and says that Sophocles ' is thinking of the immersion of iron in hot oil, a process still in use for softening the metal.' I believe that the Lexicon is perfectly right, and that Professor Tarbell's view is untenable, for more than one reason. Dr. Bliimner in an excellent discussion of ancient iron-working (Technologie, vol. i. pp. 340-347) describes the process of hardening steel (ordfiwcris) by immersion in water, and gives a full list of passages from Greek and Latin writers bearing upon it, and of other passages which speak of the treatment by oil. As regards the latter process, one passage from Hippocrates (Coac. Prae. 384) was apparently first noticed in this connexion by Lobeck, and is cited by most subsequent commentators on the Ajax. I cannot but think that it has been cited without much examination. Hippocrates is merely describing a pimple on the tongue as ' livid, like iron dipped in oil'—no more —there is nothing to show that he is speaking of a process in working iron or steel, and it is quite possible that the colour may have been suggested by one of his own surgical instruments dipped in oil. While one is appalled by the wide learning which enabled Lobeck to unearth this passage for an illustration of Sophocles, one may be permitted to doubt whether it really does illustrate. If we reject this single reference, it will be seen that there is no allusion to this treatment by oil earlier than Pliny and Plutarch: further, that the alleged object is not weakening (which might suit Professor Tarbell's view) but toughening: further still, that the process is said to he used only for small articles, such as broochpins, according to Plutarch—a limitation which Dr. Bliimner seems to think likely. Pliny's words are noticeable: 'tenuiora ferramenta oleo restingui mos est, ne aqua in fragilitatem durentur.' It may be said that the flexibility derived, or supposed to be derived, from oil would give the proposed meaning: but to this it must be answered that the word BrjXvs should be opposed to avSptios, and should mean soft and weak rather than flexible and tough. Again, it may be said that the argument against the existence of this industrial process in the time of Sophocles is purely negative: but we may surely regard as positive testimony the fact that the single word /Ja^ij has passed into a term for the hardening of the character, as in Aristotle Pol. vii. 14 rrjv j3atj>r]V a<f>iS.<Tiv, uxrwep 6 (rlSr/pos, tlprjvr/v ayovTfs, where the o-rd/u.(ixm or steeling must certainly be understood. It is inconceivable that the metaphorical and ethical use of the single word without any qualification should convey exactly opposite ideas in Sophocles and in Aristotle. I think it will be found that the invariable contrast in Greek writers speaking of iron (or steel) is between the softening by fire and the hardening by water. The « irupos in Antigone 475 refers, I believe, to the condition in which steel is found after the heating, as in Lucretius's ' umor aquae porro ferrum condurat ab ig'ii.' It seems to me that a correct (perhaps intentional?) commentary on these lines of the Ajax may be found in the sentence of Plutarch (An. rat. uti 16, p. 968 D), di/Speias olov /3a<f>rj TIS 6 #v/xds eari «a£ (TTofJuo/xa, where the word ord/ito/m leaves no doubt as to what the /Ja^ij was, and the av8p€ia explains the idea of our idriXvvOrjv. Applying this to our passage, and making the stop at cos, as the Lexicon does, the full idea is : ' I whose character was then hard or av&pciov, as steel is hardened by the fia<f>ri, am now made 6rj\v<> by Tecmessa's words.' And this will allow us to translate as the Lexicon, following Professor Campbell, appears to have done. The tenses, which Professor Tarbell seems to regard as an objection, are quite regular. The imperfect itcapTepovv expresses the character which Ajax had hitherto maintained : the aorist WrjXvvOrjv conveys the (alleged) present effect of Tecmessa's words, according to the ordinary Greek idiom of referring back to the time of the speech the emotion which was caused by it.


Sources of current, historical and thematic maps online and in print in the Monroe Library. Web site that list and link to maps and map collections.


RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful technique to silence target gene in vitro. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) is driven by RNA polymerase Ⅲ, resulting that it does not enable to be transcribed in a specific tissue to inhibit gene. Overexpression of shRNA causes death of the organism. Therefore, a system that allows short interfering RNA (siRNA) be regulated by RNA polymerase II is required. We take advantage of using IE1 (+502/+527) and IE2 (+816/+835) of zebrafish myf5 because we proved that the DNA fragment with stem-loop structure that ranged from 76 bp to 97 kb between IE1 and IE2 were cut out in RNA level. We constructed a plasmid pβ-actin::DsRed-IE1-GFP shRNA-IE2, in which reporter RFP is driven by β-actin promoter and shRNA corresponding to GFP mRNA(+416/+437) is inserted between IE1 and IE2, and co-transfected with another plasmid, pCMV::GFP, in which GFP reporter gene is driven by the enhancer and promoter of cytomegarovirus, into COS-1 cells. Results showed that GFP expressing cell number was suppressed to 40 %, compared to cells that were co-transfected with pβ-actin::DsRed and pCMV::GFP. In addition, two plasmids were constructed: plasmid pcMLC2::GFP-IE1-pre-let7-IE2, in which pre-let7 from zebrafish is inserted into two IE motifs, fused with GFP and driven by a heart-specific promoter cmlc2, and plasmid pcMLC2::luc-lin41-3'UTR, in which 3'UTR of lin41 is fused with luciferase and driven by cmlc2 promoter. After co-injection of these two plasmids into zebrafish embryos, we found that the luciferase activity was decreased to 10 % of that was displayed in the embryos co-injected with pcMLC2::GFP-IE1-pre-let7-IE2 and pcMLC2::luc. Furthermore, we constructed a plasmid pVMHC::IE1- cTnnt2 shRNA–IE2, in which shRNA that targets specifically to zebrafish cardiac troponin T2 (cTnnt2) is driven by ventricle-specific promoter, ventricular myosin heavy chain (VMHC), and microinjected into zebrafish embryos. We found that the pVMHC::IE1-cTnnt2 shRNA–IE2-injected embryos appeared the ventricle defects, such as weak contractile and strung heart, which mimicked the phenotypes induced by injection of cTnnt2-morpholino. We then constructed a plasmid pCMLTet-IE1-cTnnt2 shRNA-IE2, in which IE1-cTnnt2 shRNA-IE2 was constructed in a heart-specifically expressed Tet-on system. By linearizing the plasmid and injected it into one-cell stage zebrafish embryo, we generated transgenic lines that carried pCMLTet-IE1-cTnnt2 shRNA-IE2. After doxycycline induction, F1 transgenic zebrafish embryos could expressed GFP reporter gene and IE1-cTnnt2 shRNA-IE2 specifically in heart, and we found that cTnnt2 mRNA and cTnnt2 protein expressed in heart were dramatically suppressed. Taken together, we conclude that IE1 and IE2 enable to serve as two cassettes to carry a shRNA, and this shRNA enables to be released and to silence target gene under the control of tissue-specific and regulable RNA polymerase II. This system might be highly potential to be applied in gene therapy.


We herein propose a far-field super-resolution imaging with metal thin films based on the temperature-dependent electron–phonon collision frequency effect. In the proposed method, neither fluorescence labeling nor any special properties are required for the samples. The 100 nm lands and 200 nm grooves on the Blu-ray disk substrates were clearly resolved and imaged through a laser scanning microscope of wavelength 405 nm. The spot size was approximately 0.80 μm, and the imaging resolution of 1/8 of the laser spot size was experimentally obtained. This work can be applied to the far-field super-resolution imaging of samples with neither fluorescence labeling nor any special properties.


A superfluorescent radiation source (SFS) on a quartz fiber activated by an erbium with a highly stabile average radiation spectrum wavelength and width is created. The importance of the high-power level of radiation that is generated in the activated fiber is demonstrated for a stable spectrum.


Bluetooth devices on board of traffic objects depict an easy way of detecting motions of persons and goods. However, the precondition is that one Bluetooth device (the observer) discovers another Bluetooth device - namely the on board device - within a very short time range. Device discovery in case of Bluetooth connection establishment is heavily dependent from the so called inquiry process which allows Bluetooth devices to look for each other and to exchange relevant information to build up a lasting connection. In this paper we give an analytical model of the time it takes a Bluetooth-based moving observer to discover a Bluetooth device within a floating traffic object by considering the specific behaviour of the inquiry procedure. Therefore, the analytical model refers to the inquiry process described in the official Bluetooth standard protocol version 1.2 and thus includes a specific mode - named interlaced scan mode-which was introduced to speed up discovery times. We show that, taking that kind of mode into account gives more reasonable results in terms of reflecting practical measurements by means of simulations. As a result, we can much better describe the observers behaviour concerning the probability of the first detection.


Intermittent feeding method and continuous feeding method were adopted in two experimental form ecological soil wastewater infiltration systems (ESWISs), respectively. The results showed that COD, NH4 + and TN removal efficiencies were enhanced from 81.8%, 70.5% and 45.8% in continuous feeding ESWIS to 90.0%, 88.5% and 72.7% in intermittent feeding ESWIS. The same TP removal efficiency was achieved in two feeding mehtods. Matrix oxidation reduction potential (ORP) was enhanced through the intermittent feeding ESWIS, especially above 60 cm depth of the matrix, which encouraged nitrification. The metabolic activity and reproduction of microbes were improved by intermittent feeding method, such as actinomyces, bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, fungus. Meanwhile, denitrifying bacteria and nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NIR) activities were also increased. PCR-DGGE analysis confirmed that intermittent feeding method improved bacterial diversity. These results suggest that intermittent feeding method is viable to heighten the performance of ESWISs in sewage treatment.


Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), supporting the development of innovative vehicular applications, have benefited from major contributions in the field of wireless networking. Broadcasting is a crucial communication type for many domain-specific applications. In this work we focus on analytical modeling of multi-hop broadcast in vehicular networks and quantify its performance in terms of relevant indicators, by taking into account the effect of main parameters. Our model is based on the network topology and as a result, the major network characteristics such as vehicle density and the number of 1-hop neighbors, affecting dissemination penetration rate, are considered in the model. Through extensive experiments, confirming the substantial impact of the network topology and the connectivity regime on the overall broadcast performance, we provide insight into the system functionality. Such observations can be used as feedback for further performance optimization in various network conditions.


This experimental work is focused on the catalyst films – their chemical composition, preparation and catalytic activity (in terms of the amount of CNTs produced) in the process of synthesis of carbon nanotubes using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The series of experiments was devoted to the selection of methods for preparation and characterization of films and nanocomposites. The prepared nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes and iron modified mineral fractions were evaluated by electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.This experimental work is focused on the catalyst films – their chemical composition, preparation and catalytic activity (in terms of the amount of CNTs produced) in the process of synthesis of carbon nanotubes using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The series of experiments was devoted to the selection of methods for preparation and characterization of films and nanocomposites. The prepared nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes and iron modified mineral fractions were evaluated by electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.


Abstract Silurian mudstones and siltstones in the region south of Colwyn Bay, North Wales, contain numerous 'disturbed beds', with folds, fabrics, and other features resulting from pre-lithification deformation at or near to the sea floor. Orientation data are presented for slump folds in four areas of Ludlow rocks where the exposure allows three-dimensional measurement. The data show considerable scatter, perhaps reflecting an irregular slope morphology, and the palaeoslope inferred for each of the areas is slightly differently orientated. In general, however, the palaeoslope directions indicate that the slumps moved not eastwards, along the axis of the Denbigh Trough, as most recently suggested, but down the southern flanks of a gentle, intra-basinal swell.


Despite the great range of political and aesthetic implications it incorporates, the notion of everyday life is often formulated from architectural theory purely as a critical argument against architects' estrangement from the 'real' life of the city. In this paper I'd like to overcome this critique by unveiling unexplored ways in which the idea of the everyday has produced relevant architectural results within contemporary aesthetic regimes. In doing so I'll attempt to challenge the typical association between authenticity, social critique and everyday, by suggesting that it is, paradoxically, through imitations of the spatial practices and the images of everyday life, how modern and contemporary architectures have achieved to embody certain political contents. For this I'll use two projects known as paradigmatic of participation in architecture: The Byker Wall by Ralph Erskine and the Maison Médicale by Lucien Kroll, that also share a moment, the late sixties, in which the critical notion of the everyday was probably going through its maximum political relevance during modernity.


The results of experimental investigation of hydrogenation influence on structure changes of zirconium alloy (Zr-1%Nb) with thin nickel layer have presented in this work. Nickel layer was formed by magnetron sputter deposition. Hydrogenation was carried out at gas atmosphere at constant temperature. Different hydrogen concentrations were obtained by varying time of hydrogenation. Defect and phase structure was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, positron lifetime and Doppler broadening spectroscopies. New experimental data about the evolution of the positron annihilation parameters depending on hydrogen concentration in Zr-1Nb alloy with nickel layer was obtained.


An embedded anisotropic thin layer model, based on the extended subgridding boundary condition (SGBC) technique, has been developed and integrated into the massively parallel computer codes JEMS-FDTD for efficient simulation of electrically large objects with anisotropic thin layers. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, it is applied to simulate the shielding effectiveness of a metal enclosure with a carbon fiber composite (CFC) door, the results of which are compared with experimental data. The comparison shows a good agreement, further demonstrating the accuracy of the embedded anisotropic thin layer model.


Authors of papers to present a dynamic state prediction method based on an autoregressive model for outgoing Line of high voltage stations of power plants. When load is increased line autoregressive model at a constant power factor, it is proved in this paper that the bus voltages autoregressive models quadratic and the autoregressive model models for predicting the next voltage is based on three prior estimates. This logic is tested on the IEEE-50 bus system. The test results demonstrate that under morning load pick-up, , line opening, the proposed method is correct and gives valid predictions. Theoretical analysis and results show that the proposed method based on autoregressive models has great potential in predicting power system states.


Abstract: In formal ontology, infinite regresses are generally considered a bad sign. One debate where such regresses come into play is the debate about fundamentality. Arguments in favour of some type of fundamentalism are many, but they generally share the idea that infinite chains of ontological dependence must be ruled out. Some motivations for this view will be assessed, with the conclusion that such infinite chains may not always be vicious. Indeed, there may even be room for a type of fundamentalism combined with infinite descent as long as this descent is 'boring', i.e., the same structure repeats ad infinitum . In this paper, a start will be made towards a systematic account of this type of infinite descent. The philosophical prospects and scientific tenability of the account are briefly evaluated using an example from physics. Keywords: fundamentality, fundamental level, grounding, ontological dependence, infinite regress, metaphysical infinitism, gunk, well-foundedness 1. What's so bad about infinitism? There is a widely shared consensus in formal ontology that infinite chains of ontological dependence are vicious. Generally, this is thought to be the case because infinite chains of dependence would have unintuitive consequences. What these consequences are varies according to the type of ontological dependence, but perhaps the most widely discussed case concerns the


Block-based programming environments are a popular way to learn programming. Many of these libraries, including Scratch and MIT's App Inventor, are built on the Blockly library from Google. Unfortunately, programs built with the Blockly library are currently not accessible for people with visual impairments. We describe two designs to make the Blockly library accessible using a screen reader on a touchscreen device.


The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the effect of career development and emotional intelligence on organizational citizenship behavior mediated by job satisfaction. The sample in this study used a saturated sample, where all the population was sampled, but employees as leaders and researchers were not included in the sample. The sample in this study amounted to 67 employees. The data collection technique in this study used a questionnaire method, with SEM-PLS statistical analysis. Data processing in this study using the SmartPLS 3.3.3 software program. The results of this study prove that career development directly has a positive and significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, emotional intelligence has a positive and significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior. While job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on organizational citizenship, and career development has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, while emotional intelligence has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, so that indirectly job satisfaction can mediate career development on organizational citizenship behavior. And indirectly, job satisfaction is able to mediate the influence of emotional intelligence on organizational citizenship behavior of employees.


Some of the problems of investigation on violence in our country, have to do with limitations on access to information, cooperation, funding and lack of knowledge of adequate procedures for collection and analysis of data. In order to make up for shortcomings in information, method, and bring us to the generation of a critical mass of researchers, two meetings on research on violence were organized. Individual and institutional researchers working in care and intervention in violence attended the first meeting. Consultation was done on access to financing sources, training requirements and suggestions for the organization of research into violence at the national level. The second meeting sought to strengthen the capacities of researchers on qualitative information and on Atlas Ti application for analysis of qualitative data.


Irritable Bowel Syndrome:A 10-year Natural History of Symptoms, and Factors That Influence Consultation BehaviorAccreditation and Designation Statement:Blackwell Futura Media Services designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award™. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.Blackwell Futura Media Services is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.


S pontaneous rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque in a coronary artery can lead to the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) that includes unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction (MI). Plaque disruption during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is an inevitable part of the procedure for enlargement of the arterial lumen and can also lead to coronary artery occlusion. The importance of platelets in the pathophysiology of acute coronary thrombosis is now well recognized (1). Over the past decade, research has focused on controlling the platelet response to vascular injury. Several new potent inhibitors of platelet aggregation have been developed as a means of reducing the ischemic complications of ACS and PCI. This review will summarize the current concepts and issues surrounding the use of glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors in the management of patients with coronary artery disease.


Data mining plays an important role in Health care. It really helps to predict the disease based on collated data. Diagnosis in the medical field is a complicated task that should be performed with accuracy and efficiency. A diagnosis performed by a physician for a single patient may differ significantly if the same is examined by the other physicians or by the same physicians at different times to that single patient. Now a days, automated medical analysis are used to help doctors to predict diseases at a very fast pace. Gynecological disease is addressed in this study which is neglected; it may even prove disastrous if left unattended. Sum of 626 instances with 5 attributes are used as the medical dataset for this work. Weka is built in software tool for data mining. J48 (decision tree), Navie Bayes (NB),Multilayer perception (Artificial Neural Networks), ZeroR(Rule based) and Multiclass classifier(Support Vector Machines) are the five classification algorithms used.one of the difficult task in the predicting dermatological diseases is that as there exist a large number of similar typed presentations. This paper deals with the data collected from the southern.


Some people have voiced the opinion that animal agriculture is wasteful and should be on its way out in favor of grain production. It has been predicted that if we continue our present feeding practices, the world population will use all of the grain supplies it can produce by 1985. We hear such statements as: "For the first time in history, we can see a connection between the eating habits of the U. S. citizen and the hunger for millions of others. Hungry people see our heavy meat diet taking a disproportionate share of the world's food supply." They would have us feel guilty for the abundance we produce. The statistics these people use are quite misleading and would have you believe animal agriculture should be discontinued. To be sure, we may change some of our feeding techniques, sources of animal feeds, and even types of animals. In the long run, there must be a balance between animal and plant agriculture if this world is to be fed. Each has its place and must be properly utilized. Contrary to the opinions of many, livestock and poultry will play a key role to provide food for the world because of their ability to use forages, roughages, and byproducts. This point has been grossly overlooked in the attempt to show grain requirements to produce meat, milk, and eggs. Even the comparison of graidsoybean protein versus milk/meat/egg protein is not entirely accurate. Plant protein is generally inferior to animal protein. For example, animal protein is more available than vegetable protein to humans for body maintenance and growth as expressed in NPU's (Net Protein Utilization Value). This value may be expressed as follows: eggs-100% ; fish-84%; red meat and poultry-80% ; milk-75%; defatted soybean flour72%; rice-67%; corn-56%; wheat-62%. This means that almost all egg protein is available for use when consumed by humans, whereas only 56% of corn protein is available. Instead of 1.14 pounds of vegetable protein needed to produce a pound of animal protein in dairy cows, the figure should be .95 pounds in terms of protein available to humans. Do you realize that only 6% of the world's ruminants are located in the United States but produce about 19% of the total animal food output? In developing countries, where over 60% of the world's ruminants reside, they account for only 22% of the output. Animals of low genetic quality, poor disease control and husbandry practices, coupled with cultural/ religious prejudices, severely limit animal production. What do animals actually eat in the United States? The components of their ration are as follows: pastures-32% ; hay-32% ; processed feed-8% ; feed grains-27% ; wheat and rye-1 % . By being able to convert roughages,


Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) in 4H-SiC MOSFETs is investigated under a wide range of oxide electric field $(E_{\text{ox}})$ stress. The purpose of this study is to understand the capture and generation processes of quasipermanent electron and hole traps related to NBTI in SiC MOSFETs. For the first time, it is demonstrated that saturation and turnaround of threshold voltage shift $(\Delta V_{\text{th}})$ can be universally described by the amount of charges injected into the gate oxide $(Q_{\text{stress}})$. Additionally, the generation processes of interfacial electron and hole traps are found to have two distinct phases. Finally, lifetime under NBTI testing is presented to exhibit a power-law relationship with $E_{\text{ox}}$, resulting in longer lifetime than that predicted by the widely used E-model. The presented analyses enable appropriate modeling and electrical testing of NBTI in SiC MOSFETs.


The content of L-Hydroxyproline in milk power can be determined with spectrophotometry.An uncertainty assessment mathematic mode of determination of L-Hydroxyproline in milk power is established in this paper.The branch of uncertainty is quantified and synthesized before the result of assessment of the uncertainty concluded,which provides the effective and credible quality data for the quality control.


We developed and deployed, in July 2005, a wideband 8-channel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at Summit Camp, Greenland (72.5783° N and 38.4596° W). The radar was designed to map internal layers, measure topography, and generate backscatter maps - all in a single pass [1]. Information on ice thickness, bed topography and basal conditions is essential to the refinement of glaciological models of ice sheets, which are used to predict ice-sheet behavior (especially mass balance) and to select deep ice-core sites. This work focuses on the use of fine-resolution 3D imaging algorithms for combining all 8-channels to form cross-track image slices through the ice. As compared with traditional 2D depth sounding, these 3D images allow for the characterization of bed topography with very fine resolution. They also allow for the generation of strip-map SAR images with absolute geocoding without ground control points (these are unavailable at the bottom of the ice), and the ability to analyze the ice-sheet volume in 3D. Topography, backscattering, and 3D ice volume results are illustrated here.


INTRODUCTION Over the long field experience, BAIF has realised that the development organizations approach the rural communities with specific activities, which benefit only a few sections of the community, while the others are left out, due to lack of resources or skills. In this process, it is often the poor who are left out of these development programmes.  Therefore to overcome this situation, the new approach – known as 'Jana Uthan Approach' has been developed.  Under this approach, the Extension Workers interact with the local community with an open mind and to bring them together to identify the local problems.  The community is then encouraged to interact closely and identify the members into 3-4 economic categories based on their income and the access to various resources.   Then the local groups identify the resources and the opportunities for the individual families belonging to different categories with objectives of bringing all the sections above poverty. In this process while the marginally poor get smaller support through 1 or 2 development intervention, to come out of poverty, the poorest families having limited resources are given opportunity to participate in multiple activities.  Thus the poor have scope to earn their income from several sources and the chances of failure are low. This approach is helpful to maintain transparency of the programme and promotes harmony among the members of different economic categories.


Following a global wave of consolidation in the banking industry, this study analyses 132 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving banks in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America between 1998 and 2009. An event study measures the change in shareholder value for acquirers and targets; and a multivariate regression identifies the drivers of the change in shareholder value for acquirers. On average M&As create shareholder value for target firms, while acquirer firms do not lose shareholder value. Geographical diversification creates shareholder value for acquirers. Acquirer shareholders benefit from the acquisition of underperforming targets; from transactions settled by cash rather than exchange of equity; and from government-instigated M&A transactions.


The present study aims to evaluate the quality of services provided in library of faculty of Psychology and Education in Allame Tabatabaee University and identification of those service components in this library which require promotion and improvement. In this study, LibQUAL (final version) has been utilized. Using this tool, service quality is determined by evaluation of the existing gap between "minimum acceptance level" and "perceived level", and also the gap between "maximum acceptance level" and "perceived level". This indicates the significant difference between the levels, as well as weaknesses and strengths of a library. The current research has been carried out using survey method. Sampling method has been cluster random sampling technique and among library clients 346 persons have been chosen as samples. Results of the study indicate that, the library has been able to satisfy the minimum acceptance level of clients in the component "effect of service". Nevertheless, the library did not facilitate to satisfy this level in the components "information control" and "library as a place". Following the hypotheses testing in each of LibQUAL components, the researchers found out that a significant difference exists in all the three components between the "perceived level" and "minimum acceptance level", as well as between the "perceived level" and "maximum acceptance level" concerning service quality. Furthermore, it was specified that from clients' viewpoint, the component of "information control" is of higher significance compared to other components.


This chapter focuses on a digital intervention created in COVID-19 times, Turtle Disco Zoomshells. Turtle Disco is a disability community arts organization, which I co-lead with my wife, poet and dancer Stephanie Heit. In this weekly mutual aid and support group with fellow disabled and disability-adjacent people starting in March 2020, we check in, support each other, and reflect together on creativity in digital times via Zoom. We also offer a Zoom-based creative writing class on disability and science fiction, led by me as part of an offering where disabled writers offer free workshops to other people with disabilities. In this chapter I include my participants' creative writing from these sessions to illuminate ways to think about intimacy, distance, and crip magic. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, xtine burrough and Judy Walgren.


The aim of this article was to describe current situation in researches and studies concerning crisis management and human resource management. It was found that the history of studies and researches on selected field is long. At the same time these are not connected. Author aims to focus among other tasks also on covering this gap during author's further activities


An experimental study is conducted to advance the understanding of flow physics associated with a boundary-layer ingesting, distributed propulsion system. The influence of incoming boundary-layer t...


Machine learning (ML) techniques and atomistic modeling have rapidly transformed materials design and discovery. Specifically, generative models can swiftly propose promising materials for targeted applications. However, the predicted properties of materials through the generative models often do not match with calculated properties through ab initio calculations. This discrepancy can arise because the generated coordinates are not fully relaxed, whereas the many properties are derived from relaxed structures. Neural network-based potentials (NNPs) can expedite the process by providing relaxed structures from the initially generated ones. Nevertheless, acquiring data to train NNPs for this purpose can be extremely challenging as it needs to encompass previously unknown structures. This study utilized extended ensemble molecular dynamics (MD) to secure a broad range of liquid- and solid-phase configurations in one of the metallic systems, nickel. Then, we could significantly reduce them through active learning without losing much accuracy. We found that the NNP trained from the distilled data could predict different energy-minimized closed-pack crystal structures even though those structures were not explicitly part of the initial data. Furthermore, the data can be translated to other metallic systems (aluminum and niobium), without repeating the sampling and distillation processes. Our approach to data acquisition and distillation has demonstrated the potential to expedite NNP development and enhance materials design and discovery by integrating generative models.


We present results of a 'blind' demonstration of the MultiTransient Electro-Magnetic (MTEM) method over a gas storage reservoir in the south of France using a new custom-built system. A real-time appraisal of the data using data-processing methods similar to those used in seismic exploration indicates the depth and lateral extent of a subsurface resistor which correlates with known gas in a natural sandstone reservoir of relatively shallow burial and simple structure.


The transition to the work of local college counselors face is "restructuring",a timely change in working methods,refinement of the working path to explore and build sustainable development adapting scientific counselors work system,for promoting the ideological and political education of college students and local University's own transformation and leap-forward development of great significance.


Digital childhood is determined by a special social situation of
the development, since the persistent use of digital devices affects all spheres
of contemporary children's life. The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on
Contemporary Childhood of MSUPE conducted an empirical study aimed at
identifying the peculiarities of parents' position regarding the use of gadgets
by their children. Questionnaires were developed for parents of preschool
and primary school age children. The sample consisted of  respondents
from different regions of Russia. The data obtained suggest that most children
get access to digital devices at preschool age with the permission of
their parents, as a rule, for entertainment and the development of individual
mental functions. Digital devices begin to perform the socializing function at
primary school age, when the functionality of their use signifi cantly expands,
and they start being used to solve such age-related tasks as communication
and learning. Most Russian parents of preschoolers take a conscious position
regarding their children's access to digital devices, allowing or completely
prohibiting children from using them. However, there are parents who lack
a consistent strategy in providing digital devices to their children. They have
diffi culties in organizing their children's interaction with various types of
digital content. At the same time, parents rarely rely on professional recommendations
concerning the organization of the child's interaction with digital
devices. The revealed contradiction emphasises the importance of elaborating
recommendations for organizing children's interaction with digital
media as a tool that allows them to effectively solve socialization tasks.


Summary Concrete is not a homogeneous material. However, such an approach does not enable one to precisely determine short-term or long-term strain of concrete which consists of separate materials components with different physical and mechanical properties. Therefore, concrete should be considered a composite of coarse aggregate and mortar. Such a model enables one to take into account different properties of concrete components. The creep or shrinkage of coarse aggregate can be assumed as zero. It is enough to accept only creep or shrinkage of mortar and the present model becomes simpler. In case of a long term, load stress in matrix decreases because of relaxation. Thus, part of load passes from matrix to coarse aggregate. In order to describe such a phenomenon by integro-differential equations of creep it is necessary to know stress history for each element of matrix. It would be difficult to determine creep in this way. It is by far easier to solve macromechanical model of creep by the method of effe...


The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among utilitarian and hedonic values, brand affect and brand trust in the smart phone industry. In this regard, an online survey was conducted on smart phone  consumers in Turkey. Online consumers participated in the survey which took place in the relevant web page. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that utilitarian and hedonic values significantly influence brand affect, and brand affect has a significant impact on brand trust. While utilitarian value is positively related to brand trust, hedonic value is found to have no significant influence on brand trust.


In order to produce the materials possessing combined properties of metals and ceramics, TiB/Ti composites were produced by self propagating high temperature synthesis under conditions of pseudo hot isostatic pressing (SHS/PHIP). Adiabatic temperature (T ad ) of the system was calculated theoretically. Combustion temperature (T c ) and combustion velocity (v) were experimentally measured. The results show that T ad , T c  and v decrease with increasing amounts of Ti. The phases of the products were identified using X ray diffraction and their microstructures were observed by using SEM. There exist TiB and Ti phases in the products, but a small amount of TiB 2 phase was also found in some products. TiB phase, which is uniformly distributed grows into rod like and block like shapes, and decreases its amount with increasing Ti content. The hardness and relative density of the materials are over HRA82 and 94%, respectively.


Abstract Repeatabilities of sire summaries by contemporary comparison were a measure of stability of sire evaluation. Modified contemporary procedures of sire evaluation for first lactation records only were used to compute predicted differences for all Holstein bulls having ten or more daughters calving in any calendar year, 1964 through 1973. A subset of 455 bulls having repeatabilities of last available (final) proofs equal to or exceeding 90% was used to examine relationships between first available (initial) predicted difference, initial repeatability, and final predicted difference. Sire evaluations with low repeatabilities were more variable with a slightly greater tendency to decline than evaluations with high repeatabilities. The average decline of sire evaluations with low repeatabilities was due to less than expected substantial increases in predicted difference rather than to more than expected substantial declines of predicted difference. Final evaluations increased 1.53kg per point increase in initial repeatability. However, initial repeatability accounted for only 1% of the differences in final evaluations while initial predicted difference accounted for 76%. Analysis of semen prices showed a substantial cost for repeatability for bulls of high genetic merit for production and/or type. Cost-benefit ratios indicated that dairymen with intensive sire selection programs often will make most economical semen purchases at intermediate to low repeatabilities.


This study aims to examine the effect of Saudi bank's financial stability on risk management.,Different ordinary least square models have been used to study the significant effect of banks' financial stability indicators on different types of risks in Saudi banks. Financial statements were collected of all Saudi banks (12 banks) from 2011 to 2014 from TADAWL website.,The results indicate a negative and significant effect of capital adequacy ratio on credit risk. Also, there is a significant and positive effect of leverage ratio on credit risk. Moreover, the results indicate negative and significant effect of provisions, leverage, ratio of loans to deposits and bank size on liquidity risk. Finally, results indicate a positive and significant effect of capital adequacy, provisions, leverage and asset utilization ratio on operational risk and indicate a negative and significant effect of loan-to-deposits ratio on operational risk. A robustness check was used to confirm the results. No differences between small and large Saudi banks was found. All banks are committed to apply Basel accord and Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) regulations. But there is a significant difference in applying SAMA toolkits regulations between 2011 and 2014. The 2014 results reflect very high degree of financial stability in Saudi banks when compared with that of 2011, also greater ability to mitigate risk exposure using different types of macroprudential toolkits stated by SAMA.,The study is limited to Saudi Banks from 2011 to 2014.,This is the first paper to use the macroprudential toolkits, suggested by SAMA as financial stability measurements, to examine their effect on different types of risks in Saudi banks. SAMA suggested this group of toolkits to comply with Basel III new regulations and to minimize the degree of risk exposure of Saudi banks.


A growing body of information indipleiotropy and linkage of genes underlying cates that many, perhaps most, of the variation for two phenotypic characters. characters that interest evolutionists, ecolPleiotropy is a more pervasive cause of ogists, physiologists and behaviorists are genetic covariance than is linkage, partiepolygenic (Clausen et al., 1940; Clausen ularly if selection is weak (Falconer, 1960; and Hiesey, 1958; Cavalli-Sforza and Nagylaki and Crow, 1974). The imporBodmer, 1971; Ehrman and Parsons, tance of genic covariance is that it permits 1976; Wright, 1978). These characters prediction of correlated responses to seleccommonly show continuous frequency tion; if selection acts directly only on chardistributions that reflect segregation of acter x, how much evolution will be ingenes at many loci. In a landmark paper, duced in character y? (See DeFries and Fisher (1918) showed that an important Hegmann, 1970; Hegmann and DeFries, summary parameter could be established 1970a; Hegmann et al., 1973; Hegmann for such polygenic characters by measurand Boening, 1976; Pyle, 1978; Hegmann, ing and comparing the degree of pheno1979a, 1979b, for behavioral examples.) typic resemblance between various sets of Thus genic covariance can constrain the relatives. This parameter, the additive gedirection of evolution, just as heritability netic or genic variance, is the population can constrain its rate (Hazel, 1943; Crow property that is responsible for the pheand Nagylaki, 1976; Lande, 1979). Wright notypic resemblance between parents and (1968) has argued that pleiotropy may be offspring (it is totally responsible for this virtually universal: most genes probably resemblance in the absence of non-genetic affect more than one phenotypic characcauses of resemblance and if there is ranter. Thus many characters may be genetdom mating). Because it predicts the exically coupled and estimation of genic copected phenotypic mean of the next genvariance provides a means of determining eration from the phenotypes of parents, it the magnitude of genetic constraints imis the key genetic parameter that permits posed by pleiotropy. Like genic variance, prediction of response to selection in the genic covariance is sometimes expressed laboratory, barnyard, garden and in naas a ratio, the genetic correlation (the ratio ture (Fisher, 1930; Lush, 1945; Falconer, of genic covariance to the geometric mean 1960; Crow and Kimura, 1970; Mather of genic variances). The genetic correlaand Jinks, 1971; Lande, 19700). Additive tions describe correspondence or covarigenetic variance is sometimes expressed as ance in additive effects of genes on two a ratio to the phenotypic variance, that is different characters. as heritability, h 2 • This ratio represents Despite the pivotal importance of herthe proportion of phenotypic variance that itability and genetic correlation there are can be attributed to the additive effects of remarkably few estimates of these paramgenes. eters for natural populations. As Wright A second parameter, additive genetic or (1978, p. 323) put it, "there have been relgenic covariance, is the bivariate analog atively few attempts at evaluation." In of genic variance. It reflects the degree of part this neglect is due to the difficulty of

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To potentially employ warm mix asphalt containing recycled asphalt mixture(WRAM)in pavement,aging tests,freeze-thaw cycle splitting tests,and fatigue tests were conducted to investigate the durabilities of WRAM produced using two chemical warm mix additives and the hot mix asphalt containing recycled asphalt mixture(HRAM).Both short-term and long-term aging were taken into account in the aging tests.Water stability and low temperature cracking resistance of aged mixtures were evaluated.The results show that WRAM suffering from the short-term aging exhibits a slight increase in the tensile strength ratio(TSR),compared with the unaged WRAM,whereas the long-term aging results in a distinct reduction in the TSR.Maximum bend tensile strains of the WRAM after short-term and long-term aging exhibit much more decrease than that of the unaged WRAM.The TSRof the WRAM generally decreases with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles,however,the TSRdisplays an obvious increase after three freezethaw cycles.After five freeze-thaw cycles,the WRAM exhibits a remarkable decrease in the TSR.The fatigue lives of the WRAM and HRAM have similar sensitivity to the change of stress ratio.The WRAMs with two warm mix additives displays difference in the durability,whereas the WRAM has higher durability than that of the HRAM.


In addition to the propositions represented explicitly by independent clauses in a text, there are almost as many propositions, here called relational propositions, which arise (often implicitly) out of combinations of these clauses. The predicates of these propositions are members of a small set of general, highly recurrent relational predicates, such as "cause," "justification," and "solutionhood." Often unsignalled, these relational propositions can be shown to be the basis for various kinds of inferences and to function as elements of communicative acts. Examining two natural texts, we see that the relational propositions involve every clause, and that they occur in a pattern of propositions which connects all of the clauses together. This examination also shows how the relational propositions are essential to the functioning of the text.


Anti-terrorist activities through road control and vehicle seizing tactics is a new topic facing Border Control forces. In view of current severe anti-terrorism situation, the paper studies precautionary and striking countermeasures, and put forward ways to reform training through road control and vehicle seizing.


Abstract: The Tunggurian Age was nominated in 1984, and the Second National Commission on Stratigraphy of China formally suggested establishing the corresponding chronostratigraphic unit, the Tunggurian Stage, based on the Tunggurian Age in 1999. The name of this stage comes from a lithostratigraphic unit, the Tunggur Formation, and the stratotype section is located at the Tunggur tableland, 15 km southeast of Saihan Gobi Township, Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia. The Tunggurian Age is correlated to the Astaracian of the European land mammal ages, and they share the same definition of the lower boundary at the base of the paleomagnetic Chron C5Bn.1r with an age of 15.0 Ma. In the Tairum Nor section on the southeastern edge of the Tunggur tableland, this boundary is situated within the successive deposits of reddish‐brown massive mudstone of the lower part of the Tunggur Formation, with a distance of 7.6 m from the base of the grayish‐white sandstones in the middle part of the section. The Tunggurian is approximately correlated to the upper part of the marine Langhian and the marine Serravallian in the International Stratigraphical Chart. The Tunggurian Stage includes two Neogene mammal faunal units, i.e. NMU 6 (MN 6) and NMU 7 (MN 7/8). The Tairum Nor fauna from the Tairum Nor section corresponds to NMU 6, and the Tunggur fauna (senso stricto) from the localities on the northwestern edge of the Tunggur tableland, such as Platybelodon Quarry, Wolf Camp and Moergen, corresponds to NMU 7. Among the Middle Miocene mammalian faunas in China, the Laogou fauna from the Linxia Basin, Gansu, the Quantougou fauna from the Lanzhou Basin, Gansu, the Halamagai fauna from the northern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, and the Dingjiaergou fauna from Tongxin, Ningxia correspond to NMU 6.


Traditional logic and theory of knowledge were normative disciplines. They saw their task in establishing universal rules of thinking and cognition. In contrast to this approach, the research program of social epistemology, forming the basis of this article, involves studying real knowledge, immersed in a cultural and social context. Real knowledge does not always follow general norms, but this does not mean that there is no logic in it. It functions according to its own rules. Thus, logic can research the specific logical means that are used only in certain areas of knowledge and form their own alternative logical standard. The author considers advertising as a specific area. One can distinguish five basic logical techniques typical for constructing advertising message, although the traditional logic interprets them as deviations from the universal norm. A contrast analogy identifies fundamentally different objects based on broadcast quality. Second, there is a logical inversion or transition from judgment with the form "All objects of class A have property B" to the proposition "All objects, having property B, belong to class A". Third, quasi-dilemma is limited solely to modifications of the same object. Fourth, linear concretization gives transition from an unconditionally acceptable general position to maximally specific prescription from the general and unconditionally acceptable position to a direct instruction for action. Finally, superidealization is elimination of all possible negative associations from the object image. The author concludes that these logical schemes now turn into a new logical standard of advertising and determine its manipulative potential. © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK


In the present article, we have established a result on degree of approximation of function in the generalized Zygmund class Zl ,(l ≥ 1) by (E, r)(N, qn)mean of conjugate derived Fourier series. 2020 Mathematics Subject Classifications: 42A10, 41A10, 42B05, 42B08


AbstractWithin the last 20 years a positive association between exercise and self-esteem, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being and a negative association between exercise and anxiety and depression has been established, raising the profile of exercise in the prevention and treatment of mental illness. This has come at a time when problem drinkers are being empowered to make an informed choice regarding lifestyle change, both during and following treatment, with exercise being seen as a useful adjunct and a possible vehicle for change. These developments have led to an interest in the relation between exercise and physical and psychological health in the rehabilitation of problem drinkers. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence from studies undertaken with problem drinkers about the relationship between physical exercise and fitness, physical self-perceptions, self-esteem, depression, anxiety and levels of drinking. Attention is given to the problems associated with exer...


Conventional convex hull algorithm determines the smallest convex polygon that contains the analyzed shape. The article presents a modification of this algorithm, which allows us to select the concavity to detect. In contrast to the typical convex hull algorithm, the data are analyzed in portions. This paper proposes the use of this modified algorithm for the defects detection on medical images. Two types of images were used: micro-computer tomography images of dental root canals filled with sealer and magnetic resonance images of a patient hand with rheumatoid arthritis. Those images contained some defects that needed to be measured. Prepared algorithm greatly facilitated this process by supporting the user in the segmentation process. The achieved results were positively evaluated by experts - doctors: rheumatologists and endodontists.


Multi-level relay routing is widely applied in power line communication, both the physical layer and routing strategy performance relies on power line communication channel between different nodes. The conventional point-to-point power line channel model is no longer fit for system performance test. Based on the two-port model, this paper proposes a multi-node broadband power line channel modeling method. In the proposed method, the low voltage power line network is divided into sub-networks. This method can calculate the power line channel frequency response between any two terminals of the low-voltage distribution network. The comparison between the measured channel response and the theoretical simulation results shows that the proposed method can accurately describe the multi-node power line channels and the correlation characteristics between different channels.


Based on the effective medium theory, anisotropic microwave materials have been realized by a multilayered structure of alternating films. The equivalent material constitutive tensors have been calculated with different film orientations. The prevenient analysis shows that the structure can realize electromagnetic polarization splitter by controlling the orientation of the films on optical wave band. In this paper, the futher research on the structure shows multilayered structure of metal-dielectric films has property of electromagnetic polarization converttion by controlling the plane of incidence. This may lead to new ways of exploring novel polarization converttion materials and structures.


By researching ecologic environment and water resource in recent years in Zhengzhou, it can be concluded that water resource is pinched and water ecologic environment has been deteriorating, thus affecting the living environment of people, animals and plants and preventing the economical, social and environmental sustainable development in Zhengzhou City. The pollution and overtaking of groundwater,underground filler and wetland's decrease are analyzed systematically, so it is proposed that there should be corresponding countermeasure for them: controlling wastewater quantity, increasing wastewater disposal ability, adding ecologic environment construction, restraining groundwater's overtaking, enhancing the protection of wetland source, strengthening legislation and education and intensifying people's consciousness of water source and wetland protection.


An operationally simple protocol for preparation of a set of imidazole derivatives via formation of three new C—N bonds in a cascade process is developed.


. Saccharose, as table sugar, has been considered as a promising dosimetric organic material for EPR and UV readings because of the free radicals produced due to irradiation with X and gamma rays. Nevertheless, most studies with this system have been carried out at room temperature. We studied the EPR/UV response to gamma rays for this dosimetric system at low temperature (77 K) in order to investigate if a dependence of irradiation temperature exists. Dose effect, fading characteristics and dose coefficient have been also studied.


A portable buckle type health monitoring device comprises a recording box. The recording box is composed of a shell and a back plate. The back plate is fixed to the shell, a work indication lamp and a toggle switch are arranged on the shell, a first snap fastener is arranged on the back plate, a main circuit board and a battery are arranged in the shell, the main circuit board is connected with an electrocardiography sensor, a breath sensor, a body surface temperature sensor and an acceleration sensor, the electrocardiography sensor, the breath sensor, the body surface temperature sensor and the acceleration sensor are arranged in the shell, the main circuit board is connected with a data storage, a wireless signal transmission module and a wireless charging and receiving module, the data storage, the wireless signal transmission module and the wireless charging and receiving module are arranged in the shell, the main circuit board is connected with a device terminal through a wireless communication module, and the first snap fastener is fixed to clothes of an examined part of a human body. The portable buckle type health monitoring device is small in size, low in power consumption and easy to operate, and can monitor and record important physiological parameters of a carrier in daily life in real time so that the carrier can learn about the health state of himself or herself in time, a body health database is built to serve as a basis of clinical diagnosis, and reference information is provided when a user is ill.


28, 2021 The present investigation aims to coat the layer with Nickel (Ni) and Copper (Cu)over the surface of strenx 900 steel using semi sintered Cu-10Ni-Cr x electrodes(x = 2, 4 & 6 wt. %). Three different proportions of semi sintered electrodes such as, Cu-10Ni-2 weight percentage of Chromium (Cr), Cu-10Ni-4 wt. % Cr,and Cu-10Ni-6 wt. % Cr were prepared by powder metallurgy route. Electric discharge alloying was completed based on L 9 orthogonal array and alloyed parameters were optimized using Taguchi method. The alloyed surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy. The deposition of formation of intermetallic was studied using X- ray diffractometer. Higher Material Transfer Rate (MTR) was obtained at 9A, 350A and 6% chromium using Cu-10 Ni-Cu electrode. The chromium percentage was the foremost factor on Surface Roughness (SR) (73.71%) and MTR(96.56%). From Taguchi approach, the minimum SR was attained at percentage of chromium of 2%, compaction pressure of 250 Megapascal (MPa) and peak current of 9A. The maximum MTR was achieved at 6 percentage of Cr, compaction pressure of 350 MPa and peak current of 3A. Wear loss for Cu-10 Ni-Cr increases linearly with increase in sliding speed from 2m/s to


It is populated that Bruggeman's symmetric and asymmetric effective-media theories describe the two extreme behaviours of metal-insulator mixtures. A single equation which interpolates between these two extremes, in two and three dimensions, is proposed. It involves a single parameter, probably a fractal dimension, which is determined by the composition at which the metal-insulator transition occurs. Excellent agreement is found with experimental and computer simulation data.


We develop topological methods for analyzing difference topology experiments involving 3‐string tangles. Difference topology is a novel technique used to unveil the structure of stable protein-DNA complexes. We analyze such experiments for the Mu protein-DNA complex. We characterize the solutions to the corresponding tangle equations by certain knotted graphs. By investigating planarity conditions on these graphs we show that there is a unique biologically relevant solution. That is, we show there is a unique rational tangle solution, which is also the unique solution with small crossing number. 57M25, 92C40


Look at your current operations, the shortcomings of your current records system and your expectations for new hardware and software.


Under certain conditions in a discharge in crossed electric and magnetic fields, a plasma with a density napprox.10/sup 13/ cm/sup -3/ goes into rotation at a velocity vapprox.5 x 10/sup 7/ cm/sec for several milliseconds. The discharge current is governed by the mechanism for charge exchange of plasma ions in the gas.


An autonomous navigation system relies on a number of sensors including radar, LIDAR and a visible light camera for its operation. We focus our attention on the visible light camera in this work. Object detection is the key first step to processing the video input from the camera. Specifically, we address the problem of assessing the performance of object detection algorithms in hazardous driving conditions that an autonomous navigation system is expected to encounter in a realistic scenario. To this end, we propose a novel metric for quantifying the degradation in performance of an object detection algorithm under different weather conditions. Additionally' we introduce a real-time method to detect extreme variations in performance of the algorithm that can be used to issue an alert. We evaluate the performance of our metric and alerting system and demonstrate its utility using the YOLOv2 object detection algorithm trained on the KITTI and virtual KITTI dataset.


A lithium metal anode is an intriguing possibility for secondary batteries because it represents the maximum achievable energy density for a lithium-based anode, 3861 mAh/g instead of 329 mAh/g for commercial graphite anodes. However, the formation of lithium dendrites is one factor preventing the implementation of lithium metal anode batteries because their growth can short-circuit the battery and lead undesired thermal effects. Recently, we have shown that sodium will codeposit with lithium from ionic liquids to form a nondendritic deposit [1], [2]. Work has also been published on an electrostatic shield mechanism, where the deposition potential of an additional metal ion is shifted to negative that of lithium by dissolving very low concentrations[3]. Both cases show that alkali metal ions can affect the morphology of deposited lithium. This study will present a survey of the effects of alkali and alkaline earth metal ions on the morphology of lithium metal deposited from a quaternary ammonium ionic liquid, butyltrimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethansulfonyl)imide (QA-TFSI). Metals discussed will include sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. The concentration of the metal ions has an effect on both the deposit morphology and the redox efficiency of the system. According to the Nernst equation, it is possible to shift the reduction potential of the second metal ion, which may affect the ions efficacy in reducing dendrites; however it is not possible to reduce all metal ions from TFSI salts so the importance of this potential shift is unclear. Despite claims that dendrites are a major cause of lithium metal cycling inefficiency, adding metal ions for the prevention of dendrites did not yield higher coulombic efficiency. In most cases, while adding metal ions positively affected the morphology, the cycling efficiency decreased slightly. This could be due to irreversible reduction of some metal ions. References


Antimony doped tin oxide (ATO), as one kind of transparent conductive oxides (TCO), is applied as electrodes in thin film solar cells. On the basis of the traditional glass/TCO structure on top of amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells, graphene is introduced to form the glass/TCO/Graphene and the glass/Graphene/TCO layered structure, which is aimed at both enhancing the optical absorption of thin-film solar cells as an antireflection coating (ARC) and increasing the electrical conductivity as a TCO electrode. In this paper, SiO2/ATO/Graphene and SiO2/Graphene/ATO structure are selected for the optimal lighttrapping design by using differential evolution method. The effect of graphene is mainly investigated and the thickness of the layers of proposed structure is optimized to enhance the optical absorption of thin-film solar cells to the greatest degree. The theoretical calculation results clearly demonstrate that the proposed SiO2/ATO/Graphene layered structure is obviously superior to the SiO2/Graphene/ATO structure, and it can obtain a higher light-trapping enhancement in the whole visible and near-infrared wavelength range because of the graded refractive index distribution profile.


This research aims to identify what parents think of the educational services put in place for their children who have Cystic Fibrosis. The research that has been done previously in this area shows that there is a lack of adequate services in school for children who have Cystic Fibrosis This research aims to show how parents feel that the educational services in place in Ireland today. The research also aims to look for themes through each of the participant's experiences and opinions, to create a detailed account on why parents think the services for their children are unacceptable and how the services could change to help them in the future.


Despite a tendency of critics to perceive don Juan as an unchanging, mythical figure, the don Juan phenomenon functions as a Foucauldian 'discourse of sex', conveying moral and sexual mores that change over time, and becoming increasingly pathological. This paper focuses specifically on shifts in attitudes towards female sexual morality, with examples taken principally from two major Spanish plays, Tirso de Molina's El burlad or de Sevilla and Zorrilla's Don Juan Tenorio. Tirso's play reveals that female sexual morality is negotiable, where neither men nor women possess moral superiority, but women act as best they can in order to attain their own desires and survive a hostile environment. Female sexual morality in Zorrilla's play is presented more clearly as a non-negotiable moral absolute: elevated attitudes towards the principal female character disguise greater subjection to men and curtailed freedom to act.


The present work was carried out in the Community of San Jose de Chocon belonging to Guano Canton, where the universe and the sample consisted of 49 parents and a caregiver who regularly go to the Center for the Eradication of Child Labor (CETI). Through the descriptive cross-sectional study, two surveys were applied (Annex 1 and 2) aimed at parents and caregiver to measure their level of knowledge, attitudes, practices on hand washing, personal hygiene, oral, food and at the level of the house, based on these results, it was identified in the population that more than half of the population does not know when to wash their hands; before and after using the bathroom and eating food in the same way in the vast majority of parents do not attend recurrent dental controls however the knowledge of the caregiver in personal hygiene in relation to parents is in a percentage of average assessment. Allowing the practice of hygiene habits is the duty of every parent and child as it is important to protect their body and reduce diseases.


Abstract : We recently discovered that highly reactive metal powders can be prepared by the reduction of metal salts from ethereal or hydrocarbon solvents. Common reducing agents are potassium, sodium, lithium, or other reducing agents of high enough potential. The reduction yields the metal in a finely divided state. Metals studied to date exhibit far supersonic reactivity towards organic and inorganic substrates to that described in the literature for these metals. We recently have shown that this approach will work with transition metals including nickel, palladium, platinum, cobalt, iron, and uranium. We proposed to study the chemistry of these highly reactive metals. We wished to examine these metals in a variety of oxidative-insertion reactions, preparation of zero-valent derivatives, and catalytic reactions. Several new organo-metallic complexes with potential catalytic activity were proposed. Originator supplied key words include: Metal powders; Cobalt; copper; Magnesium; Palladium; Chemical reactivity; Organometallic complexes.


The author sets out the preliminaries to war - failed attempts at negotiation by the Powers, who feared war; ultimatum by the Balkan allies, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro; mobilization. Venizelos informed parliament on 1/14 October of Greece's determination to fight, praising the 'close union of the Christians' throughout the allied lands. Two themes stood out in public discourse and the press: cross versus crescent, and defense of the rights of Christian peoples. War began for Greece on 5/18 October as troops advanced across Greece's northern frontier. The feeling in the army and the wider population was of nationalist euphoria. Men from Greece and abroad volunteered, women volunteered for nursing duties, national collections raised money for the war. Liberal sentiment in western Europe favored the Balkan allies.


The rare earth elements have special behavior of life science to living beings, and have been extensively applied in agriculture, forestry, livestock, fresh aquaculture, foraging grass and medicine. The research progress in the application of the rare earth elements in marine aquaculture and freshwater aquaculture are summarized and analyzed by comparison. and the prospect of the application of the rare earth elements in the marine aquaculture and existing probrems are also discussed


Objective To evaluate the method and role of segmental renal arterial embolization(SRAE) in treating non-neoplastic renal arteriovenous malformations or fistulas with renal hemorrhage.To probe the reasons and management of renal re-hemorrhage after SRAE.Methods 2 patients with congenital renal arteriovenous malformations(AVM) and 2 cases with acquired renal arteriovenous fistulas(AVF) after renal puncture were treated with SRAE.Embolic materials consisted of steel coils,gelatin sponge and absolute alcohol.Results All 4 cases were performed successfully.The feeding arteries of the AVM or AVF were eliminated by super-selective embolization.No severe complications occurred after embolization.There was one case of recurrence 8 months after treatment,but bleeding was stopeed by SRAE again with absolute alcohol and has not recurred for 9 months following up.Conclusion Renal arteriography is a reliable method in the diagnosis of renal AVM or AVF.SRAE is a save,efficient and mini-invasive technique for treatment of renal AVM or AVF.The reasons for recurrence in some patients may be related to the kind of embolic materials used and the characteristics of disease.It is necessary for those patients to be treated further,even partial nephrectomy.


This article presents Walenty - a new valence dictionary of Polish predicates, concentrating on its creation process and access via Internet browser. The dictionary contains two layers, syntactic and semantic. The syntactic layer describes syntactic and morphosyntactic constraints predicates put on their dependants. The semantic layer shows how predicates and their arguments are involved in a situation described in an utterance. These two layers are connected, representing how semantic arguments can be realised on the surface. Walenty also contains a powerful phraseological (idiomatic) component. Walenty has been created and can be accessed remotely with a dedicated tool called Slowal. In this article, we focus on most important functionalities of this system. First, we will depict how to access the dictionary and how built-in filtering system (covering both syntactic and semantic phenomena) works. Later, we will describe the process of creating dictionary by Slowal tool that both supports and controls the work of lexicographers.


Objective To investigate the action mechanism of the preparation of balsampear for treating NIDDM patients.Methods The capsule,in this experiment,is a kind of special health food,which is composed of the preparation of balsampear.A study of therapeutic effect of the preparation on 30 NIDDM patients was presented.Changes of serum levels of glucose,insulin C-peptide and glucagon were observed after treatment.Results The balsampear group had a decrease of 2.24 mmol/L in fasting blood-glucose level,and a decrease of 2.26 mmol/L in postcibal blood-glucose level,with a significant difference as compared with the control group (P0.05);the control group had no obvious difference in blood-glucose levels between fasting period and two hours after meal,their slight increase in fasting insulin levels after treatment gave no statistical significance (P0.05).Insulin-tolerance test after treatment showed an increased ratio of insulin/blood glucose,and an increased ratio of C-peptide/glucagon.Conclusion It is suggested that the preparation of balsampear might bring forth remarkable improvement of β-cell function,while directly inhibiting the excretion of islet α-cell.


Deltoid tendon humeral sided avulsion leads to discomfort and functional limitation in the young active population. This report illustrates a case for surgical treatment with a simple suspensory device that allows for early return to activity.


— The Short Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermilab aims to discover, or definitely rule out, the existence of sterile neutrinos at the eV mass scale by means of Liquid Argon TPCs along the Booster Neutrino Beamline. In order to mitigate the background induced by cosmic muons, the Far Detector (ICARUST600) is instrumented with a 4π Cosmic Ray Tagger system. This paper focuses on the description of the cosmic ray tagger, its performance, its integration in the experiment and its role in the event reconstruction.


Three basic types of democratic critique have been levelled against "neoliberal" economic integration agreements such as the NAFTA and the Single European Act. One type holds that the institutions created to oversee the integration process are deficient on democratic grounds. This paper summarizes and evaluates this type of democratic critique. It is argued that allegations that the European Union suffers from a "democratic deficit" are not very convincing. However, criticisms of the lack of openess and due process in neoliberal dispute resolution processes are more persuasive. Arguments for a treaty ratification process that includes a referendum are also convincing.


Objective To analyze the relation between SOX2 and miR-200b and their influences in clinical pathology and prognosis of gliomas patients.Methods One hundred and twenty-three human glioma specimens,collected in our hospital from January 2001 to December 2005 and conformed by pathology,were chosen in our study; other 23 healthy brain tissues collected during intracranial decompression were used as controls.Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to detect the miR200b expression; immunohistochemistry was used to detect the SOX2 expression.Relations between SOX2 and miR-200b in different grades of gliomas were analyzed; the correlations of clinical parameters with SOX2 and miR-200b expressions were analyzed; Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the influences of SOX2 and miR-200b expressions in survival times of the patients,and the survival curves of patients with different SOX2 and miR-200b expressions were compared.Results The higher the pathology grade,the lower the miR-200b expression; gliomas of grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ had SOX2 positive expression enjoyed significantly lower miR-200b expression than those had SOX2 negative expression (P<0.05).The SOX2 and miR-200b expressions in gliomas of different pathology grades were significantly different (P<0.05).Cox proportional hazards regression model indicated that miR-200b and SOX2 were the independent risk factors for prognosis of gliomas.In patients of grade Ⅲ and grade Ⅳ gliomas,significantly higher 5 years survival rate in patients with high miR200b expression was noted as compared with that with low miR200b expression (P<0.05),and significantly higher 5 years survival rate in patients with negative SOX2 expression was noted as compared with those with positive SOX2 expression (P<0.05).Conclusion The miR-200b and SOX2 expressions show difference only in poor differentiated tissues of grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ gliomas; the two have influence in the survival time.

Key words:
Glioma;  MiR-200b;  SOX2;  Prognosis


It is rather ironical that even after wide ranging experiences of economic growth, economists are still searching for solutions to ensure human dignity by providing employment for all. Not only that this quest for full employment has greatly influenced the economic thinking oflegends like Ricardo, Marx, and Keynes, its recent disenchantment has persuaded a more sensitive class of thinkers like Sen and others to seek for economics with a 'human face.' And yet, employment generation has remained one of the most puzzling aspects of economic growth under varying political systems. Of late, the paradox between growth and unemployment has become more explicit under the new economic world order whereby growth takes place without corresponding increase in the employment opportunities. While developed economies have sought to overcome this problem through various forms of social security or through safety net, the developing economies especially with large population continue to strive for a feasible solution to this problem. Various approaches like choice of labour intensive technologies, unemployment doles, public works programmes, and somewhat repressive measures like enforcement of 'labour-army' have been tried in different countries. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have worked as a fool proof solution for longterm employment generation. But the quest must continue till the goal is achieved. This is the central message emerging from this vividly narrated study featuring experiences of special employment programmes implemented within and outside India. The authors make a distinct case for transforming public works programmes into a 'modem' instrument of the developmental policy by integrating them with the mainstream economy.


The new color decoration was an inheritance and development of the traditional decorative ceramic materials and the corresponding decorative techniques,which combines traditional ceramic techniques,Chinese painting and oil painting and other arts and culture in one,both with ceramic technology,but also have a chinese painting content and spirit,and to absorb the essence of Western art.The new color decoration was an extension and development of the traditional ceramic decoration in materials technology and painting techniques,and was an aesthetic innovation of ceramic art.


The pseudo-excitation method is applied to the random seismic response analysis of long-span space latticed structures.The difference of the structure response is studied generally under multiple support excitation and simple support excitation from two aspects of the displacements response variance and acceleration power spectrum.Some important conclusions are gained.On the other hand,it shows the pseudo-excitation method is efficient and precise and is applicable to the random seismic response analysis of the complicated structure under multiple support excitation,such as long-span space latticed structure.


Convergence between semicircular canal and otolith nerves on single vestibulo-ocular and vestibulospinal neurons of the decerebrate cat 2.Author We examined whether otolith-activated second-and third-order vestibular nucleus neurons received commissural inhibition from the contralateral otolithic macula oriented in the same geometric plane. For this purpose we have studied intracellular recording in vestibular nucleus neurons after stimulation of the ipsi-and contralateral utricular and saccular nerves. More than half (41/72) of the utricular-activated second-order vestibular nucleus neurons received commissural inhibition from the contralateral utricular nerve. The remaining neurons (31/72) showed no visible response to contralateral utricular nerve stimulation. About half (17/36) of utricular-activated third-order neurons also received commissural inhibition from the contralateral utricular nerve. Approximately 10 % (7/67) of saccular-activated second-order vestibular neurons received polysynaptic commissural inhibition, whereas 16% (11/67) received commissural facilitation. The majority (49/67) of saccular second-order vestibular neurons, and almost all (22/23) third-order neurons, showed no visible response to stimulation of the contralateral saccular nerve. The present findings suggest that many utricular-activated vestibular nucleus neurons receive commissural inhibition, which may provide a mechanism for increasing the sensitivity of vestibular neurons to horizontal linear acceleration and lateral tilt of the head. Commissural inhibition in the saccular system was less prominent than in the utricular system. Å@ (11) Convergence of the horizontal semicircular canal and otolith afferents on cat single vestibular neurons. Exp We studied the convergence of two afferent pairs of single vestibular neurons by selective stimulation of the horizontal semicircular canal (HC) and saccular (SAC) nerves, and the HC and utricular (UT) nerves in decerebrated cats. All recorded neurons were classified as vestibulospinal (VS), vestibulooculospinal (VOS), vestibuloocular (VO), by antidromic stimulation from the oculomotor/trochlear nuclei and the spinal cord: neurons that could not be activated from any test sites were classified as vestibular (V) neurons. Of a total of 125 neurons activated by stimulation of the HC/SAC nerves, 21(17%) received convergent inputs. Twelve of 21 neurons received monosynaptic


Grain for forest and grass(GFG) project is the largest ecological engineering in Xinzhou and the percentage of the GFG area is up to as much as 23.08%.How the GFG influenced the relationship between local grain output and demand was analyzed.Basedd on local statistical yearbooks(2000—2010),with the help of grey predicting method GM(1,1),predicting models about total output,population,unit area output,grain consumption per capita was established.It predicted that the GFG area in Xinzhou from 2012 to 2016 would be 15 450,14 056,12 052,13 856 hm2 and 10 429 hm2,resectively.It shows that the GFG can be carried on in Xinzhou continually while five predicting data were only the theoretical values of the suitable area of the GFG,which are just a reference for the GFG in Xinzhou City.


Filipinos comprise some of the biggest numbers of migrants worldwide, and in Macau, they are the largest non-Chinese migrant ethnic group. Mainly Catholic, they are also known to be very religious people, and as such, for most Filipinos, faith plays a central role in the migration process. This paper is a study of how Filipinos understand what faith is. A qualitative analysis of interviews with Filipino migrants in Macau reveal some major ethnographic features of the faith of Filipino Catholics particularly construed from the use of words and concepts expressed in their own language. Some of the major themes that emerged include beliefs on the role of God's agency in their lives, variations of views towards faith based on cultural traits as embodied in the use of words from their own language, and the relation between the public practice of attending mass and the private practice of personal prayer. The study also points to the need for integrating linguistic anthropology as a useful tool in providing a more nuanced analysis of faith and religious practice among migrants.


The conception applying of local power supplies by the compressed air of the various consumers is proved in the article the effective compressor equipment of firm "INGERSOLL - RAND" is offered for these purposes.


This paper describes the design, construction, and preliminary results of an experiment that studies imbibition displacement in two fracture blocks. Three core configurations were constructed. The configurations are a compact core, a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. The blocks are sealed in epoxy so that saturation measurements can be made throughout the displacement experiments using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Preliminary results are presented from a water/air experiment. These results suggest that it is incorrect to assume negligible capillary continuity between matrix blocks as is often done.


The statistical analysis of yield data from a long term rotation trial presents a number of challenges, as illustrated by a 10 year study on the effects of reduced chemical inputs and different cropping sequences, most of which involved corn (Zea mays L.) (King and Buchanan, 1993). Important features of the yield data from this trial include considerable unbalance, possible correlations across time and space, possible heterogeneity in the error variances across years, and the availability of pretreatment measurements of soil properties. We investigated a number of analyses of the rotation trial corn yields, restricting attention to models that could be implemented using standard software, specifically Proc Mixed in SAS (SAS Institute, 1999). These analyses included several types of split plot, repeated measures and spatial analyses, each with and without soil covariates. Diagnostic graphs and AIC values indicated that the model should allow for heterogeneity across years in the error variance. The precision of contrasts in years with high (respectively, low) error variance was underestimated (respectively, overestimated) in analyses that assumed constant variance. Allowing spatial correlations resulted in a small reduction in estimates of precision, and including soil covariates was important in two of nine years. The best models were a repeated measures with banded covariance, as well as autoregressive repeated measures and isotropic spatial models, both modified to allow heterogeneity of the error variance across years. Estimates and t-values for specific treatment effects were similar for these models.


This paper analyzes the problems during the MPLS network construction,and provides a software framework, which realizes some MPLS ability on Linux and cooperating with the router. The software includes primary operations of label, such as the definition of label, FEC binding, labels switching, label forwarding and stacks operating. Furthermore, because of the importance of LDP, the software gives its implement, which can control the operations among the routers, and can regulate the capacities of LERs.


"The different people are not like other people, but being different is nothing to be ashamed of. Because people are not such wonderful people. They're one hundred times one thousand. You're one times one! They walk all over the earth. You just stay here. They're common as weeds, but you well, you're Blue Roses." Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie. "One of the things I love about the group is that I get to reimagine the world the way I want it to be." Joan Lipkin


We present simulations of the dynamic and temperature dependent behavior of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). We focus on the vibrational behavior of micron-scale resonators made of silicon and quartz. These inherently atomistic simulations are extended by recently developed parallel algorithms which enable a coupling of length scales. The novel techniques used in this simulation accurately model the behavior of the mechanical components of MEMS down to the atomic scale. The algorithmic and computational avenue applied here represents a significant departure from the usual finite element analysis of MEMS based on continuum elastic theory. An atomistic simulation consisting of millions of atoms is used in regions of significantly anharmonic forces and large surface area to volume ratios or where internal friction due to defects is anticipated. This corrects the expected, but previously unquantified, failure of continuum elastic theory in the smallest MEMS structures. Peripheral regions of MEMS, which are well-described by continuum elastic theory, are simulated using finite elements for efficiency. The two techniques run concurrently and mesh seamlessly, passing information back and forth. We present simulations of the vibrational behavior of micron-scale silicon and quartz oscillators. Our results are contrasted with the predictions of continuum elastic theory as a function of size, and the failure of the continuum techniques is clear in the limit of small sizes. We also extract the Q value for the resonators and study the corresponding dissipative processes.


Due to a power density increase, the thermal stresses endured by the electrical insulation of rotating machines are also increasing. However, up to now, most of the characterization (breakdown voltage, permittivity, loss tangent) are carried out in a temperature range which rarely exceeds the thermal class. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge on the behavior of these materials when they are submitted to temperatures which may reach 50 degC above their thermal class. In this paper, experimental results regarding the electrical behavior of enamels (varnished or not) are presented and discussed. Hence, permittivity and loss tangent are measured from room temperature to 350 degC in the frequency range of 50 Hz-100 kHz. The samples consist in 50 mum films of various polymers (polyester-imide, polyamide-imide) deposited on different conductive plates (copper, stainless steel). To find the impact of the interfaces, some samples are composed of two insulating layers (same or different varnishes). The differences observed between the different polymers are correlated to their chemical structures


Preeclampsia (PE) shows high maternal‐fetal morbidity. Its pathophysiology is multifactorial. Prorrenin/renin receptor (PRR), a new component of the renin‐angiotensin system, has been implicated in hypertensive disorders. Our goal was to determine if seric PRR correlates with selected laboratory parameters as prognostic factors in PE. After ethics committee approval, we selected term pregnant patients with PE from the intensive care unit (n=8), and normal pregnant patients (n= 15). Pregnancy was interrupted within 24 hrs by cesarean incision. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, calcium, uric acid (UA), Mg, lactate and C‐reactive protein before and after pregnancy termination. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated at the beginning and end of pregnancy. Our results showed that PE patients had elevated serum cholesterol, triglycerides, C‐reactive protein and hypoalbuminemia before and after delivery. BMI, UA and Mg were significantly higher and all PE patients showed significant thrombocytopenia even 24 h after cesarean. Placental weight was significantly lower. Seric PRR was higher in PE patients and positively correlated with albumin, calcium and Mg. These results suggest a close correlation of PRR with several markers and might be used as prognosis factors during PE


Douglas R. Zemeckis *, Micah J. Dean, Annamaria I. DeAngelis, Sofie M. Van Parijs, William S. Hoffman, Mark F. Baumgartner, Leila T. Hatch, Steven X. Cadrin, and Christopher H. McGuire School for Marine Science and Technology University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 836 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, MA 02744, USA Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Field Station Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, 30 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA Protected Species Branch Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Integrated Statistics, 16 Sumner Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, MS #33, USA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 175 Edward Foster Road, Scituate, MA 02066, USA The Nature Conservancy, 99 Bedford Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111, USA *Corresponding author: tel: þ1-732-349-1152; e-mail: email@example.com. Present Address: Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Rutgers The State University of New Jersey,1623 Whitesville Road, Toms River, NJ 08755, USA.


A method and a system for ensuring end-to-end QoS(Quality of Service) of application service by reflecting a wireless environment are provided to determine the level of QoS based on the flexible policy of QoS which reflects a wireless environment. An application service method comprises the steps of: determining the level of QoS based on wireless environment information; and providing an application service while maintaining the level. An access network(110) includes: a node base station(112) and an RNC(Radio Network Controller)(113) which configure an RAN(Radio Access Network) to support the wireless connection of a user terminal(111); and an SGSN(Serving GPRSService Node)(114) and a GGSN(Gateway GPRS Service Node)(115) which exchanges packets between the user terminals or the user terminal and a service network(130).


Low-cost linear arrays of deflectable micromirrors using a CMOS process to define both on-chip circuitry and the mirror structure are presented. The mirrors consist of the second CMOS metallization deposited in two successive passes in order to establish a thick metal layer for the stiff mirror plate as well as a thin one for the flexible hinges. The mirrors are released by sacrificial aluminum and oxide etching. Supercritical point drying is performed in order to avoid sticking of the mirrors to the substrate. The mirrors are electrostatically deflected by biasing the address electrodes implanted into the substrate underneath the mirror plate. Full angular deflection of 4.8 degree(s) of a 30 X 40 micrometers 2 plate is achieved with a driving voltage of 12 V. On-chip circuitry adjacent to each mirror allows to address the pixels by 5 V data pulses. The reflectivity of the aluminum surface for wavelength between 400 and 700 nm was measured to be 83 - 89%. The mirror surface was further characterized using Auger spectroscopy showing that no optically relevant surface modification occur during post- processing. The surface rms roughness measured by atomic force microscopy is in the order of 25 nm.


The VST primary mirror is a 2.6-m meniscus made of Astro-Sitall. An active optics system is implemented to correct surface errors due to manufacturing or induced by gravity and temperature changes. The primary mirror is axially supported by 84 supports disposed in four concentric rings. Three of the supports, symmetrically placed and much stiffer than the other ones, define the axial plane of the primary mirror acting as fixed points. The remaining 81 supports are force controlled actuators, used to change the shape of the mirror according to wavefront measurements in closed loop operation, or to a look-up table in open loop. This paper describes the solutions adopted for the axial actuator, as well as the test campaign to assess their performance and degree of reliability.


In order to achieve an effective and efficient repair, it is necessary to have appropriate information on the repair materials. Therefore, the repair materials must be selected in a manner that repair mortar's properties such as modulus of elasticity and thermal expansion coefficient consistent with substrate concrete. Styrene Acrylate (SA) in a cement-based repair mortar is a latex which has an appropriate thermal compatibility with substrate concrete. In this study, the physical and mechanical properties including density, consistency and compressive, flexural and tensile strength of repair mortars with the Latex to Cement (L/C) ratios of 5, 10, 15 and 20 % were investigated under two curing conditions. In the first curing condition, after 24 hours immersion in water, the specimens were cured under specified room temperature and moisture condition. In the second curing condition, the specimens were immerged in water until mechanical tests were performed.The test results of all ages showed that the mechanical properties of the specimens under first curing condition were better that the second curing condition, because of cement hydration at early ages and polymeric film formation. Moreover, using SA latex in the repair mortar with L/C of 20%, the 28 days compressive strength decreased 49% under the second curing condition; however, SA latex in the repair mortar with L/C of 10% increased the 28 days flexural and tensile strength by 21% and 19% respectively under the second curing condition.