In this thesis, we mainly consider two closely related classical and general problems in data mining and machine learning: (1) developing new similarity measures between graphs and between nodes of a graph, and (2) developing new density measures on nodes of a graph. In the first part of this thesis, we introduce three new graph kernels (which can be seen as similarity measures between graphs) and assess them on a graph classification task: using molecules from various origins as graphs, we try to classify them according to one of their property (mutagenicity,...). We then study the problem of quantifying the similarity between nodes of graphs. We define three new measures by assigning the forests present in the graph a probability of being sampled at random, favoring small (low-cost) forests against bigger ones. These measures are then assessed on a semi-supervised classification task, trying to infer missing node labels from the ones already present in the test datasets. From these similarity measures, we developed the Sum-over-Forests (SoF) density index presuming that, when picking forests (which are assigned a probability of sampling), if a node is present in many (preferably short) forests, it should lie in a dense region of the graph. This density index is then assessed in various ways, assessing its quality as a density estimator on graphs. At last, we developed two clustering algorithms based on the SoF density index, which are able to work directly on graphs without necessarily requiring a priori the number of clusters.


Stars like our Sun are formed in large, tenuous clouds of gas and dust. As the star is formed at the centre, the remaining material collapses into a thick disk around it. The chemical composition of such a cloud changes dramatically during this process. Spherical models have always been used to model this chemical evolution, but they cannot properly describe the disk. This thesis presents the first model that follows the entire chemical evolution from a pre-stellar core to a circumstellar disk in two spatial dimensions. It follows material as it falls in from the cloud to the star and disk. The density, temperature and UV flux along these trajectories serve as input for a gas-phase chemical network -- including freeze-out onto and evaporation from cold dust grains. The model offers new insights into the chemical history of disks, in particular of the region where planets and comets are formed. Applications of the model include the gas/ice ratios of carbon monoxide and water (Chapter 2), the abundances of key gas-phase molecules (Chapter 3), the crystallinity of the dust (Chapter 4), the isotope-specific photodissociation of carbon monoxide (Chapter 5) and the charge balance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; Chapter 6).


PURPOSE: A complex polarization plate in which a patterned phase difference layer is integrated with a polarization plate and a display apparatus including the same are provided to improve a moire phenomenon due to a refractive index difference between an adhesive layer and phase difference layer and a brightness difference between retarder pattern regions. CONSTITUTION: A complex polarization plate is comprised of a polarization plate(110), an adhesive layer(130), and a phase difference layer(120). The patterned phase difference layer is able to be coated on the surface of the polarization plate which includes a polarizer protection film and phase difference film. The patterned phase difference layer is welded on the polarization plate by the adhesive layer. A refractive index value of the adhesive layer satisfies a certain equation.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of subscapularis release in a patient with shoulder pain. A 50 year old male patient (Mr.S.G.) who was diagnosed of having left sided frozen shoulder was referred to physiotherapy department. The patient had complains of pain and difficulty in shoulder movement since five months. He experienced severe pain (8.3/10 on visual analogue scale) on active left shoulder external rotation and the range of his active external rotation was 38 degree. On physical examination, subscapularis tenderness was found. Hence, an attempt was done to find out an immediate effectiveness of subscapularis release on intensity of pain and active range of external rotation. Subscapularis release was done for seven minutes. We found that there was a significant improvement in the range of active external rotation from 38 to 52 degree and decrease in the intensity of pain from 8.3/10 to 6.5/10 immediately after the subscapularis release.


The utility model discloses a two heavy cell -out cinder notchs of municipal waste water treatment plant, including former dross export, scum pipe, blowdown well, former dross export end is provided with the scum pipe, the scum pipe is cooperating through the blowdown well newly establishes the dross export, it installs in two heavy ponds terminally newly to establish the dross export, two heavy ponds are being connected the export of former dross through two heavy ponds and are being fixed through two heavy ponds, be provided with the scum pipe in the export of former dross, the blowdown well is being connected through two heavy ponds to the scum pipe, two heavy ponds through newly establishing the dross exit linkage to the blowdown well, two sink the pond setting at former dross export end. The utility model discloses it is convenient to install, and the design is simple, can be effectual discharges the dross, can improve the processing speed by a wide margin.


The essence of music is structure; the composer Edgar Varèse called it "organized sound". For centuries, people have responded to their enjoyment of music by studying and describing that structure, yet there is still no satisfactory description of what music is, much less how or why it works. This project proposes to describe and explain musical structure using automatic signal analysis and machine learning. Starting from a database of many thousands of examples of music audio, computers will mine for recurrent structures and patterns at successively higher levels to create rich but compact descriptions of the realizations of music, to complement and extend human musicological insights from an objective perspective. In order to work with very large databases it is critical to start from audio, rather than notated forms, since this is the only 'canonical form' in which all music exists; by the same token, audio is the representation closest to the original music.


The EuroQol valuation instrument is an internationally standardised instrument for the measurement of health state preferences in the general public. The EuroQol valuation instrument, or the EQ-5D, has never been tested in a Belgian population. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility, consistency and reliability of using the EQ-5D valuation instrument in the Belgian population on the basis of a survey in a Belgian sub-population. The questionnaire was distributed to 274 health care workers. Feasibility was assessed by response rate, perception of difficulty, and time needed to fill out the questionnaire. For consistency, examined was whether pairs of health states with an inherent logical order were valued accordingly. Valuations of states appearing twice in the questionnaire were compared to evaluate reliability. Given the non-normality of the data, non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses. A response rate of 49% was obtained. Average consistency was 97.33%. Reliability ranged from 70 to 80%. Given the higher response rate and the higher level of consistency in our sample of health professionals as compared to results from population surveys in other countries, we conclude that it is worthwhile to use the EQ-5D valuation questionnaire in Belgium to derive social health state preference values from the general public.


Process yield is one standard numerical measure of process performance in manufacturing industry. Index SPK has provided an exact measure of process yield. Most studies on estimating SPK are based on crisp estimates involving precise output process measurements. However, measurements of product quality sometimes cannot be precisely recorded or collected. Hence, this study provides the fuzzy lower confidence bound for SPK. The result helps the practitioners to make reliable decisions under fuzzy environment.


Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518106, People's Republic of China; Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Xinhua Hospital of Hainan Medical Colleage, Haikou, 570311, People's Republic of China; Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated General Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518106, People's Republic of China; Wuhan Medical Science Research Institution, Wuhan, 430013, People's Republic of China; Department of Throat, Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Otolaryngological Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, People's Republic of China; Department of Epidemiology, Public Health College of Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, People's Republic of China; Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Xinhua Hospital of Hainan Medical Colleage, Haikou, 570311, People's Republic of China; Department of Endocrine Oncology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518106, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Imaging Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510630, People's Republic of China


By comparing the pros and cons of common methods of design evaluation,combined with the characteristics of oil tank design,the conversion of subjective factors to quantitative index is realized by using Fuzzy theory,which is a method of mathematical analysis.On the basis of oil tank design index having been defined,an evaluation model is established to overcome the subjectivity of judges and achieve the scientific evaluation for oil tank design.The result shows that this fuzzy evaluation method is scientific,effective and reasonable.


To learn more about the specific routes that monarch butterflies take from their breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada to overwintering areas in the Transvolcanic Belt of central Mexico, and to investigate the gUidance mechanism by which they locate these small overwintering sites, vanishing azimuths were taken during diflerent times of day and at different locations in Texas and Mexico. Monarchs were shown to employ either a time compensating sun/sky compass or to follow othe r non-solar cues over open terrain. Upon reaching the Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico, monarchs change their course and follow these ranges. The implications of this course change for orientation and the use of the Sierra Madre Oriental as a focusing mechanism to insure that the maximum numhers of butterflies reach the Mexican overwintering sit~s are discussed. Additional key words: orientation, Sierra Madre Oriental , Texas, Mexico. Among invertebrates, the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L. is the best known and most extensive migrant (Baker 1980). Long term mark and recapture records carried out by U rq uhart have disclosed the extent and the general direction of the migration (Urquhart 1960, 1965, 1966). The final destination of the eastern population of monarchs was learned in 1974 (Urquhart 1976) . Unlike most migrants, whose movem ents are into broad habitats favorable for winter foraging, monarchs fly to specific sites of vely limited extent in Mexico's Transvolcanic Belt , where they aggregate by the tens of millions (Calvert & Brower 1986). The fidelity of monarchs to these circumscribed sites that are a few hectares or less in extent taxes the imagination and must require precise navigational skills. Several studies have addressed navigational aspects of the monarch migration. Monarchs intentionally displaced longitudinally from their fall range and released did not compensate for the displacement (Urquhart 1965) as do species that home (Baker 1978). Studying monarch migrants in cages under various conditions of visibility and lighting, Kanz (1977) found orientation to the sun, but little evidence of compensation for time of day. On the basis of these findings, he hypothesized that , if the butterflies flew towards the sun between 1000 hand 1400 h, they would eventually end up at their overwintering destination. In contrast to Kanz's findings, Schmidt-Koenig (1985), recording flight vanishing azimuths of migrating monarchs in the eastern United States, found them to be highly directional and little affected by overcast conditions. He concluded that they use a magnetoclinic system for orientation similar to that used by birds (Kiepenheuer 1984). More recent studies revealed that monarchs use a sun/sky compass that is best discerned by body orientation, not direction of travel (Perez et al. 1997), and 'Present address: .50.3 East Mmy Street. Allstin, Texas 78704, USA. that the solar agent by which they orient is likely plane polarized light (Hyatt 1993). Due to the physiographiC constraints to migration afforded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Rocky Mountain and their extension into Mexico, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the monarchs' flight path at the latitude of the southern tip of Texas is approXimately 8% of the width it was when they started from their breeding grounds in the north. This flight-path compression results in enormous numbers of monarchs traveling through the mountainous areas in the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon and further south. Almost everyone who lives in this flyway is aware of the migratory phenomenon. Many can give the exact date (s) when they pass through, when, as one campesino put it, "the sky was pure butterfly". Fmther south, closer to the overwintering grounds in Michoacan and the state of Mexico, the Mazahua Indians have a special word in their language for "the butterfly that passes in October and November" (Muro 1975). In spite of the high profile of the monarch migration, little is known about the breadth and duration of the migration or the orientation mechanisms of the butterflies. Here I report observations of behavior and flight azimuths of migrating and non-migrating monarchs and document for the first time a change in course that occurs during the migration to the Mexican overwintering sites. MATERIALS AND M ETHODS To establish flight directions of migrating monarchs, vanishing azimuths were taken with a Suunto sighting compass in the plains of Texas, and in the mountains (Sierra Madre Oriental ) of Mexico during the falls of 1977 and 1978. To avoid parallax problems, only butterflies that flew directly over head were Sighted. For comparison, vanishing azimuths of non-migrating individuals were taken ill fields near Amherst, Massachusetts during the summer of 1978. Vanishing azimuths


Bamboos are extremely useful plant species. It is considered as a poor man's timber. It is the most suitable soil binder to prevent erosion in fragile ecosystem, canal banks and steep terrain. Bamboos are used extensively in constructions and handicrafts for making a wide array of articles of day to day use, in rural area for irrigation and fuel, as food (bamboo shoot), in industry (mainly for pulp). In rural area, homesteads may have a few clumps of one of the many species of bamboo for household use such as construction of home, shed and fences. One of the most important contributions of bamboo to modern - day man is in the production of paper. It is considered as cash crop having low gestation period, fast growth, diversified uses and easier marketability. Although, meagre attempts have been done to grow bamboo outside the forest, however, concerted efforts are still required to cover large area. This will go a long way in providing necessary income to marginal farmer and to generate employment and reduce poverty in north - eastern region.


It is difficult to map many existing learning algorithms onto biological networks because the former require a separate learning network. The computational basis of biological cortical learning is still poorly understood. This paper rigorously introduces a concept called in-place learning. With in-place learning, every networked neuron in-place is responsible for the learning of its signal processing characteristics (e.g., efficacies of synapses) within its connected network environment. There is no need for a separate learning network. With this in-place hypothesis, consequently, each neuron does not have extra space to compute and store the second and higher order statistics (e.g., correlations) of its input fibers. This work first provides a classification of learning algorithms. Then, it shows that the two well-known in-place biological mechanisms, the Hebbian rule and lateral inhibition, are sufficient to develop orientation selective cells, similar to those found in VI, from inputs of natural images. Many other cells that have not been fully understood have emerged as well. The presented computational study of these two in-place learning mechanisms leads to a new concept- these cells correspond to what are called lobe components, which are high concentrations in the probability of the neuronal input space. Further analysis explains how every neuron can learn efficiently (i.e., near-optimal efficiency) by scheduling its plasticity while interacting with other connected neurons. A simple, in-place (Type-5) learning algorithm is presented. The experimental results showed that this simple biologically inspired algorithm is superior to some well-known state-of-the-art ICA algorithms, thanks to its near-optimal efficiency.


The central objective of FARM AFRICA'S Dairy Goat Development Programme is to increase rural incomes and the stability of those incomes in the highlands of Ethiopia by improving the productivity of goats managed by women in the areas of poor arable crop production and high population pressure. It aims to achieve this by the introduction of new management systems and improved access to veterinary services for existing breeds; by the provision of credit to purchase goats; and by the introduction of Anglo-Nubian genetic material to improve goat productivity. Since goats are traditionally managed by women in Ethiopia, it is through womens' goat groups that this project operates.


B government, the public sector, and industry, the private sector, undertake programs that are aimed at influencing private-sector investment decisions. These investment decisions encompass those of commercial organizations as well as those of individuals. For firms, these investment decisions range from corporate strategy decisions, such as whether or not to enter a new business area (for example, become a provider of satellite communication services), to capital investment decisions, such as which satellite launch service provider to utilize. For individuals, these capital investment decisions range from equipment replacement (replete with considerations of tradeoffs between higher nonrecurring cost and lower recurring costs and fuel choice) to the acquisition of new products and/or services made possible by the introduction of new/advanced technology. The private sector undertakes research, development, demonstration, and advertising/promotion projects that lead to increased producer and consumer investments and to the formation of commercial ventures. To a large extent, these programs are undertaken with the expressed intent of maintaining or increasing the value of the firm. A vast array of governmentsponsored programs are undertaken with the specific objective of developing technology and/or creating the environment that will lead to increased private sector investment and the formation of commercial ventures that are in the public interest. These encompass research, development,


Following the first round matches of the 1978 World Cup, the Argentine magazine El Gráfico described the Peruvian team's midfield players (César Cueto, Teófilo Cubillas and José Velásquez of the Alianza Lima team) as the best in the world. The blue-and-white-shirted Alianza team had won the national championship that year for the second year in a row. Subsequently, however, the team had had a barren spell that seemed never-ending. Indeed, 18 years went by before the Alianza Lima team was able to relieve the suffering of its fans by winning the national championship in 1997. This 18-year wait would, in all likelihood, have been significantly shorter had it not been for the events of 8 December 1987. By 1987 – nine years after their last national title – the team had been totally renewed and was comprised of a new generation of stars. These players, commonly referred to as los Potrillos (the colts) because they had come from Alianza's minor divisions, were considered the new hope for Peruvian soccer. Seven of that squad had already been called up to the national team, and were seen by the fans as replacements for the great players of the 1970s, who could help Peru qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. With three games remaining in the 1987 national championship, los Potrillos were in first place. However, before they could clinch the Peruvian title the entire team drowned as a result of a tragic air accident. On 8 December the team played its final game in the Peruvian jungle against Deportivo Pucallpa, which Alianza won 1-0. According to one media report, the players acted in a strange manner on the day of the match as was evidenced when they did not celebrate the goal that had brought them to the verge of the league


The risk investment has been provided with great development potentials in our country. Combined with the situation of our country, how to settle the shortage of risk capital relies on how to increase the resource of risk capital, thus paving the way for the high-tech industries financing.


The invention relates to a decryption method and device, and belongs to the technical field of computers. The method comprises the steps that touch signals moving on a screen in the first motion direction are detected; if the first motion direction is identical to the preset reference direction, and the number of the moving circles of the touch signals is identical to the preset number of reference circles, a decryption state is executed in a triggering mode; the reference direction is the clockwise direction or the anti-clockwise direction. Through the decryption method and device, the data safety of a terminal can be improved.


Growing competition in all transport markets also creates the need for an attractive and competitive service offer in the case of freight transport by rail. In addition to the well known procedures in place to enhance co-operation between carriers operating on aregional basis (i.e.the DB AG and private railways), it would be advantageous to evaluate the operational experience of existing rail companies. Any company handling the transport of freight, on a regional basis, would ideally function in cooperation with competitors in regard to clearly defined services to be marketed, while taking customers' demands into account. Setting up plans for future services could be initiated by the regional rail carriers. Because of their closely co-ordinated marketing efforts, however, customers would ultimately be presented with a homogeneous product. Running the actual services, and safeguarding the necessary logistics, would be the responsibility of...


A microwave imaging technique based on the parallel genetic algorithm (PGA) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is proposed in this paper for estimating the locations, dimensions and dielectric permittivity distributions of three-dimensional (3-D) objects buried in the lossy earth. The GA, a robust stochastic optimization procedure, is employed to recast the microwave imaging problem, an inverse scattering problem, to be a global nonlinear optimization problem and solve it. To reduce its heavy computation burden, the GA-based inverse computation is parallelized and run on a cluster system. A 3-D FDTD method with perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary condition (ABC) is selected for the forward calculation of the scattered field by the buried object. Sample numerical results are presented and analyzed. The analysis of the numerical results shows that the proposed microwave imaging technique based on the PGA and FDTD is able to recover the locations, dimensions and permittivity parameters of 3-D buried objects, and the parallel computation can sharply reduce the required computation time.


A comprehensive understanding is lacking of the experiences persons with acquired physical disabilities have of changes in their engagement in occupations and of the conditions influencing these ex ...


Macro properties of cold atomic gases are driven by few-body correlations, even if the gas has thousands of particles. Quantum systems composed of two and three particles with attractive zero\=/range pairwise interactions are considered for general masses and interaction strengths in two and three dimensions (2D and 3D). The Faddeev decomposition is used to derive the equations for the bound state, which is the starting point for the investigation of universal properties of few\=/body systems, i.e. those that all potentials with the same physics at low energy are able to describe in a model\=/independent form. In 2D, the number of bound states in a three\=/body system increases without bound as the mass of one particle becomes much lighter than the other two. The analytic form of an effective potential between the heavy particles explains the mass\=/dependence on the number of bound energy levels. An exact analytic expression for the large\=/momentum asymptotic behaviour of the spectator function in the Faddeev equation is presented. The spectator function and its asymptotic form define the two- and three\=/body contact parameters. The two\=/body parameter is found to be independent of the quantum state in some specific 2D systems. The 2D and 3D momentum distributions have a distinct sub\=/leading form whereas the 3D term depends on the mass of the particles. A model that interpolates between 2D and 3D is proposed and a sharp transition in the energy spectrum of three-body systems is found.


The main objective of this paper was to analyze the influence of specific position in vertical jump ability, sprint, agility and kicking speed in young soccer players. 36 soccer players of sub-elite level from Andalusian youth soccer academies participated voluntarily in this study (age: 15.87 ± 1.43 years; body mass: 65.38 ± 10.84 kg; height: 1.71 ± .06 m). Body composition, vertical jump performance (CMJ), agility through Agility Balsom Test, sprint in 5, 10, 20 and 30 meters, and kicking speed with both legs, were performed. Analysis showed differences between forwards and defenders with respect to 20m speed test (p = .012), and between forwards and midfielders with respect to 30m speed test (p = .008). In other variables there were not significant differences according to the specific position. It is concluded that during the formation stage of a soccer placer, in this case, for adolescence, specialization level is not high, therefore differences were not found by specific position probably because in these ages and levels, the aims are a comprehensive training and physical and technical-tactical soccer player development. KeyWords. Strength; soccer; adolescents; position in field; skills; physical test.


OSSE has observed seven transient black hole candidates: GRO J0422+32, GX 339-4, GRS 1716-249, GRS 1009-45, 4U 1543-47, GRO J1655-40, and GRS 1915+105. Two gamma-ray spectral states are evident, and based on a limited number of contemporaneous X-ray and gamma-ray observations, these states appear to be correlated with X-ray states. The former three objects show hard spectra below 100 keV (photon number indices Γ < 2) that are exponentially cut off with folding energy ~100 keV, a spectral form that is consistent with thermal Comptonization. This "breaking gamma-ray state" is the high-energy extension of the X-ray low, hard state. In this state, the majority of the luminosity is above the X-ray band, carried by photons of energy ~100 keV. The latter four objects exhibit a "power-law gamma-ray state," with a relatively soft spectral index (Γ ~ 2.5-3) and no evidence for a spectral break. For GRO J1655-40, the lower limit on the break energy is 690 keV. GRS 1716-249 exhibits both spectral states, with the power-law state having significantly lower gamma-ray luminosity. The power-law gamma-ray state is associated with the presence of a strong ultrasoft X-ray excess (kT ~ 1 keV), the signature of the X-ray high, soft (or perhaps very high) state. The physical process responsible for the unbroken power law is not well understood, although the spectra are consistent with bulk-motion Comptonization in the convergent accretion flow.


The work of editing was a technical element of 2D visual grammar, which has been refined for 110 years since 1895, and the core of direction connecting short(cut)s. However, Windy Day, which came out in 2013, demands a new discourse about visual grammar. It is a real-time 360° 3D animation that allows for 360° appreciation with no frames and varies in characters' acts and shorts' length in connection with the eyes of the audience, marking the beginning of VR content. This study set out to introduce the significance of Windy Day and analyze VR content in a new viewpoint of "interactive editing" unlike old analyses based on the eyes of the audience, narrative structures, and frames. "Interactive editing" is a new concept first proposed in the present study. It focuses on real-time editing acts such as the direction of visual shorts and the length and connection of shorts based on interactions according to the eyes of the audience, an attribute of real-time 3D animation. Since there is only one short in Windy Day that was short in long-take, the investigator defined "implicit shorts" according to space changes to analyze the work according to the significance of editing. There are eight "implicit shorts" in Windy Day, and characters' actions are used to direct the eyes of the audience along with space triggers for scene change orders for the natural connection of the shorts. The present study may provide rather basic content to developers, but its significance can be found in its definition of "visual editing," which was an important milestone in the development of video industry, with the interactive concept and its introduction and analysis of Windy Day and its content.


The coupling coefficient of twin-core fiber (TCF) is discussed.It is shown that the coupling coefficient is related with the input signal wavelength,the core diameter,the distance between the centers of the two cores,and the relative refractive index difference.The parameters of the twin-core fibers can be optimized to satisfy different requirements.The twin-core fibers are fabricated.From measurement,an obvious progress is shown better than the previous work.


Tourism in Sri Lanka has a strong, still growing role in earning foreign exchange and creating new employment. However, if adequate safeguards are not taken, present mass tourism could give rise to serious problems of environmental degradation. The cost of servicing mass tourism is very high due to its heavy dependency on imported items. Further, the rich industrialized tourist generating countries have the control of hotel chains, international air lines, tour agencies etc. Thus it is questionable whether the real beneficiaries of this mass tourism are third world countries like Sri Lanka or the rich industrialized nations who dominate in the above mentioned services. The main objective of this study was to identify the potential for developing nature tourism in Sri Lanka and factors affecting such tourism in Sri lanka. The field survey was conducted during the period of October 1994 to February 1995 using questionnaires prepared in English, French and German. Both non-parametric data presentation and regression analysis were employed in data analysis. This study concludes that there is a significant potential for development of nature tourism in Sri Lanka. Nature tourism is proven to be less demanding in terms of accommodation standards and more demanding regarding information about the destination. Social conflicts can also be avoided when local people get involved in managing protected areas through nature tourism. It is concluded that nature tourism can be recommended for Sri Lanka on a pilot project basis and after evaluation, decisions on further development can be taken.


In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), resistance to imatinib is diverse. In addition to BCR‐ABL‐dependent mechanisms, BCR‐ABL‐independent mechanisms have been proposed. Here we established and characterized novel CML cell lines, an imatinib‐sensitive cell line, MYL, and an imatinib‐resistant subline, MYL‐R. Treatment with imatinib inhibited phosphorylation of BCR‐ABL and CrkL in both MYL and MYL‐R, even though imatinib‐induced apoptosis was preferentially observed in MYL than MYL‐R, indicating that the resistance is based on a BCR‐ABL‐independent mechanism. MYL‐R showed elevated expressions of Lyn mRNA, Lyn protein, phosphorylated Lyn, and phosphorylated STAT5. Silencing of Lyn by short‐interfering RNA (siRNA) in MYL‐R, but not in MYL, induced significant growth‐inhibition, increased caspase‐3 activity, and induced partial recovery from imatinib‐resistance. Expression of Bcl‐2, previously reported to be associated with Lyn‐mediated resistance, was not elevated in MYL‐R. Expression of Bim, which plays an important role in imatinib‐induced cell‐killing, was not suppressed in MYL‐R. These results imply that diverse mechanisms of resistance exist among cell types. Treatment of MYL‐R cells with various reagents known to have anti‐leukemic activity revealed that zoledronic acid and the farnesyl transferase inhibitor (SCH 66336) showed strong synergism with imatinib; interferon α, PP2, CGP76030, and FK228 (depsipeptide) showed synergism; whereas soluble TRAIL and As2O3 showed additivity or antagonism, and 17‐AAG and radicicol showed antagonism. Treatment with either PP2 or zoledronic acid induced greater growth‐reduction in MYL‐R than MYL. Taken together, Lyn may play an important role in imatinib‐resistance in MYL‐R. Some novel reagents, including siRNA targeting Lyn, may have good potential to overcome this resistance.


A novel UHF RFID temperature sensor tag is designed using solid temperature-dependent material. A lightweight HDPE-BST material is first developed, whose permittivity decreases as ambient temperature increases. Using this material as the tag antenna substrate, a simple slotted patch sensor tag is then designed, fabricated, and measured. The experimental results show that an 8MHz/10°C frequency shift can be obtained. Meanwhile, the sensor tag has a narrow bandwidth of 0.6%, which is beneficial for improving tag's sensitivity.


Gap discontinuities in microstrip lines are widely used but the equivalent circuit representation used is not good enough for wideband microwave integrated circuits. In this paper a new multi-element circuit is introduced which has frequency dependent parameters and includes a radiation resistance. All the parameters can be determined using semi-empirical formulas which are developed in the paper. Experimental and theoretical results up to 15 GHz were found to be in excellent agreement.


This article introduces a new boundary-type meshless method designed for solving axisymmetric transient groundwater flow problems, specifically for aquifer tests and estimating hydraulic properties. The method approximates solutions for axisymmetric transient groundwater flow using basis functions that satisfy the governing equation by solving the inverse boundary value problem in the spacetime domain. The effectiveness of this method was demonstrated through validation with the Theis solution, which involves transient flow to a well in an infinite confined aquifer. The study included numerical examples that predicted drawdown at various radial distances and times near pumping wells. Additionally, an iterative scheme, namely, the fictitious time integration method, was employed to iteratively determine the hydraulic properties during the pumping test. The results indicate that this approach yielded highly accurate solutions without relying on the conventional time-marching scheme. Due to its temporal and spatial discretization within the spacetime domain, this method was found to be advantageous for estimating crucial hydraulic properties, such as the transmissivity and storativity of an aquifer.


Cobalt phosphosulfide (CoPS) has recently emerged as a promising earth-abundant electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nonetheless, the influence of crystallographic surface on the HER activity of CoPS and other nonmetallic electrocatalysts remains an important open question in the design of high-performance catalysts. Herein, the HER activities of the (100) and (111) facets of CoPS single crystals were studied using complementary experimental and computational approaches. Natural (111) and polished (100) facets of CoPS single crystals were selectively exposed to reveal that the HER behaviors on these two facets are quite different, with current density–potential curves crossing near 0.35 V vs RHE. Computational analysis can explain this phenomenon in terms of strongly differing H atom adsorption free energies and H–H recombination barriers on the facets, in conjunction with a simple kinetic model. At low potential (0–0.35 V), H adsorption (Volmer step) is rate limiting due to the ende...


This chapter addresses the issue of language standardization from two perspectives, bringing together a theoretical perspective offered by the discipline of sociolinguistics with a practical example from international business. We introduce the broad concept of standardization and embed the study of language standardization in the wider discussion of standards as a means of control across society. We analyse the language policy and practice of the Danish multinational, Grundfos, and use it as a "sociolinguistic laboratory" to "test" the theory of language standardization initially elaborated by Einar Haugen to explain the history of modern Norwegian. The table is then turned and a model from International Business by Piekkari, Welch and Welch is used to illuminate recent Norwegian language planning. It is found that the Grundfos case works well with the Haugen model, and the International Business model provides a valuable practical lesson for national language planners, both showing that a "comparative standardology" is a valuable undertaking. More voices "at the table" will allow both theory and practice to be further refined and for the role of standards across society to be better understood.


Attempts were made to develop instant Gulabjamun Mix by utilizing spray dried sweet cream buttermilk (SCBM) and whey protein concentrate (WPC). SCBM was subjected to various preheat treatments, viz., 95°C/10 min., 95°C/15 min., 95°C/20 min. and 95°C/25 min. prior to condensing and spray drying to make it suitable for Gulabjamun Mix preparation. Spray dried SCBM was blended with spray dried WPC at various proportions along with other ingredients. Gulabjamuns were prepared from the Mix developed by the various admixtures and compared with the Control Samples. The results revealed that SCBM which had undergone a heat treatment of 95OC/20 min: was highly suitable, and instant Gulabjamun mix could be successfully prepared from an admixture of spray dried WPC and SCBM at 30:70 level without jeopardizing any of the functional and sensory characteristics of the resulted Gulabjamun.


The number of people living with diabetes in the world is increasing rapidly. Most of the increase will occur in developing countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. Diabetes is currently recognised as a real and imminent threat to social and economic development globally and is set to be a major public health challenge in the 21st century. In sub-Saharan Africa, the challenge posed by diabetes is even more overwhelming since diabetes will have to share scarce resources with infections and malnutrition. Even worse, diabetes still has to gain sufficient political and social recognition in order to warrant aggressive national policies for prevention and treatment. In this article we present an overview of the burden of diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa and the specificities of care and control, and highlight the importance of developing effective national diabetes programmes.


America's assurances thus written in the wind, the Hmong then fought battle after bloody battle for bullets and a few bags of rice. That Vang Pao led his people into such a hopelessly one-sided alliance adds an unsavory dimension to this man whom Hamilton-Merritt would anoint hero. Putting aside her rhetoric and reading carefully for information, the reader will find that this account provides a good deal of evidence that Vang Pao's leadership of his people was something other than heroic. Instead of the stalwart tribal warrior, the general emerges here as a Judas goat—leading his flock of Hmong sheep through a maze of stock pens only to jump aside at the last second as they tumble down the chute into the slaughterhouse of clandestine warfare.


Preeclampsia (PE) should be considered in women with headache who are in gestational week 20 or more, are in labor, or have recently given birth. Early diagnosis is essential to arrest disease progression and further prognosis in PE.


Abstract The possibilities for using solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) during trauma therapy are presented in this article. First, "trauma" and related constructs used in psychotherapy are defined, as well as some misconceptions about trauma. The second part introduces the basic tenets of SFBT and the adapted "river of integration" model (Siegel, 2010), which helps to reflect the various ways SFBT practices are used in trauma therapy. Methods for solution-development in trauma therapy (e.g., work with preferred future, exceptions, personal growth, identity change, and re-connecting) are introduced in the next section. This is followed by methods for change in rigid patterns (e.g., experiential and "bottom-up" work) and for managing overwhelming chaos (coping and playful meaning-making techniques). Case examples are also available to illustrate those methods.


Abstract The four-component reaction among arylhydrazine, alkyl acetoacetate derivatives, alkyl isocyanides, and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, leading to the formation of dialkyl 2-[(Z)-(alkylamino)(3-alkyl-5-oxo-1-phenyl-1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazol-4-ylidene)methyl] fumarates is described. The structure of target compounds was confirmed using X-ray diffraction study. These pyrazolone derivatives contain a highly twisted exocyclic 1,3-butadiene moiety with skew (ϕ = 87°) geometry. Graphical Abstract


After adopting mobile phones, most older adults use them only for calling and SMS. The purpose of this study is to extend their usage of mobile phones to new functions. To understand older adults' requirements of mobile phones, a questionnaire was constructed and 351 Chinese older adults were recruited to complete the questionnaires. Data collected through the questionnaires were analysed using explorative factor analysis. The results revealed that older adults' requirements were composed of 10 factors: Find a Specific Function, Awareness and Attractiveness, Readability, Personal Concern, Soft Keys and Multi-tap, Hardware Capacity, Touch Screen, Concern of Learning, Connectivity, and Social Influence. Then, from the above 10 factors, the 6 most important factors were revealed using multiple linear regression analysis. The results imply that accepting new functions is different from accepting a product. Readability and Find a Specific Function, which are critical for older adults' acceptance of feature phones, are not determinants of their acceptance of new functions in smart phones.


ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is the influence of the quality of the service on the satisfaction of the clients of the Bank of the peripheral Nation Trujillo, 2017.
The study was non-experimental and the causal transectional correlational design. In the present investigation, 257 clients who were served in said bank were selected through simple random sampling for convenience; two reliable and validated questionnaires have been used to collect field information; the data obtained were processed through the statistical software for social sciences SPSS V23. The results found are shown in tables and statistical figures in an orderly and detailed manner.
Regarding the result obtained on the influence of the quality of the service, it has a significant influence on the satisfaction of the clients of the Bank of the Nation peripheral Trujillo, 2017. Regarding the contingency coefficient of the test statistic Tau-b of Kendall the value is τ = 0.774, with significance level less than 5% of standard significance (P <0.005) and a Rho Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.821
It is concluded that the quality levels of the service in the peripheral Bank of the Nation Trujillo, Son: medium with 49% (125 clients) and high, with 30% (77 clients). Likewise, the levels of customer satisfaction are: average with 41% (125 customers) and low, with 33% (77 customers).
It is recommended that the Bank of the Nation peripheral Trujillo should encourage its workers in order to provide a good quality service to users so that they can feel satisfied.


In the cation of the title compound, C22H19N2 +·NO3 −, the N atom in the 3-position of the imidazole is protonated. The three pendant aromatic rings are twisted from the plane of the imadazolium ring by dihedral angles of 38.1 (1), 43.74 (9) and 20.4 (1)°. In the crystal structure, N—H⋯O and N—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bonds link the molecules to form an infinite one-dimensional chain parallel to the c axis.


3015 Background: SF1126 is a peptidic prodrug that converts to LY294002, a widely studied dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor that historically suffered from poor solubility. LY294002 is conjugated to an RGD peptide via a cleavable linker to form SF1126, which demonstrates improved solubility and site selectivity. LY294002 also inhibits other cancer target kinases including DNA-PK, PIM1, and PLK1 and induces oxidative stress in cancer cells.

METHODS
39 pts with advanced solid tumors were enrolled in sequential cohorts in a standard 3+3 design. SF1126 was administered days 1, 4 weekly by 90 min i.v. infusion in 4 wk cycles. The maximum administered dose (MAD) level cohort (1,110 mg/m2) was expanded to allow pts with B-cell malignancies. Clinical response was evaluated according to standard disease-specific criteria. Primary objectives were to determine safety and a recommended phase 2 (RP2) dose.

RESULTS
Part 1 Solid Tumors. Toxicities were generally grade 1/2 with only 1 DLT (transient G3 diarrhea at 180 mg/m2 dose level). Stable disease (SD) was the best response in 19 of 33 (58%) of evaluable pts. Prolonged SD over 1 yr was noted in one GIST pt (18 cycles) and one renal cell carcinoma pt (21 cycles) who had progressed on temsirolimus representing possible evidence of effect of SF1126 on mTORC1 resistance. Part 2 B-Cell Malignancies. Four CLL pts and 1 DLBCL pt have been treated. One CLL pt who had progressed on rituximab achieved SD after two months of SF1126 alone. SF1126 plus rituximab led to a partial response with decreased absolute lymphocyte count, lesion sum products and spleen size. Flow cytometry and Western blotting of CLL cells showed that SF1126 reduced expression of p-AKT over time and increased late apoptosis demonstrating pharmacodynamic inhibition of activated PI3K signaling.

CONCLUSIONS
SF1126 is well tolerated at doses up to 1,110 mg/m2 given by i.v. infusion twice weekly and showed significant disease stabilization in multiple solid tumor pts. MTD was not reached. The RP2 dose of 1,110 mg/m2 is the MAD and was reached based on the findings of safety, PK, PD, toxicity, and activity profile in solid tumor pts. In B-cell malignancies promising preliminary activity alone and in concert with rituximab was noted.


A total of forty mature specimens of Noemacheilus montanus collected from river Alaknanda and its tributaries ranging from 7.0 cm t o 9.2 cm in length and from 2.31 g to 5.49 g in weight were used for the present study. T he fecundity was calculated to be 500 to 1005. The relationships between fecundity and total length, total weight, ovary length and ovary weight were found to be linear. The coefficie nt of correlation 'r' for the above relationships was found to be 0.948, 0.906, 0.909 a nd 0.969 respectively.


Photocopy of letters from Lee Harvey Oswald to Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald in 1963. All of the letters are written in Russian.


Monolithic CMOS sensors are being proposed for the upgrade of the ATLAS inner tracker. Sensors fabricated in a new TowerJazz 180nm process, feature full depletion of the sensitive layer and radiation tolerance up to 1015n<inf>eq</inf>/cm2.


Laser-Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) described by the theory related to the Doppler effect is one of the most convenient measurement techniques for routine tissue perfusion assessment. Although the LDF signal did not reveal a significant waveform in heart-beat frequency, its "waveform" could be obtained by beat to beat algorithm, in which the R peaks of electrocardiograph (ECG) were used as a reference. Nevertheless, because the period length of heart beat varies a little bit over time even for the same person, the segments of LDF signal divided according to the peaks of ECG definitely would not have exactly the same length. In this study, we modified the beat to beat algorithm by resampling the LDF segments and normalizing them into the same length. According to the modified beat to beat algorithm, the characteristics of LDF were compared between individuals with different flexibility of lower extremities. The LDF flux of the individuals with higher flexibility revealed higher stability underwent the muscle stretching, while the blood flux from the individuals with lower flexibility was interfered and became unstable during muscle stretching. We concluded that the modified beat to beat algorithm will be a useful tool for the analysis of LDF signals.


One of the greatest paradoxes of modern life in many nations including Nigeria, is the increasing gap between radical achievements in struggles against human rights' violation and peoples' instinctive insistence on their conservative socio-cultural identities. Most instructive in this respect, is the refusal of the people in various ethnic groups of Nigeria to disengage from the old age practice of different forms of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The practice continues despite the plethora of aggressive campaigns against its health hazards, existence of international conventions and domestic laws expressly condemning and criminalizing it. This article aims at conceptualizing the key phrases in the topic, analyze the factors responsible for persistent Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria and appraise its effects on fundamental rights of women and female-children. Observations and conclusion are drawn on the desirability or otherwise of the prevalence of this socio-cultural phenomenon.


Videoconferencing systems available for end users do not allow for eye-to-eye contact between participants. The different locations of video camera and video display make it impossible to directly look into each others eyes. This issue is known as the lack of mutual gaze. Combined with a lack of a life-sized video image of the communication partner videoconferencing becomes an artificial experience leading to decreased communication quality, empathy and trust. In this work, we present life-sized videoconferencing solution supporting mutual gaze and report on the experiences made with our system in empirical evaluations.


Leadership within school organizations has a wide empirical and theoretical base supporting its significance and relevance in effectiveness at school, achieving notoriety for its study, training programs in educational policies and its impact on teaching and learning processes. Questions around the issue of discussion and systematization of knowledge, where this work is framed, are


Characteristics and dynamics properties of the urban passenger transport system are given by combining the current situation of urban passenger transport.Coordination theory is adopted to analyze the problems of urban transport system and its subsystems.On the basic theory of dynamics,a mathematics model is built and the non-linear relationship and manipulative strategies between resource exploitation and utilization of urban passenger system and the sustainable development of the urban economy is discussed.


Solved legally-technical nature of the legal functions of monitoring, due to the aim and objectives of this institution. Provides a list of functions of the legal monitoring: observation, control, information, analytical, experimental, predictive, evaluativestimulating. Main directions of the auxiliary legal effect of monitoring on the process of legal regulation of social relations are selected.
Key words: legal monitoring, regulation, function, legal act, system analysis.


In this article we will examine how and why the animation 'Creating the monastic site: from its origins to the nineteenth century' allowed us to expand the digital art and architectural project 'Digital Samos. A digital approach to the Monastery of San Julián de Samos'. On the one hand, by making the animation, we were able to create an easy-to-read and more effective visual product to disseminate our research results about the evolving nature of the monastic site of San Julián de Samos in north-western Spain, far beyond static computer-aided design reconstructions. On the other hand, we will see that the animation became a research tool that forced us as scholars to tackle the visualization of relational past realms in their entirety and on a short-term time basis, without compromising the rigour with which computer-based visualization methods and outputs should be used in the communication of and research into cultural heritage.


Dr Wayne Smith published an article (Smith 2016), that suggested that in looking at teaching 'basics' or 'fundamentals' in games we should think of fundamental movement skills (FMS) and fundamental game skills (FGS) as complementary pairs and that they should be taught in complementary ways at all stages of skill development. He was suggesting that we need not follow the often adopted practise of teaching FMS to young children and only introduce FGS when they were older.


Collective intelligence has been focused because it plays an important role for creating knowledge. In order to solve a problem with collective intelligence, collaborative works sharing information are required. In this study, we have investigated what informations are shared while 4 science gifted students are asked for scientific explanation to the problem which is cognitive conflict. They have shared presupposition and problem in stage of problem finding, aims and means of problem solving in stage of setting up hypotheses, and constraints for evaluation and results of evaluation in stage of hypotheses evaluation. Our research tells that group can create knowledge through sharing information and make a change of their concepts. Our foundation of these spontaneous conceptual change gives an implication for gifted education.


This paper proposes an efficient architecture based on Binarized Neural Network (BNN) for recognizing two-hand Indian Sign Language (ISL). Some of the existing works apply deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and machine learning (ML) models to solve the challenging task of ISL recognition in a real-time environment. Therefore, the proposed BNN architecture having binary weights and activations, with bitwise operations used to reduce computational complexity during training and also, the method based on skin color segmentation and Otsu thresholding is applied to extract hand region during sign recognition. Extensive experiments are carried out on the ISL database having English alphabets and words static gestures show that the proposed work achieves a higher recognition rate of 98.8% in real-time as compared to other works. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the proposed BNN is performed over CNN in terms of memory consumption, speed, and training accuracy.


The research on the properties of spin waves (SWs) in three-dimensional nanosystems is an innovative idea in the field of magnonics. Mastering and understanding the nature of magnetization dynamics and binding of SWs at surfaces, edges, and in-volume parts of three-dimensional magnetic systems enables the discovery of new phenomena and suggests new possibilities for their use in magnonic and spintronic devices. In this work, we use numerical methods to study the effect of geometry and external magnetic field manipulations on the localization and dynamics of SWs in crescent-shaped (CS) waveguides. It is shown that changing the magnetic field direction in these waveguides breaks the symmetry and affects the localization of eigenmodes with respect to the static demagnetizing field. This in turn has a direct effect on their frequency. Furthermore, CS structures were found to be characterized by significant saturation at certain field orientations, resulting in a cylindrical magnetization distribution. Thus, we present chirality-based nonreciprocal dispersion relations for high-frequency SWs, which can be controlled by the field direction (shape symmetry) and its amplitude (saturation).


Phase intergrowth some kinds of the phases is observed in the thin film fabrication at ultralow co-deposition with multi targets by means of ion beam sputtering. The molar fraction of the Bi2212 phase in the mixed crystal of the grown films is investigated as a function of the applied ozone pressure and the substrate temperature. The activation energy for the phase transformation from the Bi2201 to the Bi2212 is estimated in terms of the Avrami equation. This study reveals that the formation of a liquid phase contributes significantly to the construction of the Bi2212 phase in the thin films, differing from the bulk synthesis.


In the 1950's and 60's a major highway network was developed in Canada such as highways 400 and 401 in Ontario moving the old roads away from populated areas. These highways had to be linked with city centres and expressways were built or at least were being planned. By the 1970's, congestion in city centres led to large tracts of land being turned into large parking lots. The attention of transportation and urban planners gradually turned from expressways to public transit. Elevated guideways serve the purpose of providing independent right-of-ways, without interrupting the unity of neighbourhoods and existing traffic flow. Guideways are gradually becoming part of the city-scape and offer plenty of scope for innovative design. If designed with care, they can blend into the surrounding environment. (TRRL)


An experiment was carried out to study the aero-anion levels in citrus plantations in Quzhou Juhai Forest Park.The relationship between aero-anion concentration and environmental factors was analyzed to provide scientific basis for the further development of the local tourism.The results showed that the aero-anion concentrations in citrus plantation were between 798~1 641 cm-3,higher than 700 cm-3,which was considered as a beneficial threshold for human healthy.A single peak curve was observed for the changes of aero-anion levels in daytime: lowest at 12:00,highest at 14:00.The average CI was 0.892,reached the level of B.The highest CI was at 08:00 am while 12:00 am was the lowest.The aero-anion concentration was negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with humidity.


An experiment was conducted at the Weapon,s Neutron Research facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in which neutrons leaking from a thick lead-bismuth target bombarded by 800MeV protons were measured. Results are presented for a 50-cm-long, 20-cm-diameter PbBi target. The leakage was measured two ways: by activation foils placed on the cylindrical surface of the target, and by neutron detectors placed on collimatedflight paths at several angles (7.5", 309 60°, and 1.50") relative to the incident proton beam direction. The time-offlight measurements are presented in this paper. In this method, neutron energies were resolved by tirne-ofjlight from the target to the detectors. Neutron transport through the collimated flight paths to the detectors was simulated using the radiation transport code MCNPX. Except for the 60" jliglzt path, good agreement with experimental data is observed for neutron energies corresponding to the evaporation phase of the spallation process. For higher energy neutrons, calculations and measurements are in good agreement at forward angles, while calculations exceed measurements in the backward direction.


Security is often compromised by exploiting vulnerabilities in the interface between the organization and the information systems that support it. This reveals the necessity of modeling and analyzing information systems together with the organizational setting where they will operate. In this chapter we address this problem by presenting a modeling language tailored to analyze the problem of security at an organizational level. This language proposes a set of concepts founded on the notions of permission, delegation, and trust. The chapter also presents a semantics for these concepts, based on Datalog. A case study from the bank domain is employed to illustrate the proposed language.


This paper focuses on teaching processes in the mathematics classroom. We adopt Sfard's communicational framework to address the question: What were the teaching actions that seem to promote learning? To address the question, we analyzed four lessons taken from two courses about functions which were studied by elementary-school prospective mathematics teachers. We identified a teaching mechanism that seems to relate teaching to students' learning. This mechanism includes flexible and dynamic transition between mathematizing (talk about mathematical objects), subjectifying (talk about the participants) and personifying (talk about human participants acting upon mathematical objects). We also identified several types of personifying talk


A two to three-year-old child going to kindergarten for the first time always has admission anxiety.Appropriate degree of anxiety is normal,but over-anxiety leads to the child's inability to be life-independence,withdrawn character,offensive personality,which make children's difficulties in adapting to collective life.The paper probes into the current situation and causes of admission anxiety and puts forwards relative strategies in the hope of lessening children's admission anxiety.


One significant task in time series mining research area is motif discovery which is the first step needed to be done in finding interesting patterns in time series sequence. Recently, many motif discovery algorithms have been proposed in place of the untenable brute-force algorithm, to improve its time complexity. However, those motif discovery algorithms still need a predefined sliding window length that must be known a priori. In this paper, we present a novel motif discovery algorithm that requires no window length parameter. This sliding window length is sensitive in that a small difference in the value can lead to huge difference of motif results. The proposed algorithm automatically returns suitable motif lengths from all possible sliding window lengths; in other words, our algorithm efficiently reduces a large set of possibilities of the sliding window lengths down to a few truly-interesting variable-length motifs.


If we were transported backwards in time to the company of a French scholar in eighteenth-century France, how wouldwe record and transmit the knowledge of our world? Automatically, visual monitors, microchips, programs for mainframe computers, the array of artificial languages, cursors, pulses, and tones come to mind and couldbe justified by many 88 the most appropriate means to communicate our accumulated knowledge and ideas. In the article 'Encyclopedie' (1755) of VolumeV, Denis Diderot defines the immense project of the Enc,clopltlie and justifies the use of written discourse and graphic plates 88 the means for recording and transmitting the knowledge of his era, a period when the arts, the sciences,and the technology ofdaily lifewere undergoing rapid and fundamental change and expansion. The article 'Encyclopedie', as a language treatise/language instrument 1, includes in the treatise on language a linguistic and philosophical basis for the efficacyof language. It offers in particular Diderot's language theory on the incommensurability inherent in translating objects into ideas and ideas into signs and his proposed resolution of this incommensurability.


In the paper, I defend the viability and importance of conceptual analysis to philosophical inquiry. My argument proceeds in two steps. In a first step, I argue that we rely on the notions guiding how we do and would apply our terms in order to evaluate the counterfactual conditionals we find at the heart of philosophical thought-experiments. In a second step, I argue that our notions determine what the relevant terms mean in our mouth. In order to defend the resulting neodescriptivist semantics, I put forth an epistemic argument for descriptivism – the argument from communication. I conclude that philosophical thought experiments are exercises in conceptual analysis.


Nowadays, smart technology plays an important role in engineering applications to improve the quality of life. Thus, the development of natural materials and the use of nanotechnology, will give wood new properties to maximize its benefit. It is clear that there is a great challenge to prove the strength and durability of wood acquiring new features to reach innovative use that can influence the current path in many engineering applications. Therefore, this paper summarizes a review of the possibility of using nano- and smart-technologies to make the most of the natural and acquired potential for adding new features and physical properties of wood to improve its efficiency in architectural and mechanical applications. Moreover, experiments have shown that the use of certain types of wood in many applications such as the manufacture of 3D vehicle simulation models to study dynamic behaviors as well as in the manufacture of mechanical measurement systems to improve accuracy. In conclusion, new directions under development in this field are proposed to provide solutions to important issues in the future of measurement and quality control systems that need scientific treatment.--


Background—On the basis of studies with limited statistical power, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is not considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in blacks. We evaluated associations between Lp(a) and incident CVD events in blacks and whites in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Methods and Results—Plasma Lp(a) was measured in blacks (nϭ3467) and whites (nϭ9851). Hazards ratios (HRs) for incident CVD events (coronary heart disease and ischemic strokes) were calculated. Lp(a) levels were higher with wider interindividual variation in blacks (median [interquartile range], 12.8 [7.1–21.7] mg/dL) than whites (4.3 [1.7–9.5] mg/dL; PϽ0.0001). At 20 years of follow-up, 676 CVD events occurred in blacks, and 1821 events occurred in whites. Adjusted HRs (95% confidence interval) per race-specific 1-SD– greater log-transformed Lp(a) were 1. Quintile analyses showed that risk for incident CVD was graded but statistically significant only for the highest compared with the lowest quintile (HR [95% confidence interval], 1.35 [1.06 –1.74] for blacks and 1.27 [1.10 –1.47] for whites). Similar results were obtained with the use of Lp(a) cutoffs of Յ10 mg/dL, Ͼ10 to Յ20 mg/dL, Ͼ20 to Յ30 mg/dL, and Ͼ30 mg/dL. Conclusions—Lp(a) levels were positively associated with CVD events. Associations were at least as strong, with a larger range of Lp(a) concentrations, in blacks compared with whites. A lthough elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in whites on the basis of its association with measures of atherosclero-sis and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events, 1–9 the association between Lp(a) level and CVD risk in blacks is not clear, 5,10 –14 despite blacks' having 2 to 4 times higher Lp(a) levels than whites. 12,15,16 In the meta-analysis performed by the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, 1 although Lp(a) was associated with CHD in whites, these associations were not significant in blacks (261 CHD events occurred in blacks compared with 7540 in whites). The Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines also note that " although Lp(a) levels are higher in African Americans than in Caucasians, an increased risk for CHD associated with higher Lp(a) levels in African Americans has not been documented. " 17 Similarly, a Euro-pean Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement noted that the evidence to date does not answer whether Lp(a) is responsible for the high incidence rate of stroke in blacks and emphasized the need for further effort to assess atherothrom-botic risk due to Lp(a) in different ethnicities. 18 Few prospective studies have …


The changes in genital tract morphometry, foetal dimensions, the relative volumes of foetal fluids during gestation was evaluated in Red Sokoto (Maradi) does using 28 gravid genitalia. Based on the ages of the fetuses, each genitalia was classified into one of the three phases of gestation namely: early, mid and late gestation for a comparison of all the parameters. While both the uterus and placenta were significantly enlarged, (P<0.05) at mid and late gestation, other morphometric characteristics of reproductive organs were similar (P>0.05) between the ages of gestation. There were significant increases in all foetal dimensions namely: foetal weight, total length, crown rump length, curved crown-rump length, vertebral column length and vertebral column and tail length at mid gestation as well as late gestation. Besides the significant increase in total protein in the allantoic fluid, the biochemical characteristics in the foetal fluid were all unaffected by the state of gestation (P>0.05) throughout the period of gestation. This work provides base line information on foetal development in relation to the intrauterine environment in the Red Sokoto breeb. Such information will be useful in breeding programmes aimed at the improvement of this breed in Nigeria.


The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a lifethreatening disorder that occurs in critically ill patients with a variety of heterogeneous diagnoses. Although ARDS-associated mortality has declined over the years, mortality remains high at approximately 25–40%. Previous epidemiological studies identified at-risk diagnoses that are associated with an increased susceptibility for developing ARDS; however, only 20–40% of patients with these at-risk diagnoses (such as sepsis, trauma, or aspiration) progress to ARDS. Therefore, other factors may alter the progression to ARDS, such as the presence of preexisting chronic comorbid conditions. One common comorbid condition encountered in the critically ill population, diabetes mellitus, has previously been reported to influence the development of ARDS. Initially, a prospective study of critically ill patients with septic shock revealed a decreased risk of ARDS in diabetics when compared with nondiabetics (25% vs 47%, respectively, p = 0.03), a finding that persisted even after adjustment for potential confounding factors (1). Subsequently, other studies have explored the relationship between diabetes and the development of ARDS and reported very similar findings (2–7), except for one study in patients undergoing high-risk surgery that found diabetics were more likely to develop postoperative acute lung injury (8). In the most recent prospective observational study of patients with at-risk diagnoses in this issue of Critical Care Medicine, Yu et al (9) investigate further the association between diabetes and ARDS. As a result of their large sample size (n = 3,860 subjects) and rigorous methods, this study definitively confirms the inverse relationship between diabetes and ARDS and expands our knowledge by demonstrating that the protective association occurs in patients with all types of diabetes. Furthermore, this study verifies that the presence of diabetes does not impact 60-day mortality in those patients in whom ARDS develop. The mechanisms responsible for this association between diabetes and ARDS remain unclear; however, the influence of diabetic medications, hyperglycemia, and the impact of the metabolic syndrome on inflammation may intersect to alter the development of ARDS (10). The effect of acute hyperglycemia on the development of ARDS is conflicting. Although hyperglycemia exacerbates inflammation and injury, studies have not demonstrated an association between acute hyperglycemia and the development of ARDS (1). Therefore, the association between diabetes and ARDS may involve nonglycemic factors. For example, a variety of medications commonly used in patients with diabetes may contribute to the protective effects of diabetes on the development of ARDS. Prior clinical studies have reported that medications, such as aspirin and statins, are independently associated with a decreased risk of ARDS (11, 12). However, the study by Yu et al (9) reported that these medications do not account for the protective effect of diabetes on ARDS development. As Yu et al (9) acknowledged, the lack of an association of these medications may be accounted for by the low prevalence of and potential misclassification of their use. The study has multiple strengths. Yu et al (9) performed a large observational study in patients at risk for the development of ARDS that allows for examination of multiple potential confounders including the type of diabetes, acute hyperglycemia, and a variety of diabetes medications. They used established criteria to classify the different types of diabetes, and they also underwent training regarding the radiographic criteria for ARDS in order to minimize misclassification. The study also has some important limitations. Although they used predefined criteria to differentiate type 1 and type 2 diabetics, 23% of the patients with diabetes remained unclassified. In addition, blood glucose levels were only collected within the first 24 hours of ICU admission. Therefore, the impact of glucose control and glucose variability could not be examined. As hemoglobin A1C levels were not available, patients with previously undiagnosed diabetes may have been misclassified as not having diabetes. Therefore, obtaining hemoglobin A1C levels would potentially improve the identification and classification of diabetes in these critically ill patients. *See also p. 2720.


We report a study of CdTe layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on InSb(111)A and InSb(111)B substrates. The CdTe/InSb(111) heterostructures, prepared under different conditions, were characterized in-situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Ex-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy were also applied. Our results indicate that In–Te compounds are formed at the interface. The concentrations of these compounds depend on substrate preparation, polarity of the (111) substrate, and annealing process before growth. As shown by RHEED and AFM, CdTe grows nearly two dimensionally on the (111)B surface, whereas on the A face a three dimensional growth, with polycrystalline regions, is obtained.


Waveform inversion aims at a quantitative estimation of the subsurface model. Such a quantitative estimation is a nonlinear problem: the relation between elastic parameters and waveform data is basically nonlinear. Perturbations in the velocity give rise to severe nonlinear perturbations in the wavefield. Other severe nonlinear effects appear when the impedance profile is very irregular (i.e., rapidly oscillating). In this paper, we avoid these drastic nonlinear effects by assuming the velocity distribution is known, and we restrict our analysis to the reconstruction of "regular" impedance profiles. Even in this simple framework, deviations between a linear and a nonlinear model are cumulative as time increases, and the deviations cannot be neglected for propagation times of the order of standard seismic recordings. A nonlinear approach appears to be essential for quantitative imaging of deep targets. However a nonlinear approach requires the wavelet to be known with an accuracy that cannot be reached today. Our sensitivity analysis shows that the wavelet/model ambiguity is much more severe than the one met in linear inversion. As a consequence of the error accumulation inherent in a nonlinear wave propagation model, a small disturbance in the wavelet leads to a strong disturbance in the deep parts of the solution model. In this context, the classical approach for estimating the wavelet by minimizing the energy of the primary reflection waveform is not likely to provide the required accuracy except for very special cases. Accurate wavelet measurements thus appear to be a major challenge for a sound reconstruction of impedance profiles.


The invention discloses a nano-wire field effect transistor comprising a gate electrode, a source region, a drain region, a central region and a gate dielectric layer. The central region is in the core-shell structures which are coaxial; the gate dielectric layer fully surrounds the central region; the gate electrode fully surrounds the gate dielectric layer; the source region and the drain region are respectively arranged on two sides of the central region; the core structure of the central region is made from insulating material, and the shell structure of the central region is made from semiconductor material; the doping type and the doping concentration of the semiconductor material of the shell structure of the central region are adjustable; the lengths of both the core structure and the shell structure and the radii of both the core structure and the shell structure are adjustable; and the materials of the gate dielectric layer, the gate electrode, the source region and the drain region are adjustable. Due to the adoption of the insulating core structure, the off-current of the traditional nano-wire transistor can be reduced effectively, and the current on-off ratio of the devices can be increased. The threshold voltage shifting and the drain induced barrier lowering of the nano-wire field effect transistor are less affected by the short channel effect, and the size reducing performance of the nano-wire field effect transistor is more excellent.


Rare earth elements while not considered to be volatile in coal combustion do show some variation between ash collection rows. To better understand this variation, we investigate the trace element variations (with emphasis on rare earth elements) in size fractions of fly ash from multiple ash collection rows at a single power-generating unit at a southeastern Kentucky power plant. Fly ash samples were investigated using optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The arsenic concentration increases from the hottest to the coolest ends of the ash collection system. The relationship between Hg capture and the flue gas temperature is illustrated by the increase in Hg between the economizer hopper and the cooler mechanical hopper. Although the rare earth elements do not show significant variation between rows of ash collection systems, the ratio of light and heavy rare earth elements (LREE/HREE) decreases from the economizer and mechanical rows to the electrostati...


It is necessary to enhance the performance of interactive genetic algorithms in order to apply it to complicated optimization problems successfully. An adaptive interactive genetic algorithm with grey for fitness of evolutionary individuals was proposed. The fitness uncertainty of evolutionary individuals was measured and expressed by grey. Through analyzing these fitness intervals, information reflecting the distribution of an evolutionary population was abstracted. Based on these, the probabilities of crossover and mutation operation of an evolutionary individual were presented. The proposed algorithm was applied to a fashion evolutionary design system. The results show that it can find many satisfactory solutions per generation.


Although Costa and colleagues' prospective randomised study comparing total hip arthroplasty with resurfacing arthroplasty was laudable in orthopaedics, it lacks the necessary rigour and detail to reach useful conclusions.1

Costa and colleagues do not describe the surgical approach used, and this may have a clinically significant impact on outcome.2 At least one of them favours a trans-trochanteric approach, which …


Wind profilers (WPs) are a special category of ground-based radar instruments used to obtain 3-D profile of wind velocity along the altitude in atmosphere. They transmit radio wave pulses in very high frequency (VHF) or ultrahigh frequency (UHF) bands in vertical and near-vertical directions. The Doppler frequency shift and the time of flight of the echo signals from each beam are measured. These data are analyzed to get the radial velocities of atmospheric targets at all the ranges. The data must be processed from at least three noncoplanar beam directions together to estimate 3-D wind profile. The signal-to-noise ratio is very low for the higher range target echoes. Also, echoes are often contaminated by nonatmospheric signals like clutter, radio frequency interference, and so on. Determining accurate wind profile, especially at higher heights, becomes a challenging task due to these factors. This paper presents a novel algorithm for the estimation of radial velocity profile by processing the set of Doppler power spectra of all range bins. The algorithm identifies prospective atmospheric echoes components. Then it forms velocity profile trails connecting five range bins. The program rejects the profile trails that show velocity change higher than a predefined limit. The remaining trails are evaluated using a specially designed multiparameter cost function (MPCF). The trails with maximum cost are selected and then connected to construct the complete Doppler profile or the radial velocity profile. The key innovation in this method is an improvised function that is created by weighted addition of two terms. The first term is proportional to the signal power, and the second term is a nonlinear function of differential wind shear. This algorithm has been tried on multiple sets of the Indian mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere radar data and the lower atmospheric WP radar data. The performance of this method is compared with other methods, namely, the adaptive moment estimation method and fuzzy logic approach. It has been observed that the new method shows excellent consistency in extracting the Doppler profile from the power spectral data. This method requires at least 30% lesser computations compared with other methods. The results of the MPCF method showed a very good match with the data obtained from concurrently operated Global Positioning System sonde, an independent wind profiling method. This paper also shows the results on the performance improvement using power spectra from the symmetrical beams. This algorithm shows a great promise as a tool for automatic Doppler profile tracing.


Abstract : On August 8, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army GEN Peter W. Chiarelli, spoke to 1,000 personnel who are directly involved with supporting and caring for wounded, ill and injured warriors.


This paper is based on wheel data collected by the authors at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). The wheel data is examined to determine the rotundity in a new condition and after three levels of accumulated service mileage. Analysis of this data points to the need for investigating Wheel/Rail reaction under various conditions of wheel rail rotundity and rail irregularities.
 The authors suggest a method of investigation that should show that the interaction of wheel and rail can result in rail corrugation.


Triplen harmonic currents are becoming major concern in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) distribution system. Significant levels of triplen harmonic currents generate heats, increase system losses and reduce the economic life spans of distribution transformers. In this paper, the performance of three harmonic suppressors in the control of harmonic emission levels in three ECG's distribution transformer substations have been investigated. Harmonic parameters monitored include, harmonic currents, Total Harmonic Distortions (THD) and harmonic energy losses. Results show that the neutral blocking harmonic filters can reduce harmonic current in neutral conductors by 88% and consequently decrease harmonic energy loss by 97%. The estimated annual energy savings from the harmonic reduction for each transformer amounted to 10, 707.86 kWh


In this paper, we present a double-layer metal-only transmitarray operating at 10 GHz. The unit cell is composed of two metallic layers with cross-slot, connected by vias. The phase shift is realized by changing the length of the cross-slot, and satisfactory transmission magnitude is also obtained. The transmitarray consisting of 225 unit cells is simulated. The results show that the transmitarray maximum gain is 24.4 dBi, and the aperture efficiency is 27.6%. In addition, a 12% 3-dB gain bandwidth is also achieved. The proposed transmitarray antenna has advantages of low-profile, low-cost, and simple configuration. Furthermore, the metal-only structure makes it more suitable for space applications.


The focus of much of the discussion of the economics of journal publishing is the publisher/librarian exchange relationship. There are good reasons for this: it allows discussion of tangibles, the costs of print‐based production, numbers of subscriptions, demand and supply curves based on previous practice and so on. But emphasis on the library/publisher relationship has led to an emphasis on pricing as the key issue in serials provision, when additional issues (fundamental changes in exchange relationships) must be considered. Explores changes in structural relationships which may emerge in a publishing system that is dominated by electronic processes, and the perceptions of those involved of the economic implications of such changes. Consists of three parts: the first reviews the theoretical framework, the second considers the views of practitioners and the third considers developments in policy and infrastructure in the UK since the field work.


In this paper the contents needed in the didactical preparation of teachers to teach probability are described and the possibility that classical paradoxes of probability offer to organise didactic activities that can help carry out this training are suggested. Results of working with one such activity in courses directed to teachers in Mexico, Portugal and Spain are presented.


Objectives : Mitiglinide(MGN) a rapid‑acting secretagogue(glinides) is an oral hypo‑ glycemic medication which can be taken by type‑2 diabetic patients before meal. We exam‑ ined the possibility of gastric absorption of MGN and the relationship between this absorption and the gastric pH in rats. Methods : We investigated the absorption of orally administered MGN(4.2 mg/kg)with and without an antacid in both untreated rats(the control and antacid groups)and in pylorus‑lig‑ ated(PL)rats(the PL‑control and PL‑antacid groups) . Gastric pH was higher than 5 in the rats with an antacid. Results & Discussion : In untreated rats Cmax significantly decreased and Tmax significantly prolonged(P < 0.05)in the antacid group as compared to the control group while there was no significant difference in AUC between the control group and the antacid group. Additionally this change in absorption caused the loss of the rapid‑ and short‑acting proper‑ ties of antihyperglycemic action by MGN. In pylorus‑ligated rats there was no significant dif‑ ference in Cmax Tmax and AUC between the PL‑control group and the control group and Cmax and AUC significantly decreased(P < 0.05)and Tmax significantly prolonged(P < 0.05)in the PL‑antacid group when compared to the PL‑control group. It appears that MGN a mildly‑ acidic drug(pKa = 4.43) was absorbed via the stomach and the gastric absorption was delayed when the gastric pH is higher than 5. Conclusion : This study has shown that the delay of absorption of MGN could induce pro‑ longed antihyperglycemic action(as do sulfonylurea hypoglycemic agents)where the gastric pH was higher than 5.


In wet tropical regions of Peru and the Panama Canal Zone, saltatorial Orthoptera were found to visit flowers of certain species of Commelinaceae, Compositae, Gramineae, and Euphorbiaceae. Tettigoniids, especially Coinocephalus, were the commonest visitors, though representatives of Tridactylidae, Gryllidae, and Acrididae were also seen on the flowers. Most were nymphs. In the Commelinaceae, the principal family studied, most of the visitors fed only on the anthers, and some were observed to walk from flower to flower. This behavior suggests that they may effect some pollination. However, their destruction of the anthers, which reduces a flower's potential for more efficient bee pollination, would probably make the orthopterans' net effect on the plant deleterious. A GREAT VARIETY of insects visit flowers, but there is rare mention of saltatorial Orthoptera among them. Ramsay (1960) mentions a specimen of Caedidia simplex (Tettigoniidae) found "feeding on chrysanthemum flowers" in New Zealand. Wickler (1968) notes that the juveniles of a cicindellid mimic, Condylodera tricondyloides (Tettigoniidae), are found in the flowers of a tree in Borneo. Tettigoniidae were mentioned as flower visitors to Tripogandra cumanensis' (Kunth) R. E. Woodson (Commelinaceae) in Peru by Schuster and Schuster (1971). Further observations in Peru and the Panama Canal Zone have confirmed and extended the knowledge of saltatorial Orthoptera interractions with tropical flowers. Occasional observations were made of various flowers, particularly Commelinaceae, during the period from June 1970 to late February 1972 in the region of Tingo Maria, Peru, and during April 22-23, 1972 on Barro Colorado Island in the Canal Zone. Tingo Maria, at 670 meters on the eastern slopes of the Andes, is in a region of "Subtropical Wet Forest" (Tosi 1960). Barro Colorado Island is in a region of "Tropical Moist Forest" (Holdridge and Budowski 1959). Both in Peru and on Barro Colorado Island, the usual sites of observation were open weedy areas, such as clearings and roadsides. Such sites were similar floristically and included abundant Tripogandra cumanensis, some Commelina (Commelinaceae), and similar species of Compositae, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Gramineae in bloom. In Peru, one additional site studied was slightly different. This site, an ecotone area between forest and roadside ditch, contained abundant Zebrina pendula Schnizl. (Commelinaceae) in the shadier parts and T. cumanensis in the sunnier. Also present were two species of Urticaceae and a couple of flowering bushes of Hamelia patens (Rubiaceae). The Orthoptera found on flowers are shown in table 1. By far the most common was a species of Conocephalus (Tettigoniidae), of which only nymphs (various instars) were observed on flowers.2 In Peru, it was found on T. cumarnensis during February, May, June, August, September, October, and November, and is probably present on the flowers throughout the year. Clumps of T. cumrnensis produce large quantities of fresh flowers every day in the year. Conocephalus sp. was observed feeding on the anthers, perhaps also consuming stamen hairs, but not eating other parts of the flower. The insects visited a given flower for approximately five to fifteen minutes, and were, at times, observed to pass directly to another flower. Many of the flowers visited would be left without anthers. This situation occurred only while the flowers were open, i.e., from about 9:00 to about 13: 00 (Schuster and Schuster 1971). In the Commelinaceae, flowers which are open on one day do not reopen the following day. This has the result that, at the beginning of any day's open period, all the flowers are unexploited, and the insects do not waste time and energy visiting flowers exploited the previous day. On only one occasion was Conocephalus sp. seen to eat a petal as well as the anthers. This was on a flower of Commelina diffusa Burm. f. in January 1972. Conocephalus sp. was also encountered on the small pale-purple heads of a roadside composite during May 1971. For example, on May 4, 1971 at 10:45 a.m., Conocephalus sp. was found on flower heads of all six plants of this composite growing at a particular site. They were observed to walk from 1 Now T. serrulata (Vahl) Handlos (D. R. Hunt pers comm.). 2 In both Trinidad and Tobago in August 1967 first and second instar nymphs of Conocephalus sp. and Neoconocephalus sp. were observed chewing the anthers of grasses. Crop analyses revealed that anthers and pollen had been ingested. The later instars and adults fed upon the seeds as these became available. M. G. Emsley, Ed. 138 BIOTROPICA 6(2): 138-140 This content downloaded from 188.8.131.52 on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 07:21:09 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms TABLE 1. Species of Orthoptera observed on flowers in Peru (P) and the Canal Zone (C). unidentified ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~; sp. (Paerperne Pu Pn d) 4'S Anaxq7hv? s p. ( Trigonidiinae ) P ~ ~ ~ s ~ ~ Speiescoflinsec 0 ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~a


This paper describes the new design criteria and the changes Vattenfall Nordic Distribution has carried out during purchasing and installing transformer stations in Sweden and Finland in the autumn of 2007. A new approach concerning the design, construction and demand of the transformer stations including the Medium Voltage switchgear has been carried out. The following important criteria and their results are described:


Reliable prediction of wave overtopping rate is a key task in the design and safety assessment
of coastal structures. The overtopping rates must be lower than the allowable rate both in normal operating
and extreme conditions to guarantee the safety of both people and assets on and behind the breakwaters. The
sea level rise caused by climate change and its effects on wave climate enhance the overtopping rate and
make the existing coastal structures more vulnerable to the overtopping.
In the past decades, several approaches have been developed for prediction of overtopping rate in different
structures, including empirical formulae, numerical models, and soft-computing methods. The most
commonly used models are empirical ones. Typically, these models are developed by fitting dimensionless
parameters to experimental data obtained from physical model tests. The most popular empirical formulae
proposed for berm breakwaters are the formulae of Van der Meer and Janssen (1995) and EurOtop (Pullen et
al. 2007). However, the applicability of these formulae is limited to specific structures and wave conditions
for which the models were developed. Hence, a more comprehensive dataset which includes multiple tests
with different structural and hydraulic conditions would enhance the robustness and reliability of the
developed models.
As a part of the European CLASH project framework, two different ANN models for various types of coastal
structures are developed. These models can also be used for the prediction of wave overtopping rate at rubble
mound breakwaters with berms. However, using ANN models may not always be desirable, because, they
have complicated structures and are not as transparent and understandable as empirical models. On the other
hand, practical applications of these models need engineers to have some data mining knowledge which is
not always the case.
In this study, a new formula for the prediction of wave overtopping rate at non-reshaping berm breakwaters is
presented. In order to derive the new formula, extracted experimental data from the CLASH database is
implemented and the effects of the most important governing parameters are considered. Several models
were developed using various dimensionless parameters that seemed to be influential and the model which
outperformed the other ones was selected. The final model considers the effects of dimensionless crest
freeboard, dimensionless crest width and average angle of the structure slopes. The new formula's
performance is then compared with those of previous empirical ones for prediction of overtopping rate.
Statistical indicators such as Root Mean Square Error, RMSE show that the new formula outperforms the
previous empirical ones.


Electrical properties of single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) reinforced polyimide composites were investigated as a function of SWNT concentration. AC and DC conductivities were measured, and the frequency behavior of the specific admittance was investigated. The experimental conductivity was found to obey a percolation-like power law with a relatively low percolation threshold. The current-voltage measurement results exhibited a non-ohmic behavior, indicating a quantum tunneling conduction mechanism. Analytical modeling and numerical simulation using high aspect ratio, rigid, spherocylinders as models for the SWNT were carried out to aid in understanding these results. The predictions were in good agreement with the experimental results. Published by Elsevier Ltd.