The new mutations in the telecommunications industry lead to the fast growing of Value Added Service (VAS). However, many operators instead of promoting VAS with the traditional channels of communication and support media have decided to focus the promotion of VAS offers through Below the Line (BTL) channels and targeted the entire base of subscribers regardless of certain sensitive principles. This approach led to significant customers' complaints at a Mobile Telephone Service Provider (MTSP) in the region of Kinshasa in The Democratic Republic of Congo. The objective of this research was to find strategies to reduce those complaints related to VAS at that MTSP in Kinshasa. The main pillars that oriented the entire research was improving the quality of customers' acquisition by driving segmentation, improving customers usage and retention by building a great customer experience and optimizing communication channels. A sample of 100 customers had been subjected to a questionnaire to collect information for the research. After analysing the data collected from the questionnaire, the key findings to reduce customers' complaints require segmenting the customer base by taking into account the gender and age category in order to acquire the right customers to which the right value proposition will be addressed. In addition, the analysis showed that the current customer experience is destroying value by evoking emotions such as disappointment, dissatisfaction, irritation driven by expensive pricing, unacceptable billing model, and bad quality of VAS offers. This situation could not drive usage and revenue growth but complaints only. Moreover, the analysis showed that the channels of communication were not appropriate and the frequency of communication was annoying for most of complainants.


Hydrothermal reaction of phosphenylic acid with CoCl2·6H2O,Na2MoO4·2H2O and MoO3 in aqueous solution give rise to a complex [(C2H5)4N]3[PMo12O40].The structure of it was determined with single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.The crystal is monoclinic,space group Cmca with the data:a = 1.977 7(2) nm,b = 1.688 2(2) nm,c = 1.716 1(3) nm,α = 90.00°,β = 90.00°,γ = 90.00°,V = 5.729 9(13) nm3,Z = 4.R1 = 0.053 3,wR2 = 0.121 9.The title compound consists of tetraethylammonium cation [(C2H5)4N]+ and dodecamolybdophosphoric anion [PMo12O40]3-with the Keggin structure.


The target folate analogue 5-trifluoromethyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid has been elaborated in a seven-step reaction sequence beginning with 2-fluoro-6-trifluoromethylbenzonitrile. The bridge-reversed isomer 5-trifluoromethyl-5,8-dideazaisofolic acid was prepared in six steps using the common intermediate 2,6-diamino-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-5-trifluoromethylquinazoline. The key intermediate 2-amino-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-5-trifluoromethyl-quinazoline was prepared using two distinct synthetic routes and the resulting products were found to be identical.


Here we identify 12 C antigen epitopes of which four are exclusively found on the C antigens, and inter-locus epitopes including five shared by B and C and three shared by A, B and C antigens.


This activity aims to provide socialization and training regarding the depreciation of fixed assets to village-owned enterprises called BUMDes Amanah Bukit Gajah, Palalawan Regency, Riau. It was due to that BUMDes have never depreciated their fixed assets at all. Depreciating fixed assets owned by BUMDes will improve the current quality of financial reporting. This activity began with understanding the business of BUMDes. Then it continues with the provision of training and pilots following existing cases in BUMDes, including compiling tables and making sheets of Microsoft Excel-based depreciation calculators needed by BUMDes. This activity was attended by 5 BUMDes employees responsible for financial reporting. The depreciation method and useful life of fixed assets will be adjusted to tax regulations. The result of this activity was in the form of the socialization of fixed assets and their depreciation.


In this study three different bioradars were tested inside a vehicle to verify if they are able to measure respiratory rate and heart rate in an automotive environment. Raw data recordings and vital sign measurements were obtained, and after using low-complexity methods to extract the vital sign measurements from the raw data, these were compared to a ground truth. The best performance in respiratory rate measurement was achieved by an Impulse-Response Ultra Wide Band radar, with an average of 7.18 % mean relative error when the vehicle is stationary, and the best performance in heart rate measurement was achieved by a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar, with an average mean relative error of 3.27 % when the vehicle is stationary.


The present invention is mobile hinge chassis and its application. The chassis consists of one front chassis and one back chassis, and features that the front chassis and the back chassis are connected through a movable hinge comprising bearing system with moving interval in between. The household intelligent moving platform with the mobile hinge chassis consists of one mobile hinge chassis, one controller, one sensor unit, one main support frame and one power supply. The controller controls the motor based on the signal from the sensor unit so as to drive the chassis to move.


This report deals with a new integrated thermionic device capable of withstanding ambient temperatures in excess of 500/sup 0/C, which eliminates the problems associated with earlier versions. The history of the ITC (Integrated Thermionic Circuit) is traced along with Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) interests for geothermal instrumentation. The evolution of the new structure is discussed and a set of practical device design and performance equations are demonstrated.


In this paper we investigate the effect of the different types of f uels used during the same period in order to see how the efficiencies were affected. There are two types of fuels which can be used in the power plant station under consideration, one of them is liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and the other is the light diesel oil (LDO). The efficiency of the plant is high while using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) when compared to light diesel oil (LDO). This due to two reasons , the first is the high low heat value (LHV) of LPG , The second is the mixture of LPG and the air is more homogenous than LDO mixture during the combustion process.


Urban greenland provides important socio-economic value and performs ecological functions,and it also is an important measurement of the sustainable development of cities in ecology.Connectivity is one of major indicator for maintenance of ecological functions in landscape.The connectivity of greenland landscape in metropolitan region of Chongqing City was studied based on the theory and method of landscape ecology,combined with Landsat TM remote sensing image.The integral index of connectivity(IIC),probability of connectivity(PC) and the important values of patches in greenland landscape were computed by different distance thresholds,The most important patches were found from the greenland landscape used Geographic Information System(GIS).The results showed that the greenland landscape is consisted of few large patches and many small patches.The connectivity of greenland landscape in Chongqing City is not so well,which was directly related to the construction of the greenland landscape.The most important patches located in the main mountains in the research region.The values of large patches for Connectivity of greenland landscape are more than others size patches,we suggest that it will make great contribution to establish large patches in planning of greenland landscape.However,protecting small patches should be addressed.The better way,which to increase the greenland value in urban ecological and environment management is to increase the connectivity of patches,both small and large patches when planning greenland landscape in metropolitan region of Chongiqng City.


This paper briefly introduces Early Intervention (EI) issues in five countries including Zimbabwe, Poland, People's Republic of China (PRC), India, and the United States of America (USA). In the overview section the national background, including religious, socio-economic development, and political systems, its policies, laws and acts, are delineated, since all of these factors combine together to impact the EI development in each specific country. Next, different approaches used in these five countries are introduced and compared. Lastly, a matrix is used to contrast EI development in five countries. In conclusion the author, taking into account cultural norms and other issues, points out strengths and weaknesses in each country and suggests ways in which countries might benefit from others practices and experiences. In the world today, including some of the most modern and advanced civilizations known to man, people with disabilities continue to be unserved or underserved. There are more than 600 million people with disabilities in the world today (UN Report, 2003). More than three quarters of these people live in developing and poor countries, where poverty is the general rule: In developing countries today it is estimated that only 1 percent of mothers get help beyond that provided by family and friends in rearing their infants; and few developing countries have achieved preschool coverage of 25 to 30 percent (UN Report, 2003). Given this circumstance, it is understandable that people with disabilities are underserved, do not get enough consideration, and therefore, this group of people could not reach their fullness. Among this group of people, however, it is the young children that suffer most since they are at the critical period of time when their situations could be enhanced greatly that have big impacts on their future life, and it is the young children who need the most concern as they are at the plasticity period whose development could be intervened and reorganized so as to help them less dependent and produce the best result. This specialized services that are provided to infants and toddlers at-risk or those who are showing signs of developmental delay, and services that emphasize the continued development of basic skills through planned interactions that will minimize the effects of the baby's condition, is early intervention (EI) (Coleman, 1993). It is obviously important to make sure that EI is implemented widely around world, including developed and developing countries, to fully help each and every child with special needs. This paper studies and compares EI in five different countries including the US, China, Indian, Poland, and Zimbabwe in terms of the cultural, economical, and political contexts, the methodologies used for EI development, the limitations, and the implications, with assumptions that EI is influenced not only by biology but multilevel factors like political, social, economic factors and that through the comparisons of the five countries, experts in EI around the world could join together to help families with children at risks. These five countries are chosen with another assumption that they are representative of the different developing stages of EI in the contemporary world.


This description of an old lady comes from a book by Alexander Leaf about his travels to seek, find, and understand the reasons for the longevity of centenarians (people over 100). The reading of the part dedicated to the then Soviet Caucasus region Abkhazia is especially amusing. It turns out that all of the centenarians he visited were relatively hearty drinkers. Most of the old people consumed wine daily and did not hesitate to enjoy a drink Leaf describes as 'Georgian vodka' but is, in fact, a homebrewed hard liquor mainly known as chacha, seldom containing less than sixty per cent of alcohol. All these people were respected community workers, still actively participating in physically heavy agricultural work but also travelling huge distances to visit friends, singing in village choirs, or looking after grandchildren. In many places the author goes into philosophical passages about the relation between health and alcohol consumed. Alexander Leaf, an educated middle-class American, comes from a different culture, from a culture where intensive alcohol consumption has been traditionally regarded as a problem, a symbol for the underclass, people who were often seen as 'non-humans'. Indeed, in Victorian England, poor people were seen as 'dirty' and morally deprived, which altogether made them another 'species' compared to their educated affluent co-citizens (Nayak 2003: 76–77). This perception about the lack of morals of poor people also included their imagined uncontrolled alcohol consumption. In the same time period in the USA, any kind of alcohol addiction, i.e. alcoholism, was seen as a particularity of the working classes – "Negroes, Catholics, Irish immigrants, and so on" (McDonald 1994a: 4). Wealthy and educated classes were seen as free from that


The provision of services with complex multi-layer communication networks requires appropriate and generic network models describing accurately the existing networks and flexible softwares supporting the adaptation of the used algorithms to the new planning and analysis tasks. The paper introduces an object-oriented modeling and planning tool that is suitable to describe the existing multi-layer networks in detail, provides framework for modeling, dimensioning and analyzing new technological solutions, and for introducing new planning and evaluation approaches and algorithms. The framework is used at Hungarian Telekom, and its capabilities are validated with some illustrative examples.


Abstract Introduction: Recognition and safe management of vascular anomalies during laparoscopic renal surgery has become increasingly important as more challenging cases are undertaken via a laparoscopic approach. Recent studies have found comparable results in cases where vascular anomalies were found with low complication rates for laparoscopic donor nephrectomies1 and partial nephrectomies.2 The following video demonstrates the management of anatomic variations of the renal vein and artery, gonadal vein, lumbar vein, and accessory veins during laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, donor nephrectomy, and pyeloplasty. Methods: Digital video captures of laparoscopic renal surgeries were reviewed to find cases of anomalous renal vasculature. Cases were selected for their quality and content, with regard to demonstrating a distinct scenario in which a vascular anomaly is managed. During laparoscopic renal surgery, hilar vessels are managed either with clips or vascular staplers. The endo TA™ (Covidien, Mansfie...


Specific models for the rational design of pit latrines of different shapes and sizes are presently non-existent. What exist are general design models irrespective of the shape and size of latrine which may not give the actual design parameters needed. This research was limited to the derivation of models that will aid the design of the capacity of pit latrines of different shapes and dimensions for different population of users and under different soil formations and ground conditions. The objective of this research was to derive models for the rational design of pit latrines of different shapes using data collected from 500 different household pit latrines already filled up. Thus, models were derived for different latrine pit shapes and sizes using data collected through the administration of designed questionnaire on 500 households having pit latrines already filled up. Models were developed specifically for different latrine shapes whereas those of other researchers were generalized. These models were calibrated and verified for the rational design of pit latrines of different shapes and sizes. The regression coefficients for calibration were 0.75, 0.65, and 0.50 and for verification are 0.97, 0.98 and 0.99 for square, circular and rectangular pits respectively. The implication of this research is availability of design models for the construction of different pit latrine shapes.


Traditional perceptions of the human-animal relationship in the urban context typically see the spatial
rejection of wildlife from the built environment and limiting of biodiversity conservation programs to areas of natural reserve. As urban growth places further spatial demands on natural habitat and contributes to continued global biodiversity loss, the recently introduced conservation approach of reconciliation ecology makes a call promoting ecological stewardship through embedding wildlife habitat within human dominated areas. Coinciding with this, the architectural sphere has seen a recent trend of design investigation addressing artificial animal habitat as features of the built environment. Although these precedents are currently a niche and scattered trend they show potential to
address the human-animal dualism challenging the framework of reconciliation ecology.

This research explores the role design plays in influencing perceptions of urban wildlife habitat, particularly considering the need to create and communicate value around wildlife biodiversity as a component of urban cultural place-making and ecological literacy. The study purpose sets out to establish a set of approaches and cultural preferences with which to direct further classification and development of this architectural trend. Brisbane is utilised as a case study city, as a locale containing proximities of relatively high wildlife and human populations in an urban
setting and an established legislative biodiversity heritage and ethic. Through use of a qualitative and quantitative questionnaire targeting Brisbane residents, the research methodology established that although respondents perceptions generally aligned with traditional prejudice against wildlife around human buildings, artificial habitat intervention would be supported within the CBD provided it allowed for adequate distancing of humans from wildlife and conformed with contextual surroundings, or otherwise addressed habitat through redevelopment at an urban scale. As such further research directions for artificial habitat should focus on integration of artificial habitat as a component of facade design or green infrastructure programs.


Although superficial electromyographic signals are the most common input signal for machine learning algorithms in hand gesture recognition and finger force estimation applications, there are only a few commercially available systems for superficial EMG acquisition. This work proposes a cheap and easy to fabricate, dry superficial electrodes array. This system uses multiple active differential sensors integrated in a small double layer PCBs, each one uses two small rectangle areas of the bottom layer as conductive layer for signal acquisition. With a differential gain of 60dB between 23 and 3000Hz and a common mode rejection ration of −60dB at 60Hz. Design criteria and simulations are presented.


Traditional cadastre is based on division of land into 2D surface parcels, upon which ownership rights are subsequently registered. Nevertheless, the rights to a parcel are always in 3D as land use would be impossible if confined only to the 2D flat surface. However, most 2D registrations are found to be adequate as long as the whole column of space (cujus est solum ejus est usque ad coelum et ad inferos) belongs to a person or a ground of persons. Intensive use of land and technological advances have made it possible to have many different types of uses simultaneously above and below one another. Examples of such multiple use of space (or stratified properties) include the apartment complex, tunnel, utility cable and pipeline criss-crossing under the surface and underground mining. The legal situations in such stratified properties can no longer be portrayed effectively on flat surfaces, as several persons, either as owner(s) or rights or interests holders, now hold the same parcel of land simultaneously. The introduction of the third dimension (hence the so-called 3D cadastre) is deemed necessary in order to provide efficient means to register and to provide the legal status of these factual situations as in the real world. Cadastre is always related to land. Being an essential tool in administering the man-land relationship, it is continually evolving in response to the dynamic nature of this relationship within the particular society. As a developing nation, the choice of an appropriate Malaysian 3D Cadastre depends upon its local conditions. It should be able to protect land rights effectively, efficiently, simply, securely and affordably


Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) are major causes of urinary and bloodstream infections. ExPEC reservoirs are not completely understood. Some mastitis-associated E. coli (MAEC) strains carry genes associated with ExPEC virulence, including metal scavenging, immune avoidance, and host attachment functions. In this study, we investigated the role of the high-affinity zinc uptake (znuABC) system in the MAEC strain M12. Elimination of znuABC moderately decreased fitness during mouse mammary gland infections. The ΔznuABC mutant strain exhibited an unexpected growth delay in the presence of bile salts, which was alleviated by the addition of excess zinc. We isolated ΔznuABC mutant suppressor mutants with improved growth of in bile salts, several of which no longer produced the K96 capsule made by strain M12. Addition of bile salts also reduced capsule production by strain M12 and ExPEC strain CP9, suggesting that capsule synthesis may be detrimental when bile salts are present. To better understand the role of the capsule, we compared the virulence of mastitis strain M12 with its unencapsulated ΔkpsCS mutant in two models of ExPEC disease. The wild type strain successfully colonized mouse bladders and kidneys and was highly virulent in intraperitoneal infections. Conversely, the ΔkpsCS mutant was unable to colonize kidneys and was unable to cause sepsis. These results demonstrate that some MAEC may be capable of causing human ExPEC illness. Virulence of strain M12 in these infections is dependent on its capsule. However, capsule may interfere with zinc homeostasis in the presence of bile salts while in the digestive tract.


In this paper, the effect of the resolution of an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) on the accuracy of timedomain low-frequency electrical impedance spectroscopy is examined. For the first time, we demonstrated that different wideband stimuli signals used for impedance spectroscopy have different sensitivities to the resolution of ADC used in impedance spectroscopy systems. We also proposed Ramp and Half-Gaussian signals as new wideband stimulating signals for EIS. The effect of ADC resolution was studied for Sinc, Gaussian, Half-Gaussian, and Ramp excitation signals using both simulation and experiments. We found that Ramp and Half-Gaussian signals have the best performance, especially at low frequencies. Based on the results, a wideband electrical impedance spectroscopy circuit was implemented with a high accuracy at frequencies bellow 10 Hz.


In the focus of this paper is a comparison of the most relevant prosodic features/feature classes for the classification of boundaries and accents in German and in English. Principal components were computed based on a large prosodic feature vector; these principal components were used as predictor variables in a Linear Discriminant analysis as well as in a Classification and Regression Tree. The number of the most relevant principal components was between three and five; for both languages and for boundary and accent classification alike, most important were principal components modelling duration, in combination with energy, followed by pauses and F0.


Heterogeneity in cell populations is a phenomenon encountered in virtually all biological systems; in whole tissues and cell cultures, and from bacterial to mammalian cells. Moreover, assessment and correct interpretation of these cell-to-cell differences is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in biology.1 To study cell heterogeneity in phenotype, genotype and their chemical products, new analytical methods that allow the examination of individual cells are constantly being developed. These methods are often characterized by their exquisite spatial and temporal resolution, as well as extreme sensitivity. They often find application in biochemical research, clinical diagnostics, drug development, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This review aims to provide an overview of the technological advances made in this still rapidly expanding field during the last two years. We will focus on new developments or variations of existing techniques in three major areas of quantitative chemical analysis: electrochemical analysis, optical analysis and (super resolution) microscopy, and mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging. Some relevant examples of qualitative analysis will be discussed as well. Techniques are increasingly applied in a hybrid fashion in an effort to answer evermore complex biological questions as the importance of differences between individual cells is better understood and recognized. Given the extent to which many developments rely on microfluidics, a dedicated section on this is included. Some of the many recent examples of single-cell "omics" performed in microfluidic devices are also discussed. In an effort to write a comprehensive yet not utterly exhaustive overview, we have decided to leave out other areas that have not seen as many new developments. We have also decided to omit techniques in the major areas that have become established and standard approaches, unless there have been significant new developments. We sincerely hope we have paid attention to all the work done in this field and apologize to anyone whose work we omitted.


This paper studied a problem of combining Expert?fuzzy and PID control strategies in detail by Expert?fuzzy and PID control theory for a vector control AC servo system. Using hierarchical intelligent control structures and combining some control strategies, AC servo system of hierarchical intelligent control composite control is composed.


A novel method for telomerase detection based on DNAzyme and toehold-mediated strand displacement was developed. Optimal designing of a hairpin probe ensured efficient inhibition of DNAzyme activity by preventing it from forming the G-quadruplex structure. After the substrate TS was elongated by telomerase,the original hairpin structure could be destroyed through toehold-mediated strand displacement,so that the free DNAzyme was released,which catalyzed the oxidation of ABTS2-to generate an absorbance increase at 415 nm. The results indicated that the proposed method could detect the telomerase as low as 500 Hela cells equivalent. Besides,this method is simple and requires no fluorescence labeling or complicated surface modification,and thus is expected to have a wide use in routine telomerase analysis of tumor cells.


Background and purpose:  Activation of cannabinoid (CB) receptors decreases nociceptive transmission in inflammatory or neuropathic pain states. However, the effects of CB receptor agonists in post‐operative pain remain to be investigated. Here, we characterized the anti‐allodynic effects of WIN 55,212‐2 (WIN) in a rat model of post‐operative pain.


Since the 2011 Tohoku megathrust earthquake had been occurred, there were strong demands to monitor and mitigate the geological hazards such as an earthquake and volcano in South Korea. This study focused on the crustal deformation, which indicates the earth's dynamics on or below the surface, for the long periods or by the transient events using the GNSS data and the Bernese software v5.2. The Korea peninsula has moved to the south-east direction with 3.3cm per a year during 2004-2015 when the GNSS data have been available. Also, it was testified that the transient displacement had been appeared on the Korea peninsula by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Therefore, we conclude that there needs to accumulate GNSS observations over the longer duration and to periodically analyze the crustal deformation as a phenomenon related to the seismic activity.


Interpersonal violence refers broadly to any actions between persons (i.e., interpersonal) that are hurtful or harmful (i.e., violence). Various forms of interpersonal violence (e.g., physical, emotional, sexual abuse; dating violence; bullying) are common among school-aged youth, and students may be both perpetrators and victims of interpersonal violence. The effects of interpersonal violence can impact various domains of functioning throughout one's life, physically (e.g., increased risk of somatic symptoms) and emotionally (e.g., increased risk of depression, delinquent behavior). Cultural considerations of these effects warrant exploration. Further, schools represent a critical setting to monitor and address the impacts of interpersonal violence. The authors present both systems-level (e.g., Developmental Designs, Restorative Practices, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) and student-level approaches to support students. They also provide a list of external resources and discussion questions.


the system of execution of criminal punishments existing in the country is considered. On the basis of the spent analysis, it is offered to structure criminally-executive system according to the purposes poententiari preventive maintenance.


ICT is not only an important aspect of national development is also a survival factor in today's competitive world. The challenge for today's scientific and technological organizations are faced with is how to avoid the negative consequences of this phenomenon on the organizations employees. One of the consequences, self-alienation, which it considered a case in which his party is a stranger, feels alienated. It does not consider itself the center of the universe and its creator is not applied. But he that governs the actions and consequences of obedience or even praises it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of ICT on the Job alienation. This research is based on Charles (1992), Dimensions of alienation, including futility, Powerlessness, self-loathing, social isolation, anomie, were discussed and the impact of ICT on them was measured. Data from two questionnaires, each of which consists of 60 questions divided into five Likert spectrum confirmed the validity and reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82) the data were analyzed using spss software. Results showed that ICT has an impact on all aspects of alienation. Managers of various organizations, especially Mazandaran Wood and Paper industry executives, the conditions necessary for it to do anything less.


Background: Cola pachycarpa and Cola lepidota are two varieties of fruit known as Monkey cola. They are from the same plant family. The plant was predominantly found in the wild until recently. There is basic information on the leaves, seeds, and fruits of this plant. However, there is paucity of empirical studies on their consumption and utilization pattern.
Objective: The study evaluated the consumption and utilization pattern of the leaves, fruits and seeds of these two varieties of Monkey Cola, pachycarpa and lepidota in two South-Eastern States of Nigeria.
Materials and methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional survey. The survey employed a multi-stage random sampling technique to select 808 adults from different communities in Isiala Mbano local government area of Imo State and Isiala Ngwa South local government area of Abia State. A structured validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on consumption and utilization pattern of the fruits, leaves and seeds in the survey areas. Data was analysed statistically using IBM-SPSS (Special Package for Social Sciences) version 20 software.
Results: Cola pachycarpa was more popular (84.5%) and the fruits were consumed mainly raw (99.0%). The leaves and seeds are not eaten but used for medicinal purposes, though the seeds ranked highest in this regard (48.3%).
Conclusion: The fruits particularly Cola pachycarpa were popular. They were consumed raw while the leaves and seeds were solely used in traditional medicine.


The overall aim of this research is to provide base technology for an automated vision system for on-board interpretation of geophysical data. During the first yea_s work we have demonstrated that geophysical data can be treated as patterns and interpreted using single neural networks. Research underway at this time is developing an integrated vision system comprising neural networks, algorithmic preprocessing and expert knowledge. This system is to be tested incrementally using synthetic geophysical patterns, laboratory generated geophysical patterns and field geophysical patterns. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910015071 2019-05-25T07:04:44+00:00Z 111-8 SUMMARYOF PREVIOUSWORK The objectives of the first year funding were threefold. First, develop a continuous profiling EM vision system. Second, develop a continuous profiling sonic system. Third, evaluate pattern recognition and neurat network approaches for automated interpretation of continuous profile data. As funding for the first year effort (1989-1990) necessitated a reduction in scope, objectives one and three became the operative objectives for the project. Combining SERC Funding with funding from several other projects, we purchased a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system for continuous profiling using EM radiation in the 500 MHz and 300 MHz frequency ranges. Extensive experimentation of the GPR system at our geophysical test site and at several sites in Arizona is reported in McGill et al., 1989, McGiII et al., 1990, and McGill, 1990. Research during the first year has also demonstrated that radar signatures can be represented as patterns and interpreted automatically using a single neural network, see Figures 1 and 2. Our increasing experience in the field, however, indicated that GPR signatures can become quite complex, but target shape and aspects of the GPR survey (such as profiling speed) also strongly influence the radar return signatures. Hence, we believe that a single neural network could rapidly become overwhelmed by actual field situations, as we ourselves are at times. This belief has led to this year's project, which has as an objective to develop and incrementally test an integrated vision system comprising neural networks, algorithmic preprocessing and expert knowledge represented by a symbolic paradigm. SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCH The research objective of the current reporting period is to develop and incrementally test an integrated vision system comprising neural networks, algorithmic preprocessing and expert knowledge. VISION SYSTEM During our previous research, we have demonstrated that GPR patterns are amenable to adaptive pattern recognition using a single neural network. In these experiments a continuous output simulated neural network was used to predict the horizontal and vertical location of a buried plate given the radar signal returned from the irradiated plate.


In shallow waters, several species of benthic invertebrate organisms have historically contributed to the economies of the coastal states of the Gulf of Mexico as fishing resources (shrimp, lobster, crab, snails, clams, etc.) and recently, aquacultural production of these species is providing opportunities for development in the three countries that surround the basin. These opportunities include specialized production for the pharmacological extraction of bioactive compounds (from snails, corals, sponges) and other industries based on biopolymers, glues, dyes and other products that are derived from microorganisms and invertebrates. The benthos of deep waters, due to their abundance and the size and structure of their populations, do not offer the same opportunities for sustainable, commercial exploitation. On a global scale, the importance of the benthos is related to species, such as coral, that capture carbon in their centuries old carbonate skeletons and thus participate in the regulation of the climate and carbon cycling of the planet. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS


The purpose of this study was to investigate families' perspectives on learning disabilities (LD) in Taiwan. A researcher-designed survey was sent out to families of children with or without LD from three middle schools. Data from 153 participants were gathered and analysed. The survey consisted of four sections, namely demographic information, children's reading performance, families' general understanding and perspectives of LD. Specifically, the last section of 54 Likert scale items designed to gather information about families' perspectives of LD was analysed with five domains: causes of LD (inherent or acquired), conceptions and misconceptions, attitudes (acceptance or rejection), disclosure of disabilities (willing or unwilling), and support. Results indicated that families were not familiar with educational services related to LD in schools. Additionally, families' experiences with people with disabilities resulted in different perspectives regarding the causes and conceptions about LD, and acquiring support. Families' perspectives on LD also correlated with personal characteristics, including the level of their children's reading performance, number of children and income level. The cultural implications of these findings interplay with an emphasis on academic performance are discussed.


From the stem bark and root bark of Erythrina burttii twenty-three flavonoids and isoflavonoids, including some eight new compounds, have been isolated and characterised. The stem bark of this plant mainly produces isoflavanones while the root bark elaborate pterocarpans and the rare isoflav-3-enes.


Overabundant populations of large herbivores have strong persistent effects on forest composition, structure, and function. However, the mechanism through which plant communities recover their original composition and function after herbivore management remains poorly understood. We assessed the temporal trajectories of the herbaceous communities in Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss stands on Anticosti Island (Quebec, Canada) over 8 years following clear-cutting and deer management. The impact of deer exclusion or reduction to 7.5 and 15 deer·km-2 was compared with benchmark in situ deer densities (27 and 56 deer·km-2). Effects of deer management treatments on plant species and functional trait assemblages over time were assessed using principal response curves. Although complete deer exclusion seemed necessary to modify species composition from that occurring under intense browsing, a reduced density of 7.5 deer·km-2 was sufficient to induce significant changes in functional trait assemblages of regenerating stands. For instance, reduced deer densities favored plants with brightly colored flowers and compound inflorescences pollinated by animals and producing large seeds and fleshy fruits dispersed by animals. We conclude that the boreal forest's herbaceous communities are resilient to chronic browsing when deer population reduction and forest clearcutting are applied in synergy.


The study of women during wartime includes the analysis of both elites and subalterns alike with regard to the diversity of their attitudinal composure. Researchers have showed that women exhibit different personality behavior during war situation, with the example of the work of Vickers (1993). In Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1939) , personality clash is represented through Anna Fierling, the main character's individual deviation from the standards of conduct operating, being a humanist and anti-human, within the given culture. To Anna Fierling, who must see the end of the thirty years European war, we see the struggle between virtues of motherhood and vices for livelihood. However, a behavioural balance in Anna Fierling's character could seldom be achieved away from cultural relativity. This paper, therefore, presents a humanistic approach for explaining the bifoci of Anna Fierling's personality; a woman at the crossroads of playing her motherly as well as economic role in a capitalist, war-torn era.


A full‐term boy born with global hypotonia, weakness, and respiratory insufficiency was finally diagnosed as X‐linked centronuclear myopathy by whole exome sequencing, with a mutation in the MTM1 gene encoding myotubularin. In addition to the typical phenotypes, the infant had a distinctive feature in his chest x‐ray, extremely thinning ribs. This was presumably due to scarcely antepartum work of breathing and may be an important suggestive indicator for skeletal muscle conditions.


Tetra-cationic compounds with tetrahedral geometry were synthesized. Four cationic units were introduced on a quaternary carbon through -CH2- spacer. Despite of steric crowding around the core, hig...


The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) has become an evolving worldwide health crisis. With the rising prevalence of obesity and diabetes has come an increasing awareness of their impacts on infectious diseases, including increased risk for various infections, post‐infection complications and mortality from critical infections. Although epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Covid‐19 have been constantly reported, no article has systematically illustrated the role of obesity and diabetes in Covid‐19, or how Covid‐19 affects obesity and diabetes, or special treatment in these at‐risk populations. Here, we present a synthesis of the recent advances in our understanding of the relationships between obesity, diabetes and Covid‐19 along with the underlying mechanisms, and provide special treatment guidance for these at‐risk populations.


Abstract : The first fundamental feature of RD accordingly this work can only be considered as a first step toward more general and more sophisticated models. The basic model (Section 2) is that of a firm engaged in an R&D process.


The purpose of this study is to analyze urban housing blocks composed of the official residences in Seoul in the period of Japanese occupation. During that period Japanese built a number of houses in Korea, and the great part of them were constructed as the official residences by the government. The architectural drawings made by the administration office during that period are examined with several maps of modern Seoul, to verify the characteristics of the official residences as a housing development. Because several houses are built at a time. housing blocks of the official residences had rectangularity of street patterns and plots with some type plan units. which affects modern urban housing in Korea including the urban traditional housing in Seoul of 1930s.


1Assistant Professor, Department of Information Technology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry, India 2Associate Professor, Department of Information Technology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry, India 3Department of Information Technology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry, India 4Department of Information Technology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry, India ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract Visual impairment is one of a human being's disabilities, and several strategies have been introduced to change the visually impaired people's life style. In this project, an automated vision approach for recognizing expiry date numerals of product is presented. Product should contain clear information of expiry date and retail price in the label. Due to the writings and distorted characters, the MRP expense and the expiry date detail printed on the product cover faced some challenges. The system consists of four stages: pre-processing of numeral strings, segmentation of strings of numerals, extraction features and numeral recognition. In preprocessing module, the image is converted to binary image based on threshold. In the segmentation module a vertical projection method is followed for the isolation of numerals. Fourier Magnitude (FM), Local Energy (LE) and Complex Moments (CM) derived from the outputs of Stretched Gabor (SGabor) filters are extracted at different filter orientations in the feature extraction module. Additionally, it extracts the mean and variance of each function map. The process of recognition is achieved by classifying the extracted features, which represent the numeral image, using k-fold cross validation procedure with a qualified Multilayer Neural Network (MNN). From experiments, the richness of knowledge is highlighted in the S-Gabor features. The collection of features therefore demonstrates its usefulness for practical use.


Daily records of SpodQptera litura males caught in pheromone traps at Saga and Kagoshima (150 km south of Saga on the Kyushu mainland) were compared during 1990 and 1995, in relation to meteorological conditions. The temporal patterns of occurrence were similar at the two Iocations, but the total number of males caught at Kagoshima was two or three times larger than that at Saga. Prominent peaks in catches during the rainy seasons in early summer and early autumn were also characteristic of the Kagoshima but not the Saga records. There were essentially no correlations between the numbers of males caught in any years and the catches of the preceding autumn. The mest conspicuous feature of these reeords was the sudden increases in many cases in the male catch recorded at the time of the approach of typhoons in these areas, after midAugust. Our estimations of developmental rates based on the effective accumulative temperature of this species generally failed to indicate local emergence of moths corresponding to peaks in trap catches at about a one generation interval preceding a typhoon's approach. These typhoons generally passed the Southwest Islands of Japan and ran through the East China Sea before approaching Kyushu. Thereafter, the male catch tended to increase prominently in autumn. The possibility of overseas long-distance migration of this non-diapausing species when typhoons approach Kyushu is discussed.


This article reports on a postcolonial and anti-colonial reading of representations of 'African' leadership and management in organization studies. The resulting analysis revealed tensions and contradictions between stereotypical colonial images of 'African' leadership and management and proposed counter-images that often reflect the excesses of cultural relativism. Finding alternatives between colonized representations and counter-representations is not an easy project. This article extends existing postcolonial scholarship in organization studies which has relied primarily upon the seminal trinity of Said, Spivak, and Bhabha by incorporating anti-colonial and nationalist thought found primarily in the work of Fanon, Césaire and Senghor.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions have pushed supply chain decision-makers in the retail industry to implement information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the efficiency and resiliency of their supply chain. However, they need some guidance to identify the functional elements of the supply chain for ICT adoption and the benefits of implementing ICT on their supply chain performance. Methods: We conducted an empirical study that provides guidance on the performance benefits of ICT adoption specifically for the downstream supply chain of the retail industry. This study employed the feature engineering technique to prioritize the functional elements of the supply chain to maximize the benefits of ICT adoption on supply chain performance. Results: ICT adoption benefits the retail industry's overall downstream supply chain performance in the range of 9–41%. Moreover, the study discovered the key functional elements of the supply chain for ICT adoption that significantly improve the overall supply chain performance. Conclusions: The study presents a definite view of the quantitative benefits of ICT adoption to the supply chain decision-makers of the retail industry and aids them in selecting appropriate functional elements for ICT adoption to maximize their supply chain performance.


The Ti metal interdiffusion of Ti/Pt/Au gate metal stacks in 0.15-/spl mu/m GaAs PHEMTs subjected to high-temperature accelerated lifetest has been physically identified using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Further energy dispersive analysis with X-ray (EDX) analysis confirms the Ti diffusion into the AlGaAs Schottky barrier layer and the decrease of Schottky barrier height suggests the Ti-AlGaAs intermetallic formation, which is consistent with previous Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies. The Ti metal interdiffusion reduces the separation of the gate metal and InGaAs channel, thus leading to a slight Gm increase, positive shift in pinchoff voltage, and S21 increase during the preliminary portion of the lifetest. Accordingly, the Ti interdiffusion effect implies that the lifetime of GaAs PHEMTs subjected to high-temperature accelerated lifetest could be dependent upon the initial thickness of the Schottky layer underneath the gate metal.


This research aims to diagnose the existing and planned climate governance in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba – namely in the cities of Curitiba, Araucária and Fazenda Rio Grande – under a systemic, critical and interdisciplinary perspective. To achieve this goal and understand the climate issue within and outside the hegemonic ideology, firstly several understandings, meanings and underlying knowledge to climate change were introduced, which go beyond the scientific discourse and could substantially change both the climate issue as the technical solutions commonly found for it. The involved institutions, scientific organization and structuring of the issue are delineated by pointing out how this setting resulted in a deep centralization of climate policies and knowledge and in the empowerment of stakeholders and specific ideologies to the detriment of others. From this, the concepts of governance while normative agent and analytical framework are triggered to explore the main actors and their roles in climate governance, the instances in which it occurs and how they interrelate: the international, national and sub-national levels are investigated with regard to the history of negotiations, agreements, performances, discourses and actions taken, as well as the influences that occur from one to the other and that result in consequences on performance and responsibility granted to the cities tackling climate change. Upon getting to the local level, a characterization of the researched area and its municipalities is provided, including historical, social and environmental aspects relevant for understanding the political context and its relation to planned or ongoing climate governance, which is finally related to its main actors and leading ideologies. The methodology involved face-to-face interviews with local actors and the investigation of relevant documents, which were examined under the precepts of French discourse analysis. It is considered that the existing local governance gives continuity and subsides the authoritarian line adopted internationally, which grants little space and importance to civil engagement and other forms of knowledge that go beyond science and economics. In addition, the great discrepancy as to preparation, interest and structure found among the cities represents a great weight not only for the climate issue to come, but for the quality of life of the population, especially the least favored.


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This paper takes clinical examples to explore the idea that paintings made during the course of therapy may be used by the client's defence mechanisms so that the picture and picture-making process are utilised against expression of creativity. It is argued that art is not inherently creative but is subject to the same processes of resistance and defence as encountered in other areas of the client's life and therapy. Some of the literature is reviewed followed by clinical examples. The conclusion drawn is that once resistance has been interpreted new layers of creativity become available to the client.


Thermo-mineral springs are particular ecosystems that are present all over the world. However, they are largely disregarded by monitoring programs. They present a wide variety of physical and chemical properties of waters leading to a wide spectrum of interesting habitats available for the development of diatoms, such as new species recently described, that could be considered as endemic for some of them. During a survey performed in the French Massif Central, diatoms were sampled in different springs. Some of these emergences are natural, while others are Man-made springs. Significant differences are observed between species richness of these two types of springs. The natural springs tend to present higher richness than Man-made ones. This highlight the importance of restoring thermo-mineral springs and to suppress constructions done around the emergence when use is not on-going anymore. This would allows the reestablishment of these aquatic habits, favouring the development of unique diatom species.


Introduction: While R-CHOP has improved survival for DLBCL, outcome in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory disease remains dismal and may have worsened since the introduction of immunochemotherapy. High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation (SCT) offers the best chance of secondary cure, but the majority of patients are ineligible due to age, co-morbidities or disease refractory to salvage chemotherapy. Novel agents will address this unmet medical need; however, their impact is difficult to assess without a reliable historical comparator. Herein, we evaluate the outcome in an unselected population with relapsed/refractory DLBCL following R-CHOP in whom SCT is not feasible.

Methods: The BC Cancer Agency Lymphoid Cancer Database was used to identify all pts diagnosed with de novo DLBCL between Dec 2000 to Jan 2013 who were treated with curative intent R-CHOP and subsequently progressed or relapsed. Patients were excluded if they were HIV positive, had CNS involvement at diagnosis, PMBCL, composite/discordant histology or transformed lymphoma. Clinical information at baseline and at relapse/progression was compiled. Overall survival (OS) from relapse was calculated from the date of 1st relapse/progression to death or last follow-up. Progression-free survival (PFS) from relapse was defined as interval from 1st relapse/progression to the date of 2nd relapse, initiation of next line of therapy, death or last follow-up.

Results: 379 pts with relapsed/refractory DLBCL were identified. 53 underwent SCT and were excluded from analysis. The remaining 326 (274 SCT-ineligible and 52 SCT-eligible pts who did not receive SCT due to toxicity or chemo-refractoriness) were analyzed. Response to primary treatment was: 44% CR; 20% PR; 2% SD; 34% PD. 174 (53%) were primary refractory (progression during or within 3 mos of primary R-CHOP). Median time from diagnosis to first recurrence was 7.8 mos (range 0 – 116). Patient characteristics at relapse: median age 70 y (range 21-93); 55% male; 59% elevated LDH; 58% ECOG PS >1; 55% stage III/IV; 18% >1 extra-nodal site; 53% IPI score at relapse > or = 3. 14 (4%) relapsed with an indolent histology only and 74 (23%) exhibited CNS involvement at relapse (54 isolated, 20 concurrent systemic). Treatment at initial relapse: 78 supportive care; 77 radiotherapy (RT) alone; 2 single agent rituximab (for indolent relapse); 168 (R)-chemo +/- RT (79 single agent, 89 multi-agent). (R)-GDP was the most commonly used multi-agent regimen (75%). 1 pt had missing information. Median follow-up for living pts from the time of first relapse was 3 y. Median OS and PFS from relapse for the entire cohort were 3.9 and 2.1 mos, respectively. Outcome was worse for pts with primary refractory disease (median OS 2.5 mos, median PFS 1.7 mos). On multivariate analysis elevated LDH, ECOG PS >1, Stage III/IV and primary refractory status were independent predictors of OS and PFS from relapse. Pts who relapsed > 2 y from diagnosis had a better median OS and PFS from relapse (11 mos and 5.7 mos, respectively). Excluding pts with CNS involvement, pts who received chemo +/- RT (median OS 6.1, median PFS 3.1 mos) or RT alone (median OS 5.7, median PFS 3.3 mos) had a marginally better outcome. Disease control was similar between pts who received multi-agent vs single agent chemotherapy (median PFS 3.3 vs 2.9 mos). Median OS and PFS from relapse for the 74 pts with CNS involvement were 3.3 mos and 2.2 mos, respectively; this was similar compared to the entire cohort. Outcome was also similar between those with isolated CNS recurrence and concurrent systemic disease but 10 pts with isolated CNS relapse survived > 2 yrs. The 14 pts with indolent histology-only relapse had a significantly better outcome (median OS 36 mos, median PFS 12 mos).

Conclusion: The outcome in pts who relapse or progress following R-CHOP is exceedingly poor with standard therapy, with median OS less than 4 mos. Pts who receive treatment at initial relapse fare slightly better, but this may reflect more favorable pt characteristics. Disease control was equivalent for multi-agent vs single agent treatment. While CNS relapse is a rare event in DLBCL, a high proportion of relapsed/refractory pts have CNS disease. The presence of CNS disease did not negatively impact outcome, as outcome was dismal in the entire cohort. Novel treatments are greatly needed and these survival estimates may serve as a comparator to assess their benefit.

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Disclosures Savage: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Research funding to support BCCA Lymphoid Cancer Database Other. Villa: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Other. Shenkier: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Research funding to support BCCA Lymphoid Cancer Database Other. Gerrie: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Other. Klasa: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Other. Connors: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Other. Sehn: F Hoffmann-La Roche: Research funding to support BCCA Lymphoid Cancer Database Other.

 [1]: pending:yes


The human speech is one of the most perfect means of the human communication. The complex development of the speech capacity is an important assumption for functioning of individuals within the framework of the given social system and also assumption for the social education orientation and literacy. The human society is dependent on the hearing perception. It is considered that man acquires as much as 65% of information about the surrounding world through the acoustic channel. Auditory perception is one of principal cognitive processes, which is associated with further processes, which are in the final consequences associated with the highest forms – thinking and speech. Hearing involvement deprives people not only of the world of sounds, but it also eliminates them from the network of inter-individual communication. Just the impossibility of communication is the most important aspect of this sensory involvement. The contribution deals with the production of the speech in pre-lingually deaf children, who were surgically provided with cochlear implantate (henceforth CI). The target of the work was to compare the production of the speech in three groups of children: a) children with severe auditory involvements with the CI b) children with auditory involvements who use audiphones to correct their hearing c) children of the same age without hearing involvements (experimental or intact group). The language level of children was determined with the help of the Heidelberg speech evolution test (henceforth H-S-E-T). The result of the work demonstrated the fact that the cochlear implantate offers a certain prognosis of the correction and the cochlear implantation with subsequent rehabilitation makes the deaf children possible to enter the normal world of sounds and to communicate with hearing individuals.


Emission has been observed from the J = 3-2 rotational transition of CO over a substantial region in Sgr A West. The mapped region encompasses the dense rotating neutral disk, a structure which extends out to a radius of about 8 pc from the Galactic center. The observations show significant differences from previous CO J = 1-0 observations of Serabyn et al. (1986). In particular, the J = 3-2 emission is more centrally concentrated, and there are differences in the relative strengths of emission peaks in the two sets of maps. The derived picture is one of a disk with a significant excitation gradient, since the emission from high-excitation species declines as one moves out from the center. Typical values of the physical conditions present are density n = 20,000-200,000/cu cm and temperature T = 100-200 K. Antenna temperatures indicate optical depths greater than unity. A CO column density along a line of sight through a clump of roughly 2 x 10 to the 19th/sq cm is inferred. 35 refs.


It is a universal phenomenon that Chinese university students are tried of learning ideological and political theory.Negativity,counter-directionality and moodiness are three features of the tiredness of learning behavior.The causes can be elaborated as follows:The theory disconnects social reality;the education is inclined to unidirectionality;the education is short of emotions;the content of education departing from practicality.Some tactics should be taken to restrain the behavior effectively,such as constructing a good social atmosphere,taking the integrated measures for inculcation and immerging,adding emotional education,emphasizing on the basic morals and the universal ethics.


The article divides the facies into alluvial fan continental facies,wave-controlled delta facies,estuary paralic facies and non-barrier coast facies,which is marine facies.Based on it,the facies distribution and evolution of each formation on Eocene Series is clarified,and the primary deposition pattern for facies of the petroliferous basin is summarized as the shallow marine shelf and wave-controlled delta-alluvial deposition pattern.Finally,the advantaged exploration region on Eocene Series in the basin can be evaluated synthetically.


Tropospheric aerosol play an important role in regional meteorology and energy balance of radiation. Specially in huge urban areas like New Delhi, India a large amount of aerosols from anthropogenic origins is continuously produced and released in the atmospheric boundary layer. The effect of aerosols on atmospheric energy balance is a key global change problem. Aerosol vertical distribution monitoring can be significantly improved using active remote sensing by Lidar. Micro-pulse lidar proved to be an important state of art tool providing a detailed picture of the vertical structure of boundary layer and elevated dust or tiny aerosol. Aerosols are spatially and temporarily varied in short period. The movement of the pollutants can be tracked or mapped out as a function of time by the help of Lidar which is very important to understand the dynamics of particulate matters. The in-situ measurements of aerosol at ground will not be a true representation of total aerosol and its vertical distribution in the atmosphere, therefore the monitoring of vertical profiles of aerosol is very important and timely which is not possible by conventional methods. In view of the above a micro pulse lidar is being setup at NPL, New Delhi to get vertical profiles of aerosol to study the radiative forcing and characterization of aerosols using depolarization ratio. In the present communication details of the system and some preliminary results will be presented.


A fully prognostic coupled ice-ocean model is described. The ice model is based on the elastic-plastic constitutive law with ice mass and compactness described by distribution functions. The ice thermodynamics model is applied individually to each ice thickness category. Advection of the ice partial mass and concentrations is parameterized by a fourth-order algorithm that conserves monotonicity of the solution. The ocean is described as a three-dimensional time-dependent baroclinic model with free surface. The coupled model is applied to establish the Arctic Ocean seasonal climatology using fully prognostic models for ice and ocean. Results reflect the importance of the ice melting/freezing in the formation of the thermohaline structure of the upper ocean layer.


Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of physical activity and body mass index (BMI) with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in police officers. Methods: Self-reported physical activity, MetS, and a modified MetS (MMetS, excluding obesity) were assessed in 448 officers. Results: Of the officers, 27.5% had MetS, 48.7% were overweight, and 31.7% were obese. Being overweight and obese increased the MetS risk by 6.8- and 10.9-fold, respectively, independent of physical activity level. Moderate and low levels of physical activity were associated with a 1.9- and 2.5-fold increased risk for MetS, but not after adjusting for BMI. However, within BMI categories, the risk for MMetS was lower as physical activity increased. Conclusion: In police, a higher BMI is more critical than reduced physical activity for MetS risk; however, physical activity can attenuate some of the risk associated with a higher BMI.


Double Asteroid Redirection Test will be the first mission to demonstrate and characterize the concept of a kinetic impactor for planetary defense, by impacting the smaller member of a binary aster...


Base on the constitutive relationships of materials,the moment-curvature relationship and loading-displacement relationship for concrete beams reinforced with FRP rods are obtained from mechanics of materials given in this paper.A program of nonlinear analysis of concrete beams reinforced with FRP rods has been made.The calculated results agree well with those of the test.


A novel sifting method based on the concept of local integral mean of a signal is developed for empirical mode decomposition (EMD), aiming at decomposing those modes whose frequencies are within an octave. Instead of averaging the upper and lower envelopes, the proposed technique computes the local mean curve of a signal by interpolating data points that are local integral averages over segments between successive extrema of the signal. With the sifting method, EMD can separate intrinsic modes of oscillations with frequency ratios up to 0.8, thus considerably improving the frequency resolving power. Also, it is shown that the integral property of the sifting considerably accelerates the convergence of the sifting iteration and remarkably enhances the robustness of EMD against noise disturbance.


Introduces the concept of strategic decision making as a key management role and the lack of women′s involvement in this role as a means for understanding the organizational barriers faced by women in modern times. Studies strongly suggest that the shortage of women managers in strategic decision‐making positions is due to the barriers they face within organizations. Furthermore, that these barriers emerge as a prime factor for limiting their effectiveness. Despite the increasing number of women working in organizations, they still remain a minority or mere "tokens" when it comes to senior or strategic decision‐making positions in most organizations. Describes some of these barriers and suggests the way forward.


Objective To study the correlation between the blood pressure and the characteristic parameters of pulse wave,based on the principle of pulse wave and the theory of elastic vascular.Methods Through two methods to change blood pressure,one was hypertensive patients oral antihypertensive agents,the other one was healthy individuals exercise.Collect blood pressure as well as the corresponding pulse wave at the same time interval.Analyze the correlation between time domain characteristics of pulse wave and blood pressure.Results Blood pressure was correlated with pulse wave peak height H,wave characteristics of the volume of K,an area of line parameters and time parameters.Conclusion There is a specific correlation between the blood pressure and the characteristic parameters of pulse wave,which provides the theoretical foundation for using characteristic parameters of pulse wave to measure the blood pressure.


Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the availability of quinoa, chia, teff, mung bean, and buckwheat as an alternative feed in ruminant nutrition. Material and Methods: The materials were composed of quinoa (white, black, red), chia (white, black), teff, mung beans and buckwheat, which have passed their shelf life due to tear or damage in their package. Fatty acid components as well as enzyme soluble organic matter (ESOM) under in vitro conditions were also determined in addition to crude nutrient contents. Metabolic energy (ME), using the obtained data, was also calculated. Results: It was found out that the crude protein (CP) contents were 14.04-15.38% in quinoa, 19.9021.73% in chia, 11.98% in teff, 25.20% in mung bean, and 13.72% in buckwheat. Ether extract (EE) contents; however, were found out to be 7.13-7.97%, 30.84-35.75%, 2.46, % 3.48%, and 5.25%. The highest amount of linoleic acid was found in chia (60.71-66.17%). ESOM contents was determined at high level in white quinoa, mung bean, and buckwheat. However, in vitro ME contents were found at the highest level in chia. Conclusion: Quinoa has the potential to be an alternative to traditional cereals during early lactation period in ruminant animals, in which energy need is at its highest level, or as a source of energy in fattening period. Chia has a high potential to be effective in preventing heat stress, especially in dairy cattle. The high linolenic acid content of chia oil may allow the milk fat to be enriched by conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), one of the polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has been determined that teff and buckwheat can be alternatives to other cereals, whereas mung bean, due to its crude protein being high and being rich in minerals is a significant alternative for feed producers who have been in search of new sources of protein recently.


The invention relates to a packing scale for powder material; the packing scale is suitable for preventing the powder material containing plenty of gas from entering into a package so as to solve the problems that the package cannot be vertically installed on the floor, the rated quantity of material is hard to be packed into the package within the normal time, and the powder flies in every direction; the packing equipment has an excellent using effect and can improve packing efficiency. The packing scale comprises a degassing unloading device, a suction and blowing combination valve set, a vacuum pump and a pneumatic bag clamping lifting mechanism, wherein the degassing unloading device is arranged on a bottom outlet of a material bucket; the suction and blowing combination valve is connected with the degassing unloading device and used for degassing and eliminating blockage by blowing; and the pneumatic bag clamping lifting mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the degassing unloading device. The degassing unloading device comprises an unloading cylinder; the inner wall and the outer wall of the unloading cylinder are provided with integrated micropore filtration cores; the apertures of the filtration core holes are determined according to the size of material particles, ranging from 50 to 1 micron; the outer side wall of the unloading cylinder is provided with an interfacecommunicated with a gap between the inner wall of the unloading cylinder and an inner filtration core; and the interface is connected with the suction and blowing combination valve.


The rhwlogical properties of Douglas-fir lumber under taniential tension and compression were investigated with a small testing machine in a pressure vessel. The strain fields for matched test samples were monitored remotely with a high-resolution video camera. The required steadyand unsteadystate equilibrium moisture contents (EMCs) were achieved by contmlling the total pressure in the absence of air. The moisture content (MC) was monitored with a quartz spring sorption balance. Creep at a constant MC of LO% and mechano-sorptive (MS) effect during drying were measured for temperatures up to 82 C. The results indicated that the MS strain is the dominant component of the stms-induced strain in dryingoismall wood samples under load. At 65.6 C, the MS strain in compression along the tangential direction was about three times lamer than that in tension under the same stress level and MC chanee. An increase in temperature fmm 32.2 C to 82 C led to an increase in MS strain under compression. Constitutive equations quantifying the combined effect of mechanical loading and moisture change were develomd and fit to exwrimental data, and material Darameters for various strain components were evaluated.


Five barley varieties and nine oat varieties were included in the 2006 small grain demonstration plots at Kanawha. Each variety was sown in three different plots to average out the effects of soil variability. The varieties were planted April 12 with the barley seeded at a rate of 2 bushels/acre and the oats seeded at a rate of 3 bushels/acre. All plots were harvested on July 24.


Transpiration rate (E) and epidermal conductance (gc,) were determined for avocado leaves and floral parts under controlled environmental conditions (28¦C; PAR 60 8mole quanta m-2 s-1; VPD 1.14 kPa). E of hydrated flowers was shown to be approximately 60% that of similarly treated leaves. Around 13% of total transpirational water loss from tree canopies could be attributed to floral organs. The mean gc of leaves and flower panicles was similar at 0.028 and 0.023 mm s-1 respectively. The available canopy surface area for water loss increased by c. 90% during flowering. Xylem water potentials in panicle segments with open flowers were lower than those of mature leaves measured on trees in the field. Maximum transpiration rate of leaves measured in the field was 6.7 8g cm-2 s -1 at 0700 hours, declining to 3.0 8g cm-2 s-1 at 1100 hours, while stomatal conductance (gs) on the same leaves fell from 10.2 mm s-1 at 0700 hours to 2.52 mm s-1 at 1100 hours. Scanning Electron Microscope studies of leaves and floral structures highlighted morphological and anatomical features for water conservation. Mature leaves have an epicuticular wax-like layer on the adaxial surface. Stomates were located only on the abaxial surface, which was also covered wlth wax-like deposits. Stomate density was estimated at 73 000 cm-2 on sun leaves. Stomates were also located on abaaial surfaces of flower sepals and petals. All floral structures were densely pubescent, thereby increasing the effective boundary layer depth.


The utility model discloses a touch panel and a touch display panel. The touch panel comprises an insulating layer, a first conductive pattern, and a second conductive pattern. The first conductive pattern and the second conductive pattern are respectively disposed on two sides of the insulating layer. The first conductive pattern includes a plurality of first electrode stripes and a plurality of shielding patterns, wherein each first electrode stripe includes a stripe portion and a plurality of protrusion portions protruding from two sides of the stripe portion, and each shielding pattern is disposed between any two of the protrusion portions adjacent to each other. The second conductive pattern includes a plurality of second electrode stripes, the second electrode stripes cross the first electrode stripes, and the shielding patterns overlap the second electrode stripes. Thus, touch sensitivity of the touch panel and the touch display panel is enhanced.


In this article, the author has made a brief analysis on the problems existing in the present evaluation for the Chinese learning of vocational college students,and put forward the idea of building up a new standard of evaluation based on the principles of diversity, tendency and comprehensiveness.


This paper aims to design a set of transmit waveforms in cognitive colocated Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) radar systems considering the simultaneous minimization of spatial- and the range- Integrated Sidelobe Level Ratio (ISLR). The design problem is formulated as a bi-objective Pareto optimization under practical constraints on the waveforms, namely total transmit power, peak-to-average-power ratio (PAR), constant modulus, and discrete phase alphabet. A Coordinate Descent (CD) based approach, called UNIQUE, is proposed in which at every single variable update of the algorithm we obtain the solution of the uni-variable optimization problems. The novelty of the paper comes from deriving a flexible waveform design problem applicable for the emerging 4D imaging MIMO radars with application to automotive radar systems. The simultaneous optimization leads to a trade-off between the two ISLRs and the simulation results illustrate significantly improved trade-off offered by the proposed methodologies.


Internal solitary waves (ISWs) have considerable energy to drive the mixing of water masses in the Sulu Sea. The propagation speed is a critical parameter in demonstrating the dynamic characteristics of ISWs. We collected 1354 groups of ISWs' speeds from tandem satellite remote sensing images with short temporal intervals and analyzed their spatial and multi-scale temporal variations in the Sulu Sea. The wave speeds increase exponentially with water depth with a power of 0.26. The fortnightly spring/neap tidal currents cause daily variations of wave speeds up to 30%. In addition to the well-recognized stratification that leads to monthly variations of wave speed, the seasonal circulations lead to a maximum decrease of wave speeds by 0.27 m/s. With respect to interannual variations, the wave speeds increase in La Ni˜na years and decrease in El Ni˜no years, caused by the climatic modulation of ocean stratification.


This dissertation aims to find out how far the role of the da'wah of Sufism in improving the quality of faith of the Indonesian people, especially the Betawi people. Where the Betawi people experience moral decadence, the erosion of identity associated with the decline in religious values. And with its geographical location, namely the Metropolitan City, the Betawi community is infected with a hedonistic and materialistic lifestyle. It is hoped that this da'wah of Sufism can fortify the ummah from moral depravity and become a means of fostering human relations with its Lord, and fellow communities around it, as well as forming believers with noble character who are loved by Allah and His Messenger. The method used in this study is to use the theory used in this research is to use the theory of the sociology of knowledge, while the approach is to da'wah-sufism in the Betawi community in Indonesia. The hypothesis to be achieved in the dissertation puts forward humanist da'wah thinking. The sociology of knowledge is a theory, while on the other hand the sociology of knowledge is a sociological-historical research method. As a theory, the sociology of knowledge takes two forms, namely: first, a purely empirical investigation through the exposure and structural analysis of how social interactions in fact influence thought. Second, epistemological research that focuses on how social relations and thought affect the issue of validity. In other words, as a theory for purely empirical inquiry, the sociology of knowledge examines the living forces and actual attitudes that underlie theoretical attitudes. Strength is not seen as a mere individual thing, but rather on the collective goals of a group that underlies individual thinking.


In recent years, as the rapid growth of the number of electric vehicles, people have more and more requirements on the safety performance of vehicles. However, compared with fuel vehicles, the structure of electric vehicles has its own particularity which makes the safety design of body structure more difficult. Thus, improving the passive safety of electric vehicles and protecting the passengers from injury in the collision to the greatest extent have become important issues for the automotive industry. This paper simulates the frontal offset impact simulation analysis of a certain type of SUV, and analyzes the safety performance of the vehicle from the perspective of member protection. The front side member structure and impact energy absorption which affect the passive safety of the whole vehicle are optimized and improved. The finite element model of the whole vehicle is rebuilt, and the frontal offset impact simulation test is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the optimization scheme.


The article describes the system built by Statistics Denmark to handle and utilize large amounts of media citations. The system makes it possible to measure the precise number of media citations resulting from each individual news release. This information is used for giving feedback to the subject matter divisions, for developing the news releases and statistics, and for prioritizing them if necessary. In addition the system is delivering monthly statistics on media performance by subject matter division and by the organisation as a whole.


Landscape sustainability plays a vital role in maintaining ecological security and promoting regional ecological sustainable development. The main objectives of the research are to classify and assess the landscape types and the changes to them and to evaluate agricultural and forestry landscape sustainability using sustainability indicators in the Lamtakhong watershed, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. In this study, the extracted and predicted land use and land cover data during 1993 to 2025 were used to classify landscape types by the majority of land use and land cover. The derived landscape types were then applied for status and change assessment and sustainability evaluation. The results showed that during 1993 to 2025 the most dominant landscape was agricultural landscape and the least abundant landscape was miscellaneous landscape. Meanwhile, the development of landscape types indicated that urban, agricultural, and miscellaneous landscapes had continued to increase but forestry landscape had successively decreased. The overall sustainability level of the agricultural and forestry landscape during 1993 to 2025 was moderate. However, the sustainability of agricultural and forestry landscape had continuously declined in term of gains and losses in the past and would continue to do so into the future. With these results, it might be concluded that the sustainability of agricultural and forestry landscape in the Lamtakhong watershed will be decreased in the future. The findings of the study can be used as the basis for regular monitoring of the use of the land and can be a guide for biodiversity conservation and forest rehabilitation.


28Si+ implantation into Mg-doped GaN, followed by thermal annealing in N2 was performed to achieve n+-GaN layers. Multiple implantation was used to form a uniform Si implanted region. It was found that the carrier concentration of the films changed from 3×1017 cm−3 (p-type) to 5×1019 cm−3 (n-type) when the samples were annealed in N2 ambient at 1000 °C. The activation efficiency of Si in Mg-doped GaN was as high as 27%. In addition, planar GaN n+–p junctions formed by Si-implanted GaN:Mg were also achieved.


This paper formulates and tests a model of rent change based on the natural vacancy rate hypothesis. It incorporates the Haurin [6] hypothesis in which the natural rate for particular units is determined by their atypicality. Estimates of the model indicate a natural rate of 6.5%. However, the rate is shown to vary systematically across individual units: the more atypical an apartment unit, the higher the natural rate. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.


Plate heat exchangers, a compact-type heat exchanger, are commonly used heat transfer devices because of their superior characteristics. Their thermal performances are strongly dependent to working fluid circulating inside the system. The influences of nanofluid utilization as the working fluid in a plate heat exchanger was experimentally and numerically analysed in this study. In order to show off the improvement rate in heat transfer, the experiments were performed by using deionized water and TiO2-deionized water nanofluid. The nanofluid was prepared at the rate of 1.5 % as weighted. A surface-active agent, Triton X-100, was also doped into the mixture at the rate of 0.2% of a final concentration to prevent the sedimentation and flocculation of the nanoparticles inside the solution. The experiments were performed in different temperatures as 40°C, 45°C, 50°C and varying cold fluid mass flow rates as 3,4, 5, 6 and 7 lpm.  In addition, using the experimental data, a numerical simulation was realized by ANSYS Fluent software.  The both results indicate that heat transfer rate in plate heat exchanger can be improved using nanofluid as the working fluid in place of deionized water. The maximum improvement rate in heat transfer was obtained as 11 % in experimental study. It is also seen that experimental and numerical results are in good agreement.©2019. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reservedArticle History: Received May 18th 2018; Received in revised form October 17th 2018; Accepted January 8th 2019; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Sözen, A., Khanlari, A., and Çiftçi, E. (2019) Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Nanofluid Usage in a Plate Heat Exchanger for Performance Improvement. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 8(1), 27-32.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.8.1.27-32


Without realizing the importance of soft infrastructure, hard infrastructure cannot ensure a significant impact on sustained economic development. Unfortunately, Central Asia and Caucasia regions have continued to rely on a physical development model that has resulted in generating revenue but has failed to embed a sustained growth pattern in these countries. This paper highlights where Central Asia and Caucasia regions stand in terms of physical and soft infrastructure. A gradual improvement in physical infrastructure is observed, however, the infrastructure development pattern is uneven. Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic are catching up with the rest of the region. The utilization of infrastructure depends on regional infrastructure connectivity which shows gradual improvement but still faces challenges, for example, mandatory transloading, corruption and inappropriate practices, containerization availability, and multi-transport mode delays. To overcome infrastructure development and connectivity challenges, massive infrastructure investment is required but is currently quite low. To tap infrastructure financing, appropriate financing strategies like developing public– private partnerships, attracting foreign direct investment, and exploring the possibility of the bond market are required. To improve the infrastructure development landscape, and resolve infrastructure connectivity and financing issues, the region requires an appropriate institutional and regulatory environment.


The complex problems faced in education today need equally elaborate solutions. This article explains how Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) science combines perspectives from neuroscience, psychology and pedagogy that contribute to a better understanding of how humans learn, and consequently, how we should teach. Better than neuro-education, more powerful than cognitive psychology and easier to understand than cognitive neuroscience, MBE is a paradigm shift in our understanding of the teaching profession.


To study the efficiency of scientific research and its changes in recent years in Hubei Province, the paper has complemented the existing research, first use the data envelopment analysis (DEA) analyze the efficiency of key universities in Hubei Province, then use DEA method to calculate Malmquist Index and decompose it. The results show that the overall efficiency of scientific research of the college is relatively high, but there are still existing irrational distribution of resources and other issues. Finally, this paper proposes improvements against these issues, and it will provide Government and universities with valuable reference advice. Keywords-Data Envelopment Analysis; Efficiency; Scientific Research; Malmquist Index; Key Universities; Hubei Province


Phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) is a well-known useful tool to develop sustainable processes. Benefits deriving from using PTC are particularly evident in oxidation chemistry where it has been possible to replace many toxic, aggressive reagents with harmless and milder oxidants such as bleach or hydrogen peroxide.


This paper, considering a simple road network, concludes one origin-destination pair, two-route network and a diverge and a merge, analysis some consequences of queue spillback, proposes exact formulas for traffic flow patterns, and two typical oscillation solutions are obtained, one of which is decreasing and the other is periodic. In addition, this paper also analyzes the impact of merge road traffic capacity change on the whole network queue spillback.


A Computed Tomographic Imagining Spectrometer (CTIS) is an imaging spectrometer system that acquires all the information required to reconstruct the data cube in a single integration time. This is compared to conventional systems such as whiskbroom systems, pushbroom systems, and filter wheel systems that requiring scanning in one or more coordinate direction. CTIS systems have been designed and tested in several different singular spectral bands as well as a dual band system. In addition to hyperspectral imaging spectrometers, CTIS systems have been used as an imaging spectropolarimeter and as a ranging imaging spectrometer. An imaging spectropolarimeter not only reconstructs the spectral content at every point in the scene of interest, but also provides the Stokes parameters at every point. So instead of just one data cube, we get four data cubes, one for each element of the Stokes vector. The ranging CTIS incorporates a LADAR system with the CTIS to provide the range information to targets in scene as well as the reconstructed data cube. The physical principles behind the CTIS system are presented as well as some of representative data from single band systems, the dual band proof of concept, the spectropolarimeter, and the ranging imaging spectrometer.


Plasma-sprayed coatings on steel plates were tested at the White Sands Solar Facility at temperatures from 200/sup 0/C to 1000/sup 0/C. Analysis of the specimens before and after testing showed erbium dodecaboride (ErB/sub 12/), yttrium hexaboride (YB/sub 6/), titanium diboride (TiB/sub 2/), and chromium oxide (Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3/) to be stable above 600/sup 0/C. A heat balance on the water-cooled specimens of these coatings showed 71% to 97% heat recovery efficiency.


Questionnaires concerning the causes of dozing in class were collected from 120 students in a medical university.Results showed that inadequate sleep the previous night,teachers' less attractive lectures,lack of interest in teaching contents and poor classroom ventilation were the main causes of dozing in class.We did not find the relationship of dozing in class with exercise,having breakfast,chronic diseases or neurasthenia.


Abstract Multipolar spherical solutions to the three-dimensional steady vorticity equation are provided. These solutions are based on the separation of radial and angular contributions in terms of the spherical Bessel functions and vector spherical harmonics, respectively. In this set of multipolar vortex solutions, the Hicks–Moffatt swirling vortex is categorized as a vortex of degree ${\ell }=1$ and therefore as a vortex dipole. This swirling vortex is the three-dimensional dipole in spherical geometry equivalent to the two-dimensional Lamb–Chaplygin dipole in polar geometry. The three-dimensional dipole solution admits two linearly superposable solutions. The first one is a Trkalian flow and the second one is a cylindrical solid-body rotation with swirl. The higher ${\ell }>1$ multipolar vortices found are either vanishing-helicity vortices or Trkalian flow vortices. The multipolar Trkalian flows admit two circular polarizations given by the sign of the wavenumber $k$. It is also found that piecewise vortex solutions, consisting of interior rotational and exterior potential flow domains, satisfying velocity continuity conditions at the vortex boundary, are possible in the general multipolar Trkalian spherical vortex. A particular polarized dipole solution in three-dimensional cylindrical geometry, consisting as well in the superposition of a Trkalian flow and a rigid motion, is also analysed. This swirling vortex may be interpreted as the three-dimensional dipole in cylindrical geometry equivalent to the two-dimensional Lamb–Chaplygin dipole in polar geometry.


This research study is a follow-up study to "Communicating for action: A contextual evaluation of youth response to HIV/AIDS." In this report contextual factors which mediate youth response to HIV/AIDS within specific sites each with its own unique dynamics are focused. Between May and August 2000 field research for this study was undertaken at six sentinel sites in South Africa. The sites included rural and urban communities and the study draws on a sample of 760 youths and young adults. The data in the report is drawn from the following sources: qualitative analysis of responses to open ended questionnaire items collected; further analysis of focus group material collected; 14 focus groups conducted with youth in these sites; 12 interviews conducted on sex communication and sexual debut; and a focus group and interviews around a youth project in one site. In general this study confirms the validity of the previous study and opens up a number of new areas of investigation. Key thematic areas of the report are the media environment; communication contexts; mediators of risk management; and care and mobilization contexts.


Immobilization of enzyme was conducted in two methods, entrapment by calcium alginate and agar-agar with maximum immobilization efficiency 49% and 32%, respectively and covalent method by chitosan and gelatin with maximum immobilization efficiency 63% and 50% respectively. Decolorization of black textile dye was performed also by operation of packed bed bioreactor continuously at different flow rates (15, 30 and 45) ml/hr and HRT (7.9, 3.9 and 2.6) hr. respectively. The black textile dye was loaded over the chitosan immobilized laccase with total working volume of 118 ml at concentration of (30 mg/l) in pH 5.0 at 30oC. Decolorization efficiency of black textile dye with immobilized laccase in a bioreactor increased at flow rate 15 ml/ hr., and reached to 71% after 2.5 hr. While the increase in flow rate to 30 and 45 ml/ hr. resulted in dropping of decolorization rate of dye to 60 and 47% respectively after period of time.


Members of the genus Mortierella (Mortierellales) are filamentous fungi, which are found on nearly all substrates, but more frequently in soil. Till date, 7 species of Mortierella have been reported in Korea, but being a ubiquitous group with high species diversity in temperate zones, this number is still low. During a survey of fungal biodiversity in Korea, we collected many isolates of Mortierella, and through morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, identified them to be 3 previously unrecorded species, namely, M. chienii, M. epicladia, and M. gamsii. A total of 10 Mortierella species in Korea, including the 3 species reported in the present study, are widely distributed in 5 out of 7 phylogenetic groups of this genus. This indicates that the diversity of Mortierella was so far underestimated in Korea. Multi-locus sequence analysis is required to provide a more reliable backbone for some uncertain phylogenetic groupings and to more clearly define a species of Mortierella, which would encourage deeper research in the diversity and ecological roles of Mortierella and allied genera.


Sebastian Hiller received his PhD in 2006 from ETH Zurich under the supervision of Prof. Kurt Wüthrich. Subsequently, he worked at the Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Prof. Gerhard Wagner and at ETH Zurich with Prof. Beat Meier. In 2010, he joined the Biozentrum of the University of Basel with an SNSF professorship. His research interests include structure, function and folding of integral membrane proteins and their complexes, and the development of new NMR methodologies.


We report the cases of two children presenting with severe airway compromise secondary to a mediastinal malignancy managed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation without intubation. Results are presented on the use of ECMO as a primary means of stabilizing a pediatric patient with a critical mediastinal mass, thus providing another management strategy for this difficult situation. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2007;49:751–754. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This paper describes RuCOS runtime code generator for object serialization embedded into RMI. We developed RuCOS and a modified Java RMI. The feature of RuCOS is dynamic code generation for serialization / deserialization at runtime. We can improve the performance of RMI using RuCOS in comparison with standard Java RMI. In this paper, the implementation issues of RuCOS are described. Key-word: Java, RMI, Object Serialization, Code Mobility, Distributed Computing


This paper describes for the first time in vitro mycorrhization between the two wild edible boletes (Boletus edulis and Suillus sibiricus) with Pinus gerardiana. The synthesis was carried out in a controlled growth chamber using peat, vermiculite, fungal medium and mycelial inoculum of each fungi in test tubes. The test tubes were regularly observed for mycorrhization. The seedlings of P. gerardiana were picked after five months of inoculation to examine symbiotic association between its root system with B. edulis and S. sibiricus. The B. edulis formed dark reddish brown whereas S. sibiricus synthesized light brown orange coloured mycorrhizae. The transverse sections of synthesized mycorrhizae showed a well developed fungal mantle and Hartig net for both (B. edulis and S. sibiricus) ectomycorrhizal fungi tested. The mycorrhization has significant effect on the overall growth of seedlings as compared to control.