such limitations include the following: the natural lack of blinding, the limited sample sizes, the inability to completely administer all components of the recommended diet and exercise regimes, the cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of humans and the high dropout rates. In addition, the content and duration of the interventions, the delivery modes, the comparators and the anthropometric outcomes have varied greatly across trials. Finally, we are faced with disappointing small effect sizes and magnitudes of mean weight, body mass index (BMI) and BMI standard deviation score (BMI SDS) changes despite such efforts. This should encourage us to re-think programme structures, or possibly to carry out an additional form of analysis? In this issue of Acta Paediatrica, Dalla Valle et al. (8) evaluated the efficacy of a treatment programme for children and adolescents with obesity in Finland and explored the factors that contributed to its long-term success. This family-based multidisciplinary programme included all of the anticipated nutritional, exercise and behavioural counselling components. Yet several features of this paper are noteworthy. The most important feature is the high success rate and its presentation. Very frequently, authors describe pre–post changes of mean BMI and BMI SDS values. These authors do the same and show small reductions in the mean BMI SDS of 0.10, 0.09 and 0.06 after 12, 24 and 36 months, respectively. These were not very impressive at first glance, even though they were statistically significant. However, the categorical analysis should form part of any study analysing treatment success, as that identifies the proportion of children that had BMI SDS reductions and clinically meaningful reductions. When Dalla Valle et al. (8) examined the proportions of participants with BMI SDS reductions, they found very encouraging results as follows: of the 493 children assessed at 12 months, 60% demonstrated a reduced BMI SDS from baseline, with 39% having a clinically meaningful reduction of at least 0.25 SDS (9). When such analyses are performed, we can become much more confident in the success rates of our obesity treatment programmes, as opposed to when we only analyse the average outcomes. We can easily demonstrate how a null change in mean BMI SDS does not at all suggest that a programme is ineffective. Figure 1 presents BMI SDS changes after a three-month multicomponent treatment for children with overweight and obesity from our centre. The mean BMI SDS change was zero, yet 50% of the children improved their anthropometric status. Looking at the average BMI SDS change alone would suggest that the programme had no effect, but this is only true if you look at average figures, as all the children in our programme either gained or lost weight in relation to their stature.


Abstract In Estonia up to now the producers of wood fuels have not yet adequately analysed the production and transport costs although it is known that the share of these costs form up to half of the final price of wood chips or hog fuel. With this in mind the goal of the case study was defined – to analyse the price formation of comminuted wood fuels in Estonian conditions. Within one year of the survey the initial data was collected from the company SLG Energy. Different types of machines (7 in total) were observed – wood chippers Jenz HEM 561, Jenz HEM 582, Heinola 910ES, and Doppstadt DH 608. All machines were equipped with a GPS tracking device which recorded the route and the fuel consumption and during the observation period all costs and revenues related to the concerned machines were accounted. It was determined that due to frequent repairs the maintenance costs of older machines were higher and productivity lower compared with new machines. The biggest item of expenditure turned out to be the fuel consumption. The second was the cost of repairs in the case of older machines and price in the case of new machines. Also the type of chipper had an impact on the production cost. Under the cumulative effect of various factors the production cost turned out to vary widely from 1.03 to 2.38 €/ml3.


We study the eigenforms of the action of A. Baker's Hecke operators on the holomorphic elliptic homology of various topological spaces. We prove a multiplicity one theorem (i.e., one-dimensionality of the space of these "topological Hecke eigenforms" for any given eigencharacter) for some classes of topological spaces, and we give examples of finite CW-complexes for which multiplicity one fails. We also develop some abstract "derived eigentheory" whose motivating examples arise from the failure of classical Hecke operators to commute with multiplication by various Eisenstein series. Part of this "derived eigentheory" is an identification of certain derived Hecke eigenforms as the obstructions to extending topological Hecke eigenforms from the top cell of a CW-complex to the rest of the CW-complex. Using these obstruction classes together with our multiplicity one theorem, we calculate the topological Hecke eigenforms explicitly, in terms of pairs of classical modular forms, on all 2-cell CW complexes obtained by coning off an element in πn(S) which stably has Adams-Novikov filtration 1.


Self-consistent extended MHD framework is used to investigate nonlinear macroscopic dynamics of stellarator configurations. In these calculations, initial conditions are given by analytical 3-D vacuum solutions. Finite beta discharges in a straight stellarator are simulated. Vacuum magnetic fields are applied to produce stellarator-like rotational transform profiles with iota(0) ≤ 0.5 and iota(0) ≥ 0.5. The vacuum magnetic fields are either helically symmetric or spoiled by the presence of magnetic harmonics of incommensurate helicity. As heat is added to the system, pressure-driven instabilities are excited when a critical β is exceeded. These instabilities may grow to large amplitude and effectively terminate the discharge, or they may saturate nonlinearly as the configuration evolves. In all of these studies, anisotropic heat conduction is allowed with κ∥/κ⊥=104−107.


During the past few months, top executives of four companies have asked me to explain the meaning of empowerment. Why the sudden interest? The answer is that both technology and organizations are changing, and they require re-thinking the meaning of empowerment for both employees and customers. One conversation with a CEO went something like this: CEO: We used to talk about empowerment eight years ago when I was a department manager. It essentially meant delegating, not micro-managing employees, letting them alone with the training and tools they need to do the job. Now it seems to have two meanings. One is similar to the meaning I remember. The other is very different; it has to do with people wanting more power. There are a number of groups inside this company that ask me to empower them by giving them a greater say over company policies like diversity, day care, flexible hours-you name it. What does the term empowerment really mean? Is it delegating or responding to demands? MM: There are two traditional meanings of empowerment. One (which was first used in 1788 in the U.S. Constitution) means investing authority in a role or a person. This kind of empowerment also implies acceptance of personal responsibility, a word also used for the first time in the Constitutional Convention in the sense of accountability. Even justices of the Supreme Court with life terms can be impeached. The other meaning of empowerment means enablement. CEO: What do those meanings have to do with a company, and why are we using a concept that goes back to 1788? MM: First of all, we need to understand the difference in meanings. Empowerment as vested authority implies clarifying an employee's mandate and your expectations of his or her performance. The employee, in turn, must be willing to accept responsibility and accountability or consequences. That's where attempts at empowerment often fall short. If employees fear they will be punished for honest mistakes, they will protect themselves and only follow orders. This turns a business into a bureaucracy where people delegate upward when in doubt. Successful companies need people to share ideas and information, innovate, resolve customer problems on the spot, and participate in high-performance teams. Increasingly, we need cross-functional teams with empowered participants (see "Building Cross-Functional Capability: What It Really Takes," Research Technology Management, May-June, 1999, pp. 56-58). In traditional bureaucracies, we managed employee energy. In an empowered organization, we need to manage both their energy and intelligence. CEO: How can I be sure that empowered people will do the right thing? MM: They must be enabled. If employees are not clear about your business logic, they are liable to do the wrong thing. For example, if your technical staff is not educated about business goals, they may drift off into work that does not connect to your strategy. To create an empowered organization, you need a learning organization where people learn about the business, customer needs, what creates profit, as well as learn from their mistakes. Furthermore, employees are enabled by having the right tools and support when they need them. Your technical staff needs to understand which tools enable the front line, so they can develop them. CEO: All this is not so different from the way I thought of empowerment in the past. …


[Ed. Note: It seems that anthropologists who come into the schools to aid in curricular projects based on anthropology are usually led, sooner or later, to look at the schools as objects of ethnographic study. We might now claim, on the basis of this paper, that the reverse process also holds. Long associated with anthropological research on education, schools, and the community, Kimball is led to suggest a practical alternative conceptual framework for the social studies curriculum. ]


Frustration in spin system can give rise to unique ordered states and as a consequence several physical phenomena are expected such as multiferroics, high temperature superconductors and anomalous hall effect. Here we report the "new magnetic orders" induced by anisotropic spin exchanges on pyrochlore spinels as the interplay of spin orbit coupling and geometrical frustration. Due to complicated superexchange paths of B-site spinels, we claim that anisotropic interaction between next-nearest neighbors play an important role. Based on the systematic studies of generic spin model, we argue that several classical spin states can be explored in spinel systems; local XY state, all-in all-out state, Palmer-Chalker state and coplanar spiral state. In addition, we reveal new types of magnetic phases with finite ordering wavevectors, labeled as 'octagonal (prism)' state and '(distorted) cubic' states. When the 'octagonal prism' state is stabilized, non-zero scalar spin chirality induces alternating net current in addition to finite orbital current and orbital magnetization even in Mott insulators. Finally, we also discuss the relevance of 'distorted cubic' state to the magnetic order of spinel compound GeCo2O4.


A contact line is formed at the intersection of two immiscible fluids and a solid. That the mutual interaction between the three materials in the immediate vicinity of a contact line can significantly affect the statics as well as the dynamics of an entire flow field is demonstrated by the behavior of two immiscible fluids in a capillary. It is well known that the height to which a column of liquid will rise in a vertical circular capillary with small radius, a, whose lower end is placed into a bath, is given by (2(j/apg) cos (), where (j is the surface tension of the air/liquid interface, f) is the static contact angle as measured from the liquid side of the contact line, p is the density, and g is the magnitude of the accelera tion due to gravity.! Thus, depending on the value of the contact angle, e, which is a direct consequence of the molecular interactions among the three materials at the contact line, the height can take on any value within the interval [ 2(J/apg, 2(J/apg]. In a sense, the influence of the contact angle is indirect: the contact angle, in capillaries with small radii, controls the radius of curvature of the meniscus which, in turn, regulates the pressure in the liquid under the meniscus. It is this pressure that determines the height of the column. In a similar manner, the dynamic contact angle can influence the rate of displacement of tbe meniscus through the capillary. The pressure drop


Pharmacokinetics of ketoprofen have been established in numerous mammalian species; however, no published pharmacokinetic data exist for avian species, although some studies have evaluated the pharmacodynamics (Machin et al., 2001) and analgesic effects (Machin & Livingston, 2002) of this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug in ducks. Ketoprofen is a chiral compound that exists as two enantiomers, R()) and S(+) ketoprofen. Products approved for clinical use in both human and veterinary medicine are the racemic mixtures (50:50) of the two enantiomers. Dosage regimens for birds are extrapolated from those of small mammals, although there are anatomic and metabolic differences between avian species and mammals that make extrapolation of drug dosages dangerous (Dorrestein, 1992). In addition, even if dosages for birds were available, extrapolation within the Aves class could potentially be problematic since a previous study comparing pharmacokinetic parameters for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reported avian species differences (Baert & DeBacker, 2003). Another concern regarding the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is that toxic effects may be seen at therapeutic concentrations (MacAllister et al., 1993). This has been demonstrated clinically in male Eider ducks where ketoprofen has been reported to be lethal (Mulcahy et al., 2003). For all of the aforementioned reasons, pharmacokinetic studies are important to determine appropriate therapeutic dosages for avian species. The objective of this study was to establish the pharmacokinetics of intravenous, intramuscular, and orally administered ketoprofen in adult Japanese quail, a popular laboratory animal avian species. A three-period cross-over design was used so that each adult domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica; n 1⁄4 45) received ketoprofen (2 mg/kg) intravenously, intramuscularly, or orally. The average body weight of the birds was 146 g (±26). Twoweek intervals were allowed between each period of the study. No remarkable findings were found on physical examination. Food and water were provided ad libitum throughout the study. The University of California, Davis, Animal Care and Use Committee approved this study. In period 1, quails 1–15 were administered ketoprofen (Ketofen, Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501, USA; 2 mg/kg) intravenously via the right jugular vein; quails 16–30 received ketoprofen (2 mg/kg) intramuscularly in the pectoral muscle; and quails 31–45 received ketoprofen (2 mg/kg) orally via ingluvial gavage. To ensure accurate dosing, the commercial ketoprofen solution was diluted with sterile 0.9% NaCl and administered immediately after dilution. In periods 2 and 3, treatments were altered so that each route of drug administration was delivered in sequence. Blood samples (0.5 mL/sample) were collected from the right jugular vein 1 week prior to drug administration (time 1⁄4 0) and at times 0.08, 0.17, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 4, and 8 h following drug administration. Following ketoprofen administration, a maximum of two 0.5 mL blood samples per bird were drawn so that the total volume of blood drawn from each bird did not exceed 1% of the body weight. Blood samples were collected into microtainer tubes containing heparin and centrifuged at 2000 g for 10 min. The plasma was decanted, labeled, and frozen at )20 C until the assays were performed. Ketoprofen concentrations in test plasma for the pharmacokinetic portion were measured using liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of protein-precipitated plasma samples (Skinner et al., 2004). Plasma calibrators were prepared by diluting working ketoprofen solutions with drug-free quail plasma to concentrations of 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0, and 32 lg/mL. Quality control (QC) samples (plasma fortified with analytes at concentrations mid-point of the standard curve) were also included. Each sample's concentration of ketoprofen was determined by the J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 28, 399–402, 2005. SHORT COMMUNICATION


Cypermethrin, fenvalerate, permethrin, (S)-α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl (1R,cis)-3-(2, 2-dibromovinyl)-2, 2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate (NRDC 161) and (R,S)-α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl 2, 2,3, 3-tetramethylcyclopropanecarboxylate (S-3206; WL 41706) have been tested against adult mosquitoes (Anopheles stephensi) and tsetse flies (Glossina austeni). They possess many of the necessary characteristics such as high intrinsic toxicity, low volatility, and high stability but vary considerably in the contact action of their spray residues.


Sucrose octaacetate were synthesized by KF/γ-Al2O3 as catalyst. The effect of KF dosage, baking temperature and baking time on activity of catalyst were investigated. It was found that the optimal conditions were as follows: KF dosage was 25%, baking temperature was 600℃, baking time was 6 h. The yield of esterfication can be up to 86.1%. The results of test of melting arid IR vrified that purity of porepared product was agreed with the American product.


This article tries to explain the meaning which the archetype of the light and moth stands for in the ancient literature,especially in the literature in the 20th century,and analyzes the alteration of the meaning and the culture background behind it


My work includes writing cryptographic specifications for Thales products , providing assistance to development teams, technology watch, writing scientific reports to external clients, and operational software development. The title of my thesis was " Gaussian Sampling in Lattice-Based Cryptography " , and I was directed by Vadim Lyubashevsky (ÉNS) and Sylvain Lachartre (Thales). I used algorithmic, statistical and algebraic tools to make lattice-based cryptography more practical and also worked on efficient implementations of it. I developped and qualified a cryptographic library, directed by Sylvain Lachartre and Olivier Orcière. I worked on improving the polynomial selection for the NFS sieve, directed by Paul Zimmermann. My work was integrated in the CADO-NFS project and led to the publication of a research article. I studied elliptic curves and their applications in cryptography, directed by Marc Hindry.


The effect of gas velocity (0.56‐1.15 m/s) on radial voidage distribution and cluster properties is determined by using an optical fiber probe in the freeboard of a FCC r egenerator (0.48 m-I.D. · 3.4 m-high). The normalized standard deviation of pr essure fluctuation in the freeboard region decreases with increasing gas velocity. Local voidage distribution in the radial dir ection is relatively flat in the bubbling flow regime. However, in the turbulent flow r egime, voidage in the cor e region is higher than that in the wall region. Clusters move up and down simultaneously , and cluster velocity in the core region is higher than that in the wall region. Cluster length decreases with increasing gas velocity. As the gas velocity is increased, cluster frequency, fraction and voidage decr ease in the transition fr om bubbling to turbulent fluidization regime, but increase in the turbulent flow r egime. Variation of the normalized standard deviation of pressure fluctuation in the fr eeboard can be related with the cluster properties. Cluster length decreases with increasing the suspension density . The cross-sectional mean cluster length in the freeboard zone is corr elated with the suspension density as well as the experimental variables.


We show that binary group codes that do not satisfy the asymptotic Varshamov-Gilbert bound have an undesirable characteristic when used as error detection codes for transmission over the binary symmetric channel.


The optimization of traffic network,the cooperation of railway with other traffic measures,the economical result and the environmental factors are analyzed.The feasibility and the shortcomings of the round-the-city railway planning in Chongqing,and some viewpoints about the railway planning are put forward.


Approximately 82% of amputees prefer microprocessor knees (MPKs) to the passive alternatives. However, the cost of these devices makes them inaccessible for many patients. The aim of this research is to develop an affordable MPK that allows for stumble reduction and flexion dampening at a fraction of the cost of similar devices. The GKnee was developed by a sophisticated mathematical model that can effectively calculate geometric configuration and simulate forces transferred through a prosthetic knee at any given point through the gait cycle. With a median error of 6%, the mathematical model was developed to the point of reasonable accuracy for determining component placement and force interactions. The model served as a valuable tool to assist in the iterative design process of the GKnee, influencing component selection for the hydraulic system and frame design. This model was then validated using a compression rig and a mock GKnee prototype. The GKnee was then evaluated for its ability to perform under expected loading conditions, using compression testing and dynamic flexion testing. This research led to the development of a sub USD 500 microprocessor prosthetic, while remaining under 2.27 kg.


The movement of carbohydrates into the potato tuber lends itself to quantitative study. The products of assimilation in the leaves move through the stems and stolon and are condensed to starelh within storage cells in the tuber. The stolon may be readily sectioned for measurement; and, knowing the transverse area of its phloemii and the rate of development of the tuber, one can calculate the rate of translocation during growth. Phiotosynthesis is lacking in underground structures, and respiration may be estimated with a fair degree of accuracv. BIRCH-HIRSCJ:IFELD (3) used a similar method to mneasure transportationi fromn the leaf of Phaseolus multifloruts; and DixoN (10) calculated a rate of 50 cm. per hour for flow of a 10 per cenit. sucrose solution through the phloem of a potato stolon during a 100-day growth period. In a previous paper (4) the writer arrived at a somewvhat lower rate, 21 cm. per hour, for flow through the total plhloeiml area of the potato stolon during the period of most rapid growtth. As respiration losses were not accounlted for, this value represents miierely the lower limit; actual rates are undoubtedly greater. Many translocation rates have been reported in the literature within the last decade; and, although differino inidividually, they all approximate this order of magynitude. Ringing experiments, from the early ones of AIALPIGHII (18), HALES (12), and KNIGHT (17) to those more recently performed by CURTIS (6,7, 8), MASON and MASKELL (19,20), and SCHUMACHER (28), have indicated that organic nutrients synthesized in the leaves move downward through the phloem tissues of the stem. The writer has proposed (4) that the osmotic system described by MUNCH (22) may provide the force necessary to cause this downward flow; and he has attempted to describe a miiechlaniism (4, 5) wlhieli will fit the quantitative data on translocationi aind at the same time conform to the anatomy of the planit. Experiments described by SCHUI,NACHER inldicate that the sieve tubes play an importanit part in the miiovement of organic materials out of the leaf. As perforation of the sieve plates has probably nio essenltial role in lonigitudinal movement (5), w-e lneed some otlher explaniationfor the relationi of the sieve tuLbe to tranislocationi. A previous paper (5) cited evi-


The injected air catalytic oxidation production process is an innovative technology for the enhance oil recovery.It is more and more concerned because of its rich gas source and lower costs.This paper focuses on the preparation of oil-soluble catalytic-oxidizing catalyst——transitional metallic naphthenates for SZ36-1 heavy oil and the selection of catalysts.The results show that the optimal effective catalyst is naphthenic acid copper catalyst.In addition,we primarily evaluate the conditions of heavy oil injecting air catalytic oxidation.When the weight of catalyst was 0.2% of the weight of heavy oil,reaction temperature is 100 ℃ and reaction time is 3 d,the acid number of heavy oil was raised from 3.96 mg KOH/g to 13.50 mg KOH/g and the viscosity was raised from 2.004 Pa·s to 11.48 Pa·s and φ(O2) in tail gas was reduced from 21.0% to 10.0%.Adding w(SW-1 additive)=1.2% and w(water)=40% in the oxidized oil,stirring was operated under constant temperature 50 ℃,a large number of surfactants were generated and caused to form O/W emulsified oil.The viscosity was finally reduced to 0.067 Pa·s and the total ratio of the reduced viscosity was 96.66%.