The Gatekeepers were taken out of context or retracted his criticism. I have no doubt that the Shin Bet directors' clear and sharp criticism stems from genuine anxiety for the future of the State of Israel. They all agree that Israel's occupation of the Palestinians is neither moral nor effective. Without saying so explicitly, they all warn that the prospect of a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict is diminishing daily, threatening Israel's future as a Jewish democracy. The fact that all the Shin Bet directors who served from 1980 through 2011 have formed the same conclusion greatly amplifies its importance. The Gatekeepers certainly does not make for easy viewing for Israelis and Israel's supporters around the world. The film holds up a mirror to Israeli society, revealing a very disturbing reality which most of the public usually prefers to ignore. However, it is a must for every Israeli citizen and anyone who seeks to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and appreciate the essence of Shin Bet's war against terror and the moral dilemmas this involves. Those with sufficient stamina will also greatly benefit from the 5-hour Gatekeepers television series, as well as the accompanying book, now also available to the English-speaking reader. Both present additional excerpts from the interviews with the former Shin Bet directors that were not included in the film, casting further light on the inherent tension between national security needs and the war on terror, on the one hand, and democratic values, on the other. Indeed, anyone who is exposed to any of the three components of the extraordinary project of The Gatekeepers will recognize a fascinating and ironic paradox, whereby the six former directors of Shin Bet, whose main task is to combat terrorism, now appear to be loyal gatekeepers of Israeli democracy and its moral values.


Evidence for the effects of air pollution exposure on lung function growth into adolescence is scarce. We investigated associations of air pollution exposure with lung function and lung function growth until age 16. We conducted both longitudinal (n=915) and cross-sectional (n=721) analyses of associations of air pollution exposure with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) growth from ages eight to 16 and FEV1 and FVC at age 16. We estimated residential concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), "soot" and particulate matter (PMx, where x is the 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter in µm) with diameters of <2.5 µm (PM2.5), <10 µm (PM10) and 2.5–10 µm (PMcoarse) during the preschool, primary school and secondary school time windows by land use regression models. Associations with (growth in) FEV1 and FVC were analysed by linear (mixed effects) regression. Higher air pollution exposure was associated with reduced FEV1 growth (e.g. adjusted difference −0.26% (95% CI −0.49 to −0.03%) per interquartile range increase in secondary school PM2.5) and lower FEV1 (adjusted difference −2.36% (95% CI −3.76 to −0.94%)), but was not adversely associated with FVC. Associations with FEV1 were stronger in boys than girls and were not modified by asthma status. Higher air pollution exposure may lead to increased airway obstruction, but not reduced lung volume in adolescence. Air pollution exposure may be associated with increased airway obstruction but not reduced lung volume until age 16 http://ow.ly/3Vf330lhLkT


THE NURSING profession has 'shot itself in the foot' for allowing healthcare assistants to wear nurse uniforms, nurses at a UKCC roadshow in Sheffield were told last week.


Purpose: This study evaluated the longitudinal influence of an individualized evidence-based psychoeducational intervention for caregivers on frequency of behavioral symptoms in persons with dementia (PWD) and caregiver reaction to these symptoms. The intervention included information about the disease process using Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold (PLST) content and a family meeting based on Mittelman's New York University Intervention. Method: A quasi-experimental study design was implemented. The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist was administered to N = 127 caregiver/care recipient dyads at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months follow-up. All caregivers were enrolled in the intervention at baseline and followed over 18 months. Linear mixed models were developed to evaluate effects on frequency of behavioral symptoms in PWD and caregiver response. Results: The most frequently occurring behavior was memory problems, although depressive behaviors produced the most negative caregiver responses. Between baseline and 6-month follow-up, there was a significant decrease in frequency of behavioral symptoms. Overall, there was a significant decrease in caregiver's reaction to behavioral symptoms from baseline to 18-month follow-up.


The present invention relates to a solar cell having a fan structure for providing convenience, stability and pleasant life and an application system using the same. A flexible color solar cell coated with a CO2 absorption material is formed with the fan structure. The flexible color solar cell is integrated with information and communication. An application system using the solar cell includes a double side supporter fixed to the ground, a transmitter including an antenna for power and data, an application body part providing a specific service by using a data screen, a solar cell producing solar power by using the light of the other wavelength, displaying color by using light of a specific wavelength, and formed in the upper part of the application body part.


Musical invention is defined in this article as a form of inward creativity. The creative acts of musical performance are understood in terms of ritual-like symbolic and stylized actions, and those of musical composition as the mind's enactment of meditation and reflection. This article draws on the relationship between two psychological attributes of musical creativity: the cognitive ones controlled and sustained by the central nervous system, and the emotional attributes that may be understood as a sense of inward reflection. The complex nature of musical creativity suggests further emotional and musical representations accumulated and constructed by the composer or performer. When this occurs, music's distinct character is apperceived as a musical ritual in terms of self-realization, rather than a mere execution of idiomatically constructed musical sequences. Along with present-day research in psychology and perspectives on cognitive neuroscience of creativity, this article brings forth a direct link between musical creativity, ritual, and self-awareness. It develops a theory of the apperception of musical creativity in performance and composition using the notions of ritual and self-realization as mutually inclusive idiosyncrasies of musical experience.


The paper deals with the strategies, issues and challenges faced during the survey for the digital preservation of Mahayana Buddhist manuscripts of Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh, the abode of various colourful tribes is notable for its tribal history and cultural heritage. There are more than twenty-six major tribes and hundred sub tribes. Out of which, half a dozen of tribes profess living Buddhismboth Theravada and Mahayana forms. In the present scenario, it is estimated that only in Tawang monastery there are more than five thousand rare Buddhist manuscripts that contains knowledge on religion, philosophy, medicine, Lord Buddha's original preaching's etc. Besides there are at least five dozens of old Mahayana monasteries in Arunachal Pradesh where hundreds of Buddhist manuscripts are preserved written in Bodic script. The present paper is the project outcome, taken by the author with the help of National Mission for Manuscripts carries out the methodologies used in a long and effort-intensive process, the software used in this effort by the Mission, developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC), is Manus Granthavali.


Objective: To develop a native social skill in ventory for Chinese university students. Methods; Adding 3 scales made in U. S. A. and Japan to 96 items that described Chinese interpersonal relations, a questionnaire was administered to 604 university students. Results: A 41-items inventory named Chinese University-students Social Skill Inventory (ChUSSI) was developed. , four factors named Partner's Mianzi (PM) , Sociability (SA) , Altruistic Behavior ( AB) , Connection Orientation (CO) were found. Internal Consistency of the four factors ranged from 0. 70 to 0. 89. The test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0. 64 to 0. 71. The correlation coefficients of items and corresponding factor were higher than 0. 44. The relationship of each factor with existing scales and the different of factor mean by sex, age, and special field of study show ChUSSI s validity. Conclusion: The reliability and validity of ChUSSI are verified.


SUBTITLE: INTERACTIVE VIDEO, DISTRIBUTION SOFTWARE AND INTERNET HELP DELIVER LOGISTICS CLASS. COMBINED PROGRAM AT UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT DENVER AND UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO.


A new approach using an experimental hole drilling technique has been developed to determine the hardness profile of superficially heat-treated steels. This method was based on the proportionality between the hardness of the material tested and the cutting thrust measured during the drilling test. Although it was observed that, overall, the increase in the cutting thrust was linear with hardness, locally the variation of thrust was not necessarily regular and linear in particular for iron-carbon alloys. In fact, other parameters related to the material, other than hardness, can modify the cutting thrust level. We report here on the influence of parameters, such as the type of microstructure and the ductility or the work hardening of material, on drilling thrust. The cutting thrust obtained for various brittle or ductile materials will be discussed using results obtained from hardness tests, micrographic observations and microhardness of the chips obtained by drilling test.


This work highlights the new bulk+ technology using high-K dielectric, single metal gate and fully depleted SON (silicon on nothing) channel for sub-45 nm low cost applications. Thin silicon channel (down to Tsi= 8 nm) and thin BOX (Tbox = 15 to 25 nm) are obtained using the SON process (Jurczak, 1999). Transistor performance (Wdesign/Lgate= 90 nm/40 nm) at Vdd = 1.1 V and Ioff < 2 nA/ mum is as high as 1298 muA/ mum for nMOS and 663 muA/ mum for pMOS. In addition, reliability, noise and 6T-SRAM bit cells down to 0.249 mum2 are characterized. Significant improvements with respect to conventional bulk technology are demonstrated.


Background and objective: We investigated the effects of prone position on respiratory dead space and gas exchange in 14 anaesthetized healthy patients undergoing elective posterior spinal surgery of more than 3 h of duration. Methods: The patients received a total intravenous anaesthetic with propofol/remifentanil/cisatracurium. They were ventilated at a tidal volume of 8–10 mL kg−1, zero positive end‐expiratory pressure and an inspired oxygen fraction of 0.4. Physiological, airway and alveolar dead spaces were calculated by analysis of the volumetric capnography waveform. Measurements were made in supine position (20 min after the beginning of mechanical ventilation) and 30, 120 and 180 min after turning to prone position. Results: We found that the alveolar dead space/tidal volume ratio did not change. PaO2/FiO2 increased, although not statistically significantly. Dynamic compliance was reduced due to a reduction in tidal volume and an increase in plateau pressure. Conclusions: Patients undergoing surgery in prone position for a duration of 3 h under general anaesthesia including muscle relaxation and mechanical ventilation without positive end‐expiratory pressure have stable haemodynamics and no significant changes in the alveolar dead space to tidal volume ratio. Oxygenation tended to improve.


Recombinant DNA methods have been rareley used for the analysis of food samples. Since the introduction of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985, DNA analysis of food samples has become a practicable approach. This technique is capable of producing an exponential enrichment of a specific
 DNA sequence, greatly facilitating subsequent analytical procedures. Detection of infectious agents, identification of irradiated food, and determination of identity and contaminations are potential applications in food analysis. We develop PCR protocols for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes
 and Escherichia coli in food and clinical samples. The detection of wheat contamination in glutenfree products, which are intended for coeliac patients is another application currently under investigation.


The present invention discloses an electrical connector comprising a housing and a cover, the cover having a first end and a second end opening to the mating contacts engaged. The electrical connector comprises a contact plunger, the plunger having a first contact end projecting from the housing engages with the mating contacts, a second end and having a spring receiving area, and a second opening in the second end end telescopically contact. The plunger contacts the contact along the moving shaft and the closure relative to each other. The electrical connector includes a spring disposed between the plunger and the closure contacts the spring receiving areas of engagement. The plunger contacts the closure and at least one inclined surface comprises a moving axis at an acute angle with the contact biasing spring to create a contact between the plunger and closure lateral bending forces, the lateral bending force column the plug contacts and the closure holding direct electrical connection therebetween.


Leukotrichia frequently accompanies vitiligo on hairy areas such as the scalp. Treatment with conventional medical therapy is usually unsuccessful because of deficiencies in the melanocyte reservoir. We describe transplantation of autologous cultured pure melanocytes for scalp vitiligo with leukotrichia in a 9‐year‐old girl, resulting in almost complete and stable repigmentation of skin and hair.


In our experiments, strain-free nanowires(NWs) were dispersed on to the substrate, followed by e-beam lithography(EBL) to fabricate single nanowire ultraviolet(UV) sensor devices. Focused-ion beam(FIB), micro-Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence were employed to characterize the structural and optical properties of AlGaN/GaN NWs. Also, I-V characteristics were obtained under both dark condition and UV lamp to demonstrate AlGaN/GaN NW-based UV sensors. The conductance of a single AlGaN/GaN UV sensor was 9.0 (under dark condition) and 9.5 (under UV lamp), respectively. The currents were enhanced by excess carriers under UV lamp. Fast saturation and decay time were demonstrated by the cycled processes between UV lamp and dark condition. Therefore, we believe that AlGaN/GaN NWs have a great potential for UV sensor applications.


The article is devoted to the analysis of the translation of one of the poems of Polish poet Y. Tuvim. At the beginning of the article some information about the poet, his life and creative activity is given. Then the observations on the phono-semantic features, the meter and the means of language expressiveness of the original and the translation are presented; the analogy is drawn between the creativity of two poets, typological manifestations (coincidences, adjacency) of their artistic worlds are analyzed.


Crop modelling has the potential to contribute to food security. In this study, to provide a simple model for estimating the soybean potential yield and phenological stages in Iran, a simulation model (SSM_iCrop2) was parameterized and tested. This model estimates the soybean phenological stages and potential yield based on the weather data (minimum and maximum temperature, solar radiation and rainfall) using the phenological models such as leaf area development, mass production and partitioning and soil water balance. Regarding the model parametrization, the two maturities groups of 3 and 5 with the temperature unit of 2000 and 2400 growth degrees day (GDD) were chosen. The model evaluation results indicated that the soybean yield ranged between 1.9 and 4.8 with the average of 3.5 t.ha−1, while the range of simulated yield changes between 1.8 and 4.7 with the average of 3.7 t.ha−1. Comparing the observed yield to the simulated yield, values of r, CV and RMSE were obtained 0.84, 13%, 0.5 t.ha−1 which indicates the high accuracy of the model. All of these results indicated that the estimated model parameters are high accuracy for use in the simulation of soybean yield at the country level.


European countries are facing the challenge of population ageing, and social policies need to adjust to changing intergenerational balance. In this chapter, the most important challenges in the current intergenerational and intragenerational balance are assessed using the National Transfer Accounts approach. Financing the lifecycle deficit of older generations is mainly based on public transfers, while in the case of younger generations it is mainly financed from private transfers. The working-age generation faces a 'triple burden' as it finances the lifecycle deficit of older generations by paid taxes and the consumption of the young generation by private transfers. They also need to save more to be able to finance their future consumption to a larger extent from their savings. Recent policy developments show that the pressure of an increase of pension expenditure caused by demographic changes is offset by reducing pension transfers by changing benefit formulae or benefit indexation as well as increasing the effective pensionable age. The span of effective economic activity is relatively short, particularly for women. A gender gap in labor income is also linked to a gender gap in the pension income, which leads to further transfers between men and women at older ages. Income inequalities between older people increase following reforms of pension systems that tighten the link between lifetime earnings and pensions. Mortality differences interact with government programmes for the elderly (e.g., pension systems) and may reduce or even reverse the direction of income redistribution.


Intensive reading is the core curriculum for the freshman and sophomore students of English major. Better effects can be achieved by applying original English movies to assist intensive reading teaching. The paper illustrates the significance of this teaching method,and analyzes how to select a suitable movie for teaching,and puts forward several concrete application strategies for how to carry out the effective classroom activities of the intensive reading teaching.


The invention discloses a pillow capable of automatically adjusting height. In the pillow, sleeping positions of a user are monitored in real time by a sensor; when the user adjusts the sleeping position, a sleeping position signal of the user is input into a control module; and the control module adjusts pressure of working fluid injected into the pillow according to the signal so as to automatically adjusting the height of the pillow. The height of the pillow can be changed along with the change of the sleeping positions of a human body, so that the neck of the user can be supported most suitably under different sleeping positions of the user, possibility of neck pain or somnipathy is reduced, and sleeping quality of the user is improved.


This paper traces the development of chemical engineering, its expanding from original scope of the chemical industries to the present scope of practically all industries involving the physical and chemical processing of materials. It points out, with an example, the promising future of the multi-scale approach in dealing with the complex systems in chemical engineering, concluding with the hope of establishing a generic methodology of this approach.


Migration and major equipment upgrades from one library management system to another are massive projects that require extensive planning, careful scheduling, and local technical expertise. This article discusses selecting a second generation library management system with special emphasis on acquisition systems. Pre-purchase issues covered include selection of vendor, software, hardware, and the network environment. Implementation issues include site and data preparation, the migration process, evaluation of procedures and workflow, personnel concerns, and education and training on the new system.


Thomas Hoccleve has long been read as a garrulous eccentric inhabiting the fringes of late-medieval literary history. H. S. Bennett suggested fifty years ago that the most important fact about Hoccleve was his "constant gossiping about himself," and that sentiment still informs most discussion.1 But what is only beginning to be realized is how significant an action it is to gossip about oneself. The whole point of gossip is its powerful third-person framework, its capacity to cement the bond between two persons present through (often malicious) reference to someone absent.2 Hoccleve's work, however, occupies a curious middle ground between gossip and autobiography. He consistently adopts the voice of the gossip, a voice of informal and scandalous revelation, but instead of using this voice to expose another, Hoccleve insistently prods at himself. Considered historically, this gossiping habit raises a difficult question. Why should such gossip, which might also claim to be the dramatic first stirrings of vernacular autobiography, come from a clerk at Westminster, one of those whose professional responsibilities had less to do with self-expression than with the endless reduplication of a language of grave bureaucratic anonymity? As many critics have pointed out, the basic elements of Hoccleve's poetic persona (a man anxiously peering in from the edge of the social order, obsessively confessing his inadequacies in love, knowledge, skill, and finance) were provided by the example of Chaucer's own experiments in self-portraiture.3 But what were the historical and sociological causes that led to the perpetuation and intensification of this figure in the postChaucerian poetry of the fifteenth century? It will be my contention that Hoccleve's interest in the trivia of subjectivity can only be fully understood once we appreciate the cultural impact of an emergent class of secularized bureaucrats.


An international comparison is made of pedestrian accidents based on pedestrian fatality rate per number of vehicles registered and the level of motorisation. For a group of countries with characteristics similar to Australia, a changing relationship for fatality rate and level of motorisation with time is found. Based on this changing relationship it is suggested that recent improvements in pedestrian casualty rates in Australia are no more than might be expected on the basis of general international trends. An interstate comparison of pedestrian accidents indicates that in terms of recent data, taking into account levels of population and registered vehicle numbers, interstate differences have become less pronounced than in earlier years. Some of the more relevant characteristics of pedestrian accidents do not point to any simple solutions to the problem, given the structure of the current road network. It is suggested that the use of extensive traffic engineering and enforcement measures, in the present vehicle/ pedestrian mix situation, is likely to have only limited success.


In Azerbaijan literature of the early 20th century mukhammas were created, they were distinguished by the search for new forms and the problematic range. For example, Sabir began mukhammas with beit (couplets) of tarji, repeated it at the end of each stanza. Many other poets repeated a similar technique afterwards. There are other features of the mukhammas of the specified period; the topic in general covered lyric and poetic, patriotic, social and political, philosophical, and religious issues. The patriotic mukhammas included a description of the nature beauties, the motherland defenders courage, the impulses of those who strove for the progress of the country, for its freedom. The number of satirical mukhammas increased. Takhmis (imitations) were written on classical poems, including Fuzuli's ghazals. At the early 20th century in Azerbaijan, as well as in other places of the Russian Empire, political activity grew among the population. The famous poet Mahammad Hadi wrote in his mukhammas about the need to achieve freedom. After all, only free people can achieve true progress and prosperity. In Soviet times, a number of poets continued to write their poems in the classical style. Poets such as V. Abbaszade Hammal, M.S. Ordubadi, A. Nazmi, Mikayil Rafili, Ali Nazim, Suleiman Rustam, Mikayil Mushfig praised their native land in their mukhammas, at the same time they did not forget to note the role of the Communist Party in the prosperity of the country. A lot of poems were devoted to international events, criticism of the imperialist forces. During World War II, Aliaga Vahid in his mukhammas predicted German fascism an inevitable defeat, expressed admiration for the heroism of Soviet soldiers. In the second half and at the end of the 20th century, the number of mukhammas on religious themes is growing in Azerbaijan poetry. A number of poets have moved from writing poetry in the classical nazm style to the mukhammas genre.


Abstract The dynamic properties of doubly-scattered speckles produced at the image plane have been investigated using a scattering model that consists of a coherent Gaussian beam, a cascade of two moving diffusers and a single imaging lens. Dependence of the fluctuation speed of time-varying image speckles on the velocities of the diffusers is found to change with the size of illuminating speckles and the width of the point-spread function of the imaging lens. When the point-spread function and the focal position satisfy certain conditions, three kinds of velocity information—the velocity of each diffuser, the average velocity of the diffusers and the velocity difference between the diffusers—can be obtained by measuring a temporal correlation length of the time-varying speckle intensity. Experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions.


In virtual reality systems, users enter text by selecting virtual keys with the fingers. A virtual keyboard is displayed in mid-air and thus does not provide haptic feedback. To address this problem, we present a text entry method that uses the surfaces of real objects around the user to provide haptic feedback. A real object surface touched a hand is recognized using the position and posture of the hand acquired by a hand-tracking sensor on a head-mounted display; a virtual keyboard is placed on that surface to provide haptic feedback. We performed a pilot study to compare text entry performance when the virtual keyboard was placed in mid-air, on a wall, on a desk, and on the user's thighs. The result shows that each virtual keyboard placement and the presence/absence of haptic feedback did not affect input performance.


Lymphangioma circumscriptum (LC) is a rare benign hamartomatous malformation of lymph vessel manifesting at birth or during early childhood. Angiokeratomas (AK) are vascular ectasia of papillary dermal blood vessels with secondary epidermal changes. AK and/or LC are one of the common vascular malformations associated with Klippel–Trenaunay syndrome (KTS). The simultaneous appearance of LC and AK has been reported rarely, and the occurrence of LC, AK, and port-wine stain in a patient of KTS is even rarer. Thereby, we report a case of co-occurrence of LC and AK in the same patient without systemic involvement.


The present study has a twofold purpose: Firstly, it is an analysis of the Karbalā´ Drama—i.e. the death of Ḥusayn b. `Alī in the hands of an army which had been sent out by the Umayyad authorities ...


【Korean government had introduced copayment system as cost sharing to office-based medical care in order to reduce the demand for care in 1986. This review focuses on trends and characteristics of copayment on office-based medical care from 1991 to the end of Jan. 2001. Objectives of this study is ${\circled}1$ to analyse historical trends of copayment on office-based medical care during the last decade, ${\circled}2$ to analyse the effect of copayment introduced to office-based medical care on NHI finance, ${\circled}3$ to analyse the changing trends of the size of copayment in utilizing office-based medical care for the past 10 years, ${\circled}4$ to evaluate the meaning of copayment alteration implemented after the introduction of new prescription system and finally ${\circled}5$ to draw a some policy implications from the results of this review. We found that the main purpose of copayment introduction had been reduction in the expenditure of NHI finance. But, the reduction effect of insurer's expenditure has turned out to be negative and NHI finance has been in crisis after the introduction of new prescription system. Also, the copayment level of the insured has increased actually on a large scale. It seems that the introduction of new prescription system has changed the meanings and its policy implications of copayment system.】


Property Location When you stay at Phi Phi Sand Sea View Resort in Ko Phi Phi, you'll be on the beach and minutes from Loh Dalum Beach and Tonsai Pier. This beach hotel is within close proximity of Ao Ton Sai Beach and Long Beach.Rooms Make yourself at..


THIS paper is concerned with the factors affecting the pace of automation as they appear to an observer in the U.S.A. For the purposes of this paper automation will be taken to include the following: the use of continuous-process, automatic equipment such as is found in the textile-spinning, papermaking and glassmaking industries; 'Detroit automation' with its multiple tool assembly lines as represented by the automobile industry; and the automatic 'feedback' controls which permit a piece of equipment or machinery to regulate or adjust its performance according to preestablished standards. In addition, there is a general reliance upon some type of electronic processing equipment to make the calculations that are required. John Diebold in his testimony before the United States Congress Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization attempted to make a distinction between mechanization and automation:


Premixed methane-air combustion affected by forced vortex is numerically simulated in a cylinder tube.The effects of inlet velocity and angular velocity of premixed gas on stability of flame in different equivalence ratios are analyzed.The results show that when the position of flame front is fixed,inlet velocity and angular velocity are dependent linearly with few differences among all linear coefficients.The radius of flame and thermal efficiency both decrease when swirling becomes more intensive,but the thermal efficiency can be enhanced by changing the distribution of inlet velocity.The combustion features are completely informed and analyzed in the results in this paper,the results offer a theoretical prediction of the practical stable burner.


contains genuine novelties," James protested, "unless the present is really creative of them, I don't see the use of time at all." This confrontation may not be as grand as Richardson thinks, who compares it to the death of Socrates; but I share the biographer's admiration for this "ailing philosopher with one foot in the grave," who has the "sheer panache" to sweep Adams's pieces off the board. The house of Adams met its match in the house of James.


Thermal decomposition behavior of ammonium perchlorate organic waste liquid by pyrolysis coupled with nonthermal plasma has rarely been reported. This paper studies the effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on ammonium perchlorate organic waste liquid. First, the ammonium perchlorate organic waste liquid was investigated by thermogravimetry, gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry, and ion chromatography analyses and, then, was pyrolyzed in the two‐stage fixed bed reactor with plasma discharge device. At low temperature, the existence of DBD plasma had a good contribution to the gas production of raw liquid. The degradation rate of perchlorate reached 99%. While steam to oil ratio increased, the gas yield enhanced. The gas yield of raw liquid was 3.62 mmol g−1 with steam (only 0.67 mmol g−1 without steam). The hydrogen concentration is about 40% at different temperatures and gas can be used as syngas to achieve low carbon emission and for energy saving.


Artificial bee colony (ABC) optimization, ant colony optimization (ACO), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are well-known swarm intelligence algorithms. They have been widely used for solving many real-life optimization problems in various domains. This chapter presents how these algorithms can be used in optimizing the distributed local area network topology design. The problem has been modelled as a constrained multi-objective optimization problem using goal programming. In addition to adapting the three algorithms for the problem, a hybrid ABC algorithm has also been proposed. Performance of the algorithms has been evaluated through a simulation study, and the results indicate that the hybrid ABC algorithm outperforms ACO, PSO and ABC algorithms.


A set of relations obtained by Widom for the probabilities fr that an empty cell is surrounded by r filled cells is rederived and extended. The consequences of the relations for the partition function, the correlation functions, and partially coupled systems are discussed.


The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency of the five fire risk index in Jataí County, Goiás, from 2007 to 2016. Data were used from the meteorological station from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) and fire foci selected from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Five fire risk indices were calculated: Angstron, Nesterov, Telecyn, Formula Monte Alegre (FMA) and Formula Monte Alegre Modified (FMA+). As much as the meteorological variables as the total number of fire foci and the classes of fire risk varied between the months, but the same did not happen between the studied years. Air relative humidity, dew point temperature and Angstron index were more correlated with the monthly number of fire foci. Meteorological variables correlated with the number of fire risk have been identified (classes medium, high, very high and dangerous); except for air temperature. The Telecyn index, followed by the Angstron index and FMA+, is more efficient for Jataí, by analyzing Skill Score performance and success percentage.


Objective The proportion and characteristics of Italian patients affected by venous thromboembolism (VTE) treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) or vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), and complications occurring during follow-up. Design A prospective cohort of 2728 VTE patients included in the Survey on anticoagulaTed pAtients RegisTer (START2-Register) from January 2014 to June 2018 was investigated. Characteristics of patients, type of treatment and complications occurring during 2962 years of follow-up were analysed. Setting About 60 Italian anticoagulation and thrombosis centres participated in the observational START2-Register Participants 2728 adult patients with VTE of a lower limb and/or pulmonary embolism (PE), with a follow-up after the initial phase treatment. Interventions Patients could receive DOACs or VKAs; both prescribed by the National and Regional Health Systems for patients with VTE. Outcomes measures Efficacy: rate of VTE recurrence (all thrombotic complications were also recorded). Safety: the rate of major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding events. Results Almost 80% of patients were treated with DOACs. The prevalence of symptomatic PE and impaired renal function was higher in patients receiving VKAs. Duration of anticoagulation was >180 days in approximately 70% of patients. Bleeding events were similar in both treatment groups. The overall eventuality of recurrence was significantly higher in DOAC cohorts versus VKA cohorts (HR 2.15 (1.14–4.06), p=0.018); the difference was almost completely due to recurrences occurring during extended treatment (2.73% DOAC vs 0.49% VKA, p<0.0001). All-cause mortality was higher in VKA-treated (5.9%) than in DOAC-treated patients (2.6%, p<0.001). Conclusion Italian centres treat most patients with VTE with DOACs and prefer VKA for those with more serious clinical conditions. Recurrences were significantly more frequent in DOAC-treated patients due to increased incidence after 180 days of treatment, probably due to reduced adherence to treatment. These results underline the importance of structured surveillance of DOAC-treated patients with VTE to strengthen treatment adherence during extended therapy.


Phenol and its derivatives are one of the most common contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. Because of high toxicity of 2,4-DCP for aquatic life, resistance to biodegradation and potential for biological accumulation it is known as a priority contaminant in the aquatic environment. Advanced Oxidation Processes were successfully used for degradation of non-biodegradable contaminants that are resistant to conventional treatment processes. So, it would be interesting that advance oxidation technologies was used which apply such effective radicals as radicals (SO4). In present study, effects of concentrations of 2,4-DCP, Fe2+, peroxydisulfate (PDS) and pH value were investigated on the 2,4-DCP photochemical degradation efficiency. The increase of pH value negatively influenced the removal efficiency and reaction rate constant while an increase in the Fe2+  and (PDS) concentrations increased both the removal efficiency and reaction rate constant. In addition, the reaction rate constant increased linearly with increasing (PDS) concentration. In this study, in general, PDS was found as the most effective factor on the degradation of 2,4-DCP by Fe2+/PDS/UV.


The presented study aimed at determining the influence of the increasing dose of new Z-ion zeolite substrate on the growth of maize (Zea mays L.) as species belonging to energy crops. In order to achieve the study aim, the pot experiment was carried out where the plants were grown on six series of media i.e.: on marginal soil (the control series I), on arable soil (the control series II) and on four mixtures of marginal soil with increasing Z-ion substrate addition (1%, 2%, 5%, 10 % v/v). The pot test was carried out in a phytotron with a 13/11 light/dark regime. After the end of the experiment, the mean values of the vegetative parameters (wet and dry biomass of roots and stems) characterizing the plant growth in particular media series were determined. The C:N ratio for maize stems was calculated as well. The obtained study results showed a favorable influence of Z-ion substrate additions on the vegetative growth of maize. Already a 1% (v/v) substrate addition to marginal soil increased the wet and dry stems biomass by 173–204%. At the same time, it turned out that in the sixth week of plant growth, a 5% substrate addition to the marginal soil enables to achieve the value of vegetation parameters at a level similar to that of the parameters characterizing the plant development on arable land. Thus, at an early stage of plant growth, a 5% substrate dose can be considered as one allowing a similar course of maize growing on marginal soil as in the case of arable soil. It is worth noting that at this substrate dose, the C:N ratio in maize stems reached the value of 13.05, at which the plant biomass is the substrate ensuring the fairly proper course of methane fermentation supplying fuel in the form of biogas.


Background: Dipentyl phthalate (DPeP) is a plasticizer compound commonly used in polyvinylchloride plastic to enhance softness and flexibility. They are not bound covalently to plastic polymers; therefore, they can dissolve into the environment and adversely affect the health of humans and animals.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of DPeP on cognition and protective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on DPeP induced alteration in cognitive behaviour and oxidative stress markers in mice.
Methods: Mice were orally treated with 2 doses (33 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) of DPeP for 28 days. Cognitive functions were assessed using spatial navigation tasks on the Morris water maze and the step-down latency in the passive avoidance apparatus. Oxidative stress was assessed by examining the levels of malondialdehyde, glutathione, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine levels in the whole brain of mice.
Results: There was a significant increase in latency in spatial navigation tasks and a significant decline in the step-down latency in passive avoidance apparatus in the DPeP-treated group compared to the control groups. There was also a significant increase in the levels of oxidative stress following DPeP administration as seen with the rise in the levels of malondialdehyde, 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, and a fall in glutathione and ferric reducing antioxidant power levels.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that DPeP adversely affects learning and memory functions in mice by oxidative stress-mediated neuronal damage. These effects were attenuated by pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine.


Boron, Cl−, and Br− concentrations and boron isotopic compositions (δ11B) were used to provide insight into the sources and water‐sediment interactions of fossil water in a thick nonfractured aquitard system in Saskatchewan, Canada. The aquitard system consists of 80 m of late Pleistocene clay‐rich till disconformably overlying 77 m of late Cretaceous marine clay. The clay is underlain by a regional sand aquifer. Variations in Cl− and Br− confirmed the presence of well‐defined conservative mixing relationships between four types of fluids present in the aquitard system: (1) low‐Cl− water from the base of the fractured and oxidized till zone at 4 m depth; (2) water characterized by an elevated Cl− peak (190 mg/L) at about 12 m; (3) glacial meltwater present between 20 and 60 m depth; and (4) more saline water (Cl− up to 1000 mg/L) from the underlying Cretaceous clay and sand aquifer. Glacial meltwater has low Cl−, δ11B (∼20‰), and Cl−/Br− ratios (50). The low Cl−/Br− ratio of the glacial meltwater is similar to that of modern inland precipitation, which suggests that the Br− budget in the atmosphere 20–30 ka B.P. was similar to that of today and that Br− enrichment in the atmosphere may be a natural process. The relatively low Cl−/Br− ratio (∼150) and δ11B values of the saline water in the sand aquifer (35 and 39‰, respectively) and pore water in the Cretaceous clay (25.6 and 32.6‰, respectively) are not consistent with simple dilution of seawater but suggest dilution and modification of fifteenfold evaporated seawater with a low Cl−/Br− and a high δ11B value (>39‰). This evaporitic seawater may have been entrapped in the Cretaceous clay upon or after its deposition and subsequently flushed from the clay by fresher water. We suggest that the refreshening process modified the original brine into Na‐HCO3 water type and extracted boron with δ11B < 39‰ from the adsorbed sites. In contrast, increase of Cl− in the upper section of the till (the 12 m peak) resulted in apparent depletion of dissolved boron and relative 11B enrichment, which can be explained by adsorption processes. The B‐δ11B relationships can thus be used to trace water‐clay interactions in aquitard systems.


Traditional embedded systems and recent platforms used in emerging computing paradigms (e.g., fog computing) have resource limits and require their applications and services to be dynamically added (i.e., deployed) and removed at run-time. These applications often have non-functional (quality) requirements (e.g., end-to-end latency) which are only satisfied when sufficient resources are allocated to them. Hence, a run-time decision-maker is needed to optimize the deployments, in terms of resource budgets that are allocated to applications. Additionally, computing platforms have become heterogeneous in terms of their resources and the applications they execute. However, the existing deployment solutions are limited to specific resources and services. In this paper, we propose a run-time deployment framework that is more flexible in defining constraints and optimization goals and works with more heterogeneous resources and resource models than existing solutions. The framework is implemented on an embedded platform as a proof of concept.


We examine the effectiveness of various energy corrections to the standard CCSD and to the reduced multireference (RMR) CCSD methods. These corrections are based on the asymmetric energy formula, but instead of projecting onto the reference configuration, as in the standard CCSD method, we employ for this purpose either the MR CISD wave function that is based on a suitable model space of the kind used in RMR CCSD, or simply the zero-order wave function in that model space. Both full complete-active-space and severely-truncated model spaces are employed. The method is applied to the prototypical case of the triple-bond dissociation, namely, to the exactly solvable double-zeta model of the N2 molecule. It is shown that in this way we can eliminate the breakdown of the standard CCSD method in the region of highly stretched geometries and obtain reliable potential energy curves. The comparison with the recently proposed renormalized CCSD(T) and variational CCD methods is also briefly addressed.


The aphid Illinoia pepperi is the vector of blueberry shoestring virus, a serious disease of cultivated high bush blueberry. We present a laboratory study of the developmental rate of I. pepperi on excised blueberry leaf discs at different temperatures from 5 to 29°C. Growth rates were lowest at the upper temperature treatments (26 and 29°) and at 10°C. Growth rate and duration in degree-days for each life stage are presented as well as an overall regression equation for development. The lower developmental threshold was calculated at 3.4°C. The results are being used in a phenological manage ment system and an epidemiological model for predicting spread of blueberry shoestring virus. The aphid Illinoia pepperi (MacGillivray) is the vector of blueberry shoestring virus, a serious disease of cultivated highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. Since the description of I. pepperi as Masonaphis (Ericobium) pepperi (MacGillivray 1958), little information has been available until the vector relationship was discovered in 1978 (Ramsdell 1980). Since that time, field biology (Elsner and Whalon 1980), impact of insecticides (Whalon and Elsner 1982), and potential host plant resistance in Vaccinium sp. (Hancock et al. 1982) have been reported. This paper presents a laboratory study of the developmental rate of I. pepperi at different temperatures. The data are being incorporated into a phenological prediction system and epidemiological model for managing of the aphid vectored virus disease in Michigan. METHODS AND MATERIALS Colonies f Illinoia pepperi were maintained t 20-24°C on two-year-old potted blueberry plants (Vaccinium corymbosum cv. 'Jersey') in a greenhouse with a 16L:8D photoperiod. All of the colonies were descendants of a single, field-collected, apterous, viviparous female taken from a commercial planting of 'Jersey' blueberry in western Michigan on 3 July 1980. This line had gone through several parthenogenetic generations in the greenhouse prior to the beginning of the laboratory study. IMichigan Agricultural Experimental Station Journal Article No. 11607. This research was supported in part by USDA grant no. 59-2261-1-2-001-1 to Michigan State University. 2Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802. 3Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Ml 48824. 1 Elsner and Whalon: Developmental Rate and Longevity of Illinoia Pepperi (Homo Published by ValpoScholar, 1985 156 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. IS, No.4 Experiments were carried out in environmental chambers under 16L:SD photophase and ± 0.25°e temperature variation. The food source for experimental aphids was 14-mm (dia.) circular leaf disks cut from vigorously growing' Jersey' blueberry plants maintained in a greenhouse. Leaf disks were floated on a nutrient medium (eoon 1959) in 5 by 60 mm plastic petri dishes. The dishes were kept covered to maintain a constant humidity inside and to prevent aphids from escaping. The leaf disks were changed regularly to avoid problems of tissue senescence. Test aphids were the progeny of mature apterous, viviparous females maintained on potted blueberry plants in a growth chamber held at 23°e with a 16L:SD photoperiod. Young were removed daily and moved to individual leaf disks with a small brush. These first instar aphids were randomly assigned to one of six treatment temperatures (5, 10, 17, 23,26, and 29°e) and placed in the appropriate environmental chamber. All aphids were observed daily; dates of ins tar changes and production of young were recorded. The progeny of test aphids were removed to avoid possible influences of crowding on the further production of young.


Diqi Chaizishu Pipaji(第七才子书琵琶记) commented by Mao Shengshan at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty is a comprehensive writing among the same writings after the Ming Dynasty. From aspects of sentiment, fact and method, Mao Shengshan set up a relatively perfect theoretical system for operas. The multi-levelled sentiment reveals the strain between the feeling and sytle in the comment; from the comment on the facts, Mao Shengshan explored how to deal with the relation between history and literary fabrication; while the method is the theoretical summary of his art experience. His comments provides references for the construction of the opera theory with national characteristics.


Abstract : The research explored the feasibility of a strategy for assigning training priorities in an Army Military Occupational Specialty (MOS 76V). Data were collected for each of the 183 tasks in the MOS from 80 supervisors and instructors on four rating scales: Task Learning Difficulty, Consequences of Inadequate Performance, Need for Immediate Performance, and most appropriate Type of Training. Additional data indicated the percentages of MOS members performing each task in the MOS. Data were analyzed in terms of the reliabilities of the four scales. Regression analyses were performed to establish the degree to which training priorities could be predicted from task learning difficulty, consequences of inadequate performance, need for immediate performance, and percentage of members performing. A multiple correlation coefficient of .87 was obtained between the Type of Training scale and the four predictor variables in the most parsimonious solution


The purpose of this study is knowing how to apply vector concepts on two skew lines in three-dimensional (3D) coordinate and its utilization. Several mathematical concepts have a related function for the other, but the related between the concept of vector and 3D have not applied in learning classroom. In fact, there are studies show that female students have difficulties in learning of 3D than male. It is because of personal spatial intelligence. The relevance of vector concepts creates both learning achievement and mathematical ability of male and female students enables to be balanced. The distance like on a cube, cuboid, or pyramid whose are drawn on the rectangular coordinates of a point in space. Two coordinate points of the lines can be created a vector. The vector of two skew lines has the shortest distance and the angle. Calculating of the shortest distance is started to create two vectors as a representation of line by vector position concept, next to determining a norm-vector of two vector which was obtained by cross-product, and then to create a vector from two combination of pair-points which was passed by two skew line, the shortest distance is scalar orthogonal projection of norm-vector on a vector which is a combination of pair-points. While calculating the angle are used two vectors as a representation of line to dot-product, and the inverse of cosine is yield. The utilization of its application on mathematics learning and orthographic projection method.


We have developed an innovative approach to creating three dimensional transitions between two dimensional images. We wanted to investigate a method for moving through a threedimensional space that could not be achieved using a real camera. The aim of this investigation was to find a method of creating moving images on computer that did not comply with the established rules of camera based cinema, but instead attempt to create new linguistic elements for communication in a relatively new field. The results we have produced represent an innovative approach to creating three dimensional transitions between two dimensional images. These transitions are presented in the form of a short animation entitled "Twisted City" .


Acknowledgments. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Concepts. Background: Traditional Operating Systems. What Is a Thread? Kernel Interaction. System Calls. Signals. Synchronization. Scheduling. The Value of Using Threads. Parallelism. Throughput. Responsiveness. Communications. System Resources. Distributed Objects. Same Binary for Uniprocessors and Multiprocessors. Program Structure. Single Source for Multiple Platforms. What Kind of Programs to Thread? Inherently MT Programs. Not Obviously MT Programs. Automatic Threading. Programs Not to Thread. What About Shared Memory? Threads Standards. Performance. Solaris 2. NFS. SPECfp. PAR93. Dakota Scientific Software, Inc.. MARC Analysis Inc.. Delphax and Uniq Inc. Adobe. Facet Decision Systems, Inc.. The ImagiNation Network. Visual Numerics. Vantage Analysis Systems, A Viewlogic Company. Landmark Graphics. University of Houston. Geophysical Development Corporation. InfoGraphix. Technologies Incorporated. Scitex. Western Geographical. 3. Foundations. Implementation vs. Specification. Thread Libraries. The Process Structure. Lightweight Processes. Threads and LWPs. Solaris Multithreaded Model. System Calls. Signals. Don't Use Signal Handlers! Per-Thread Timers. 4. Scheduling. Different Models of Kernel Scheduling. Threads Are Not Always User- level Entities. Thread Scheduling. Thread Scheduling Details. Context Switching. Preemption. How Many LWPs? Bound Threads and Real-time LWPs. Binding LWPs to Processors. When Should You Care About Scheduling? Thread Creation and Destruction. Returning Status and Memory. That's Not a Bug, That's a Feature! Exiting the Process. Cancellation. 5. Synchronization. Synchronization Issues. Memory Model. Critical Sections. Lock Your Global Variables! Synchronization Variables. Mutexes. Reader/Writer Locks. Condition Variables. Semaphores. Barriers. Event Semaphores. OS/2 Critical Sections. Spin Locks. Adaptive Locks. Cross-process Synchronization Variables. Synchronization Variable Initialization and Destruction. Synchronization Problems. Deadlocks. Race Conditions. Recovering from Deadlocks. Priority Inversion. FIFO Mutexes. Thread-specific Data. Thread Local Storage. Global Variables, Constants, and Cheating. Comparing the Four Libraries. 6. Operating System Issues. The Solaris Threads Library. Solaris Multithreaded Kernel. Concurrency vs. Parallelism. Solaris Symmetric Multiprocessing. Kernel Scheduling. Are Libraries Safe? Async Safety. New Semantics for System Calls. Forking New Processes. Executing a New Program. The New System Call sigwait(2). The Solaris Operating Environment. SVR4 and SPEC 1170 Compliant. Real-Time, Fully Preemptable Kernel. SMP. Dynamically Loadable Kernel Modules. Auto-Configuration. Dynamically Loadable, Shared Memory Modules. Memory-Mapped Files. Optimized Swap Space. Transport-Layer Interfaces. Cache File System and Auto File System. Interactive Scheduling Class. In-kernel rlogin/telnet. Wabi and MAE. Network Information Service Plus. CDE. Project DOE. Multiple Hardware Architectures. Solaris Threads Debugging Interface. Comparisons of Different Implementations. 7. POSIX Threads (pthreads). Pthreads Introduction. Attribute Objects. Threads and Attribute Objects. Synchronization Variables and Attribute Objects. Cancellation. Thread Scheduling. Moving Between the Two APIs. 8. Programming Tools. LockLint. LoopTool. SPARCworks Debugger. Thread Analyzer. Examples of Using the Tools. Example One: Threading the Mandelbrot Program. Example Two: Checking a Program with LockLint. Example Three: Parallelizing Loops with LoopTool. Example Four: Using the SPARCworks Debugger. For More Information. 9. Programming With Threads. Global Variables (errno). Static Local Variables. Synchronizing Threads. Single-Lock Strategy. Reentrance. Avoiding Deadlock. Scheduling Problems. Locking Guidelines. Following Some Basic Guidelines. Creating Threads. Thread Concurrency. Bound Threads. 10. Examples. Using thr_create() and thr_join(). Producer/Consumer. Matrix Multiplication. Threads and Windows. Socket Server. Using Many Threads. Real- time Thread. POSIX Cancellation. Deadlock. Software Race Condition. Signal Handler. Interprocess Synchronization. Arrays. Appendices. A. Answers. B. Solaris Signal Implementation. C. Threads on the Net. Threads on the World Wide Web. The SPILT Package for Solaris/POSIX Compatibility. Threads Newsgroup. Code Examples. The Authors on the Net. D. Timings. E. Common Bugs. Failure to Check Return Values for Errors. Using errno Without Checking the Return Value. Not Joining on Nondetached Threads. Failure to Verify that Library Calls Are MT Safe. Insufficient Swap Space. Creating Excessive LWPs. Forgetting to Include the -D_REENTRANT Flag. Using Spin Locks. Depending upon Scheduling Order. Using errno for Threads Library Functions. Not Recognizing Shared Data. F. Compile and Debug Specifics. Compiling a Multithreaded Application. Using libthread. Debugging Multithreaded Programs. Using adb. Using dbx. G. Application Program Interface. Condition Functions. Mutex Functions. Reader/Writer Lock Functions. Semaphore Functions. Thread Functions. H. Pthreads API (POSIX 1003.1c). Condition Functions. Condition Attribute Functions. Mutex Functions. Mutex Attribute Functions. Pthread Functions. Pthread Attribute Functions. Semaphore Functions. Glossary. Index.


— The problem is to automate the correction of LTEX documents. Each document is represented as a parse tree. The modified Zhang-Shasha algorithm is used to construct a mapping of tree vertices of the original document to the tree vertices of the edited document, which corresponds to the minimum editing distance. Vertex to vertex maps form the training set, which is used to generate rules for automatic correction. The statistics of the applicability to the edited documents is collected for each rule. It is used for quality assessment and improvement of the rules.


This thesis describes an efficient cloning, characterization and functional analysis of a nectary-specific gene in Petunia hybrida. NEC1, a novel gene, is highly expressed in nectaries. NEC1 is involved in nectar production and nectar secretion. Nectar secreted from floral nectaries is the main floral reward for pollinating insects and nectar quality is the key value that can be used to select plants that are more attractive to pollinators. Genetic regulation of nectary development and modification of nectar composition will allow to make the flowers more attractive to pollinators, and the plants less attractive to pest insects


Currently, CBM is an important source of alternative energy in Brazil. The most important coal bearing sedimentary succession occurs in the Parana Basin, and the largest reserves are located in RS and SC. This work aims to analyze the chemical and petrological characteristics of coal seams from three boreholes, being recently conducted in the South Santa Catarina coalfield, in the areas of Treviso and Ararangua (SC), in order to assess the capacity to generate associated methane gas. Samples of seven coal seams were collected (Barro Branco, Irapua, seam A, Bonito Superior, Bonito Inferior, Pre-Bonito Superior and Pre-Bonito Inferior) from the Rio Bonito Formation, and were prepared and submitted for petrographic and chemical analysis. The lithotype banded dull (BD) was prevalent in hole CBM-SC-2012, and dull (D) in hole CBM-SC-2013. Petrographic results indicated average vitrinite reflectance values from 0.60 to 1.26 % Rrandom, classifying the seams according to rank from high volatile bituminous C to medium volatile bituminous. Maceral analysis showed significant variation in maceral composition, with predominance of vitrinite and inertinite. Results from the proximate analysis showed ash variation from 34.93 to 65.70 wt%, whereas the gross calorific value varied from 1858.0 to 5074.8 cal/g. The carbon content ranged from 4.15 to 65.81 wt%, and sulfur ranged from 0.22 to 12.43%. According to the analyzed parameters, the Barro Branco and Irapua seams present characteristics suitable for the generation of natural gas, whereas the Bonito seam has a lower gas generation potential because of its high ash content.


By the late 19th century public authorities in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo launched a colonization policy creating almost 30 settlement colonies across the state, \emph{Neo Europes} characterized as rural villages formed by small plots of land and peopled by relatively higher-skilled European settlers. The unique features of this colonialism episode allow us to support empirically the view that settlement colonies fostered long run development of settled regions through improvements in early levels of human capital. Although this study is based on a specific historical context, our findings bring new evidence for broader interpretations linking human capital with economic growth of regions settled by European colonizers, which is central to the stream of literature in development economics that has recently renewed the discussion on growth theories in the light of the European colonialism.


This work supplements the adsorption model of 2D-isomorphism proposed earlier for the NH 4 Cl-CO(NH 2 ) 2 system and reveals the correspondence between the growth rates of the NH 4 Cl crystals in the presence of carbamide and the co-crystallization of carbamide with ammonium chloride. It follows from the kinetic data that the NH 4 Cl . CO(NH 2 ) 2 impurity capture becomes significant when the carbamide concentration in solution is sufficient for almost monolayer adsorption of the impurity on the crystal surface and the onset of multilayer adsorption. The concentration of the guest phase intergrowths falls with the increase in the host crystal growth rate.


According to convenience and accuracy problem of clinical wound area measurement method, the wound area measurement software is designed based on the Android. The wound image is photographed by the Android device and is cut out and converted to the grayscale image and the binary image. The invalid area is eliminated and the valid area is extracted. The pixels of wound area are counted. According to the pixel ratio, the wound area is calculated and displayed on the Android device. Results: The wound area can be marked automatically by wound area measurement software. According to the proportion of wound area and 1cm2 reference object on the same distance, the wound area data are calculated and displayed. The error of the software measurement is within ±1.112%. The software can complete the measurement of irregular wounds accurately. The wound area is measured by the wound area measurement software based on Android using Non-contact method such as taking picture, calculating and processing. It avoids the problem of wound infection and substitutes for direct measurement method widely used on clinic.


This paper introduced the whole process of proficiency testing for viral titre detection of highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome live vaccine.Two different evaluation methods,reference compare method and robust statistic technology were used to evaluate the results.This work was expected to provide the basis for the development of proficiency testing in veterinary biologics.


Abstract Two new diterpenic acids with an ent-halimane skeleton have been isolated from the aerial parts of Halimium viscosum (Villarino de los Aires chemotype) and separated as methyl esters. These diterpenes were 13-oxo-14, 15-dinor-1(10), 11E-ent-halimadien-18-oic acid and 15-hydroxy-1 (10), 13Z-ent-halimadien-18-oic acid.


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Final data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) documents the sharpest rise in teenage birth rates in 15 years. The birth rate for older teenagers increased in 1989 by 6 percent, to 86.4 births per 1,000 women aged 18 to 19 years. This rate was higher than it has been since 1974 when there were 88.7 births per 1,000 females in this age group, according to the December 1991 Monthly Vital Statistics Report.


Non-linear production functions are common in economic theory and in real life, especially in cases with increasing and diminishing returns to scale but there are also contexts where an increase in one input implies a decrease in one output. The aim of this paper is to test how non-linearity affect estimations of technical efficiency obtained by ordinary and corrected least squares (OLS, COLS), data envelopment analysis with constant and variables returns to scale (DEAcrs, DEAvrs), stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and by multilayer perceptron neural networks with backpropagation (MLP). To do this we will construct a very simple non-linear one input-one output production function and we will obtain different synthetic data with 50, 100, 200 and 300 decision-making units (DMUs). Afterwards we will add up different quantities of noise to the data and finally we will compare real efficiency with estimated values for all techniques named before among the different scenarios. Our results suggest that MLP is a flexible tool to fit production functions and a possible alternative to traditional techniques under non-linear contexts.


Neuro-osteoarthropathy (Charcot's Joint) in diabetic patients has been well described in literaturc. It has been defined as a chronic progressive degenerative process principally occurring in weight-bearing joints in the feet of diabetic patients who have underlying peripheral neuropathy and loss of sensation. Although considered as a clinical rarity, it has been reported more frequently in recent years7-9,11,12. This observation can be attributed to the longevity of diabetic patients and dramatic decrease in mortality since the insulin era. The association between juvenile onset diabetes and skeletal lesions is relatively uncommon. We report a case of young woman who had juvenile onset diabetes and developed bilateral neuroarthropathy involving feet.


This paper makes a detailed reappraisal of earlier publications and much unpublished data on the polymerization by HClO 4 over the temperature range 25°C to -97°C. The chief conclusions are: (i) The characteristic bimodal molar-mass distributions found in polymers at temperatures down to about -30°C are not the result of intrinsic independence between propagating species, but of the intervention of irreversible transfer processes. (ii) The «common-anion» effect of added Bu 4 NClO 4 , on both the transient ionic concentration detectable at low temperatures, and on the yields and rates of polymerization, can be analysed to show the links between the rapid nonequilibrium precursor phase and the subsequent steady phase. In that phase, the reactions are shown, by the number-average molar mass (M n ) of the polymer, to have the kinetic character of a «dormant-living» polymerization, near-ideal at ca. -70°C, but deviating increasingly as transfer increases and finally dominates over the reversible termination process. (iii) That termination process is envisaged as «ion-pair collapse», the anion of the pair being «homoconjugated» with a molecule of the acid, which is released on collapse. This mechanism, proposed by Szwarc, offers a satisfactory resolution of the «pseudo» cationic controversy, interpreting the polymer ester molecules, not as propagating species, but as the reservoir from which propagating ion-pairs are generated by acid-activation


The absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra of La1-xNdxP5O14 (LNPP) glass were studied. The fluorescence from the level of interest 4F3/2 (1) state shows an exponential decay and linear concentration quenching. Time resolved fluorescence line narrowing was observed for LNPP glass with different x values. For high x value LNPP glass, energy transfer between Nd3+ ions intraline was observed at low temperature.


Wind energy plant with a rotor hub housing, which is connectable via connecting means with at least one pitch bearing, and at least one rotor blade whose blade root is connected to the pitch bearing, wherein a stiffening element is provided, which is fixed between the pitch bearing and the rotor hub shell.


The Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles is a common ground-nesting shorebird inhabiting grasslands, paddocks, rivers, lakes, swamps and, tidal mud flats. It is particularly common in the urban areas of Phillip Island, Victoria (Dann 1981; Marchant and Higgins 1993). The Masked Lapwing usually lays between one and four eggs (the mean number of eggs per clutch of this study was 3.6 +/- 1 SD) that hatch after 31 days. Both sexes incubate eggs, brood young and defend the eggs and young. Masked Lapwings produce precocial and nidifugous chicks that remain with the adults on defended territories until fledging (Marchant and Higgins 1993; Thomas 1969). The chicks are able to feed themselves within hours of hatching and rely on their parents only for protection (alarm signals) and warmth (brooding) (Marchant and Higgins 1993).


This ground-breaking study of the baby boomer generation reflects the intersection of time, ageing, body and identity to give a nuanced and enlightened understanding of the ageing process.


The application of membrane technology in the fermentation industry is reviewed.It includes membrane separation and membrane bioreactor.The existent questions in the crossflow filtration are analyzed as an emphasized portion.


Introduction The gold standard curative treatment for chronic pulmonary thromboembolic disease and pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE). Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is emerging for distal CTEPH patients, where lesion is inaccessible for surgery. This is the first study conducted in Indian patients for evaluating the impact of BPA in patients with distal CTEPH.
 Aims and Objectives To evaluate the effect of BPA in patients with distal CTEPH with the help of New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD). To study decrease in pulmonary artery pressure and improvement in right atrial and right ventricular function with the help of echocardiography.
 Material and Methods Study population—CTEPH patients presenting to the hospital during the study interval of 16 months from January 2017 to April 2018. A. Method: This was an observational retrospective and prospective follow-up study. All distal CTEPH patients after meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken for study. B. Detailed case records containing information on demographics, clinical features and necessary blood and imaging investigations, ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan, computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), right heart catheterization (RHC) study, pulmonary angiogram, and BPA procedure details were obtained for all participants. C. After 8 weeks of last BPA session, patients were assessed clinically and then 6-minute walk test, blood investigations and echocardiography were done.
 Data Analysis Statistical analysis was performed by using the software SPSS 22.0 version. We used paired t-test to test the significant difference in the mean pre- and post-BPA. p-value < 0.05 will be considered as statistically significant.
 Results In our study, mean age of presentation was 39.81 ± 12 years. Out of 11 patients, 5 were females and 6 were males. Mean duration of symptoms was 40.5 months. The total number of BPA sessions performed were 30. The minimum number of BPA sessions undergone was 1 and maximum number of BPA sessions undergone by one patient was 5, with 45% of patients undergoing 2 BPA sessions. The total number of segmental arteries dilated was 104. Segmental vessels dilated per each session was 3.46. There was statistically significant improvement in NYHA class and 6MWD after BPA. 6MWD increased from 299 m to 421 m (p-value < 0.001). This improvement in functional capacity is strongly associated with the improvement in right ventricular (RV) function (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion [TAPSE] from 15.3 mm to 18.9 mm) and with the reduction in pulmonary artery systemic pressure (PASP) (from 92 mm Hg to 60 mm Hg).
 Conclusion In patients with distal CTEPH who undergo BPA, there was statistically significant improvement in 6MWD. These changes correspond to a treatment-induced reduction in pulmonary artery pressure and lend support to use of BPA in patients with distal CTEPH. ECHO and 6MWD can be used for evaluating BPA efficacy and monitoring disease progression.


Acknowledgements Introduction Politics and the Public Social Conditions and the Climate of Opinion THE MAKING OF PARTY STRATEGY Preliminary Reflections The Modernisation of Labour Conservatives in Travail The Liberal Revival THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN The Course of the Campaign Issues The Campaign Reassessed Television and Radio, by Martin Harrison The Press, by A J Beith Opinion Polls THE CAMPAIGN IN THE CONSTITUENCIES Aspects of Electioneering The Candidates Four Constituency Campaigns Finchley, by Bernard Donoughue Basingstoke, by William G Andrews Swansea West, by Kenneth O Morgan Leeds West, by Peter Nettl and Dilys Hill CONCLUSION The Results Appendix Index


The ability to deliver stories both verbally and visually is one of essential skills for children as it can inspire them with creativity and develop communication skills. Although numerous ways to convey stories have been introduced with the rapid evolution of the technology, most of these are not suitably designed for children to use. Being able to come up with a new stimulating interaction for story telling can certainly help children enjoy stories and collaborate with the others. In order to achieve the goal, it is important to actively involve children during the process. Children are normally lively so they like to be physically engaged. For this reason, a promising means is Tangible User Interface (TUI) which enables them to interact in a natural way of granting physical involvement. The substitution for Graphical User Interface (GUI) does not only include children enthusiastically, but also encourages their creativity. However, there are a huge number of possible TUI designs from which many engineers and researchers have put a lot of effort and money into research and development to find the best means to help children create and share their stories. In this paper, a wide variety of ways to solve the problem using TUI will be studied in terms of challenges, approaches, methodologies and findings.


A recently developed approach to deconvolution uses the methods of optimal control. The technique has been successfully applied to a number of problems including geophysics and speech processing. In this paper we demonstrate that the optimal control method can provide complete control over the deconvolution in both time and frequency domains, and that in consequence it is a powerful technique for deconvolving noisy and severely bandlimited signals. In the first instance it is shown that through the parameters we can control the resolution of the deconvolution in the time domain. Secondly it is demonstrated that the effects of inaccurate estimation of the system parameters may be approximately described by the ratio of the transfer function of the true system to the estimated. From this the bandwidth of the resulting deconvolution can be arbitrarily controlled by mismatching the system estimates in an appropriate manner.


In 1991 in response to low levels of prenatal care hospital delivery and modern contraceptive use CARE initiated a child survival program in 90 communities in western Honduras. Initial program activities included training of Ministry of Health and CARE personnel in the provision of reproductive health services especially IUD insertion and removal Pap testing and counseling techniques; recruitment training and support of 116 reproductive health counselors; and community-level promotion of family planning services including contraceptive distribution. During the 17 months of program activities the counselors provided family planning methods to 2190 new and 2164 continuing acceptors and provided 696 educational talks to 8127 participants. At the time of the endline survey in 1994 CARE was providing one-third of contraceptive methods in the study area. The percentage of women aware of at least 1 family planning method increased from 35.3% at baseline to 86.1% and the percentage of women who stated their husbands supported use of a method rose from 42% to 62%. Contraceptive prevalence increased from 15.4% at baseline to 42.1% at the end of the project with most dramatic increases in the use of the IUD and tubal ligation. Finally the percentage of mothers exclusively breast feeding at 4 months rose from 40.5% to 87%. This intervention confirmed an unmet need for family planning services in this poor rural area.


This paper analyzes the present situation of technical supports for forestry industries in Sichuan Province,and puts forward the principle and goal for technical supports.In accordance with the characteristics of forest resources and developing status,this paper puts forward the key techniques needed to be resolved in the establishment of industrial raw material forests,economic forest industry,forest-tree seed and seedling industry,eco-tourism industry,and forest product processing industry.Meanwhile,the main scientific and technological achivements to be transferred are described,and the specific scheme for speeding up the transfer of achievements and enforcing technical supports are brought forward in the paper.


A case of an infection of the tonsils due to C. Krusei is presented. A review of the literature reveals this type of infection as extremely rare.
 Almost all the reported successful medical remedies for the treatment of Candidiasis were tried without results. Permanent cure was obtained finally by surgery.


Objective To investigate the influences of HDL on SR-BI expression and cholesterol efflux in THP-1 cell line.Methods THP-1 cells were treated with ox-LDL or HDL at different concentrations.[3H]-labeled cholesterol flux was determined by liquid scintillation;expression levels of SR-BI mRNA and protein were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot,respectively.Results ox-LDL downregulated but HDL upregulated the expression of SR-BI in THP-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner.Ox-LDL decreased while HDL increased the efflux of intracellular cholesterol in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusions HDL may enhance the efflux of intracellular cholesterol by upregulating SR-BI expression in THP-1 cells.


This paper summarized the contents,application and outcomes of Essentials of Magnetism Tool( EOM) in nursing. On this basis,the prospects of tool were put forward,and nurses should combine with the characteristics of medical care in China.


SIR,-Thebaine (I) an alkaloid present in opium (0.2-0.8%) has no therapeutic activity and little commercial value. Unlike the chemically related central nervous system depressants morphine and codeine, thebaine is devoid of analgesic activity and acts as a central nervous system stimulant. Bentley & Hardy (1963) have recently described the synthesis of a series of dienophil derivatives of thebaine showing high analgesic potencies. A number of the ketonic adducts, 11 (Table l), were found to have analgesic actions similar to that of morphine. Primary and secondary alcohols, Ill , produced by the reaction of appropriate Grignard reagents on these and other related ketones were found to possess greater analgesic activity (Table 2). 0-Demethylation of the thebaine derivatives to the corresponding oripavines increased the activity in a manner similar to that seen on the conversion of codeine to morphine.


The measurement and analysis of different cotton varieties root development at low moisture showed that, habrid Bt cotton root grows faster in the early season, but decrease faster in the later, normal Bt cotton root grows slowly in the early season, the early mature cotton is between the two types, the resistant to drought cotton keeps a steady growth and decrease.


There is little information on secular trends in the infant mortality rate (IMR) among aboriginal populations in Canada. Although the Canadian government began collecting vital statistics for Canadian Indians at the turn of the century, records prior to the 1960s have been deemed inaccurate (Romaniuk and Piche 1972; Latulippe-Sakamoto 1 97 1). This thesis presents an historical study of infant mortality in the Cree community of Fisher River, Manitoba during the period from 1907 to 1939. The two major purposes of this thesis are: 1) to investigate infant mortality and community health conditions at Fisher River during the early twentieth century using parish records from the Methodist mission; and 2) to evaluate microlevel parish record data (as opposed to aggregate statistics used in national studies) as a source of information on historical trends in the IMR among aboriginal Canadians. The infant mortality rate was found to be persistently high during this time period Q49 per 1000 live births). The IMR demonstrated a seasonal distribution pattern; high rates were strongly associated with winter, linked to undernutrition and airborne infectious disease. High fertility rates at young maternal ages during this period are thought to have contributed to high IMRs, although the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. There is some indication that a segment of families in the community had lower IMRs due to greater access to resources in the communify. However, it is concluded that high infant mortality reflected the overall health problems of the Fisher River reserve environment during this period. Findlng studies, both historical and modern, comparable to these results is a challenge. Parish records, when used judiciously, are adv_ocated as a good source of data for investigating aboriginal health conditions prior to W.W.II_.i It is suggested that future research on infant mortality in aboriginal populations be community-based.


Open code has long been a force in networking and system integration. Yet in the last 18months with the completion of multiple office productivity suites and investments from IBM, Dell, and Sun, open code is ready for the desktop. However, it is not a magic bullet. This panel will address:• What are the risks and potential for open code?• How can an organization determine which elements of its systems should use open code?• What are the management and policy questions?• How can an organization move seamlessly to open code?


There is a lack of coverage of an application of Monte Carlo simulation in capital budgeting in introductory level finance textbooks. In more advanced level textbooks, the application is not presented in an easy to understand fashion for students with limited technical background. In this paper, we seek to present an easy application of Monte Carlo simulation in capital budgeting analysis that can be performed using Microsoft Excel alone. In addition, we illustrate that Monte Carlo simulation provides an unbiased estimation of the expected net present value as well as other key input variables. However, we demonstrate that Monte Carlo simulation provides more useful information to a decision maker as compared to conventional scenario or sensitivity analysis. Finally, we provide evidence that, due to the assumption of scenario analysis, the probability of observing the best and worst case NPVs will be very slim. This represents a major weakness of scenario analysis.(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)INTRODUCTIONThe key inputs in a capital budgeting analysis using discounted cash flows (DCF) are the projected future cash flows. These projected cash flows depend on assumptions made regarding forecasted unit sales, unit sales price, variable costs and fixed costs. If these forecasts are inaccurate, the resulting computation of Net Present Value (NPV) will likely be incorrect, leading to a suboptimal capital budgeting decision. Conventional DCF analysis is based on deterministic modeling using single point estimates of expected values of unit sales, sale price, variable cost per unit, and fixed operating costs. However, the expected value is often not easily determinable. To compensate forthis inherent uncertainty in the estimation process, the decision-maker might incorporate scenario or sensitivity analysis by asking a series of ?what-if ? questions. Nevertheless, there is a problem associated with conventional scenario or sensitivity analysis. Even though we have a sense of the sensitivity of the NPV to each scenario or variable, we are still in the dark as to which scenario or value for a given variable is most likely to occur. Monte Carlo simulation is a technique that can overcome the limitations of conventional scenario and sensitivity analysis. Monte Carlo simulation in capital budgeting analysis was first promoted by Hertz (1964) in his seminal article on risk analysis in capital investment.Monte Carlo simulation is apowerful analytical tool which provides more useful information as compared to conventional sensitivity analysis or scenario analysis. However, there is a general lack of coverage of how to apply Monte Carlo simulation techniques to capital budgeting analysis. Many textbooks geared for undergraduate courses in corporate finance outline sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis in great detail, but all make only cursory or no reference to Monte Carlo simulation. For example, we surveyed three best selling undergraduate corporate finance textbooks written by the following authors: (i) Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan (2009); (ii) Brigham and Houston (2009); (iii) Block, Hirt, and Danielsen (2010). The first two texts explain in great detail the techniques of sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis to measure risk in capital budgeting. However, none of these three books geared to undergraduate students gives a detailed description of the Monte Carlo simulation technique with the help of an example. Alternatively, three popular corporate finance texts geared to graduate students, namely (i) Ehrhardt and Brigham (2008); (ii) Ross, Westerfield, and Jaffe (2009), (iii) Brealey and Myers, and Allen (2010) provide a more detailed but rather complicated discussion of the Monte Carlo simulation approach as applied to capital budgeting. Thus, it appears that there is a very limited coverage of the Monte Carlo simulation approach among undergraduate texts of corporate finance.Unfortunately, there is also not much written in the academic literature on Monte Carlo simulation in capital budgeting analysis. …


Abstract : This report explores the nature of prototyping, analyzes the role it plays in weapon system development, and extracts lessons for acquisition policy making. Prototyping can be simplistically defined as the fabrication and testing of hardware or software at some point in the acquisition cycle prior to commitment of full rate production. (This research adds precision to that definition of prototyping).


To study Web Services composition technology,so as to push service computation into application,a kind of technical framework for Web Services composition was proposed.Some key issues within this framework,such as service discovery,service composition methods and service verification,were discussed.Its research progress was also introduced.Finally,open issues and future directions were pointed out.


We analyze the structure of a control function u(t) corresponding to an optimal trajectory for the system $\dot q =f(q)+u\, g(q)$ in a three-dimensional manifold, near a point where some nondegeneracy conditions are satisfied. The kind of optimality which is studied includes time-optimality. The control turns out to be the concatenation of some bang and some singular arcs. Studying the index of the second variation of the switching times, the number of such arcs is bounded by four.


Since the 1990s, accounting reform has become one of the common public sector reform elements in Germany, which strictly belongs within the "New Public Management" movement. Generally speaking this reform means a shift from the traditional cameralistic system, used for the last 100 years in public administration, to double-entry bookkeeping ("Doppik"), which originated in business administration. Widespread public sector accounting reforms are being discussed and implemented at state, federal states and local levels; at this 3rd level the changeover is already well advanced. The majority of German federal states (13 from 16) regulate by law this public sector accounting reform at the local level, where "Doppik" as an innovation is forced to be implemented without any opportunity for discussion. Only in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia can cities and villages still choose between reform and destination. However, the key question is: Why do local organisations voluntarily adopt reforms with extensive implementation processes without the support of prior conclusive costbenefit-analysis? The theoretical bases for adoption and diffusion of innovations in the public sector, especially at local level, are not well understood. Following neoinstitutionalism's theoretical assumptions and especially DiMaggio and Powell's article from 1983, three mechanisms (coercion, mimetic and normative pressures) can explain organisational change, although their validity has not as yet been empirically tested. Additionally, individual roles and the meaning of the organisational field in diffusion processes remain obscure. Consequently, this thesis addresses three main research questions: 1. How can we explain the diffusion of public sector reforms as special types of innovations which implicate organisational change and can we explain it in accordance with the three theoretical mechanisms? 2. Which actors are important? 3. Would the concept of organisational fields be useful in understanding these structural changes? This research project was initiated with a mail survey in Bavaria and Thuringia. It was considered necessary to analyse the process in these states, because here local organisations still have the option to reform their accounting system or not. For that reason, only here was empirical testing of the three mechanisms possible. The data were collected at the end of 2012 and early in 2013. All cities in Bavaria and Thuringia (N = 2.905) were surveyed, with the questionnaire being addressed to mayors. This approach yielded a response rate of 26.01%.


Method for improving the effectiveness of mixing antimicrobial agents in the polymer film is described. The method, when the previous or formed to form a film, comprising adding an antimicrobial agent enhancer to the polymer. Antibacterial agents accelerators, foaming agents, a hydrophilic wetting agent and / or both. Polymeric film comprising an antimicrobial agent and such promoter, and the multilayer barrier assembly using such films are also described. Multilayer barrier assembly is widely applied in the medical field. At least one gas and the first coating layer comprises a vapor barrier organic polymer, at least one core layer comprising an elastomeric organic polymer and a second coating layer comprising at least one sealable organic polymer and at least one antimicrobial agent It has also been described multilayer polymeric film comprising. An article comprising a film are useful in a variety of applications including medical and health care applications. Method of providing a gas and vapor barrier and antimicrobial activity in an article encompasses producing an article comprising the film. .The


The analysis of magnetization and neutron‐scattering measurements shows that the ferromagnetic cloud in dilute PdCo alloys has a size of 7.92μB, with a Co moment of 2.02μB, for a range of concentrations of 0.3≤c≤2.0 at. % Co. Using the values obtained by our analysis of the data, the neutron scattering and the critical temperatures of ferromagnetism are reproduced using a localized magnetic moment model with a Heisenberg type of interaction between clouds and Monte Carlo simulation methods. The calculated neutron scattering shows a strong component of critical scattering in the unpolarized neutron; this component is the cause of the larger value of the ferromagnetic cloud (∼10μB) that can be inferred from the neutron scattering. Agreement is also found between calculated critical temperatures and experimental Tc's at these values of concentrations.


When rabbits are immunized with artificial antigens containing the azobenzyl glycosides of glucose and glucuronic acid, the antibodies elicited are specific and show no serological crossing (1). Since the configuration of the hexoside radicals in these antigens is identical, it is noteworthy that they give rise in each instance to immune bodies which exhibit no serological cross reactions. Differences in immunological properties must be attributed therefore to differences in the grouping occupying the sixth position in each carbohydrate radical, which in the case of the glucoside is an hydroxyl group (CH~OH) and in the glucuronide a carboxyl group (COOH). The uronic acid nucleus of the capsular polysaccharides of certain types of pneumococci appears to be of special importance in determining the serological reactions of the latter substances. In certain instances the uronic acid is glucuronic acid, while in others galactutonic acid is found as an integral part Of the polysaccharide molecule. I t seemed advisable, therefore, to compare the serological properties of artificially compounded antigens containing glucuronic and galacturonic acids, for in this manner it should be possible to ascertain the relationship between stereoisomerism and the immunological properties of the polar carboxyl group.


The protection of the human rights in criminal procedure has become more and more important. In the rectified law of criminal procedure, there are some significant reforms in the institutions of criminal procedure and the judicial institutions, which enhance the protection of human rights. However, there are still many problems in both criminal procedure and people's notion. The article provides some new thinking methods to the problems.


The Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT's) long-standing commitment to sustainability is outlined in the Oregon Transportation Plan, ODOT's values statements, and the ODOT Sustainability Plan. ODOT is working hard to integrate sustainability into its day-to-day business practices and to develop a culture of sustainability that emanates throughout the entire agency. The agency created a multi-volume Sustainability Plan that addresses the sustainable functions of ODOT's internal operations and the management of the broader transportation system. At this time, Volumes I and II of the plan are complete and are being put into practice throughout the agency. Volume I outlines what sustainability means to ODOT. The development of Volume I was essential for laying the groundwork of sustainability at ODOT. This context setting document is needed before taking on the complex issues of setting specific goals and performance measures for sustainability at ODOT. Volume II sets goals, strategies, and performance measures for ODOT's internal operations, such as its facilities and fleet. Volume III, in development, will focus on the sustainable management of the statewide transportation system. A key piece of Volume III is incorporating sustainability into ODOT's design and construction practices, often referred to as project delivery. To address this need, ODOT convened a Sustainability in Project Delivery Committee. The committee is composed of ODOT staff with a wide-range of expertise. Members include the State Maintenance Engineer, State Materials and Construction Manager, a Region Manager, and representatives from Geo-Environmental, the Bridge Delivery Unit, the Director's Office, and Technical Services. Over the first few meetings the committee worked on developing a work plan and identifying the main tasks for its work. The following are the four main tasks for the committee: 1) Define what sustainability means for ODOT project delivery; 2) Continue momentum of current sustainability practices and measures already occurring in project delivery, OTIA III Bridge Program and Greenroads; 3) Effectively communicate about sustainability within project delivery, both internally and externally; and 4) Determine the best tools to manage and implement sustainability within projects.