Driving quality is a concept that includes factors affecting the quality of a vehicle trip. Pavement damages, including roughness, has negative effects on travel comfort and driving quality. The vibration created in the car is one of the most important negative effects. In general, the main reasons for this type of vibration are: The mechanical structure of the vehicle and the surface roughness of the road. In short trips, the quality of driving is affected by safety and driving comfort indicators. While, in long-term trips, the threat to human health is also raised due to long-term vibration on the body. Therefore, it can be concluded that the evaluation of the driving quality and especially the impact of road surface roughness, which is responsible for the phenomenon of vibration, is a vital issue for pavement engineers. As the most common method of assessing road surface roughness, the IRI index is considered an essential element in the framework of this research due to its intrinsic relationship with the vehicle's reaction. This study seeks to reconsider the IRI index according to the vibration created in the car during a trip. For this purpose, first, some pavement segments with certain roughness were defined. Then, with the help of ProVAL software, IRI values were calculated for them. After that, in the main part of the research, the defined pavement segments were made in the ADAMS software, and the vibration results were outputted when a passenger car passed over them. The results of the review and comparison of vibration data and IRI values showed that the IRI method contains an important problem: not fully covering the concept of passenger travel comfort and driving quality. Considering that the IRI index is an important and common factor in the decisions of pavement management systems around the world, this research confirms that this index needs important modifications to effectively include the concept of driving quality in roads' maintenance and repair programs.


Entrepreneurship and small business ownership can be considered essential to both economic growth and development of new products and services. Indeed, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the 27.9 million small businesses accounted for 64 percent of all net new jobs created from 1993 to 2011, and also accounted for 99.7 of employer firms in the United States. However, despite these impressive numbers, Native American businesses account for the smallest number of firms (under 300,000) among those considered minority owned. This study examines characteristics of Native American small businesses and owners and provides key findings, including utilization of tribal and external business development programs.


Based on the allyl polyoxyethylene and styrene sodium sulfonate as the raw material,potassium persulfate(K2S2O8)as the initiator,a new polyether dispersant for coal water slurry was synthetized with the free radical polymerization and water as the solvent.The infrared spectrum and the thermal analysis method were applied to the surface features and analysis on the polymers.The synthesis conditions affected to the dispersed effect to the coal water slurry were investigated.The experiment results showed that the optimum conditions of the synthetized dispersant would be that the potassium persulfate content of the initiator was 4%,the mixing ratio of the allyl polyoxyethylene and styrene sodium sulfonate was 1.5∶ 1.0,the reaction temperature was 80 ℃ and the reaction time was 4 h.when the dispersant applied to the test of the Shenfu coal water slurry,the apparent viscosity measured with different density coal water slurry showed that when the coal water slurry quality fraction reached at 70%,the apparent viscosity would be 968.33 mPa·s.Thus the dispersant would have a high disperse effect.


PHASE I Objective: To examine the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about tobacco among individuals on an urban college campus. Participants: Urban College based sample of 487 students, faculty, staff/administrator and visitors in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Methods: The principal investigators recruited participants using an Institutional Review Board exempt pen and paper survey. The participant's responses were transcribed using Microsoft Access and analyzed by the principal investigators to find trends. Results: The survey data indicated that while some participants (144) were bothered by smoking on campus, most (340) favored the implementation of a designated smoking area. The data was used to gain insight into the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about smoking on an urban college campus. Conclusion: The survey data played a key role in the campus administrators' decision-making about campus smoking policy. Despite administrators' concerns regarding campus safety and freedom of choice, the student-led research can be used to influence policy change.
PHASE II Objective: To examine how students can help college administrators and tobacco control advocates by voicing their opinion about tobacco control policies. Participants: Urban College based sample of 402 students, faculty, staff/administrator, and visitors in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Methods: The principal investigators recruited participants using an Institutional Review Board exempt pen and paper survey. The participant's responses were transcribed using Microsoft excel and analyzed by the principal investigators to find trends. Results: The survey data indicated that some participants (136) have never seen the location of the respectful smoking community and (292) participants were unsure if they received an email regarding the new respectful smoking location. Conclusion: The survey data played a key role in the campus administrators' decision-making about campus smoking policy. Despite administrators' concerns regarding campus safety and freedom of choice, the student-led research can be used to influence policy change.


There had been obtained complex molybdate-phosphates of Ln2+1/3xZr3(MoO4)9-x(PO4)x composition, where Ln = Pr, Eu, x = 0.1-0.8, synthesized by the method of solid-phase reactions. The possibility of solid-phase synthesis of new molybdate-phosphates by substitution of (МоО4)2to (РО4)3in double zirconium-containing molybdates was studied and the influence of chemical composition on stability of crystal structure had been determined.


Mini-blades are particularly useful in creating incisional pockets as recipient sites for hair transplants. With the aid of a special mini-blade handle, the length and depth of each incision can be accurately controlled. Surgeons can rapidly produce multiple uniform incisions with the technique described. Mini-blades are thicker than other blades and partially dilate each incision. Graft insertion is simplified by the partial dilation. More substantial dilation of the larger miniblade incisions can be produced with a twisting motion imparted to the mini-blade during the incisional process.


Polygalacturonases (PGs) are necessary to degrade the insoluble viscous pectin components during the clarification process of fruit juice and are produced by some plants and various microbes, such as bacteria, yeasts and fungi. In this study, an exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PGP4a) was purified from T. Pseudokoningii using DEAE-Sepharose and Sephacryl S-200 columns. We show that the enzyme produced in this study by solid-state fermentation of citrus Orange peel was purified 20-fold with 12.8% recovery. The apparent molecular mass of the enzyme was determined to be 25 kDa using gel filtration and SDS-PAGE. The optimum temperature and pH of the exo-PGP4a were 45and#176;C and 6, respectively. The exo-PGP4a showed half-lives of 50.95 and 21.32 min at 55 and 75and#176;C, respectively. The activation energy for denaturation (Ea*) was 42.596 kJ/mol. The Km value of the enzyme for PGA hydrolysis was 2 mg/ml, and the Vmax was 3.27 and#181;mol min-1 mg-1. Several metal cations, such as Cu2+and Zn2+, were found to enhance the enzymatic activity of the exo-PGP4a, while Pb2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Co2+ and Hg2+ ions were found to be inhibitory. In this study, we suggest the exo-polygalacturonase has potential role of the clarification of Orange, Apple, Grape, and Peach juices in the food industry.


This article aims to discuss efforts to develop the younger citizen's critical thinking skills through Civic Education in higher education. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method. This study collects data through observation, interviews, and documentation studies. The results show there are three processes for developing critical thinking skills through Civic Education in higher education. First, using a scientific learning approach, contextual, constructivism, and an open-ended approach. Second, the media developed is blended learning and e-learning strategy. Third, learning resources are online and offline.


The association between production shift and type of defect was assessed using chi-square analysis. 2 Here,  2 (df = 6, N = 309) = 19.2, p < 0.05. Therefore the null hypothesis that there is no association is rejected, and it is concluded that an association exists between shift and type of defect. 1 This finding begs two questions: (1) what, exactly, is the structure of the association that exists between production shift and type of defect, and (2) what is the strength of this association? Disentangling this omnibus effect and assessing effect size using chi-square in this example is challenging: intrigued readers are encouraged to decipher the finding. 4-6


India's large power-sector, spread over its 29 States and, until lately, comprising mostly government-owned utilities, has been going through a long and tortuous process of reforms and restructuring, which I M Sahai says may hold many lessons for other developing countries with a similar energy structure.


Inthis paper, we present ayawstability control systemofa steer-by-wire vehicle thatutilizes steering tostabilize thevehicle. Byusing atwotrack linearized vehicle modelasa reference, a PID control system wasdesigned withroadwheelsteer angle ascontrol input. Simulation results showthat theproposed controller performed reasonably well.


Chinese characters is the carrier of Chinese culture. With the appearance of Chinese characters came the literacy education. Literacy education has walked together with along the road of Chinese civilization. Since Chinese belongs to the surface-meaning literacy system, it抯 difficult to learn, write, recognize and remember. Therefore, how to make young children familiarize, master and apply Chinese characters has been constantly probed into. Up to now there are about twenty or thirty influential literacy methods, of which several typical, influential and effective methods have been introduced, compared and analyzed.


(Essl et al. 2003), we intro-duced the theory of banded waveguides, showingthe advantages of this synthesis technique that al-lows efficient simulation of highly inharmonic vi-brating structures. In this article, we provide anoverview of different musical instruments thathave been modeled efficiently using banded wave-guides. Additional detail can be found in Cook(2002); Essl and Cook (1999); Essl and Cook (2000);Essl (2002); Kapur et al. (2002); Serafin et al. (2002);and Serafin, Wilkerson, and Smith (2002). Links tosoftware implementations of these models avail-able online can be found in the conclusion of thisarticle.First, we discuss a banded-waveguide model ofbar percussion instruments followed by a model ofa musical saw. Next, we show how to use bandedwaveguides to model bowed glasses and bowls, andwe conclude by presenting models of a Tabla and abowed cymbal.


Nurses encounter many different populations of people every day and they must know how to treat them. Adopted children are a population that nurses encounter and there are disagreements concerning whether they are at an increased risk for developing behavioral problems as compared to biological children. It is also debated whether genetics or environment plays a more prominent role in childhood development. Most studies conclude that adopted children are at an increased risk for more behavioral problems due to the unique struggles and challenges they must overcome with genetics playing a bigger role than environment. Nurses can use this information to treat adopted children and their families more efficiently.


In the world of information and electronic data sharing, the need for security is increasing. The business world is increasingly interested in cybersecurity. It is a given that technology is evolving at a very fast pace and this makes it harder for people to adapt to it. The shipping industry is a part of the business world that is at risk every day and is a global concern. IMO, by adopting regulations, aims to provide high security in the maritime cyberspace. The shipping companies also follow the guidelines of BIMCO that have been approved by the IMO and are covered by the ISM code and insurance. On the other hand, classification societies help companies to properly apply procedures and perform penetration tests on their systems. That is, they play an advisory role. Finally, the purpose of the present work is to answer specific questions that focus on Greek shipping. The questions relate to the procedures and regulations applied by companies, what factors they use to strengthen their systems, and finally how to obtain insurance in the event of an attack.


While the methods for people counting based on moving interest points have been shown good performance, the problem related to count static or temporarily stopped people remains particularly challenging. This paper presents a novel method for people counting which is considering moving and stationary people. The proposed method first separates the moving and static points by the motion information. Then, the temporarily static points of stationary people classified by analyzing the texture information of the points between the current and the eigenbackground image. Finally, we estimate the number of people using the moving and the temporarily static points. The experimental results show that the proposed method can identify the static points related to people correctly. Additionally, the results confirm that the proposed method reduces the estimation error in the sequences containing the many temporarily static people.


This study aims to determine the effect of boiling duration variations and  packaging types on physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics of Anjasmoro soybean tempeh. This study used a Completely Randomized Design with two factors, namely the factor of the initial boiling duration of soybeans (20, 30 and 40 minutes) and packaging types (PP plastic and kepok banana leaves). The results showed the interaction of two treatment variations were not significantly different at the level of 5% on physicochemical characteristics (water content and protein), but significantly different levels of Anjasmoro soybean tempeh. In general, the physicochemical characteristics of tempe have fulfilled the quality requirements of soybean tempeh (SNI 3144: 2015). Based on the results of organoleptic testing of tempeh, the interaction of two treatment variations was significantly different at the 5% level of the organoleptic characteristics of the color, aroma, and characteristics of overall fresh Anjasmoro soybean tempeh, but not significantly different in texture attributes. Whereas in the fried tempeh showed results that were not significantly different in organoleptic parameters of color, aroma, texture and overall, b ut it is significantly different from the taste attribute.


The present invention relates to a semiconductor test pad used to inspect a semiconductor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a semiconductor test pad having metallic sheets stacked using an adhesive and a method of fabricating the same, in which a primary sheet is fabricated by attaching a film to a metallic sheet, the metallic sheet is etched and stacked, and the resultant structure is vertically cut, thereby fabricating the semiconductor test pad. In addition, the method includes: a sheet fabricating step of fabricating a primary sheet by attaching an insulating film to a conductive metal sheet; an etching step of fabricating a secondary sheet in which the metallic sheet of the primary sheet is etched to form a plurality of lines, and conductors on the lines are separated from each other by a predetermined distance; a stacking step of stacking a plurality of secondary sheets to fabricate one stack; and a cutting step of vertically cutting the stack at a predetermined thickness.


ABSTRACT This contribution analyses the discursive strategies exercised by Russia's state-appointed Islamic authorities. It draws on a linguistic corpus that consists of speeches and sermons by Mufti Ravil' Gainutdin, the head of a major Muslim Spiritual Directorate in Moscow. A multi-levelled analysis shows that the mufti's lexical and rhetorical choices correspond to the discourse of the Russian Orthodox Church elites. This affinity is a discursive strategy that allows Gainutdin to position himself as the authoritative leader of Russia's Islamic community and to construct Islam as Russia's 'familiar' and 'traditional' religion.


Zakat and tax is a subsystem that is very important in supporting the national economy . In Islam zakat is an important element and must be implemented as contained in the fourth pillar of Islam .
While taxes are the obligations imposed on the taxpayer , which must be paid to the State in accordance with the provisions. Management of zakat as a deduction from taxable income in Badan Amil Zakat Nasional ( BAZNAS ) Karanganyar be one important element that is capable of being a forum for people who want to pay the zakat and taxable income that aims to help governments Karanganya district in the welfare of its citizens . Based on Government Regulation No.60 of 2010 on Zakat For Income Reduction mechanism on charity as a deduction from taxable income.

Keywords : Management of zakat , zakat deduction mechanism taxable income


Objective To investigate the relationship of serum homocysteine(Hcy) with collagen Ⅳ(ⅣC) and serum cystatin C(CysC) in patient with diabetic nephropathy(DN).MethodsOne hundred and fifty patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were equally divided into three groups of A(normal albuminuria),B(microalbuminuria) and C(clinical proteinuria).Fifty healthy people were taken as the controls(group D).Serum levels of Hcy,ⅣC and CysC were measured using ELISA method,radioimmunoassay and particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay,respectively.The relationship of serum Hcy with ⅣC and CysC were analyzed.Results Serum levels of Hcy,ⅣC and CysC in groups of A,B and C were significantly higher than those in group D(P0.01),which in groups of B and C were significantly higher than those in group A(P0.01).Serum level of Hcy was positively correlated with that of ⅣC and CysC(r1=0.58,r2=0.68,P0.05).Conclusion High level of serum Hcy results in an increase of serum ⅣC and CysC,which may play an important role in the occurrence and development of DN.


The scope of the phenomenological notion of the world in the thought of JL Po/o.Since Husserl introduced the world of life, this concept has received several inflexions. It is the authors aim to examine the fecundity which L. Polo uses the notion of the world in moving from the cognitive operation to the personal subject. For the fulfillment of such a step. This paper takes into account the duality of presence and beyond presence in the referent to the world.


This paper outlines the parallel implementation of a newly developed multibody system dynamics formulation. The methodology provides the means for the dynamic simulation to be parallelized temporally as well as spatially which will allow better exploitation of anticipated massively parallel computing resources. This will have three advantages: First, the system of equations may now be coarse grain parallelized to a far greater degree allowing an increased number of processors to be effectively utilized. Secondly, this will significantly reduce the fraction of serial operations and thus should increase speedup (reduced turn-around). Finally, the method allows temporal scale of each variable to be adjusted independently and as such offer considerable advantage for the efficient and accurate modeling and simulation of multiscale behaviors. These gains can be accomplished by discretizing a special form of the equations of motion in both temporal and spatial domains. Examples are provided to clarify the application of this scheme with particular attention on time domain parallelization.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Copper nanoparticle (Cu-NP) synthesis has been gaining attention due to its property and applicability. The main objective of the work is to synthesize stable Cu-NP through green synthesis. This work demonstrates the synthesis of Cu-NP by the addition of the acidic chitosan solution to CuSO4 solution with constant stirring at 70°C for 12 h. The addition of chitosan aids the stable formation of nanoparticle. The formation of nanoparticle was observed by the peak at 536 nm using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The interaction between the chitosan and the synthesized nanoparticles was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. The average size of the nanoparticle as determined by zetasizer was about 88.21 nm, while the zeta potential was -29.0 mV. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis indicated the spherical size with a size ranging between 20-30 nm. The Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis showed a homogenous copper-rich composition of metal nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the presence of copper nanoparticle with crystalline nature. The synthesised Cu-chitosan nanoparticle exhibited antibacterial activity against gram negative as well as gram positive bacteria. However, the activity was more against gram negative bacteria which may be due to the difference in cell wall composition.


Gaze saccades –rapid shifts of the eyes and head toward a goal— have provided fundamental insights into the neural control of movement. For example, it has been shown that the superior colliculus (SC) transforms a visual target (T) code to future gaze (G) location commands after a memory delay. However, this transformation has not been observed in 'reactive' saccades made directly to a stimulus, so its contribution to normal gaze behavior is unclear. Here, we tested this using a quantitative measure of the spatial continuum between T and G coding based on variable gaze errors. We demonstrate that a rapid T-G transformation occurs between SC visual and motor responses during reactive saccades, even within visuomotor cells, with a continuous spatiotemporal shift in coding occurring in cell types (visual, visuomotor, motor). We further show that the primary determinant of this spatial code was not the intrinsic visual-motor index of different cells or populations, but rather the timing of the response in all cells. These results suggest that the SC provides a rapid spatiotemporal transformation for normal gaze saccades, that its motor responses contribute to variable gaze errors, and that those errors arise from a noisy spatiotemporal transformation involving all SC neurons. Significance Statement Oculomotor studies have demonstrated visuomotor transformations in structures like the superior colliculus with the use of trained behavioral manipulations, like the memory delay and antisaccades tasks, but it is not known how this happens during normal saccades. Here, using a spatiotemporal model fitting method based on endogenous gaze errors in 'reactive' gaze saccades, we show that the superior colliculus provides a rapid spatiotemporal transformation from target to gaze coding that involves visual, visuomotor, and motor neurons. This technique demonstrates that SC spatial codes are not fixed, and may provide a quantitative biomarker for assessing the health of sensorimotor transformations.


We present a new spherical ESPRIT algorithm, being a closed-form algorithm for use in conjunction with spherical arrays that provides automatically paired source azimuth and elevation estimates. It is a numerically efficient 2D angle-of-arrival estimation algorithm which does not rely on extensive spectral searches or iterative solutions to multi-dimensional optimization problems. The spherical ESPRIT is based on the spherical phase mode excitation principle, enabling us to exploit the spherical symmetry of the antenna array by relying on a recursive relationship between spherical harmonics.


NIKI DRUPADITYA GUSTI. Spatial Distribution of Chlorophyl-a, Primary Production, and TSS in Jakarta Bay using Landsat-ETM Satellite Images In 2002 2011. Supervised by VINCENTIUS P. SIREGAR and ALAN F. KOROPITAN. Measurements of chlorophyl-a, primary production, and TSS concentration using Landsat-ETM images during the period of 2002 – 2011 particularly for southeast monsoon (dry season) have been used in order to study the dynamics of those parameters in Jakarta Bay. Chlorophyl-a and primary distributions in Jakarta Bay show higher concentration in the coastal water than open water, meanwhile TSS concentration in Jakarta Bay show a fluctuative value. On the other hand, temporal analysis produces distribution trend of the chlorophyl-a towards out of the Jakarta Bay. Distributions of primary production tend to stay in the coastal of Jakarta Bay with increased value of spreading. While the distributions trend of TSS tend to varies. In general, the distribution patterns of chlorophyl-a and primary productions are similar, but they are different with TSS distributions. Overall, the changing parameters are influenced by human activities (anthropogenic) in Jakarta Metropolitan Area.


SUMMARY Cardiac tamponade that occurslate after cardiac surgery(7days) isrelatively uncommon but potentially fatal. We analyzed itsincidence, clinical courseandrelationship tothepostpericardiotomy syndromein1290consecutive adult patients whosurvived surgery.Criteria fordiagnosis ofcardiac tamponade were(1)elevated jugular venouspressure,(2)hypotension ordecreased cardiac index, (3)characteristic hemodynamics atcardiac catheterization, and(4)echocardiographic evidence ofpericardial effusion. Tenofthe1290patients (0.8%) developed cardiac tamponade. Surgery was forcongenital heart disease in five patients, valvular heart disease intwopatients, andcoronaryartery disease inthree patients. Theonsetof hemodynamic compromise ranged from15-180 dayspostoperatively (mean49days). Allpatients hadechocardiographic evidence ofpericardial fluid, eight hada pericardial friction rubatthetimeofcardiac tamponade, nine hadpericardial pain, andall wereconsidered tohave apostpericardiotomy syndrome. Onepatient was receiving coumadin andtwopatients were receiving aspirin before thediagnosis ofcardiac tamponade. Ninepatients underwent pericardiocentesis (0.5-1 1offluid). There werenodeaths inthe group.Thesyndrome resolved inninepatients withconservative medical therapy andone patient required pericardial stripping for recurrent cardiac tamponade. Inthis study, cardiac tamponade occurred in0.8%ofpatients whosurvived cardiac surgery;cardiac tamponade occurred inpatients without prior anticoagulation, inmarkedcontrast topreviously reported cases; pericardiocentesis


A reaction of the pulmonary and bronchial vessels in the dynamics of hypovolemia of the lesser circulation has been studied in an experiment on rats. It has been established that stenosing the caudal vena cava results in marked disturbances of the pulmonary hemodynamics.


This case study presents and analyses Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives and challenges from two districts in Ghana. The study is a qualitative case study that uses individual interviews through purposive selection from officials who are directly involved in the formulation and implementation of district development initiatives. The study found that the district does not have a LED policy in place but have initiated and implemented a number of programmes that are pro-LED. These programmes are in the area of agriculture, human resource development, financing and infrastructure development. However, the implementation of these initiatives has encountered many challenges such as inadequate human resource, finance, absence of LED policy and improper collaboration among local level actors. The paper provides the way forward for the initiation and implementation of LED at the local level.


This paper studies tariff-tax reforms in a calibrated two-region global New Keynesian model composed of a developing and an advanced region. In our baseline calibration, a revenue-neutral reform that lowers tariffs in developing countries can reduce domestic welfare. The reason is that the increase in developing countries welfare due to higher output is dominated by the welfare losses stemming from the deterioration of the terms of trade. On the other hand, the reform increases output and welfare in the advanced countries and in the world as a whole. The effects that we highlight have not been studied in previous contributions to the literature, which typically looks at tariff-tax reforms using a small open economy framework. Nominal rigidities have important implications for adjustment dynamics in our model. In the case of a "point-for-point" reform, for example, price stickiness implies that the international dynamics of output is reversed compared to a revenue neutral reform.


Zymography analysis of the extract from the the bowels of Monopterus albus suggested that three distinct proteases were present. One strip of those is identical with the strip of the purified enzyme by SDS-PAGE. So it can be forecasted that the identical protease can be gained from the compound of the guts. When EDTA and metal ions are added, Cu~ 2+ and Ba~ 2+ can activate the activity of the enzyme, EDTA, Mn~ 2+ and Pb~ 2+ can strongly inhibit the enzyme activity, the else metal ions such as Ca~ 2+ , Mg~ 2+ , K~+, Na~+ can't affect enzyme activity. The alkaline protease is an important ingredient of detergent. To study the cooperation of enzyme with surfactant, four surfactants including LAS, SDS, CHAPS, Triton X-100 were used in this study. The result suggested that the enzyme is stable in surfactant solution and four surfactants didn't inhibit the activity of it. The common thickening agents, such as Soil temperature80, Agar, Poly vinyl alcohol, Olive oil, etc as well as the chemistry reagents, also didn't inhibit the activity of the enzyme. The result indicated that the protease of Monopterus albus showed strong activity against casein and elastin-Congo Red(specific substrate for elastase), but no activity against N-Acetyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester monohydrate(specific substrate for chymotrypsin) and Benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester Hcl(specific substrate for trypsin). Taken all of application properties together, the protease of the Monopterus albus is a type of alkaline protease with a broad prospect.


Abstract : Previous Field demonstrations conducted by the U.S. Army Environmental Center (USAEC)have shown that composting can he an effective bioremediation technology for explosives - contaminated soils. Finished compost exhibits extensive reductions in extractable explosives as well as in toxicity compared to the siting materials. USAEC has now conducted testing to evaluate potential long-term changes in compost characteristics, such as my result following redisposal of finished compost. Finished compost form a previous field demonstration was analyzed for extractable explosives, leachable explosives and TNT intermediates (wing USEPA's Multiple Extraction Procedure), and extractable nitratelnitrite. Low levels of extractable explosives were observed in resampled compost consistent with samples from the end of the compost operation. Extractable explosives in the Multiple Extraction Procedure generally declined with successive extractions. As would he expected for organic compost material, detectable nitrate/nitrite concentrations were present in all samples.


We document the magnitude and determinants of institutional shareholder crossholdings. Cross-holdings are created when a shareholder of one firm holds shares in other firms as well. We find that institutional cross-holdings have risen rapidly over the last twenty years. Cross-holdings are higher the more alike two firms are on a number of dimensions, such as size and performance, suggesting that institutional investing screens result in common holdings in similar firms. Further, we examine the influence of these cross-holdings on bidder managers' selection of acquisition targets. Some institutional investors of the bidder have large crossholdings in the target in an average acquisition, and there is a significant number of deals in which a majority of bidder institutions does. There is strong evidence that bidder managers consider their shareholders' cross-holdings when choosing targets. We conclude that shareholder cross-holdings are sizeable and, at least in the case of acquisitions, affect managerial decisions.


The University of Hong Kong began its ETD program in 2000 after convincing the HKU Senate of the merits of the initiative. We have received 1,000+ born digital theses. Through a series of fortuitous events, all retrospective print theses will soon be digitized. This has ramifications for inter-library loan, and physical shelving. Along the way we learned several strategies for dealing with copyright issues, and access. We have stopped our abstract submission to UMI, and now rely on OAIster, Yahoo, Google, and others to provide information discovery & retrieval to potential users.


The status of identical constituent compounds (ICCs) (e.g. Kunstler-Kunstler, 'artist-artist') is discussed controversially in the morphological literature on German. In this paper, it is claimed that ICC formation is a productive word formation pattern in German. In the first part of the paper, I investigate the formal, semantic and pragmatic properties of ICCs in German. Based on this description, I discuss in more detail two conflicting claims about their meaning constitution: the 'prototype reading claim' and the 'context-dependency claim'. I argue that ICCs do not behave differently, in principle, from canonical N+N compounds with respect to context-dependency. Based on a discussion of selected theoretical models of nominal compounds, an approach is sketched that takes into account not only semantic and contextual, but also stored conceptual and experiential knowledge as main sources of knowledge in ICC interpretation. In the second part of the paper, the results of a pilot experimental study are pre...


PURPOSE: To provide a recording carrier having a clock structural body of a frequency 2f 0 without interfering with an information signal by providing a first band filter extracting a first frequency signal from a detector output. CONSTITUTION: This device is provided with a rotary disk 1 and a laser 15, and projects the beam 16 of the laser on a disk 1 through a translucent mirror 17 and a focusing optical system 18. The reflected beam 60 is detected using a detector 27 such as e.g. a photodiode to be converted to an electric signal, and the component of the frequency f 0 or 2f 0 is pulled out. This component is mainly caused by the clock modulation structural body formed on the track, and the signal is supplied to a phase lock loop 29, and a clock signal is obtained on an output terminal 31. The data are recorded so that the information is supplied through an input terminal 26, and the laser 15 itself is modulated by a write-in modulation circuit 25 synchronized with the clock signal occurring on the output terminal 31. COPYRIGHT: (C)1989,JPO


A grasp of the life-cycles of large-scale structures is critical to understanding the Universe. This can be accomplished through the study of poor clusters-- that is, younger clusters that are likely evolving to another state. The selected clusters are significant in that they are poor but also possess a type-cD galaxy. This brighter central galaxy suggests that these clusters may be dynamically evolved and are potential candidates for fossil groups. In order to more fully understand the structure and behavior of poor galaxy clusters, 12 clusters were selected and analyzed. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Chandra X-Ray Archive, and the VLA FIRST Survey, we present x-ray profiles and radio observations of these 12 galaxy clusters.Â


In this paper, the Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) problem - vortex induced vibration of a circular cylinder are studied using a numerical method. An accurate Harten Lax and van Leer with contact for artificial compressibility (HLLC-AC) Riemann solver have been used for flow computation. The Riemann solver is modified to incorporate arbitrarily Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation in order to take care of mesh movement in the computation, where radial basis function is used for dynamically moving the mesh. Higher order accuracy over unstructured meshes is achieved using quadratic solution reconstruction based on solution dependent weighted least squares (SDWLS). Two flow scenario of 1 Degree of Freedom (DOF) oscillation cases: isothermal and with heat transfer are presented here. The results obtained by the present method are compared with the literature.


The legitimacy of international trade rule making and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been subjects of increasing debate. Non governmental organizations, in particular, have criticized the lack of democratic accountability and thus the legitimacy of trade policymak ing. This effort has included the development of transnational cam paigns and networks, facilitated by information and communications technologies, to shed light on the trade rule-making process. At the same time, transparency has become the minimal standard for account ability in both the public and private sector. We review the WTO's mod est improvements in external transparency in response to these pressures. Drawing on the experiences of a number of WTO members that have responded to critics of their trade policymaking processes by a lim ited increase in transparency, we conclude that similar efforts at the WTO will be an insufficient response to critics and fall short of what is needed to seriously address legitimacy questions. Keywords: World Trade Organization, legitimacy, transparency, information technology, trade policy.


As the number of vehicles increases, the number of transport accidents in developing countries increases. Accidents are the second cause of death in Ghana after malaria. Pedestrian accidents remain the main problem in Ghana, as they represent the largest percentage of deaths in traffic accidents. The death rate among pedestrians was 3 times higher than among vehicle users. Insufficient lighting of roads and lack of infrastructure for pedestrians are the cause of an increased number of fatalities among pedestrians. Increasing the visibility of pedestrians on the road and increasing the emphasis on education in the field of road safety could reduce the number of road accidents involving pedestrians.


Abstract 7,7′-Dihydroxy-8,8′-biquinolyl was converted to the title phosphine in four-steps via Mitsunobu monoetherification, trifylation, phosphination, and phosphine oxide reduction (63% overall yield). Enantiomerically pure phosphine was combined with Pd2dba3 and investigated for the synthesis of axially chiral biaryl compounds from Ar1Br and Ar2B(OH)2 in the presence of K3PO4 in toluene solvent (6 examples, 4–97% yield, 4–74% ee). The analogous carbocyclic ligand 2-(diphenylphosphino)-2′-methoxy-1,1′-binaphthyl (MOP) was studied for comparative purposes and found to be effective for the synthesis of hindered 2,2′-disubstituted 1,1′-binaphthyls (78–83% yield, 20–38% ee).


In this article,the writer uses probability to analyze hitting a tender in making a tender from mathematical angle,and sets up relevant mathematical model,and uses VB Language to realize the model.It is easily operated,and it is useful for the people who call for a tender or make a tender.


The family Asteraceae (the daisy family) is probably the largest plant family in the world. It is cosmopolitan in distribution and is economically important as many members are used for food, medicinal purposes, grazing for stock, or ornamentals, while some are troublesome weeds or poisonous to animals. The 'flower 'is actually a collection of flowers grouped together to form a capitulum.


La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 precursor was synthesized via a hydrothermal method with additive of CTAB in an autoclave at 180℃ for 9h.La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 nanoparticles assembled nanowires were obtained La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 precursor at 700℃ for 6h.The morphology,size and structure were characterized by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.The formation and growth mechanism of La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 nanoparticles assembled nanowires was discussed.The results reveal that La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 nanowires were assembled by 20 nm nanoparticles,which were several microns to tens of microns in length and 100 to 150 nm in diameter.The materials experienced a complicated process during the phase transformation.CTAB may be served as a growth controller and an agglomeration inhibitor to control the nanowires grow along the axial direction.


Wire cut electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is one of the non-traditional machining processes, based on thermo electric energy between the work piece and an electrode. In this process material removal occur electro thermally by a series of successive discrete discharges between electrode and the work piece. In the present work nine experiments were conducted on the Monel K400 material by using brass as tool material and distilled water as dielectric fluid. The objective of the present work is to optimize the process parameters of WEDM such as Pulse on time (Ton), Peak current (IP) and Wire tension (WT) on Material removal rate (MRR). L9 orthogonal array is constructed in designing the experiment and with the help of Taguchi method; results are analyzed by using Minitab software to optimize the process parameters. From the study it is found that the optimum value of MRR is 4.9656 mm 3 /min at the following process parameters: Ton = 115 μs, IP = 200 A, WT = 5 kgf. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) also indicates that Pulse on time has highest contribution (91%) following peak current (5.5%) and wire tension has the least contribution (3.5%) on MRR. Therefore it is conspicuous from the study that dominating parameter is pulse on time and less important parameter is wire tension.


We present a method to form a spacer-confined cavity to enable the deeper cavity for performance improvement while keeping the lateral width of epitaxial silicon doped with phosphorous (SiP EPI) from creating an EPI bridging issue. An extra non-selective etch step is introduced to leave the sidewall spacer but etch away the Si fin. The SiP EPI is confined between the sidewall spacer for EPI lateral width control. In this work, TCAD simulation shows that the effective gate length (Leff) near the bottom of the fin decreases when cavity depth increases. The deeper junction provides another performance boost on top of the performance improvement from the fin height increase. In addition, the spacer-confined cavity demonstrates a 6% device performance improvement with comparable drain-induced-barrier-lowering at +8 nm cavity depth. The device performance starts saturation when the cavity depth extends beyond +15 nm. The spacer-confined cavity offers a solution to increase cavity depth without suffering from the EPI bridging issue for advance finFET technology.


The Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (New South Wales) was enacted after considerable Parliamentary debate. The statute, which contains provisions having the potential to reduce traditional freedoms, is premised upon the need to tackle the pressing problem of public sector corruption in an innovative manner.


The present invention particularly provides methods and kits based on cardiac troponin autoantibody assay give an indication of heart disease, such as are used with cardiac troponin assays and / or alone myocarditis, cardiomyopathy and / or ischemic heart disease to. Assay methods of the present invention is particularly, can be used to identify cardiac disease or at risk of a subject is a blood relative of the target or an autoimmune disease patient with an autoimmune disease. The present invention in certain embodiments may also subjects of some or at risk of heart disease provide a way to determine obtain candidates for immunosuppressive therapy or immunoabsorption therapy. The present invention also provides kits useful and kit components to carry out the method of the present invention.


Public sector financial health coupled with good governance is an indispensable ingredient of the growth route of any particular nation. The financial health antecedents in the public sector include under-spending of capital budgets, going concern and debt management. The study seeks out to scrutinize governance and financial health in an emerging country's public sector. The study has been directed by the two theories namely, Agency theory and Stewardship theory. Governance hassles may take place in relation with numerous principal-agent affairs as well as stewardship matters. This study is centred on an interpretative philosophy which observed evocative and emblematic content of qualitative data from 24 General Reports on The Provincial Audit Outcomes for the three periods (2012-2013; 20132014 and 2014-2015). The findings suggested that most of the provinces have shown a lapsed or little progress in the sufficient monitoring and oversight of the cash flow, capital expenditure and debt management processes at a number of agencies and departments. This resulted in almost all the monies payable to the provinces not collected, capital projects not appropriately managed, suppliers not paid on time, and cash shortfalls to bring on the service delivery targets. The study concludes most of the provinces have revealed that there are no improvements towards minimization of financial risk indicators. It is recommended that public sector agencies leadership must continue to monitor the implementation of revenue collection, effective budget and cash-flow management to ensure that funds are utilized for their projected purposes and the entire monies due are recovered. This will add to improved fiscal health, going concern and service delivery in the public sector.


A new spiroheterocyclic system spiro[9H-acridine-9,3′-[3H]indol]-2′(1′H)-one and related compounds have been prepared by the reaction of spiro[3H-indole-3,9′-[9H]xanthen]-2(1H)-ones with aromatic amine or ammonium acetate. The latter were prepared by heating fluorinated indole-2,3-diones with m-/p-cresols or α-naphthol in the presence of sulphuric acid at 230-240°. The synthesized compounds have been characterized on the basis of their elemental analyses, ir, nmr (1H, 13C, 19F) and mass spectral data.


FIRST, the Fibered Imager foR a Single Telescope instrument, is an ultra-high angular resolution spectro-imager, able to deliver calibrated images and measurements beyond the telescope diffraction limit, a regime that is out of reach for conventional AO imaging. FIRST achieves sensitivity and accuracy by coupling the full telescope to an array of single mode fibers. Interferometric fringes are spectrally dispersed and imaged on an EMCCD. An 18-Fiber FIRST setup is currently installed on the Subaru Coronographic Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument at Subaru telescope. It is being exploited for binary star system study. In the late 2020 it will be upgraded with delay lines and an active LiNb03 photonic beam-combining chip allowing phase modulation to nanometer accuracy at MHz. On-sky results at Subaru Telescope have demonstrated that, thanks to the ExAO system stabilizing the visible light wavefront, FIRST can acquire long exposure and operate on significantly fainter sources than previously possible. A similar approach on a larger telescope would therefore offer unique scientific opportunities for galactic (stellar physics, close companions) and extragalactic observations at ultra-high angular resolution. We also discuss potential design variations for nulling and high contrast imaging.


The paper tries to study the teaching mode for speciality Course of Environmental Engineering in Higher Education.Based on the characteristics and teaching target of Environmental Engineering,the paper puts forward the teaching mode of Blackboard combined CAI and some opinions or new ideas about selection of teaching content,design of courseware,change of two modes,optimization of teaching method etc..


Glass transition has similarity to the second-order phase transition in temperature dependent changes in entropy, non-Arrhenius viscosity, and heat capacity of glass forming materials. However, it has primarily been considered to be not phase transition. Recent single-molecule spectroscopy developments prompted re-investigating glass transition at the nanometer scale probing resolution, showing that glass transition includes phenomena similar to the second-order phase transition. They are characterized by microscopic collective polymer motion and discontinuous changes in temperature dependent relaxation times, the latter of which resembles the critical slowing down of second-order phase transitions, within a temperature window above the polymer calorimetric glass transition temperature. Simultaneous collective motion and critical slowing down occurrences disclose that the second-order phase transition hides behind polymer glass transition.


With the coming of information modernization ,enterprises will quickly enter the network times without dispute. Then how to make the enterprise realize the information modernization becomes the global problem.


Modern tax systems were largely created around the period of World War II when the countries economies were largely closed. In recent decades, however, the economies of countries have become much more open. Now goods, services, capital, and persons can cross frontiers much more easily and many enterprises operate in several countries. This change has important consequences for tax systems. Openness has made taxation a tool that some countries can use forcompetitiveness advantages. While some countries may now be able to export part of their tax burden, othersmay encounter greater difficulties to maintain their current tax revenue. The paper discusses some of theseaspects and their consequences.


The present study investigates the effect of light crude oil (LCO) on geotechnical properties of soil. The soil samples were obtained from site of Tarjan refineries and classified as silty clay of low plasticity (CL) and silty sand of nonplasticity. The soil samples are artificially contaminated with three percentages of crude oil, from 0%, 6% and 12 % in relative to the dry weight of soil. The soil samples were mixed by hands with crude oil and left for two weeks in order to allow chemical reactions between soil particles and crude oil. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on both cleanand artificially contaminated soil samples to measure the effects of crude oil on the compaction, direct shear strength and CBR testing results. The results indicated that the maximum dry density, the optimum moisture content and California bearing ratio decreased as the percent of contamination increased.


In this paper we study the maximally non-Hamiltonian graphs (MNH graphs), that is, the graphs whose property to be non-Hamiltonian ceases to exist as soon as an edge is added. We give rules how to construct MNH graphs which make it possible, starting from MNH graphs with some properties, to get MNH graphs of greater order.


The corrosion inhibitory effect of Hemigraphis colorata (HC) leaves extract on mild steel in 1M HCl was investigated using mass loss measurements, ultraviolet-visible(UV) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Tafel polarization techniques at the temperature range of 303K-323K. The optimum inhibition efficiency of HC extract at 303K, 313K, and 323K was found to be 90.2%,92.77%, and 93.73%, respectively, for the maximum concentration of the extract. This suggests that inhibition efficiency was found to increase with increasing concentration of the leaves extract at all the temperatures and increasing solution temperature. The adsorption process complied with a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Polarization measurements suggest a mixed mode of corrosion inhibition. The activation energy and other thermodynamic parameters were calculated for the process of inhibition. The adsorbed invisible layer was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, which revealed better morphology of mild steel in extract presence. Using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, the effect of HC extract on the interfacial behavior of mild steel surface was analyzed.


Geographic variation in the life histories of terrestrial vertebrate ectotherms may, in part, be explained by geographic variation in energy acquisition and patterns of energy allocation. Comparative study of ecological energy budgets may therefore indicate whether populations differ because of differences in total acquired energy or because of differences in the proportional allocation of total acquired energy among maintenance, growth, and reproduction. I used the doubly labeled water method to measure field metabolic rates and water fluxes of mottled rock rattlesnakes (Crotalus lepidus) from two populations, Boquillas (B) and Grapevine Hills (G), in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Average daily field respiration (DFR) was significantly lower at site B than at site G. With DFR data, I constructed energy budgets to test the hypotheses that snakes from B were more food limited than snakes from G (and thus, had smaller total energy budgets) and that proportional allocation of energy among inactive metabolism, activity, and growth was different between these populations. If my DFR measurements are representative of true population values, then I estimate that snakes from site B have annual energy budgets that are approximately half the magnitude of the annual budgets of snakes from site G and that site B snakes appear to allocate a greater proportion of their total budget to inactive metabolic costs. Energy budgets constructed in this study aid in understanding lower growth rates and smaller adult body size exhibited by snakes from site B, relative to snakes from site G.


Sensitivity of sea surface temperature(SST) to wave energy factor α and Charnock parameter β is discussed using Mellor-Yamada 2.5 turbulence closure model in which wave breaking is considered.The upper-ocean temperature data in summer from OWS Station Papa is assimilated to estimate α and β via a variational approach optimally.It shows that the cost function reaches minimum when α=167 and β=4.1×105.Both monthly and daily SSTs at OWS Station Papa can be success-fully reconstructed with the optimal α and β,and the simulated temperature and depth of surface mixed layer are also consis-tent with the observation.The equation of turbulent kinetic energy is diagnosed utilizing the optimal parameters,from which the effect of wave breaking on the turbulent energy budget is revealed.


The simulation and process optimization for laser marking of submillimetre rasterizing 2D code on stainless steel are investigated. For 50CrVA stainless steel, the temperature field of material dur...


This study identified and categorised existing improvement models used in process improvement. Numerous improvement models have been built to aid in the selection of solutions to process improvement. In this study, the process improvement models derived from the literature review were summarised under the following categories: subjective, methodological, and combinational models. Each category was found to have its own strengths and weaknesses. To address the weaknesses, future trends for model development were proposed.


Objective.— To investigate by static posturography the occurrence of balance disorder in migraineurs without a history of vertigo during the interictal period.


This paper deals with the blow up properties of the positive solutions to the nonlocal degenerate semilinear parabolic equation ul-(x°xu) = ∫↑a0(u)dxin (0,a)×(0,T) under homogeneous Dirichlet conditions. The local existence and uniqueness of classical solution are established. Under appropriate hypotheses, the global existence and blow up in finite time of positive solutions are obtained. It is also proved that the blow up set is almost the whole domain.This differs from the local case. Furthermore, the blow up rate is precisely determined for thespecial case: f(u) u^p,p>1.


Rohingya ethnic persecution case became the focus of the international community, especially ASEAN. The persecution suffered by the Rohingyas included murder, rape and arson. This makes the ASEAN countries are expected to take concrete action in resolving this conflict. In carrying out the organizational functions, ASEAN countries collide with the principle of non-intervention adopted by ASEAN. This study aims to determine the profile and capacity of ASEAN in addressing the conflicts that occurred in Myanmar. This research uses compliance theory and international organization in understanding the attitude of ASEAN countries in following up the Rohingya ethnic persecution case. In dealing with the Rohingya crisis, ASEAN was unable to apply strict sanctions as it relates to the principle of non-intervention which turned out to be a form of resistance for ASEAN to be able to resolve the political and security issues strictly. This is what makes the problem vulnerable to recurrence. The result of this research shows that ASEAN put forward the peaceful road map and third party mediation in resolving conflict. In addressing the Rohingya crisis, ASEAN uses other measures and efforts of humanitarian diplomacy.


Samuel Munzele Maimbo is a Lead Financial Sector Specialist in the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Department (email@example.com) and Raquel Letelier is a Financial Analyst in the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Department (firstname.lastname@example.com). We thank María Soledad Martínez Pería, Stijn Claessens, participants of the June 2013 World Bank ECA region retreat, participants of the University of Hawaii seminar and participants of the 2014 FIRS conference for useful comments and suggestions. Abstract We investigate whether the credit contraction that followed the global financial crisis is due to high foreign ownership or high reliance on foreign finding. We apply panel vector autoregressions to quarterly data for 41 countries and find that domestic credit growth is highly sensitive to cross-border funding shocks around the world. However, high foreign ownership per se does not appear to increase the sensitivity of credit to foreign funding shocks. Rather, the sensitivity is higher in countries with high reliance on foreign funding and high loan-to-deposit ratios. These findings have important policy implications for many countries involved in cross-border funding.


During the operation and maintenance of a 300MW subcritical drum furnace in a power plant, the corrosion protection level was found to be poor, the deposition rate of water-cooled wall was very high. The deposition of water-cooled wall tube and economizer tube was analyzed by electron microscope and energy spectrum, the reason of high deposition rate of water-cooled wall was analyzed, and the corresponding countermeasures were put forward.


X-ray diffraction patterns of superconducting YBa2Cu3O(7-x) particles which have typical dimensions D of less than 5 microns and do not levitate in an inhomogeneous magnetic field at T less than Tc show marked evidence of particle alignment when powder specimens are subjected to a 0.5-T field at T less than Tc, but reveal random orientation for T greater than Tc. A majority of the particles align preferentially with their antiphase twin boundary planes and a-b planes along the applied field, but a minority align with their b axes along the field.


Objective To report different minimally invasive surgical approaches in the management of malignant glaucoma.Methods Retrospective analysis clinical data,operation methods,postoperative effects for 6 cases of malignant glaucoma.Results Six cases (6 eyes) of malignant glaucoma in phakic eyes were experienced minimally invasive surgery after invalid pharmacotherapy.The visual acuity was between LP-0.4,the intraocular pressure was between 23.0-60.0mmHg before surgery.Patients were followed up for 8-14 months.The visual acuity was between 0.25-1.0,the intraocular pressure was between 10.7-16.0mmHg after surgery.And anterior chamber was shaped to 2.11-4.60mm.Conclusions It is necessary to estimate illness course,clinical symptoms and sighs before surgery.And make plan for simple,safe,effective,personalized operation.The point is recognized that anterior vitrectomy combined with posterior capsulotomy is importance in the management of complex and stubborn cases.With sutureless incision,little surgery induced astigmatism,little corneal endothelium damage,safe in operation,10° angle deepen anterior chamber,the minimally invasive surgery such as C-MICS (1.8mm) combined with 25-gauge anterior vitrectomy is an ideal therapy for malignant glaucoma.

Key words:
Malignant glaucoma;  1.8mm coaxial micro-incision cataract surgery;  25-gauge anterior segment vitrectomy;  Minimally invasive


\ Encourage Jordanian–Syrian businesses and home-based businesses of Syrian refugees Establishing a business can alleviate tensions in the Jordanian labour market. The government of Jordan should relax the administrative barriers for Jordanian– Syrian joint ventures and abrogate restrictions for Syrians in access to finance. Small-scale home-based businesses for refugees should also be permitted.


RAND researchers assess the Air Force's response to 2013 direction from the Secretary of Defense to reduce headquarters spending by 20 percent; compare the Air Force's approach to making reductions with practices from literature and industry, focusing on organizational design, process improvement, consulting practices, and sound management practices; and identify opportunities for further Air Force headquarters reductions.


So much has been written about addiction, one can reasonably ask why we need another volume on the subject now. The pieces gathered here take up a number of current trends that make this exactly the right time to take a fresh look at addiction. These include: debates over the nosology of addiction as part of the revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); the expansion of addiction's meaning and spheres of control beyond alcohol and illicit substances; the rise of neuroscience; the increasing 'pharmaceuticalization' of everyday life and new pharmaceutical treatments for addiction; growing awareness about the intersection of the drug war and the mass incarceration of people of color; and new theoretical frameworks for understanding the role of addiction as a fundamental technique of social control. These trends are reshaping addiction in both new and not-so-new ways that warrant the interrogation this volume provides.


In recent years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed a variety of structural reforms to reduce the backlog of pending applications. These proposed reforms have included outsourcing patent examiners' search function to commercial vendors, limiting the number of claims examined in each application, and offering the options of deferred examination and accelerated examination. In 2006, the USPTO proposed a limit on the number of Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs) and "continuing" applications (which the USPTO defines as continuations, continuations-in-part, and divisional applications). What has been lacking in the discussion about these and other proposed reforms is an operations research framework. A quantitative model that can describe the existing system, and that can be adjusted to predict the effects of various functional changes, would provide much needed insight into the effectiveness of the proposed reform. The purpose of this article is to provide a first step in this direction. This article creates a model of the current patent system, using concepts taken from a sub-specialty of operations research known as queuing theory.


Supervised time-series classification garners widespread interest because of its applicability throughout a broad application domain including finance, astronomy, biosensors, and many others. In this work, we tackle this problem with hybrid quantum-classical machine learning, deducing pairwise temporal relationships between time-series instances using a time-series Hamiltonian kernel (TSHK). A TSHK is constructed with a sum of inner products generated by quantum states evolved using a parameterized time evolution operator. This sum is then optimally weighted using techniques derived from multiple kernel learning. Because we treat the kernel weighting step as a differentiable convex optimization problem, our method can be regarded as an end-to-end learnable hybrid quantum-classical-convex neural network, or QCC-net, whose output is a data set-generalized kernel function suitable for use in any kernelized machine learning technique such as the support vector machine (SVM). Using our TSHK as input to a SVM, we classify univariate and multivariate time-series using quantum circuit simulators and demonstrate the efficient parallel deployment of the algorithm to 127-qubit superconducting quantum processors using quantum multi-programming.


This study reports a 12‐year‐old girl who developed an anaphylactic reaction following snail ingestion during house dust mite (HDM) immunotherapy treatment. Radioallergosorbent (RAST) inhibition showed cross‐reactivity between the two allergens, leading to consideration of HDM as the sensitizing agent. Children undergoing HDM immunotherapy treatment should be aware of the potential risks of hypersensitivity reactions to invertebrate foods.


The Second and Third Circuits properly concluded that the FCC had strayed into uncharted waters when it changed its policy regarding fleeting expletives. Both courts sent a clear message that the Commission's rulemaking violated the standards that agencies must comply with when changing longstanding policy. Specifically, the FCC failed to give a reasoned analysis that did not reek of congressional and executive mandate without giving thought to the implications of such a change. There is much evidence that the Commission, especially during the tenure of Commissioner Powell, was pushed to implement a standard of decency that directly conflicted with constitutional mandates regarding freedom of speech. The courts' use of 706(2)(A) was particularly compelling because it showed the Commission that acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner would not be tolerated for independent agency action that is too influenced by outside forces. Both courts used the longstanding State Farm case, embodying the hard look doctrine that courts must take when looking at informal agency policymaking actions. This directly revealed that the FCC's proffered rationale for the change in policy was not connected in any meaningful manner to the drastic measure of changing a longstanding principle that was seeded in the Pacifica case three decades earlier. In doing so, both courts correctly reserved any decision on First Amendment grounds for the Supreme Court, where a decision in this area would be much more meaningful and would not leave the constitutional question in limbo while the case proceeded through the courts. The Bush Administration placed the courts in an unacceptable position by forcing the FCC into an untenable constitutional conundrum. Luckily, the Second and Third Circuits decided the fleeting expletives cases without pushing the First Amendment issue. The newly minted Obama Administration should now nudge the FCC to return to its pre-Bush Era policy regarding fleeting expletives.


Introduction
Whether there is an influence of the ABO blood system on SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknown.

Objective
To analyze if there is an association between the ABO system antigens and susceptibility to and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Material and methods
The frequency of ABO system antigens was compared in 73 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and 52 clinically healthy donors. Infection severity was assessed by comparing the frequency of antigens by disease severity and mortality.

Results
The risk of suffering from SARS-CoV-2 infection increases in subjects with A vs. non-A antigen (OR = 1.45; 95 % CI: 1.061-1.921). Blood phenotype O reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 0.686; 95 % CI: 0.522-0.903). No differences were found regarding disease severity. In critically ill patients, the risk of mortality increased in subjects with A vs. non-A antigen (OR = 3.34; 95 % CI: 1.417-8.159).

Conclusion
Blood group A is a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not for disease severity, although in critically ill patients it is a risk factor for mortality.


Using a mode-matching technique, the author theoretically analyzed propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves in a dielectric slab waveguide with a periodic slot array filled with a semiconductor illuminated with light that is twice the interval of the period of the slot array. The possibility is discussed that the frequency band in which Bragg interaction and the leaky waves occur in the waveguide can be changed by altering the period of the slot array using optically induced semiconductor plasma in the apertures.


Casting of pin fins at the trailing edge of the turbine blades often presents some difficulties due to tight dimensional tolerances, leaving the pin fins inclined after the casting process. This study is to experimentally examine the effects of such an imperfect manufacturing phenomena on the heat transfer and friction characteristics over pin-fin arrays with different pin inclinations. The test model is a staggered short (H/D = 1) pin-fin array with an inter-pin spacing of 2.5 times the pin-diameter (S/D = 2.5) in both longitudinal and transverse directions. Detailed local heat transfer coefficients on both array endwalls and pin elements are determined using the transient liquid crystal technique, as the inclined angle θ varies from 40° to 90° and the Reynolds number ranges from 7.0 × 103 and 1.3 × 104 . The measured data suggest that an increase in pin inclined angle relative to its normal orientation (90-degree) significantly reduces the level of heat transfer enhancement from the array. Such a reduction amounts to nearly 50% for the 40-degree case. The accompanied friction loss also decreases.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


Microblogging services such as Twitter have become an important means to share information. In this paper, we thoroughly analyze their potential for a key challenge in th e field of MIR, namely the elaboration of perceptually meaningful similarity measures. To this end, comprehensive evaluation experiments were conducted using Twitter posts gathered during a period of several months. We investigated 23,100 combinations of different term weighting strategies, normalization methods, index term sets, Twitter query schemes, and similarity measurement techniques , aiming at determining in which way they influence the similarity estimates' quality. Evaluation was performed on the task of similar artist retrieval. Two data sets were used: one of 224 well-known artists with a uniform genre distribution, the other consti tuting a collection of 3,000 artists extracted from last.fm andallmusic.com.


A 60-year-old man presented with a reversible acquired binocular vertical pendular nystagmus following brainstem hemorrhage. Other oculomotor signs consisted of bobbing, bilateral horizontal gaze palsies and skew deviation on down-gaze. A pontine lesion was detected by CT and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Nystagmus was illustrated by EOG recording.


Artificial intelligence and technological advancements are exceptionally influenced the entire society and mankind. In today's highly competitive global market, winning requires near perfect quality. Although most mature organizations operate their processes at very low defects per million opportunities, customers expect completely defect free products. All research works present different methodologies without showing clear guidelines or key issues for the development of intelligent completely defect free products for Business Intelligence. Artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic systems and Bayesian belief networks are AI techniques Information Extraction for Scheming Processes with Business Intelligence Improvement Using AI. Keyword: Artificial Intelligence, Business intelligence, fuzzy logic ,artificial neural networks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date of Submission: 24-09-2019 Date of acceptance: 12-10-2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Natural medicine has traditionally used medicinal plants to treat diabetes. However, the efficacy of most of these folk medicine plants has rarely been tested and validated using scientific methods. Sarcopoterium spinosum, an abundant plant in Israel, was suggested to have a beneficial effect on diabetes symptoms. In this study we determined the antidiabetic effect of an S. spinosum extract in vitro. Results: Treatment of L6 myotubes with an S. spinosum extract induced GSK3β phosphorylation, suggesting that the extract increases glycogen synthesis. In pancreatic β-cells, the S. spinosum extract increased basal insulin secretion, but reduced glucose/forskolin-induced insulin secretion. The extract also inhibited isoproterenol-induced lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, as determined by measuring the free fatty acids in the supernatant. Conclusion: The study shows that S. spinosum extract affects insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells, and has insulin-like effects on metabolic pathways in classic insulin-respo...


Change of editorship affords an opportunity both to restate and reformulate a journal's policy. Under Malcolm Johnson's long and outstanding editorship Ageing and Society has established itself as an international journal, one of the most genuinely international in the field of ageing studies. It has also demonstrated its multi-disciplinary character by publishing articles from a wide spectrum of academic disciplines and perspectives. Authors have been encouraged to write in ways which while remaining scholarly also allow their work to be read with profit by readers whose primary expertise may lie elsewhere. All those who have shared responsibility for the journal, its authors and readers, have much to thank Malcolm for. Gerontology has achieved widespread recognition as an important subject of enquiry and has grown considerably over the last twenty years. But it has succeeded in preserving from its pioneering days an appealing sense of coUegiality among contributors from very diverse backgrounds. This journal in particular has aimed to foster the study of ageing as a holistic study, where all participants should be expected to have some understanding of the work being carried out in adjacent fields. Only in this way can true interdisciplinary study begin. It has also attempted to bridge the divide between 'thinkers' and 'practitioners', providing a place for people to develop innovative and creative ideas about the experience of ageing itself, but also practical evaluation of society's response to the challenges of an ageing population. The journal will continue to build on these principles. It aims to be international, multi-disciplinary, scholarly, accessible and relevant. In all these ways, but especially perhaps for its insistence that published studies should be properly set in the context of previous work, and also for the encouragement it has given to new lines of enquiry, the journal bears the distinctive marks of its founding editor. In a venture as ambitious as this, however, it is not easy to achieve an ideal balance of material. All depends on the collaboration of people from different countries and backgrounds. The journal has demonstrated its international character from the very first issue. But the mix can be improved. In particular, the content of the journal has so far inadequately reflected the gerontological strengths of continental Europe. More, too, can be expected in the future from the fast-


This issue of Law, Medicine & Health Care on life ,or death choices, so skillfully p u t together by Alexander Capron and based on ASLM's conference last September chaired by Professor Capron and Joanne Lynn, grew ou t of the Supreme Court's decision in Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health.' At the time of the Supreme Court decision Nancy Cruzan was in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), a condition in which a person exhibits motor-reflexes but evinces no indications of significant cognitive function? Nancy Cruzan's biological existence was being sustained by the provision of technological feeding and hydration. Hospital employees refused, without court approval, to honor her parents' request t o withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration. Although Nancy Cruzan had confided in her close friends that she would not want to live should she face life as a "vegetable," the Missouri Supreme Court held that the family cannot assume the choice to abate treatment for an incompetent person in the absence of "clear and convincing" evidence of her wishes.


Inherent drawbacks (e.g., loose structures, dimensional instabilities, and poor mechanical performances) restrict the applications of fast-growing wood species. In this study, a thermal compression treatment was carried out to densify acetylated spruce wood. The aim of acetylation was to improve the plasticity and water resistance of spruce wood. The water absorption, set-recovery, surface hardness, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and microstructure of the resulting wood were analyzed. The results show that acetylation can improve the plasticity of wood and reduce the interaction between wood and water, significantly reducing the set recovery of the compressed wood. When the water immersion time reaches 168 h, the water absorption rate of wood is reduced by 37% after acetylation, and the densification can further reduce the water absorption (55% for AD-40 and 70% for AD-60). The hardness of the densified wood is significantly higher than that of control wood and increases with the increase of the compression ratio. The cell wall of acetylated wood is thicker than that of control wood, which could increase the compression density of the wood. As a result, the hardness and MOR of acetylated densified wood are remarkably higher than that of unacetylated densified wood. However, a high compression ratio (60%) could lead to structural damage and, thus, reduce the mechanical properties.


collective farms "where landless agricultural labour would be settled". These recommendations were not implemented, but again at the Nagpur session of the Congress in 1959, a resolution was passed at the instance of Jawaharlal Nehru recommending co-operative farming on a voluntary basis. What followed is comparatively recent history. There was tremendous opposition to this recommendation from vested inter ests, and in spite of the best efforts of Nehru, the recommendation was never implemented. Apart from a bare mention, however, of the Agrarian Reforms Committee, there is no discussion of it in Prof. Joshi's essays, nor any mention of the Congress Resolution of 1959. Much emphasis has been rightly placed by him on land reforms, but land reforms without a rural co-operative structure cannot take us very far. Perhaps this lacuna can be explained by the fact that Prof. Joshi was dealing with the sociology of rural society rather than with the mechanics of land reform. Nevertheless, it seems to me that reference to land reforms, specially to "peasant oriented land reforms" remains incomplete without a refer ence to the essential part that a co-operative movement has to play in these reforms, and indeed without defining what constitutes land reforms. With all the criticisms that can be advanced of the omissions and


Sand is one of life's pleasures, in one form or another. Whether it is wriggling our toes on the beach, making the perfect castle, or digging up mysterious objects in a tray, this is a timeless and staple resource.


With the growth of multimedia technology over the past few decades, the demand for digital information has increased dramatically. Digital images are often corrupted by noise during their acquisition or transmission. A number of different noises exists in the image processing system. These includes the Salt-and-Pepper noise, Gaussian noise and Speckle noise. In order to extract complete information from an image, it is essential that the images acquired be free of noise. Denoising of images, is thus, a very important aspect of image processing. For denoising images corrupted with these noises, a number of hybrid techniques have been presented in this book in a very lucid manner using various techniques and methods including Statistical methods, Wavelets and Wavelet Packets, Soft Computing methods and Total Variational Approach. The book would open the gates for further development of improved hybrid techniques for denoising images corrupted with one or more types of noise.


We study the ground-state properties of a system of dimers. Each dimer consists in a pair of equivalent charges at a fixed distance, immersed in a neutralizing homogeneous background. All charges interact pairwisely by Coulomb potential. The dimer centers form a two-dimensional rectangular lattice with the aspect ratio α ∈ [0, 1] and each dimer is allowed to rotate around its center. The previous numerical simulations, made for the more general Yukawa interaction, indicate that only two basic dimer configurations can appear: either all dimers are parallel or they have two different angle orientations within alternating (checkerboard) sublattices. As the dimer size increases, two second-order phase transitions, related to two kinds of the symmetry breaking in dimer's orientations, were reported. In this paper, we use a recent analytic method based on an expansion of the interaction energy in Misra functions which converges quickly and provides an analytic derivation of the critical behaviour. Our main result is that there exists a specific aspect ratio of the rectangular lattice α∗ = 0.714 106 840 000 71 . . . which divides the space of model's phases onto two distinct regions. If the lattice aspect ratio α > α∗, we recover both types of the second-order phase transitions and find that they are of meanfield type with the critical exponent β = 1/2. If 0.711 535 α < α∗, the phase transition associated with the discontinuity of dimer's angles on alternating sublattices becomes of first order. For α = α∗, the firstand second-order phase transitions meet at the tricritical point, characterized by the different critical index β = 1/4. Such phenomenon is known from literature about the Landau theory of one-component fields, but in our two-component version the scenario is more complicated: the component which is already in the symmetry-broken state at the tricritical point also interferes and exhibits unexpectedly the meanfield singular behaviour. I Travěnec and L Šamaj Tricriticality for dimeric Coulomb molecular crystals in ground state Printed in the UK 485001 JPHAC5 © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd 50 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.


Platinum's (Pt) poisoning effect on Cu-SSZ-13 and its regeneration were investigated. The Pt enhanced the parallel reactions, such as NH3 oxidation and NO oxidation reactions, which decreased the deNOx activities. In the temperature range below 330 °C, the deactivation of Cu-SSZ-13 by Pt poisoning was primarily caused by the overconsumption of NH3, due to the enhanced NH3-selective oxidation reaction, while the formation of NOx in NH3 oxidation and NO oxidation into NO2 further aggravated the degradation when the temperature was above 460 °C. The non-selective NH3 oxidation and non-selective NOx catalytic reduction reactions resulted in increased N2O formation over Pt-doped samples. The transformation of Pt0 into PtOx after hydrothermal aging recovered the deNOx activities of the Pt-poisoned samples.


Purpose: Men with azoospermia, markedly elevated serum follicle-stimulating hormone levels and testicular atrophy were previously considered irreversibly infertile. Thus, testicular biopsy in this patient population was considered unnecessary. However, presently men with even the most severe infertility disorders are potentially able to initiate a pregnancy with intracytoplasmic sperm injection provided sperm can be recovered in even relatively few numbers directly from the testicular tissue. For these reasons we sought to reevaluate the findlngs from testicular biopsies in these men in the era of advanced micromanipulation techniques. Materials and Methods: Chart review identified men with azoospermia, confirmed on a pelleted specimen, and a serum follicle-stimulating hormone level of 3 or more times normal. Mature sperm in the touch preparation cytology and testis biopsy specimen were confirmed. Results: A total of 57 men, most with testicular atrophy, underwent a testicular biopsy and in 17 (30%) mature sperm were identified. The most common diagnosis in these men was severe hypospermatogenesis. Men without sperm most commonly had a pure Sertoli-cell-only pattern. Conclusions: Men with azoospermia and testicular atrophy with significantly elevated folliclestimulating hormone levels should undergo testicular biopsy if in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection is an acceptable approach for the couple. Conventional teaching has been that men with azoospermia and serum follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations more than 2 to 3 times normal have severe testicular failure not amenable to any conventional therapy. Therefore, a diagnostic testicular biopsy has been considered unnecessary in these patients, particularly if testicular atrophy is present.13 However, these teachings were formulated before


E pidural postoperative analgesia is a popular technique that may improve patient comfort and outcome while reducing hospital costs (1,2). However, significant risks accompany the injection of local anesthetic into the epidural space, including unintentional subdural, subarachnoid, and intravenous (IV) drug injection. Despite years of use, controversy still surrounds the appropriate steps to ensure the safe initiation of epidural anesthesia.


The use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) has become an increasingly popular measure to counter maritime piracy. This article examines how two established maritime nations, Germany and Spain, have approached the regulation of maritime PMSCs. The article demonstrates that there are similarities but also significant differences between the two regulatory systems and concludes that the governance frameworks that emerged are tailored to the needs of each state. While Germany underwent a long process to establish a sophisticated licensing scheme specifically designed for maritime PMSCs, Spain swiftly applied the framework that governs PMSCs active on land to those companies operating at sea.


This paper presents a low-cost high-accuracy method for the prediction of the air pollutant Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5). The PM2.5 pollutant is very harmful to humans, animals, and vegetation, and its index depends on many factors. As the existing PM2.5 monitoring methods are mostly expensive, and PM2.5 values are usually not measured at every meteorological station, the PM2.5 prediction is of great importance. The cost-effective and efficient method proposed in this paper is based on a Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (MLP-ANN). The PM2.5 level is predicted using the meteorological factors that are easy to measure. The prediction accuracy has been tested at two locations: one at which the training data were collected, and another 250 km away from the first. Excellent prediction accuracy is achieved, showing a great practical significance of the proposed prediction method.


Nondestructive testing (NDT) methods for identifying stress levels in materials mostly rely on the theory of acoustoelasticity. However, the sensitivity and the accuracy of acoustoelasticity are affected by several factors such as the (1) type, (2) propagation, and (3) polarization directions of the used signals. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of longitudinal waves propagating perpendicular to the applied uniaxial tensile stresses in structural steel specimens. The changes in four ultrasonic signal characteristics were investigated with increasing stress levels ranging from below to above the yield stress of steel. The considered signal characteristics were the peak amplitudes and signal energy in the time domain, and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and chirp-Z transform (CZT) in the frequency domain. Even though the acoustoelastic effect on the type ultrasonic signal used is very small, clear distinctions between prior to and postyielding are observed for all investigated parameters. The results are presented with a detailed statistical and receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) analyses. The results show that identifying damage to steel structures due to local yielding is possible using the simple ultrasonic signal classification.


Closing Abner Shimony's Epistemic Circle and the Problem of Time and Objectism. A Critical Study

Abstract

The first goal of the paper is to provide a reconstruction and critique of Abner Shimony's project of Integral Epistemology (IE) and the concept of epistemic circle (and its closure) conceived within IE. The second goal involves applications of the latter to certain philosophical problems concerning the notion of the flow of time. I consider Steven Savitt's strategy of rescuing the reality of the time-flow in which a specific closing the epistemic circle is being developed. I argue that closing the epistemic circle in the context of the metaphysics of time implies objectistic ontology (as understood by Nicholas Maxwell) and leads in the end to an ontological bifurcation on the side of physical ontology and paradoxical consequences on the side of the subject.

Keywords: epistemic circle, naturalism, metaphysics of time, objectism.


This paper provides new insights in the link between distance and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in OECD countries. We find that the impact of distance on flows and stocks of FDI, controlling for exports, is negative and strongly significant, in line with gravity models, whereas in a standard proximity-concentration framework the impact should be positive. We propose a harmonized theoretical framework, allowing for distance increasing fixed costs, to reconcile these conflicting conclusions. This model is tested using alternative measures of distance (geographical/monetary/financial/legal/cultural) on OECD countries (1997-2001) and the impact of cultural distance appears strongly predominant in this setup.


reflected in the choice of the Gospel of Mark, as being the 'least doctrinal', in the psychological treatment of the resurrection, and in her ambivalence as to the Chalcedonian formula. Is it redeemable or not? On the one hand, she wants to agree with Carter Heyward, that classical Christology as a constructive work is both dead and anachronistic, based as it is on a world-denying body-spirit dualism; on the other hand she finds new possibilities in developing a feminist incarnational Christology. Relying on the philosophical/ epistemological project of thinkers like Luce Irigaray, who tries to create a new symbolic order based on female experience, she calls for the new becoming of God in female flesh, rather than in the abstract human being. I suggest that this radical leap beyond patriarchal Christology and exclusive male discourse is neither merely psychological nor to be reduced to an ethical praxis of right relation. In reflecting on the eschatological meaning of the story of the Jesus movement for our context, in reformulating the meaning of resurrection as 'the powers of darkness can never overcome the sisters and brothers of radical hope', are we not again doing what Christians have always done, namely, reflecting doctrinally on the meaning of the salvation which Jesus brings for our own times? Is not this a continuity-in-discontinuity? It is by insisting on the radical newness of feminist Christology, on its dangerous memory of the One who promised transformation to the broken people of today, and its naming of the specificity of being female as part of the mystery of ongoing incarnational Christology, that this book makes such a challenging contribution and will stimulate fruitful debate. A new phase in European contextual reflection is under way, and I share Julie Hopkins' hope that Christology will find a voice which speaks to women and men who have long lost hope that the language of faith touches their existential pain.


Recent research efforts in direct coal liquefaction are focused on lowering the level of reaction severity, identification and determination of the causes of retrogressive reactions, and improving the economics of the process. Ambient pretreatment of coals using methanol and a trace amount of hydrochloric acid was extensively studied in connection with low severity coal liquefaction. Ambient pretreatment of eight Argonne coals using methanol/HCl improved THF-soluble conversions 24.5 wt % (maf basis) for Wyodak subbituminous coal and 28.4 wt % for Beulah-Zap lignite with an average increase of 14.9 wt % for the eight Argonne coals at 623 K (350{degrees}C) reaction temperature and 30 minutes reaction time. Optimal pretreatment conditions were determined using Wyodak and Illinois No. 6 coals. Acid concentration was the most important pretreatment variable studied; liquefaction reactivity increased with increasing acid concentration up to 2 vol %. The FTIR spectra of treated and untreated Wyodak coal samples demonstrated formation of carboxylic functional groups during pretreatment, a result of divalent (Ca, Mg) cationic bridge destruction. The extent of liquefaction reactivity directly correlated with the amount of calcium removed during pretreatment, and results from calcium ``addback`` experiments supported the observation that calcium adversely affected coal reactivity at low severity reactionmore » conditions. Model compound studies using benzyl phenyl ether demonstrated that calcium cations catalyzed retrogressive reactions, inhibited hydrogenation reactions at low severity reaction conditions, and were more active at higher reaction temperatures. Based on kinetic data, mechanisms for hydrogenation-based inhibition and base-catalyzed retrogressive reactions are proposed. The base-catalyzed retrogressive reactions are shown to occur via a hydrogen abstraction mechanism where hydrogenation inhibition reactions are shown to take place via a surface quenching mechanism.« less


In the presence of a catalytic amount of trityl salt, α,β-acetylenic ketones react with silyl enol ethers to afford the corresponding aldol adducts (1,2-addition products) stereoselectively in high yields. Naturally occurring monoterpenes, trans- and cis-tagetones, are synthesized by the use of this reaction.


Aim:  To determine the clinicopathological predictors for residual disease in women who have had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II‐III with endocervical cone margin involvement after loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP).


Abstract We review the construction of integral Apollonian circle packings. There are a number of Diophantine problems that arise in the context of such packings. We discuss some of them and describe some recent advances.

http://publications.ias.edu/sites/default/files/amer.math_.monthly paper as appeared.pdf


Through the analysis of the past forecast data and laboratory test results of coal road tunneling in Daping Coal Mine,this paper points out the problems of using the original R value index,determines the outburst sensitivity index,the critical value for the selection and the reliability evaluation index,and designs the testing program of the outburst sensitivity index.On the basis of statistical analysis of the test data,the paper demonstrates that the initial velocity q of gas emission is the most sensitive indicator of the outburst forecast on coal road tunneling and its critical value is 5 L/min,and that S value,the volume of cuttings,can be used as the secondary index of the outburst forecast on diving working face and its critical value is 4 kg/m.All this can provide the technical support for the outburst forecast and effect testing in coal road tunneling.


In order to screen out the plants used to repair heavy metal pollution in the soil, five plants and surface soil were collected in the Huize lead-zinc mine area, centered on the hyperaccumulator plant Arabis alpina L. var. parviflora Franch, measured the heavy metal content of in shoot and root of plant and surface soil, and analyzed the characteristics of heavy metal accumulation in plants. The results showed that the soil Cd pollution in the Huize lead-zinc mining area was the most serious; among the five plants, the Cd bioconcentration factor(BCF) and translocation factor(TF) of A. alpina were more than 1, and the TF of Pb was more than 1; the TF of Anaphalis margaritacea, Cyananthus inflatus and Arenaria orbiculata to Cu and Zn were more than 1, the TF of Juncus effusus to Cd and Zn were more than 1. These five plants had good tolerance to heavy metals and were of great significance to the remediation and restoration of heavy metal contaminated soil in lead-zinc mining areas.


Objective: To investigate clinical efficacy on primary dysmenorrhoea treated by periodic therapy of Chinese herbal medicine.Methods: Different Chinese herbal formulas were administered in three phases,named after menstruation,before menstruation and during menstruation successively in 73 cases that met diagnostic standards.Results: 30 cases in 73 cases(41. 09%) were cured,26 cases(35.62%) were excellent,11cases(15.07%) were effective,4 cases(8.22%) were failed;the total effective rate was 91.79%.Conclusion: Periodic therapy of Chinese herbal medicine achieves quite good clinical efficacy on primary dysmenorrhoea.It deserves to be further promoted.