Bottle blowing machine manufacturers adopt a hybrid production mode that combines pre-releasing and make-to-order production. However, pre-releasing decision making depends too much on personal experience resulting in inefficiency. In order to improve the efficiency, this paper proposes a heuristic pre-releasing order strategy for bottle blowing machine manufacturers. The strategy establishes a mathematical model for pre-releasing in bottle blowing machine manufacturers, and works out the solution to the established mathematical model with branch and bound algorithm. Simulation studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. It shows that the results are promising as compared to the experience strategy.


The Four Little Dragons have experienced growth rates between 5 and 10 percent over the last decade and are the recipients of the largest capital transfer in the region. Despite the enthusiasm for increased economic exchange, however, people are finding that cultural differences hinder their ability to efficiently conduct business. In this research, Casse and Deols' model of negotiation styles are dependent variables, and cultural factors are utilized as independent variables to examine how cultural differences affect negotiation styles. Data are collected from public companies by means of an online survey, and the snowball sampling method is applied. Structural equation modeling is selected to measurehypothesized models and research hypotheses. The findings show that (1) an individualist attitude directly affects the style of negotiation; (2) nationality is a moderated variant of individualist attitude and style of negotiation; and (3) different styles of negotiation are preferred by negotiators of the Four Little Dragons. The researcher hopes this study can improve the understanding of the negotiation styles used by the Four Little Dragons and help business people develop better strategies to reap increased benefits and to maintain their competitive advantage. Additionally, a comparison can be made of the differences and similarities among the styles of negotiation used in a number of different countries, such as BRIC, or within specific regions, such as Germany. Furthermore, future studies can employ a qualitative method and other factors, such as gender or ethics to examine and add value to the current findings.


The work presents the results of the study on preparation of sports reserve in judo based on the principles of sports-oriented physical education realization for the primary school children. The authors have developed the software methodological support and model of the structure of the content and organization of training of young wrestlers that improve their technical competencies and competitive performance. The research analyzed the main principles and criteria of designing the sports focused physical training of pupils of elementary school, allowing modernizing the process of preparation of the sports reserve in judo that is being realized in the conditions of integration of children-youthful sports schools and educational institutions. The author's curriculum developed and approved during experiment allows achieving the new qualitative level of physical readiness and shows the gain of parameters of morphofunctional indicators of young judoists.


The phenomenon of exclusion allows conjugative plasmids to selectively impede the entry of identical or related elements into their host cell to prevent the resulting instability. Entry exclusion blocks DNA translocation into the recipient cell, whereas surface exclusion destabilizes the mating pair. IncC conjugative plasmids largely contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes in Gammaproteobacteria. IncC plasmids are known to exert exclusion against their relatives, including IncC and IncA plasmids, yet the entry exclusion factor eexC alone does not account for the totality of the exclusion phenotype. In this study, a transposon-directed insertion sequencing approach identified sfx as necessary and sufficient for the remaining exclusion phenotype. Sfx is a novel exclusion factor unrelated to the ones described to date. A cell fractionation assay localized Sfx in the outer membrane. Reverse transcription PCR and beta-galactosidase experiments showed that sfx is expressed constitutively at a higher level than eexC. A search in Gammaproteobacteria genomes identified Sfx homologs encoded by IncC, IncA and related, untyped conjugative plasmids and a novel family of integrative and mobilizable elements that likely rely on IncC plasmids for their mobility. Mating assays demonstrated that sfx is not required in the donor for exclusion, ruling out Sfx as the exclusion target. Instead, complementation assays revealed that the putative adhesin TraN in the donor is the target of surface exclusion. Mating assays with TraN homologs from related untyped plasmids from Aeromonas spp. and Photobacterium damselae identified two surface exclusion groups, with each Sfx targeting TraN homologs from the same group. Together, these results allow us to understand better the apparent incompatibility between IncA and IncC plasmids and to propose a mechanistic model for surface exclusion mediated by Sfx in IncC plasmids and related elements, with implications for the rampant dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Author summary Bacterial conjugation plays a pivotal role in the evolution of bacterial populations. The circulation of drug resistance genes bolsters the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens, with which contemporary medicine struggles to cope. Exclusion is a natural process preventing the redundant acquisition of a plasmid via conjugation by a host harbouring an identical or similar plasmid. Although exclusion has been known for the past half-century, the mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. This study describes a novel exclusion factor, Sfx, encoded by IncC, IncA and related conjugative plasmids and by unrelated integrative and mobilizable elements. We report that Sfx is a lipoprotein of the recipient that selectively inhibits conjugation based on the adhesin TraN expressed at the surface of the donor. We propose a mechanistic model for Sfx-mediated exclusion. Ultimately, a better understanding of exclusion could facilitate the design of novel conjugation inhibitors targeting mating pair formation to curb the circulation of drug-resistance genes in healthcare settings, agriculture, animal husbandry and food and drug production.


The purpose of the study was to investigate how Irish pro-choice organizations work in respect of free choice in relation to abortion, since abortion is illegal except when there is a substantial risk to the mother's life. This purpose was constructed with the significance of social work as a practical profession restricted by regulations, at the same time as it is a profession to support and help deprived people. This was a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with seven different people from five different pro-choice organizations. The interviews indicated that in Ireland abortion was a stigmatized matter, as well as taboo to talk about. The results showed that the pro- choice organizations work to provide support and information and they viewed the right to abortion as a fundamental right and that women going through crisis pregnancy should be able to access a free choice. Still, it is the stigmatizing environment as well as the existing laws that become an obstacle for accessing free choice.


The 1976 agreement in principle by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to participate in the financing of Buffalo's $336 million light-rail rapid transit (LRRT) project was the culmination of almost 10 years of planning by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and the western New York community for an integrated bus and rail rapid transit system. At least 5 more years of design development and construction lie ahead. This agreement also marked the end of a lengthy, and often frustrating, alternatives analysis process that helped to guide UMTA's development of federal policy on major urban mass transit investments. Buffalo will be the first U.S. city to have a completely new rail transit project that features the advantages of light-rail technology. This paper describes the LRRT project and reports on the results of the alternatives analysis process. Comparative cost-effectiveness statistics for various transit alternatives are included in the paper. The current phase of project development (general architecture and engineering) is described, and a schedule is given for the completion of the system. /Author/


To mitigate the issue of low accuracy and poor robustness of the master cylinder pressure estimation (MCPE) of the electro-hydraulic brake system (EHB) by adopting EHB's own information, a MCPE algorithm based on vehicle information considering the evolution of the brake linings' coefficient of friction (BLCF) is proposed. First, the MCPE algorithm was derived combining the vehicle longitudinal dynamics and the wheel dynamics, in which the inertial measurement unit (IMU) was adopted to adapt the MCPE algorithm to road slope change. In order to estimate the brake pressure accurately, the driving resistance of the vehicle was obtained through a vehicle test under coasting condition. After that, with the active braking function of EHB, the evolution of the BLCF was acquired through extensive real vehicle test under different initial temperatures, different initial vehicle speeds, and different brake pressures. According to the test results, a revised model of the BLCF is proposed. Finally, the performance of the MCPE based on the revised BLCF model was compared with that based on a fixed BLCF model. Vehicle test demonstrates that the former MCPE algorithm is not only more accurate at low vehicle speed than the later, but also robust to road slope change.


Activated sludge processes coupled with membrane filters were operated at 10, 20 and 30°C to study the influences of the water temperature, and various kinds of the nitrogen load conditions on nitrification and emission of N2O, known as the greenhouse gas. The results obtained were as follows: Lower temperature, higher nitrogen concentration in the influent and shorter HRT caused the decrease of the nitrification efficiency and the increase of N2O conversion ratio. In addition, the effects of the nitrogen load was higher at low water temperature than high temperature. Under the same condition of the nitrogen load per MLSS, the runs with low MLSS concentration achieved high nitrification rate and low N2O conversion ratio than those with high MLSS concentration. It was suggested that oxygen diffusion was insufficient in the runs with higher MLSS concentration because of the larger-sized flocculation of the microorganisms, and so that effective oxygen supply was very important to improve the nitrification efficiency under such operational condition.


Background: Magnetic resonance arthrogram (MRA) has emerged as a supplement to non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially in the identification of meniscal and chondral pathologies. It has increased the diagnostic efficacy of MRI in the evaluation of knee pathologies.
Aims and Objectives: The present study was carried out to evaluate the role of MRA in the diagnosis of various knee pathologies and to correlate its findings with arthroscopy.
Materials and Methods: A total of 56 patients with knee pain scheduled to undergo arthroscopic evaluation were enrolled in the study and were assessed using MRA before arthroscopy. MRA findings were correlated with arthroscopic findings. The level of agreement was measured using kappa statistics. Diagnostic efficacy was assessed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value.
Results: Cartilage involvement (48.2%), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and medial meniscus tear (37.5% each), bony injury (n=12; 21.4%), chondral defect (n=11; 19.6%), posterior cruciate ligament tear (n=10; 17.9%), and lateral meniscus tear (n=8; 14.3%) were the knee pathologies confirmed by arthroscopy. MRA had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for pathologies such as ACL tear, lateral meniscus tear, medial meniscus tear, and bony injury. It was 100% specific for all the pathologies with no false positive detection. There was a strong to perfect agreement between MRA and arthroscopic findings for different knee pathologies.
Conclusion: The present study found MRA to be a highly specific diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of different knee pathologies and it is useful in reducing the burden of undesired invasive arthroscopies.


Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread worldwide, with high infectivity and mortality rates. The global pandemic poses a serious risk to public health and is of significant concern to the medical community. The current study was performed to delineate the clinical characteristics of cases with redetectable viral RNA post-discharge following hospital discharge during the quarantine period.

Methods: Data on 51 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were extracted through March 2, 2020.

Findings: Median age was 57·0 (21–90) years, and 43% patients were female. Median time from initial symptoms to first discharge was 28 days and nine days from discharge to redetectable viral RNA. All patients were symptom-free, except one case presenting with fever and two with cough. Basic disease was observed in 47·1% patients, with hypertension being the most common manifestation. Laboratory and radiological findings were normal for the majority of patients. The median titers of anti-viral IgM and IgG antibodies in COVID-19 patients were 23·19 AU/mL and 170·36 AU/mL, respectively. No significant differences were observed between patients classified into the "persistence" and "non-persistence" groups based on the status of RNA positivity. The median length of hospital stay for patients that had reached the composite endpoint was 16·5 d and nine days in the persistence and non-persistence groups, respectively.

Interpretation: The viral RNA for some symptom-free patients post-discharge can be positive with normal T cell subset and detectable IgG. More attentions should be paid to patients with re-detectable RNA of COVID-19.

Funding Statement:  None.

Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Army Medical University. Written informed consent was waived in light of the urgent need to collect clinical data


Resumen en: We report a 20 years old schizophrenic male, with a history of ingestion of four metallic tubes through which mate tea is drunk, that was admitted to the...


This study is entitled Politeness Maxims in Dialogue Toy Story 4 Movie. This study aimed to observe the types of politeness maxims and the functions of politeness maxims applied in the movie. The Toy Story 4 Movie uses a data source in this study because there had been conversations related to politeness expressions with all characters. This study uses the documentation method and note-taking technique in collecting the data. The data of this study were analyzed using the descriptive qualitative method and using the theory of pragmatics by Leech (1983). However, this study only focuses on four maxims as Generosity maxim, Approbation maxim, Agreement maxim, and Sympathy maxim to facilitate research. Based on the analysis, the results show that all four maxims can be found in this study. The most dominant maxim which was used in this study is Generosity maxim and Agreement maxim while the most functions applied in each politeness maxims is Irony.


High-performance quantum memories are a key component for quantum networking infrastructure. Here we demonstrate the first field-deployable, high-fidelity (<95%) memory for photonic polarization qubits based on electromagnetically induced transparency in a warm rubidium vapor. We discuss our work towards optimizing the memory for use in quantum networking applications, specifically to maximize the memory fidelity, efficiency and coherence time. We also describe our engineering efforts in scaling down the size of the memory into a turn-key 2U rackmount device. The module has been designed and tested for use in both academic and industrial settings.


In the UK, the National Childcare Strategy aims to expand the number of childcare places. It is therefore important that the recruitment and retention of childcare, early years and play workers is fully understood. In response, the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned a study to identify issues surrounding recruitment and retention of childcare, early years and play workers from the perspective of Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs) (forums established by Local Authorities for consulting and involving a full range of local partners in planning and monitoring early years and childcare services), childcare providers and workers themselves. The study sought to identify examples of good practice in the recruitment and retention of childcare workers from EYDCPs and to find out from workers which features of the work drew them to the sector and encouraged them to remain in it. The research revealed that many providers had difficulties recruiting staff and retaining workers. Problems with recruitment and retention include low pay, poor terms and conditions, short hours and poor opportunities for training and career progression. Providers agreed with the need to build a more diverse workforce as the pool of 'traditional' childcare workers - young women with low educational achievement - decreases but were not appreciative of the role they could play in this initiative. EYDCPs focused on recruitment rather than retention in order to meet Government targets for childcare places and because they lacked expertise in retention.


Abstract : Subsurface cosmic-ray muon intensity depends on the amount of material above the point of reference and is therefore influenced by anomalies in rock density. Because such anomalies might be caused by geological structures (e.g. ore bodies), cosmic-ray intensity measurements have been used for geophysical exploration. Recently, cosmic-ray muon intensity measurements have been also proposed as a method to detect tunnels. The feasibility of this application depends on the type of radiation detection apparatus (it must fit into a bore hole) and on the magnitude of the signal by a tunnel. If the signal is too weak, then the required observation times are estimated for a projected bore-hole radiation detector and for tunnels with a 2 m diameter. The estimates show that a reasonable upper bound for the detector depth is about 30 to 40 m if the observations are to be used in a tomographic reconstruction of the density field. The required observation times at that depth are of the order of days. The upper bound for the depth of detectable tunnels is less than the quoted bound for the detector depth. It might be possible to use the method at greater depths if special data interpretation techniques are developed that take into account prior knowledge about the tunnel, e.g. its anticipated direction.


These two statements arrest my attention, but it is the landscape between them that I want to explore. Why are so many students poor questionerswhy do they lack habits and skills in so fundamental a human activity as inquiry? And why, if it is true that the best teaching capitalizes on students' natural curiosity, do so many students appear to lack the very gift we wish to tap? Let me begin my investigation with a scenario. A typical assignment in my English composition course is what I call an "issue paper," which asks students to research and evaluate some issue that is personally important to them. I advise the students to begin their exploration with a question or series of questions about the issue, and to write the question( s) at the top of a sheet before researching-the question to serve as both a guide and as a reminder of the need to keep an objective view as they investigate. But when research time rolls around, what do I too often get? "Topic: Acid Rain" or "Topic as question: The causes of acid rain."


As a search radar scans over targets, a train of pulses is produced which must be processed for detection. Because of its detection performance, angular accuracy and simplicity of implementation, the two-pole filter is widely used in scanning radars. However, it is sensitive to coefficient errors and instability could easily occur. For this reason, two-pole filter banks are proposed. In comparison with the two-pole filter, the proposed integrator is more stable and less sensitive to filter coefficient quantization. Moreover, the new integrator has almost the same computational load and performance as that of the two-pole filter.


Due to a growing awareness of environmental issues, green chemistry concepts are increasingly being incorporated into the undergraduate organic chemistry lecture and laboratory component. This minireview summarizes environmentally friendly organic chemistry experiments suitable for undergraduate laboratories. Whenever feasible, LD50 values for various chemicals are provided to allow readers to determine the suitability of an experiment for their curriculum based on the toxicity of reagents used.


A test station was developed to evaluate the TFEL edge emitter array in various imaging applications. It consists of 400-dpi and 20-dpi resolution edge emitter array test samples, a sample mount that accepts both kinds of edge emitters, and an electronic drive system. The drive system provides variable drive frequency and excitation voltage, internal test patterns, and an option for external data input. As an example of its capabilities, electrophotographic printing samples are shown.


In this paper the possibility to characterize a Lithium Polymer (LiPo) cell, starting from a small amount of measurements only, is investigated. Experimental results achieved by a deep measurement campaign performed on one of the lithium batteries capable of the highest power on the market are partially reported and described. Part of these results together with an analytical model and a data driven procedure based on a genetic algorithm are used to deduce different quantities believed to be important for the description of the cell behavior. Finally, deduced quantities are compared with the equivalent measured ones in order to evaluate the correctness of the proposed approach.


As a radiologist who has been performing uterine artery embolizations for more than 10 years I have been receiving inquiries from women with asymptomatic fibroids for exactly the same period of time. The women want to know whether the hysterectomy their gynecologist in private practice recommended—for which they usually already have an inpatient appointment—might be avoidable if they underwent uterine artery embolization for their fibroids. As a rule, these women obviously require neither a hysterectomy nor other surgery nor uterine artery embolization nor any other treatment.

The number of unnecessary hysterectomies in Germany, which are performed without any indication, is likely to be shockingly large. Women only find out about the uterine artery embolization option through their own internet searches.

The mention of interventional radiological procedures, such as uterine artery embolization and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFUS; MRI-guided focused ultrasonographic ablation, to use the authors' term), in the article is therefore particularly welcome.

Whether uterine artery embolization negatively affects fertility is still the subject of controversial discussion. The study reported by Mara (1), which is usually cited in this context, favors myomectomy over uterine artery embolization in this regard, while pointing out limitations and weaknesses. The results of other studies (unfortunately of a lower evidence level) point into the opposite direction (2) or remain to be evaluated (3).

Quite apart from all these facts, whether uterine artery embolization has a questionable negative effect on fertility should not be used as an argument against the procedure in an article about hysterectomy, after which fertility is not an issue anyway.


In this article we describe a type of sensor to monitor strain. The strain sensor is a passive device that can be embedded or attached to a structure and then remotely interrogated though a wireless interface. Such a system has the advantage of requiring no permanent physical connection, either electrical or optical, to an interrogation system. The sensor is a conducting coaxial electromagnetic cavity that is embedded in or bonded to the structure in which strain is to be measured. The cavity will exhibit resonance for electrical wavelengths two times the cavity length. Changes in the structure's dimensions will be reflected in changes in the dimensions of the cavity, and will result in a shift of the resonant frequency of the cavity. The sensor incorporates an antenna so that the resonant frequency of the cavity can be determined by remote interrogation. The acquired resonant frequency is then used to calculate the strain in the structure. The sensor presented in this article operates at a frequency of a...


The present invention discloses a method for testing a physical model of the large lattice anchoring technique, in which method a homogeneous medium loess landslide, compacted layer by layer by filling the landslide model, and preset sliding band, using perforated anchor in situ is accomplished, the lattice beam with fine stone precast concrete; framed anchor emplaced sensor test system of landslide falling trait to force the destruction of the whole process, the top of the hill so that the vertical loading manner landslide occurs, the lattice anchorage system under the force from the ramp effect the deformation fracture properties. The present invention is effective to achieve recycling anchor sector can be quickly in a short time, several times, to achieve efficient anchoring system lattice damage the whole process from model test load deformation failure to install.


Researchers from academia and industry continue to make new technologies and tools to learn more from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). As expected, some of the advances come from higher density microarrays. Nevertheless, ancillary technologies, such as microfluidics, deliver additional


Like many other anchovies T. baelama feeds mostly on large zooplanktonic
organisms. Euphausiids were the most important item of food supplemented
by copepods, megalopae, prawns and amphipods. These major items in
the diet of the fish did not differ significantly from year to year although the
relative importance of particular item may vary slightly between diflferent months.
The smaller fish appeared to prefer smaller organisms like veligers, zoeae,
Oithona, Pseudodiaptomus etc. while the adults preferred euphausiids, megalopae,
prawns, amphipods and fish larvae.
The variations in the composition of the gut contents and feeding intensity
are discussed in relation to environmental biota, size-groups and maturity
of the fish.


A permanent vibration monitoring system has been designed and installed on the long-span floor of the Training Stadium in Qingdao Sport Center.The system monitors the vertical vibration of the floor under operational conditions,and the measurements from the system can be utilized for vibration serviceability assessment.Furthermore,the finite element model of the floor has been established via ANSYS as a platform.The vertical acceleration responses of the floor under people walking and jumping were calculated and compared with the measured values.The results suggest that the suggested modeling technology is applicable and the walking load model used is reasonable.


So far, people are already accustomed to using synthetic pesticides to eradicate all pests on plants. However unwittingly, the synthesis of high-risk pesticides because it can poison himself. Therefore, now many people are looking for ways to make environmentally-friendly pesticide and does not pollute the surrounding environment. This application was created to provide information on alternative ways of making environmentally friendly pesticides by using ingredients that come from nature too, by using computerized media so that necessary information can be found quickly. Further, the application is made by Visual Basic 6.0 programming language with the intention that the resulting appearance of this application is the user interface, in other words easily used by different types among the users.


This book present international business strategy that global companies will use to effectively compete in the global markets which has presented continual opportunities and challenges. The presents the global strategies in which marketing companies use competitive strategies where foreign rivals, there is a growing interest in understanding the factors related to their evaluations of and preferences for attributes associated with foreign producers. The book further provides competitive realities in today's international markets require competitive advantages to be identified and sustained to ensure their continual survival.


In November–December 2014, elections were held to choose twenty members of the Association's Council to serve from 2015 to 2019.


Today's rapid global change has introduced lot of new developments and among these development one of the prominent development is the increased use of IT in making the government services easy accessible and transparent. E-governance has also turned out to be one of the eminent parameters of development indices of any country. Along with the developed countries, the developing countries like India are also moving forward in this area. In this paper, we have focused on the concept of E-governance and its presence in developed and developing countries. We have provided with a brief list of the projects that Indian government has come across. In our paper, we have given a brief outline on the Bhoomi Project. Bhoomi project is an attempt made by Karnataka State Government for Computerization of Land Records. This project is sponsored jointly by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and State Government of Karnataka. Under the Bhoomi E-Governance project all 20 million land records of 6.7 million land owners in 176 taluks of Karnataka have been computerized. We have analyzed the impact of Bhoomi project on the Rural Development of India and to what extent it has fulfilled its objectives.


Chitosan and some natural plant extracts were tested to maintain post harvest quality of Navel orange. The treatments included control (distilled water), chitosan at 2% and three aqueous plants extracts namely; olive water at 4%, rosemary at 4% and lemongrass at 3%.The fruits were stored for 12 weeks at 5±1°C and 90% RH during two successive seasons of 2015 and 2016. Fruits evaluated every 3 weeks to determine the changes in fruit quality characteristics during cold storage. Results indicated that all treatments helped to minimize the deterioration of quality Navel orange in all stored periods of cold storage. All treatments decreased weight loss, decay and delayed the changes in percentage of juice, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, carotene content and vitamin C compared with untreated fruits especially rosemary extract at 4% exhibited the best results in preserving fruit quality during the storage, thus prolongs postharvest shelf life during shipping and marketing also safe on human health and environmental.


Gold is a profitable investment from other types of investment. The price of gold in Indonesia increases every year. This is caused by several factors, namely US Dollar exchange rate, deposit interest rate, inflation, GDP per capita, and gold production. The Data used is time series data from 1990 – 2020 which are from Bank Indonesia, Kementerian Perdagangan, BPS Indonesia dan Gold Price. The research method is multiple linear regression. The result showed by partial test (t-test) that US Dollar exchange rate has a negative effect not significant on the price of gold, deposit interest rate has a significant negative effect on the price of gold, inflation has a positive effect not significant on the price of gold, GDP per capita has a significant positive effect on the price of gold, and the production of gold has a significant positive effect on the price of gold. For F-test US Dollar exchange rate, deposit interest rate, inflation, GDP per capita, and gold production has a significant effect on the price of gold. The Coefficient of Determination (R2) can be said that variance price of gold is 97,4% explained by US Dollar exchange rate, deposit interest rate, inflation, GDP per capita, gold production and the remaining is 2,6% explained by the other variables outside the research model such as Indonesia Composite Index (ICI), World Crude Oil Prices and the others.


Mafic-ultramafic rocks of Archaean age constitute a significant component of the Eastern Indian Craton. These occur in two different modes. In the eastern belt these occur as a long, linear enclave within the Singhbhum granite and the primary banding in them is subvertical. In the more extensive western belt along the periphery of the Singhbhum granite, the disposition of the primary banding is subhorizontal. The major rock type in both the belts is meta-basalt with minor peridotitic komatiite and basaltic komatiite occurring in the eastern belt. Rare ultramafic rocks with cumulate textures are present in both the belts. The larger volume of the basaltic rocks preclude the possibility of their being derived by fractional crystallization of the high-MgO components. On the basis of trace element and REE characters the rocks may be classified into three groups. One of the groups shows a tholeiitic trend and include samples mostly from the eastern belt while the second consisting mostly of samples from the western belt shows a calc-alkaline trend. The third group includes samples having elemental ratios intermediate between these two groups. Zr/Nb ratios for the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline samples are different suggesting their sources to be different. The tholeiitic samples have been generated from a source having chondritic REE characters, while the calc-alkaline samples have been generated from a source with LREE enriched character. The high-MgO components in both the groups are suggested to represent high degrees of melting compared to the basalts in each group. It is further suggested that the tholeiitic basalts have been generated relatively early from a chondritic source. Down-buckling of this material has added LREE enriched melts to the source, thereby changing its character into a LREE enriched one. Melting of a source with such changed character has subsequently produced the calc-alkaline melts. Rocks with variable but intermediate characters between these two groups have been generated as a result of contamination between these two groups.


This study aims to describe the role of family education in preserve the weaving tradition by local community at Romean Village, Tanimbar Island. The method employed in running the research was qualitative descriptive method, while collection data using observation, interview and documentation.Furthermore, due to analyse we did it through interactive session and repeatedly until it's done and the data become saturated. The result shows that the family education (parents) have an important role in educate and bequeath the tradition of weaving for their next generation. Family become the first environment for children to be taught about nice and kind second nature as a part of generation. Along with that, the family education in order to maintain and nurture weaving tradition admittedly being a frontline to be teach to youngsters. Parents have an obligation to introduce their own tradition whatever it is and also what they can do as a part of community members, henceforth the children would have a sense of belonging of a tradition from their ancestors since their early ages. The young generation will take responsibility and sustain the weaving tradition as forefather legacy.


The utility model relates to the mechanical field of bamboo product processing and particularly relates to a mould locking mechanism, which comprises a mould locking structure and a guiding positioning device which is used in cooperation with the mould locking structure. The guiding positioning device comprises guiding positioning holes (8) on a mould shell (6) and guiding tubes (5) which are used in cooperation with the guiding positioning holes (8). Positioning of the mould can be carried out, a precious position each time can be ensured, the pressing process maintains consistent, force-bearing maintains consistent, consistency of products is ensured and the overall quality is improved. When the pressing is finished and pins are used for fixing, the pins can be pouched in the mould by a push rod, the work efficiency can be effectively improved, and meanwhile by adopting a hydraulic system, the stability is good.


A temperature sensor, the method of operation of the device and the temperature sensor comprising the same are disclosed. Temperature sensor according to the present invention, a power supply line for providing a supply voltage supplied from the outside of the processor to the internal circuitry of the processor; And a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature inside the processor by using the supply voltage.


A multi‐band semi‐empirical tight‐binding method was used to calculate the band structures of Si1−xGex alloys coherently grown on (111) and (110) oriented Si1−yGey substrates. The results show that the lowest conduction band X5 at point X in the [001] directions of the Si1−xGex alloy is split into two bands with even and odd parities, due to the reduction of symmetry by strain. This is the first calculation that shows a kind of nonlinear band‐edge splitting in the coherently grown Si1−xGex alloys. The results here can be approximated by adding a new deformation potential Ξ'u to the linear deformation potential formula, which was used earlier for bulk Si under external [111] and [110] uniaxial stress cases. For coherently grown layers with a large lattice mismatch, the nonlinear splittings should not be neglected when analyzing the electronic properties.


The theory of standing waves of nuclear combustion in reactors having a flat, cylindrical or spherical shape of the core is developed. A spherical standing wave occurs when nuclear burning propagates radially from the center of the sphere, and 238UO2 fuel moves to the center and is removed from the system. The stability limits of standing waves of nuclear burning are investigated. It has been established that for standing waves there are minimum (critical) sizes at which they exist. Mathematical modeling of standing waves using the MCNPX code was carried out and critical sizes of standing waves of various symmetries were determined.


Former nuclear weapons production facilities operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including the Hanford site, utilized chemical agents in material processing that are now considered hazardous. As a result, these facilities must designate and characterize any solid wastes generated. The designation and characterization process involves determining the type and quantities of hazardous constituents present as required by 10 CFR parts 261 and 262. For low-level radioactive and mixed wastes, DOE Order 5820.2A also requires that radionuclide constituents and the relative curie content be determined by the waste generator. Because these facilities were not built with containment areas for inspecting and sampling solid wastes, the waste characterization process must often be conducted in temporary structures under less than ideal conditions. A mobile inspection and repackaging unit has been constructed to perform the characterization process.


Monolayer ${\mathrm{AlB}}_{2}$ is composed of two atomic layers: honeycomb borophene and triangular aluminum. In contrast with the bulk phase, monolayer ${\mathrm{AlB}}_{2}$ is predicted to be a superconductor with a high critical temperature. Here, we demonstrate that monolayer ${\mathrm{AlB}}_{2}$ can be synthesized on Al(111) via molecular beam epitaxy. Our theoretical calculations revealed that the monolayer ${\mathrm{AlB}}_{2}$ hosts several Dirac cones along the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}M$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}K$ directions; these Dirac cones are protected by crystal symmetries and are thus resistant to external perturbations. The extraordinary electronic structure of the monolayer ${\mathrm{AlB}}_{2}$ was confirmed via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. These results are likely to stimulate further research interest to explore the exotic properties arising from the interplay of Dirac fermions and superconductivity in two-dimensional materials.


Korean overseas fisheries has developed steadily since the 1960s. Today, however, the value and amount of catch in overseas fisheries are decreasing....


A powerful passion for jazz is the common link between these two otherwise very different poets. Listening to jazz was as natural as breathing for Amiri Baraka growing up in an African American family in Newark, New Jersey. For Roy Fisher, jazz provided the only source of emotional vitality in his constrained white suburban household in Handsworth, Birmingham. Jazz has always been a subversive force, symbolic of a certain alienation from Eurocentric culture. Both these poets become distanced and disassociated from conventional culture and recognizedjazz as an inspirational grounding force in their own individual forms of modernism. Children of the early thirties, each began to acquire international reputations as major innovators in the sixties. Their work employed the language ofjazz: the blue notes, the atonality, the polyrhythms, the extended harmonies, the melisma, the microtones, and the celebratory rhythm of swing. Simple syncopation was supplemented by the complex backbeat and shifting rhythms of the kind employed by a drummer or boogie pianist. Perhaps most importantly the stress was in the improvisation that is at the heart of jazz, rather than the even rhymes and rhythms common to more classical music and poetry. In their jazz-influenced poetry, patterns could be established, then words and associations would take unexpected directions, building on each other with that element of surprise that is intrinsic to jazz. The cadences of jazz were captured to give a uniquely elliptical structure to their writing. As Gayl Jones has pointed out, in jazz-inspired writing 'the concepts "improvisational" and "extemporaneity" are only a manner of speaking: jazz is mastery of technique, and a superbjazz text is as exciting a form as its musical counterpart'.' Just as jazz is marked by the constant interchange between formal and unstructured sounds, the poetry of Baraka and Fisher is basically dialogic. The call and response of blues and jazz that has transmuted into the literary trope of 'Call-Response', gives a duality to their work. For both these men jazz was an elemental force in their lives long before they became poets. For each the music had a different significance. To Baraka, jazz was the ultimate expression of African American creativity and struggle. Listening as a youth to the assertive, experimental saxophones of


Universities play pivotal roles when research findings are to be adopted commercially. Although these roles vary from one country to another, effective patenting and licensing procedures, as well as eventual commercialisation of scholarly inventions, reflect hard work on the part of the University mediating between the researcher and the industry through technology transfer offices (TTOs) in order to ensure that knowledge-developers take motivational and monetary credit for their findings. This paper details some existing models, processes, and roles taken up in some countries where sharing of intellectual property exists, and links it up with aspects of university–industry technology transfer, such as policies surrounding patenting, government investment and marketing, and the process of academic entrepreneurship, among others. 22 articles were found via a systematic review of literature and analysed with respect to four identified areas of focus: internal strategy, investment and market, academic entrepreneurship and policy. Based on models, processes, and roles in reviewed studies, our results indicate that new models for technology transfer mainly stem from the fact that there is no universally accepted model in the literature. Furthermore, management of technology transfer is mostly the responsibility of TTOs in most countries. While university TTOs act as intermediaries to protect the interest of the author/inventor, issues such as poor relationships between universities and industry, as well as funding, remain major challenges in many emerging economies. In contrast, researchers in western economies are mainly challenged by financial motivation and recognition within the academic domains.


Citation information: Long J & Helland M. A multidisciplinary approach to solving computer related vision problems. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2012, 32, 429–435. doi: 10.1111/j.1475‐1313.2012.00911.x


With the dawn of the 21st Century, International Standardization Organization (ISO) is doubling its effort to develop standards for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to provide transportation safety and convenience for people around the world and participating nations are also providing various forms of support to become a leader in this new field. When we look at the worldwide trend of active Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) based ITS service pursued by ISO/TC204, a standardization of Resource Manager (RM) to secure the various usability of DSRC in various ways is underway and various types of systems are developed and presented for the commercialization of the service. In particular, Japan set active DSRC and Electronic Toll Collection System (ETCS) standards in 1998 and succeeded in developing ETCS based on the standards and a pilot service is provided from April 2001. Also it is trying to link the new service to the existing Card Navigation System (CNS). In Korea, the government policy to provide active DSRC based ITS service is being actively pursued primarily by local governments. For example, Daejeon City, a center of transportation in Korea, decided to employ active DSRC system in May 2001 to provide Advanced Traffic Information System (ATIS) services including Bus Information System (BIS) service and currently it is developing a ITS service program to provide various forms of DSRC infra based ATIS services during Korea-Japan World Cup in the year 2002. Jeonju City also decided to establish active DSRC based infrastructure. ITS related policies are being adopted on a gradual basis in Korea to improve the linkage of the roads and to provide more convenience for Korean people. Backed by the active government policy, the ITS industry in Korea proceeded with the standardization of active DSRC based ITS to develop equipment and in the year 2000 Telecommunication Technology Association (TTA), a private standardization group, completed the standardization process. Based on the established standards, many businesses developed and presented key components. This paper pertains to the development of active DSRC based ETC system, one of many ITS services, and introduces the system configuration of LG ETCS, its motion, system specifications and features. It also includes a structure of automatic toll collection system on toll way and a proposed network structure to cover the roads in the nation. Finally the paper presents its conclusion.


Effects of powdered activated carbon impregnated by iron oxide nano particle (Impregnated PAC) on the microfiltration (MF) membrane system performance in NOM removal from water were investigated in this study. A fluidized bed column was employed as a pretreatment of MF membrane process. The Impregnated PAC bed was stably maintained at an upflow rate of 63 m/d without leakage of the Impregnated PAC particles, which provided a contact time of 29 minutes. A magnetic ring at the upper part of the column could effectively hold the overflowing discrete particles. The Impregnated PAC column demonstrated a significant enhancement in the MF membrane performance in terms of fouling prevention and natural organic matter (NOM) removal. Trans-membrane pressure of the MF membrane increased to 41 kPa in 98 hours of operation, while it could be maintained at 12 kPa with the Impregnated PAC pretreatment. Removal of NOM determined by dissolved organic carbon and UV254 was also enhanced from 46% and 51% to 75% and 84%, respectively, by the pretreatment. It was found that the Impregnated PAC effectively removed a wide range of different molecular-sized organic compounds from size exclusion analysis.


We have previously reported on a novel mesh culture method that enables fabrication of standalone cell sheets that can be easily integrated with microfluidics to realize tissue-on-a-chip for in vitro studies [1]. Here we report on the fabrication of a bilayer tissue consisting of fibroblasts and HUVECs using a mesh culture approach which permits direct cross-layer cell-cell interaction and communication, unlike in existing co-culture systems where this is impeded by an interfacing substrate between the cell layers. We show that the direct cross-layer interaction induces fibrotic-like swelling of the fibroblast layer and micro-vessel formation by HUVECs. Thus, we present a model that can recapitulate the development of fibrosis, which is a disease condition affecting many organs in the body.


Misuse of an evaluation occurs when the process or findings are altered to promote one's self-interests; this generally occurs when educational programs have difficulty demonstrating their impact on the target population.


An Artist of the floating World, Kazuo Ishiguro''s second novel, has a narrative which is told by a retired artist, Masuji Ono, set in three years after the Second World War in Japan. Ono''s first-person narration, however, is very problematic in terms that his storytelling is unauthentic or unreliable, consisting of intentional emphases, repetition, omission, and avoidance of his specific memories to present his ideal self.
This paper aims at analyzing the first-person narration of An Artist of the Floating World on the assumption that his narration is a kind of Agambenian 'oath.' According to Giorgio Agamben, an 'oath' is a performative, or speech act, to fill up the gap between words and things to actualize its meaning using the semantic power of language, which he designates as 'the sacrament of language.' Ono is doing same things when he repeatedly tells his past as an achievement of the best of faith, instead of confessing and atoning his guilt of a militaristic propagandist during the war. So, his storytelling is marked as an 'unfaithful' sacrament of language in terms that it reveals, according to Agamben's words, "a disjunction or, at least, a loosening of the bond that united the living thing to its language," which Agamben regards as a negative phenomenon in our times. In An Artist of the Floating World, Ishiguro presents through Ono's deceptive narration how his storytelling is meaningless and, therefore, alienated from the language itself as well as the truth.


As one of the most widely celebrated documentaries about female athletes to date, The Heart of the Game remains an important text to examine for the ways it represents female athletic experience and encourages audiences to consider gender issues in sport. Such an investigation is particularly apt, given how sports documentaries authenticate particular viewpoints while being understood by audiences as historical reflections of reality. Although the film is praiseworthy for exposing the cultural construction of gender as well as some ways gender ideologies hamper female athletic success, this essay argues that The Heart of the Game's progressive agenda is ultimately undercut by its simultaneous reproduction of gender and racial ideologies that actually marginalize women and girls in sport.


Abstract This study develops a currency option pricing model under stochastic interest rates when interest rate parity holds, and it is assumed that domestic and foreign bond prices have local variances that depend only on time. We demonstrate how existing currency option models are simply derived from one framework. Empirical tests employing transactions option data reveal that a particularly simple form of the stochastic rate model is uniformly more accurate than a constant rate model for all boundaries and maturities tested.


A method was developed to synthesize 14C-labelled n-alkanes for use in cigarette smoke studies. Specifically, n-[18-14C]-octatriacontane was synthesized from 1 mCi [1-14C]stearic acid in a radiochemical yield of 20%. The key features of this synthesis were two consecutive alkylations of tosylmethyl isocyanide followed by acid hydrolysis to [18-14C]-19-octatriacontanone and modified Wolff-Kishner reduction to the n-alkane. After purification on silica gel 25 mg of [18-14C]octatriacontane was obtained with a total radioactivity of 200 μCi, a specific activity of 4.3 mCi/mmol, and a radiochemical purity in excess of 98% by thin layer radiochromatography. The method has also been applied to the synthesis of unlabeled n-pentatriacontane and is considered to be generally applicable to the synthesis of radiolabeled alkanes from radiolabeled fatty acids.


For the last one or two decayed, yoga in the form of Philosophy as well as Science is becoming very popular [2]. In this context, some good works in both the fields have been done in India and abroad in the past. In the past, in an International Yoga Conference held at Kaivalyadhām, various research workers also suggested the utilities of the same [3,4]. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to bring out a few rational of these practices from utility point of view.


We provide an overview of such properties of the Brownian motion on complete non-compact Riemannian manifolds as recurrence and non-explosion. It is shown that both properties have various analytic characterizations, in terms of the heat kernel, Green function, Liouville properties etc. On the other hand, we consider a number of geometric conditions such as the volume growth, isoperimetric inequalities, curvature bounds etc. which are related to recurrence and non-explosion.


The object is to obtain weighted Steffensen type inequalities for the class of convex functions using inequalities for the class of functions that are "convex at point $c$''. Additionally, we give weaker conditions for obtained weighted Steffensen type inequalities. Moreover, by further generalizations of these inequalities we obtain refined and sharpened versions.


The present study was aimed to prepare an acceptable quality chicken sausage with incorporation of edible poultry by-products (Edible poultry by-products such as skin and fat and heart and gizzard were incorporated by replacing proportionate quantity of chicken meat) and binders. Result revealed that chicken sausage containing 14% skin and fat and 3% heart and gizzard exhibited optimum sensory scores as well as emulsion stability and cooking yield comparable to control. The sensory quality and physico-chemical characteristics such as emulsion stability and cooking yield of chicken sausage incorporated with 1.5% SC (Sodium Caseinate) and 4% WEP (Whole egg powder) binders ranked superior over higher levels. It is concluded that acceptable quality chicken sausage could be prepared with incorporation of 14% skin and fat by replacing proportionate quantity of meat, 3% heart and gizzard was comparable to control sausage, 1.5% sodium caseinate and 4% WEP as binders resulted in significant improvement in sensory quality, cooking yield and emulsion stability of chicken sausage.


The model illustrates the interaction between zonal jets associated with topography and with temperature fronts. In general, the effect of stratification is to enhance the eastward flow on the equatorward side of a zonal ridge.


We present an extension of chiral perturbation theory that explicitly includes an isosinglet scalar in the Lagrangian. The dynamical effects from the scalar state is of phenomenological relevance in theories where the mass of the isosinglet scalar is comparable to the mass of the pseudo-Goldstone bosons. This near-degeneracy of states is for example observed in certain near-conformal BSM models. From the Lagrangian we calculate the one-loop radiative corrections to the pion mass, the pion decay constant, and the scalar mass. We then proceed and use the results to fit numerical lattice data for an SU(3) gauge theory with $N_f=8$ light flavours in the fundamental representation.


The electroencephalogram (EEG) is suitable for continuous authentication since it enables unconscious presentation of biometric features. However, the conventional authentications methods using the EEG require heavy computational load: AR modeling and/or machine learning. In this paper, we propose simple spectral features of the EEG to make the authentication system using the EEG more practical. The effectiveness of the proposed new features is evaluated in verification experiments with 23 users and we obtain the verification rate of 79%.


The paper is concerned with experimental materials on the study of complex influence of air-ionization and the use of propolis milk on a calve body. Data on the effect of air-ionization on the microclimate in farm buildings, natural resistance and growth intensity of calves are reported.


In the paper the basic relations for description of elastic deformation of nanoporous solids are proposed. They include a classical equilibrium equation and a constitutive relation between stress and strain tensors. While formulating the latter it is assumed that elastic moduli can be presented as a product of two functions. The first one depends on characteristic size of the nanoscale elements forming material, the second depends on the porosity coefficient. For description of the elastic moduli dependence on characteristic size the local gradient approach in thermomechanics is used. On the base of the model problems solutions for a layer and a cylinder there are investigated the nanoscale element geometry and size influences on elastic moduli, including Young modulus and Poisson coefficient.


In drinking water, excessive residual aluminum can harm human health severely, such as retaining foetus neurofibril development, leading to dementia and exhibiting dialysis osteo-dystrophy. In addition, excessive residual aluminum may have certain effect on the water distribution system. The World Health Organization and many developed countries have regulated the residual aluminum as a norm of drinking water quality and limited the respective maximum concentration level. Aluminum is present in all natural water, but the total residual aluminum in drinking water mainly comes from use of aluminum coagulants under improper operational conditions. Thus, optimizing the operational conditions or adopting other measures would reduce the total residual aluminum in drinking water.


The authors report the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of progressive myoclonus epilepsies on the basis of their experience following 34 cases (2 with sialidosis, 2 with MERRF, 4 with Lafora disease, 24 with Unverricht-Lundborg type, 4 with ataxic myoclonus). 3 rare forms of PME are also reported: a case of lipoma and PME, a family with dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy and a family of myoclonus epilepsy, Hartung type. The autonomy of Ramsay Hunt syndrome is discussed on the light of recent molecular genetic data.


The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial potential of proteins secreted by a new strain of Lactobacillus salivarius.


In this editorial, Professor Roger Kirby, Editor‐in‐Chief for Trends in Urology and Men's Health, reflects on the impact of the UK's strategy to the current COVID‐19 pandemic.


REE accounts for 60 to 70% of total daily energy expenditure and is the basis for estimating energy needs. And, it is demonstrated that energy expenditure is regulated by adipocyte‐derived hormone.. Fifty‐two overweight or obese student(¡Ã85th percentile of BMI) and 76 normal weight students(5 to 85th percentile of BMI) aged 7–18y were participated in this study. To investigate the relationship between energy expenditure and adipocytokines, REE was measured by indirect calorimetry (TrueOne 2400), and body weight and fat mass were measured by using a Inbody 720. REE/weight and the level of serum adiponectin were significantly lower in obese group (25.0 kcal/kg weight; 8.0 ug/L) than in nonobese group (28.6 kcal/kg weight; 11.8 ug/L). However, serum leptin level (13.5 ng/L) of obese group was significantrly higher than that of nonobese group (5.1 ng/L). And, the concentration of serum adiponectin was positively associated with REE/weight (r=0.433, p<0.001), but the concentration of serum leptin was inversely correlated with REE/weight (r=−0.704, p<0.001). These data explain that a low adiponectin and high leptin are important factors which decrease the REE/weight in overweight or obese subjects.


In the late 1980s, the US Defense Communications Agency (DCA) began exploring the concept of remote, centralized monitoring of the Defense Communications System. To demonstrate the validity of the concept, the DCA began evaluating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) network management products. To this end, a COTS Integrated Network Management System was demonstrated and evaluated at the Pacific Area Communications Operations Center (ACOC). In the demonstration, the AT&T ACCUMASTER integrator provided integrated network management of four Pacific theater element management systems (EMS), representing Defense Switched Network, fiber-optic, MILNET, and digital microwave assets. Network elements managed by the EMSs, along with their corresponding connectivity and near-real-time status, were displayed by collecting alarm data from each EMS. The authors describe the demonstration, which lasted from November 1990 to June 1991. They describe the network management architecture, identify network management issues, and make recommendations for resolution of those issues.<<ETX>>


Rainwater harvesting is increasingly seen as a strategy for enhancing agricultural productivity and boosting farm income in many drought prone areas. While extensive efforts are going on in constructing and providing smallholder farmers with water harvesting structures, such as ponds in Rwanda, there is limited knowledge of the factors that influence adoption of such structures and their impact on households' input use and farm income. This study applied propensity score matching technique to assess the impact of rainwater harvesting ponds on farm income of small scale farmers in Rwanda. The study also assesses the factors that influence adoption of rainwater harvesting ponds by using a binary logit model. Results show that households with rainwater harvesting ponds are significantly better off in terms of achieving higher income than those without ponds, even though they are comparable in essential household characteristics. The study finds that household size, physical and financial asset endowments, group membership are significant in explaining the household decision to adopt rainwater harvesting ponds. It discusses the implications of these findings for policy.


The α-type high-strength gypsum with its superior strength and performance is widely used in precision casting, ceramic molds, arts and crafts as well as plaster and GRG self-leveling and other industries that have higher demands to the dimensional stability of the products. Solidification rate of expansion is an important characterized parameters of gypsum volume stability, and also an important indicator of α-High-Strength gypsum plaster. The common adjustment method of Solidification rate of expansion is to add additives to change the gypsum hydration process. But the influences of different types of additives on setting expansion have not been studied yet, therefore, this paper studied on the influences of citric acid, tartaric acid and sodium pyrophosphate on the solidification rate of expansion of the α-High-Strength gypsum plaster. The results indicate that the gypsum expansion rate was decreased with the increase of gypsum set retarder, the expansion rate was firstly increased and then decreased when the citric acid and sodium pyrophosphate increased; however, when the tartaric acid increased, the expansion gradually decreased, and the tartaric acid and the expansion of the gypsum by and large are in an inverse proportion.


Dust potentially affects global climate via the direct and indirect effect on radiative balance of the atmosphere and by supplying essential limiting micronutrients such as iron to the ocean. In fact, supply of dust to the Southern Ocean increases during the glacial periods of the late Pleistocene may have contributed to the decrease in concentration of CO2, suggesting strong coupling of climate, dust and productivity in the subantarctic Southern Ocean during the Pleistocene. However, link among the climate, dust and productibity in earlier times and its role in the evolution of the long-term climate since the late Miocene have remained unclear. Here we report long-term record of SST, dust and productivity in the Southern Ocean over the past 10 million years based on the analysis of marine sediments from ODP Site 1123, South Pacific sector of the subantarctic zone. Our new records show strong coupling of climate, dust and productivity over the past 10 million years with increase in dust and productivity during cold glacial periods including the late Miocene cooling (6-7 Ma). This finding suggests that the Southern Ocean played a key role in drawdown of atmospheric CO2 level during the late Miocene.


With the development of commodity economy,the labor uses of Song dynasty was transferred from free to paid.However,whether it was Fuyi,or it was Zhiyi,this change was a complex process.Yaqianyi was very important in Song's Zhiyi,whose development path reflected the complicated process.What was more,for this transformation,the government and peasants considered more about accounting the economic cost rather than accepting it reluctantly.Especially for the government,social cost was contained as one of the aches that could not be ignored in system designing process.At the same time,this kind of accounting told us,at the background of government purchase in Song dynasty,the transformation of Yaqianyi was the result that the government and peasants chose.


Abstract Over the past few decades, nanotechnology has shown promising prospects in biomedicine and has a proven impact on enhancing therapeutics by facilitating drug delivery. The present study brings an amalgamation of nanoscience and "clean technology" by fabricating nature-friendly nanoparticles (NPs) sans the use of chemical surfactants using Indian mustard seed, Brassica juncea L. The as-synthesized NPs were characterized to assess their average size, crystallinity, morphology, and constituent functional groups through conventional techniques: dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The NPs were crystalline in nature and exhibited a mean size of 205.5 nm (PDI of 0.437) being primarily polygonal in shape. Additionally, the therapeutic efficacy of the green NPs was evaluated based on their cytotoxic effect against two human cancer lines, MCF-7 and HepG-2. Both the NPs and the bulk seeds showed a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect. However, an assessment of the antiproliferative/cytotoxic potential of the green NPs versus the bulk seeds showed that the NPs were relatively more efficacious on both cell lines. Taken together, the mustard seed NPs could be potential nutraceuticals considering the green credential in their mode of biosynthesis.


Background: Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is a subset of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) with distinct biological and clinical features. Although most patients are cured with frontline chemoimmunotherapy with or without radiation therapy (RT), relapsed or refractory (rel/ref) PMBCL is much harder to control. Standard treatment of rel/ref PMBCL is similar to other aggressive B-NHLs, including salvage therapy and autologous (auto) stem cell transplantation (SCT) in chemosensitive patients. Recently, immunotherapy with PD-1 blockade and chimeric antigen receptor modified T-cells has proven to be effective in rel/ref PMBCL. Despite this, allogeneic (allo) SCT retains an important potential role as it has curative potential for patients with advanced aggressive B-NHLs. However, there are scant modern data on alloSCT outcomes in patients with PMBCL, limited to case reports or small series. We therefore performed a multicenter retrospective study to evaluate alloSCT outcomes in patients with rel/ref PMBCL.
 Methods: We retrospectively studied consecutive patients with rel/ref PMBCL who underwent alloSCT at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, or City of Hope between 1/2000 and 5/2014. Baseline and transplant characteristics are reported descriptively. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Incidence of relapse and non-relapse mortality were calculated using competing risks methods.
 Results: 28 patients with rel/ref PMBCL underwent alloSCT at participating institutions during the study period. Among these patients, median age at SCT was 36 years, 54% were female, median number of prior therapies was 4 (range, 2-7), 57% were refractory to frontline therapy, 86% received prior RT, and 71% had prior autoSCT. At alloSCT, 1 (4%) patient was in complete response (CR), 21 (75%) were in partial response (PR), and 6 (21%) were refractory to pre-alloSCT therapy (18 patients were assessed with PET). Most patients (86%) received reduced intensity conditioning, most commonly fludarabine/melphalan +/- ATG or Zevalin (25%), fludarabine/TBI200 (21%), or fludarabine/busulfan (14%). GVHD prophylaxis most frequently consisted of a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) with mycophenolate mofetil (12, 43%), CNI with sirolimus +/- methotrexate (8, 29%), or CNI with MTX (4, 14%). 15 (54%) patients had a matched (8/8) related donor, 8 (29%) had a matched unrelated donor, 2 had a mismatched unrelated donor (7/8), and 3 had umbilical cord donors. All patients received peripheral blood stem cell grafts except for the 3 cord recipients.
 The median follow-up time in survivors was 5.0 (range 0.5-14.0) years. The 2 year PFS and OS in the cohort were 39% and 45%, respectively, while non-relapse mortality (NRM) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) were 32% and 29%, respectively. The 5-year PFS, OS, NRM, and CIR were 34%, 45%, 32%, and 33%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV and III-IV acute GVHD were 39% and 4% at day 100, while the incidence of chronic GVHD at 1 year was 21% (18% extensive). Among patients in CR/PR at the time of alloSCT, the 2-year PFS and OS were 50% and 58%, respectively, as compared to a 2-year PFS and OS of 0% in patients who were refractory at the time of alloSCT (p=0.046 for PFS, p=0.014 for OS).
 One patient received post-alloSCT lenalidomide as maintenance therapy and remained in ongoing CR. Of the 9 patients who relapsed after alloSCT, 3 out of 4 patients exhibited a response to immunosuppression taper, while 4 out of 5 patients responded to subsequent systemic therapy. 2 patients underwent a donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) and both developed subsequent GVHD - 1 patient had a CR documented 64 days after DLI while the other had continued disease progression. In the 9 patients who relapsed after alloSCT, the 2-year OS was 33%.
 Conclusions: AlloSCT can produce durable remissions in a subset of patients with heavily treated, rel/ref PMBCL. Patients with refractory disease at alloSCT had dismal outcomes. Despite the expanding treatment options available for these patients, alloSCT should be considered in the management of patients with rel/ref PMBCL who are sensitive to salvage therapy.
 Figure 1A PFS and OS After AlloSCT in Patients with Rel/Ref PMBCL
 Figure 1B PFS in Patients with Sensitive versus Refractory PMBCL at AlloSCT

 Herrera: Merck, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; KiTE Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Maloney:Roche/Genentech: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria; Janssen Scientific Affairs: Honoraria. Ho:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Soiffer:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Antin:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Forman:Mustang Therapeutics: Other: Licensing Agreement, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding. Chen:Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; REGiMMUNE: Consultancy; Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Armand:Otsuka: Research Funding; Affimed: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Infinity: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Tensha: Research Funding. Shadman:Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy; Genentech: Research Funding; Beigene: Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy; Qilu Puget Sound Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Mustang Biopharma: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy.


The chemical processing industries are eliminating the practice of allowing pressure relief valves, rupture discs and other devices to vent directly to the atmosphere, due to increased emphasis on reducing harmful emissions to the environment. Discharge from the relief device usually is directed to some type of vent collection system and then a a flare or other disposal unit. In some instances, a flare vent header system installed to collect the discharge from relief devices on several different vessels or piping systems has created other safety problems. This article discusses these safety problems and presents several approaches to solve these problems.


Ra,Rb transformations were successfully applied to establish invertibility theory for linear and quasi-linear finite automata over finite fields.In a previous paper,the authors generalized Ra,Rb transformations to deal with nonlinear memory finite automata,and gave sufficient conditions for weak inverse and for weakly invertible memory finite automata and inversion processes concerned;methods by transformation to generate a kind of nonlinear memory finite automata satisfying one of these sufficient conditions were also given.This paper extends the concepts,methods and results to general finite automata,in which states consist of finite input history,finite output history and finite "inner state" history.


US Reacts on Whaling The United States has reacted strongly to the denunciation by Japan and Russia of two of the key decisions made at the International Whaling Commission meeting in June 1973. Dr Kissinger has protested to the Japanese Government at the 'wholesale disregard for the views of all other member nations'. Why, he asks, should there be a Commission if its decisions can simply be ignored, and why should its scientific committee prepare recommendations?


As for single user systems, a proper specification of software requirements is a very important issue to achieve the quality of the collaborative systems. Nevertheless, many of these requirements are from a non-functional nature because are related to the user's need of being aware of other users, that is, the workspace awareness. In order to model these special kind of requirements, CSRML, an extension of i∗ has been proposed. In this paper, we present a controlled experiment to assess the understandability of this notation compared to i∗. The specification of two different systems was used as experimental material and undergraduate students of Computer Science with an average of two years experience in Requirements Engineering were the experimental subjects.


This article presents a description of the sources of ionizing radiation and annual doses to the population as a whole for the Russian Federation and separately for the subjects, as well as for the most exposed population groups. The average individual effective annual dose of Group A personnel in 2016 was 1.2 mSv, or 6.0% of the average annual dose limit of 20 mSv. During the period from 1998 to 2005, the average annual individual doses of the personnel of Group A gradually decreased from 2.9 mSv to 1.4 mSv and then stabilized at a level of 1.2–1.4 mSv. The average per inhabitant of the Russian Federation annual effective dose due to natural sources, according to data for 1998-2016, is 3.33 mSv/year, for the Altai Republic – 8.97 mSv/ year, and for some of the most exposed population groups – 3-60 and more mSv/year. Radon exposure makes up the largest fraction (59.50%) of radiation dose due to natural sources. The average per inhabitant of the Russian Federation annual effective dose due to medical exposure in 2016 was 0.51 mSv/year, and after some stabilization in 2013-2015 at a level of 0.45-0.48 mSv/year, there was a tendency to increase. The average annual effective dose of the Russian Federation citizens from all sources of ionizing radiation is 3.76 mSv/year. The highest value of this quantity in 2016 took place in the Republics of Altai (7.2 mSv), Tyva (5.7 mSv), Adygea (5.6 mSv), the Irkutsk region (5.7 mSv) and in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (6.6 mSv). Natural sources of radiation in the Russian Federation determine 86.1% of the collective radiation dose of the population, medical exposure – 13.6%. In general, the radiation situation in the Russian Federation remains stable over the last decades and in the prevailing territory can be characterized as satisfactory, with the exception of territories affected as a result of the past radiation accidents (Chelyabinsk region, southwestern districts of the Bryansk region) and some settlements in those subjects of the Russian Federation, where exposure of significant populations due to natural sources of ionizing radiation exceeds 10 mSv / year.


We would like to find a better and plausible structure of the electron as a torus and fractal structure. However it is in contradiction with generally accepted knowledge, where the electron has not a structure. Actual properties of the electron cannot be explained by point-like models. This paper is an attempt to improve our previous calculations of the radius of the electron and its fractal dimension. The vortex-fractal theory could possibly help with explanation what the charge, the electron, the proton, the electromagnetic field, etc. actually are.


Recently, researchers have applied the word-character lattice framework to integrated word information, which has become very popular for Chinese named entity recognition (NER). However, prior approaches fuse word information by different variants of encoders such as Lattice LSTM or Flat-Lattice Transformer, but are still not data-efficient indeed to fully grasp the depth interaction of cross-granularity and important word information from the lexicon. In this paper, we go beyond the typical lattice structure and propose a novel Multi-Granularity Contrastive Learning framework (MCL), that aims to optimize the inter-granularity distribution distance and emphasize the critical matched words in the lexicon. By carefully combining cross-granularity contrastive learning and bi-granularity contrastive learning, the network can explicitly leverage lexicon information on the initial lattice structure, and further provide more dense interactions of across-granularity, thus significantly improving model performance. Experiments on four Chinese NER datasets show that MCL obtains state-of-the-art results while considering model efficiency. The source code of the proposed method is publicly available at https://github.com/zs50910/MCL


Diagnosis and treatment of various brain diseases occurring due to aging such as dementia, take an important role in contemporary research for elderly population in the world and in our country with increasing progressively. Cerebral atrophy is a feature observed in dementia patients and described as neuronal loss or cell death affecting part or all of the brain, to determine the presence and severity of atrophy, experts visually evaluate magnetic resonance images of the brain, especially at locations such as lateral ventricles and central sulci. The aim of this study is measuring the sizes (e.g. length, area and volume) of lateral ventricles and central sulci in 3D and to compare these measurements with experts' atrophy ratings. Lateral ventricle width shows high agreement (around 0.84) with atrophy grades.


Objectives. Many people flee their countries of origin after suffering severe trauma and there is a need to explore how socio-cultural factors are implicated in the experience of both trauma and posttraumatic growth. Interpreters who have been through a trauma are in a unique position to be able to reflect on cultural context. This study explored how interpreters working in the UK who had formerly suffered trauma in their country of origin, and who identified themselves as coping well, managed their experience of trauma. Design. The qualitative method Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used. Nine interpreters were interviewed following a semi-structured guide and the resulting transcripts were analysed according to IPA principles. Results. Three key themes emerged from the data that were labelled as: trauma in the context of wider shared oppression; resisting and responding; and cultural protection and growth. Many participants described their lives prior to arriving in the UK as involving a collective traumatisation as a result of being a victim of oppression related to their cultural identity. The participants described the importance of staying connected to their culture. Giving and providing social support, religious practices, and the role of interpreter facilitated remaining connected. Conclusions. A sense of shared victimisation provided a protective backdrop from which the participants could make sense of the personal traumas they had experienced. The role of interpreting was important as it helped maintain cultural identity. The findings are discussed in relation to theories of both PTSD and Posttraumatic Growth. The results have implications for the work of clinicians supporting non-Western people who have been traumatised.


This paper seeks to be a perspective of psychodynamic psychiatry, an attempt to explain the delirium of a patient with schizophrenia over 30 years old, who has lost his home, identity card and inner coherence of the Ego. He lives in a space - as real as it is symbolic - inside a psychiatric polyclinic and expresses his free consent to expose his personal perspective, an interpretive one on his own life, in which we glimpse fragments of former truths, through cosmogonic delirium. The paper also describes the countertransference reactions aroused in the participants in the working group, and, especially, the importance of unconsciously supporting such a patient with multiple hospitalizations in psychiatric departments, so as superimposed to the antipsychotic background he can be able to recompose his old personality.


The paper by Zhou el al reports ground based data from two measurement sites in the Indian Ocean, namely Maido and St Denis, both located on La Reunion Island. The datasets, from the NDACC and TCCON networks, are analysed for CO and CH4 columns, and then the Xco and Xch4 mole fractions are computed (TCCON via O2, and NDACC via pressure). These data are compared with in-situ vmr data of CO and CH4 from Pacarro instruments. St Denis has the full range of NDACC, TCCON and in-situ instrumentation, while Maido does not have a TCCON instrument. These data are then compared with model data from GEOSCHEM.


The very unique and novel motion platform DESDEMONA was taken into start-up operation early this year. This next generation motion platform allows 6-DoF movement combined with the capability of producing sustained g-forces. These features make the simulator extremely valuable for future flight simulation applications as well as for disorientation research and training. In order to use the equipment for different kinds of applications advanced motion filters have to be developed. The success of Desdemona will strongly be dominated by the quality of these motion filters. In our approach efficient numerical optimization techniques are applied to gain control laws for given real acceleration profiles. Additionally human perception models can be applied and included in the optimization sequence. Two results are discussed within this paper. The first result concerns the possible improvement of 3-DoF human centrifuge profiles, when using 6-DoF Desdemona capability. The second one deals with real measured car driving data (left turn on intersection) and also includes a motion perception model. Basically, the feasibility of this approach can be confirmed and the results are promising.


In this paper an accurate ferroelectric capacitor model is presented which allows the modeling of ferroelectric capacitors for signal slew rates from DC up to 800 MV/s. This model completes the static hysteresis model based on Preisach theory, which is suitable for quasi static input voltage. The comparison of the simulation results show excellent agreement with measurement results under different conditions.


Consumer boycotts and international economic sanctions represent a frequent tool to protest against countries for their violation of human rights. This paper questions if such a kind of action hurts more the populations it is supposed to defend than governing classes it is targeting. Overall, boycotts of more rapacious regimes may decrease more the wellbeing of the population than the one of the governing class.


DR. DOUGLASS C. TORMEY: * The patient is a 27year-old married Caucasian woman now in her third admission to the University of California Hospitals. Her chief complaint is increasing difficulty in breathing. For as long as she can remember the patient has experienced easy fatigability and inability to keep up with her peers. At age 17, she noted the first of occasional episodes of paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. During her first pregnancy at age 19, mild symptoms of congestive heart failure developed. These recurred during her second pregnancy at age 19. At this time, she also experienced symptoms resembling those of angina pectoris. In the postpartum period, she continued to experience wheezing and shortness of breath and was told she had asthma. Since that time, she has noted gradually increasing exertional dyspnea, orthopnea (requiring three piliows), and angina pectoris unrelieved by nitroglycerine. She has never fainted or had leg cramps. In September 1965, the patient entered the University of California Hospitals for the first time for cardiac evaluation. She was alert and cooperative, but anxious. Blood pressure was 124/70 mm of mercury; pulse, 80 and regular; respirations, 16 per minute; temperature normal. Pertinent abnormal findings on physical examination were confined to the cardiovascular system and included a moderately slowly rising carotid pulse which rapidly fell off. Neck veins were flat. The left border of cardiac dullness and point of maximum impulse were 11 cm from the midsternal line in the sixth left intercostal space. There was a double impulse at the apex and a systolic thrill at the left sternal edge at the fourth interspace. A grade IV/VI harsh systolic ejection mur-


This paper proposes a voice activity detection algorithm to be used in the presence of breathing noise. We use a hybrid approach where a neural network is first applied in individual frames using mel-band energies within the frame as inputs. The output of the neural network is then processed using a hidden Markov model, which takes into account the temporally continuous nature of speech activity. Both the neural network and the hidden Markov model can be trained in supervised manner. On simulations with realistic acoustic material, the proposed method achieved average frame-level sensitivity above 97% and average specificity above 95%. The proposed algorithm enables a good rejection of noise and breathing frames while retaining the intelligibility of input speech.


The deterioration of lithium-ion batteries has been detected by an increase in the battery impedance by means of an alternating current method or a battery capacity test. These methods require an interruption of the operation because the battery has to be removed. A method estimating equivalent circuit parameters of a lithium-ion battery during operation is proposed in this article. The increase in the internal impedance has a close relation to the deterioration of the battery. The circuit is expressed by a resister and an RC parallel circuit connected in series. The parameters can be estimated by applying a convolution technique to the voltage and current fluctuation of the battery during operation. A diagnosis circuit using a microcomputer is developed using a simple algorithm employing z-transformation in the parameter estimation. The estimated parameters depend on its state of charge (SOC) and ambient temperature. The SOC dependency is solved by estimating timing, and the temperature dependency is corrected by a function derived in this article. The deterioration diagnosis of the battery can be applied to a solar power generation system, and the feasibility is discussed in this article.


Monitoring the effectiveness of brace treatment of scoliosis is an ongoing challenge that many physicians face today. Scoliosis is a medical condition which occurs in adolescents, where an individual's spine develops curvature. To successfully monitor compliance with brace treatment, a wearable multi-modal sensor solution is embedded into the patient's brace. The custom-designed hardware consists of a sensor board, a force sensor, an accelerometer and a gyroscope. The force sensor collects the force being exerted on the patient's back, while the accelerometer and gyroscope generate cues to determine the patient's activities and lifestyle. In this paper, we propose a novel data-mining method to identify patient activities and evaluate the effectiveness of the brace treatment pervasively. Our aim is to design a context-aware remote monitoring system for ubiquitous evaluation and enhancement of brace treatment compliance of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. Data is collected through the sensors and stored on a SD card and for longitudinal analysis. We investigated an experimental scenario in which, the patient performs a series of pre-defined activities at home during day-long segments of brace wear. Our experimental results demonstrated that we achieved an overall accuracy of a 100% for activity detection in a semi-supervised experimental setup. It was also observed that the duration of brace wear increased from 20% to 80% in 4 weeks.


Two initial weight selection methods for self organizing training of neural nets are introduced. These methods can improve the chances for successful training and speed up training processes remarkably. Two successful examples are given to show that these weight selection methods work well.


Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most commonly used yeast in the fermentation process on high starch/carbohydrate substrates, for example, cassava pulp, a by-product from the tapioca industry. In addition to the pure culture of S. cerevisiae, the fermentation process of cassava pulp can be done using tape yeast (a consortium of yeast, fungal and bacteria). The objective of this research was to study the growth kinetics of S. cerevisiae and tape yeast on cassava pulp fermentation. The growth kinetics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and tape yeast was observed through cells number, rate of starch degradation, rate of dietary fiber degradation, rate of cyanide degradation, and rate of protein formation. The research showed that the S. cerevisiae pure culture could grow better during cassava pulp fermentation compared to tape yeast, which is reflected by the logarithmic growth rate (up to 72 h versus 48 h). The difference in the growth rate between S. cerevisiae pure culture and tape yeast will cause a difference in starch degradation rate (73.02 mg/h versus 65.09 mg/h), dietary fiber degradation rate (87.33 mg/h versus 21.09 mg/h), cyanide degradation rate (92.57.10−2 ppm/h versus 97.49.10−2 ppm/h), protein formation rate (48.92 mg/h versus 50.08 mg/h).


The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) conducts a number of important population based health surveys. Data from these surveys are used to support broad analytic and program objectives and to evaluate the impact of various health care policies over time. Traditionally, the various DHHS surveys have been developed independently to meet defined data needs. As part of efforts to "reinvent government", the DHHS is undertaking major planning and research efforts to restructure its health surveys in an effort to fill major data gaps, improve analytical utility, and develop a more systematic strategy for collection of data on key health and health care issues. The product of this effort is the DHHS survey integration plan. This plan developed in 1995 is designed to increase the analytic potential of DHHS' data collection systems by encouraging integration of survey samples, survey design features, questionnaires, and data collection procedures. A major part of this integration plan is the designation of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as the sampling flame for a number of DHHS household surveys. This paper provides an overview of key elements of the DHHS survey integration plan, the linkage of three major DHHS surveys with the NHIS, and the integration of the NHIS and a telephone survey to provide key data at the state level. Selected methodological issues for the next redesign of the NHIS related to the integration of surveys in the future are also discussed.


SPAIN HAS RECENTLY COMMENCED THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF EXPANSIVE CLAY LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE. TEST RESULTS ARE PRESENTED AND COMPARED WITH THOSE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO SEE IF FOREIGN EXPERIENCE IS APPLICABLE TO SPANISH MATERIALS. AGGREGATE PROPERTIES HAVE INITIALLY BEEN STUDIED (FISSURE MODULUS, APPARENT BULK DENSITY, APPARENT GRAIN DENSITY) AND CHECKED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE SPANISH REINFORCED CONCRETE STANDARD. CYLINDRICAL CONCRETE TEST SAMPLES HAVE BEEN PREPARED WITH DIFFERENT CONTENTS OF VARIOUS COMMERCIAL PORTLAND CEMENTS, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN CONCRETE REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT USED IN FLOORING AND PRESTRESSING. NATURAL SAND HAS BEEN USED AS FINE AGGREGATE. THE TEST RESULTS HAVE BEEN ANALYSED: DENSITY, COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, TENSILE STRENGTH, DEFORMATION MODULUS. A CHARACTERISTIC OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE IS THAT THE RATIO TENSILE STRENGTH/COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH IS LOWER THAN THAT FOR NORMAL CONCRETE.


The author meets two designers who want manufacturers to think more about what people want their car to do for them. The major manufacturers are dominated by men who were petrol-heads in the 1970s and who still think that horsepower is a selling point.


The ferroelectric dispersion of the dielectric constant of colemanite is investigated by a coaxial equipment between -15 °C and +15 °C. In the entire temperature range the dispersion is of the mono-dispersive Debyc type. In a first approximation both the relaxation time τε and the static dielectric constant can be represented by a Curie-Weiß law. The relaxation time of the non-inter- action dipole system shows a characteristic temperature dependence. The phenomenological theory assumes a non-linear coupling between certain quantities of state, and thus it constitutes a generalization of a known linear thermodynamic theory of relaxation phenomena. By this theory various material quantities which are temperature dependent are related to each other. The theory may be applied to all those ferroelectric crystals with a phase transition of the second order which are not piezoelectric in the paraelectric phase. The experimental results obtained for colemanite agree with the predictions of the theory.