For many years it has been the custom of local authorities to add to the '' sanitai'y '' powers vested in them by the Public Health Act of 1875 by following the somewhat costly method of procedure which is offered by private bill legislation. The results have not been wholly satisfactory, and there is at present a lamentable lack of uniformity in the public health powers and duties of the various sanitary authorities. Mr. John Burns has it in mind, it is stated, to change all this by introducing next session, or as soon as may be, a consolidated Public Health Bill, in which will be included many clauses of a kind already obtained from Parliament in a variety of private Acts for different districts. In the meantime, however, and with a similar object in view, the Police and Sanitary Committee of the House of Commons, through its chairman, Mr. J. W. Wilson, M.P., has caused a Public Health Bill of considerable importance to be introduced. Mr. Wilson's Bill provided in the first place that local sanitary authorities might clothe themselves with the powers enumerated in the Bill by merely adopting the whole or any part thereof. At Mr. Burns's suggestion the Standing Committee has now altered this by making a Provisional Order of the Local Government Board a necessary preliminary to the acquisition of the powers of the Bill.


As the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) became more prominent in the field of Computer Vision (CV) their disadvantages gradually became apparent. By sharing transformation matrices between the different levels of a capsule, the Capsule Network (CapsNet) innovated the method of solving affine transformation problems. While the ResNet, it introduces skip connections, which makes deeper networks more powerful and solves the vanishing gradient problem. Fusing the advantageous ideas of CapsNet and ResNet with Squeeze and Excite (SE) block, this paper presents SE-Residual Capsule Network (SE-RCN), a neural network model. In the proposed model, skip connections and SE block take the place of the traditional convolutional layer of CapsNet, reducing the complexity of the network. Based on MNIST and CIFAR-10 datasets, the performance of the model is demonstrated with a substantial reduction in parameters when compared to similar neural networks.


In this paper, previous theoretical developments by one of the authors -relevant to the "enlargement law" - are applied for a benchmark between two alternative compounds candidate for the realization of the solid-extruded insulation of power cables. By resorting to the results of dielectric strength tests relevant to cable models, breakdown performances of full-size cables are investigated as a function of cable length. In particular, the focus is on the existence of the so-called crossing length, such that one of the two compounds performs better for cables longer than crossing length, and conversely the other for cables shorter than this. As a practical case-study, the breakdown performances of two cross-Linked Polyethylene (XLPE) compounds are compared on the basis of lightning impulse strength tests relevant to cable models, by analyzing various power cable voltage ratings, i.e. 6 kV, 20 kV, 150 kV and 400 kV. The application shows that, though the crossing length in fact exists, it is a strong function of cable size and voltage rating. As a general consequence, the choice of the best compound should be based on a comparison between the value of crossing length and typical installation lengths of real cables


The main parameters of wind waves in the World Ocean are connected with global climate change. Renewable energy technologies, intensive shipping, fishery, marine infrastructure, and many different human marine activities in the coastal zone and open sea need knowledge about the wind-wave climate. The main motivation of this research is to share various wind wave parameters with high spatial resolution in the coastal zone via a modern cartographic web atlas. The developed atlas contains information on 13 Russian Seas, including the Azov, Black, Baltic, Caspian, White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi, Bering Seas, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan/East Sea. The analysis of wave climate was based on the results of wave modeling by WAVEWATCH III with input NCEP/CFSR wind and ice data. The web atlas was organized using the classic three-tier architecture, which includes a data storage subsystem (database server), a data analysis and publishing subsystem (GIS server), and a web application subsystem that provides a user interface for interacting with data and map services (webserver). The web atlas provides access to the following parameters: mean and maximum significant wave height, wave length and period, wave energy flux, wind speed, and wind power. The developed atlas allows changing the map scale (zoom) for detailed analysis of wave parameters in the coastal zones where the wave model spatial resolution is 300–1000 m.


Background: Peer assessment can provide a valuable method of enriching students' learning experience, particularly when students act as the assessors, which provides a highly effective enquiry-based learning experience and is increasingly being utilised in medical schools internationally. In preparation for their summative examinations, senior medical students at the Sydney Medical School are required to assess their peers, alongside an academic co-examiner, in the formative long case examinations. This study sought to assess the level of agreement in marking and decision making between student peer and academic assessors, to evaluate the impact of peer assessment on examination performance and to investigate students' perception of their experience as assessors. Methods: Medical students examined their peers, alongside an academic co-examiner. We randomly allocated half of the student participants to examine a peer, alongside an academic assessor, prior to being examined themselves . The level of agreement in marking was determined by comparing the independent marking sheets of student and academic co-examiners. Data on whether the student was examined before or after assessing a peer (order of examination) were collected and compared to measure whether prior participation as a peer assessor improved student examination performance. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to evaluate student peer assessor perceptions. Results: Over a 3-year period (2010 to 2012), 197 students participated as co- examiners and were also examined by their peers, with students marking significantly more leniently than their academic co-examiners. Order of examination had no  significant bearing on student examination performance. Students identified several benefits of acting as an examiner, including better insight into examination technique, opportunities for self-reflection and knowledge acquisition, and development of some of the attributes of professionalism. However, students identified difficulty in providing critical feedback to peers. Conclusion: Engagement as an assessor alongside an academic supervisor provides a rich learning experience for students. Additional training in both peer assessment and feedback may increase students' professional and educational outcomes for future iterations of the activity.


This paper describes a recent effort in characterizing frequency stability performance of the ground system in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deep Space Network (DSN). Unlike the traditional approach where performance is obtained from special calibration sessions that are time consuming and require manual setup, the new method taps into the daily spacecraft tracking data. This method significantly increases the amount of data available for analysis, roughly by two orders of magnitude; making itpossible to conduct trend analysis with reasonable confidence. To make it possible to process the continual stream of daily incoming data without much effort and to quickly understand the results, the processing needs to be automated and the data summarized at high level. Comparison of observed data against expected performance is also given.


ABSTRACT Men's sexual violence against women is pervasive and is especially common in heterosexual intimate relationships. Little research has examined sexual violence in this relational context and from men's perspectives, including how they talk about and frame their behavior. The current research examined how men's sexual violence and accounts thereof reflected and enacted the normalization of violent heterosexuality. We used online surveys with 447 Canadian university men to screen for men who had used sexual violence in their most recent past or present relationship with a woman. Of these men, 71 (15.88%) reported at least one experience using sexual violence and 10 of these men participated in an in-depth interview to elaborate on their experiences. We used a feminist poststructuralist form of discourse analysis to analyze the interview transcripts. Results suggested that men often used language that helped them to position themselves and their sexual violence as normal and expected. However, they also often used alternative discourses and accounts about sexual violence, heterosexuality, and consent. We briefly discuss the implications of our results for educational campaigns and interventions.


The truncation error of the rotational form for the convective terms in the Navier?Stokes equation is examined in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the fully developed turbulent channel flow, in which the low-order finite difference method was used for the partial derivatives in the wall-normal direction. An estimate of the truncation error using the Taylor expansion revealed that this truncation error term is comparable to the rotational stress generation term, represented by the nonlineark-? model in the Reynolds averaged turbulence models, in the governing equations for the Reynolds shear stress and the normal stress due to the Coriolis force term acting in a channel flow rotating about the spanwise axis. The effective angular velocity due to the truncation error term was dependent on the distance from the wall, and the turbulence was reduced on both sides of the walls analogously to the laminarization of turbulence on the suction side of the conventional rotating channel flow. This analogy was further assessed in the DNS of the channel flow rotating with this effective angular velocity. The time development of the wall friction velocity was similar to that obtained using the rotational form.


Buildings,as a form of human consciousness,are reflections of social existence,and reveal certain philosophical connotations from their aesthetics value.Shanxi province is well known as "Ancient Architecture Museum of China" with almost 20,000 ancient buildings in the territory.This article below studies those representative ancient buildings among them,such as Buddhism buildings group and residential buildings group,and concludes that the philosophical connotations of ancient buildings in Shanxi mainly contain three characteristics: 1.ancient ethical thought of "Order";2.ancient living philosophy of "Balance" and "The doctrine of the mean";and 3.ancient natural belief of "Harmony".


We presented an algorithm of topological sorting with local collateral property for digraph expressed in adjacency lists in the present paper.Compared with other method,our algorithm has more practicability with little increase in the cost of running time and memory.The related source program and the running results were al-so provided.The results show that our algorithm is feasible.


The invention relates to a flange profile (1) for connecting two air duct sections of an air duct air-tight, which flange profile is designed as a hollow profile, the cross-section of which is essentially an L-shape and which is made of folded sheet, wherein the L-arms (2, 3) of the flange profile (1) are of double-wall design and have an internal wall (4, 5) and an external wall (6, 7) each. The walls (4, 6) of the first L-arm (2) form an insertion pocket which is open at one end for inserting the wall of one of the air duct sections. The walls (5, 7) of the second L-arm (3) form a receiving chamber (8) for receiving an arm of a corner angle element (17). The second L-arm (3) has at the internal wall (5) thereof, which faces the joint between the air duct sections, a fold (9) which runs along the longitudinal extension of the flange profile (1) and which extends into the interior of the hollow profile to the external wall (7) of the second L-arm (3) and which guides the wall of the air duct section upon inserting said air duct section into the insertion pocket and which has a vertex (11). In order to provide a flange profile that has significantly better stability and sealing properties compared to traditional flange profiles, it is proposed that the external wall (7) of the second L-arm (3) in the transition region to the external wall (6) of the first L-arm (2) has an intermediate section (18) having a rounded shape complementary to the fold (9) and bulging outwardly, wherein the flange profile (1) is deformed after being welded to a wall of the air duct section inserted into the insertion pocket such that the vertex (11) of the fold (9) is pressed against the external wall (7) of the second L-arm (3) in the region of the intermediate section (18) in a planar way.


The task of court is to produce just decisions. A court decision may be just if it coheres moral. Principle is praxis of moral. This article is to articulate that principle has significant meanings in court's decisions. This is because principle is a moral standard that serves to be a reference for Court to settle hard cases equitably. In this writing, case approach is employed. In addition, it also uses comparative approach, in which court decisions of different countries are presented. The purpose of using comparative approach is to find similarities in referring to principle despite different jurisdictions and even different legal systems. From this study, it is found that principle may serve four functions to the court to reach equitable decisions. First, it may be a legal basis for the court to settle a case equitably in the absence of legal rule. In fact, not all human conducts are prescribed by law. It is frequently presumed that what is not prohibited is permitted to do. In this study, it is found that what is not forbidden is not necessarily permissible. The corner stone of determining whether or not it is permissible is principle. In this case, principle served to be legal basis directly applied by the court to avoid producing unjust judgment. Second, the principle has the derogatory function to supersede a statutory provision. In this case, applying such a provision may result in decision contrary to moral. This, certainly, contradicts the idea of the establishment of court of justice. It is justified, therefore, referring to the principle, the court supersedes such a statutory provision to bring about a just decision. Third, the principle serves to be a basis for the court to interpret obscure statutory provision governing the case. It is not unusual that statutory provision is obscure or ambiguous. Such a provision is hard to understand. Settling the case governed by such a provision appropriately, the court should interpret the provision sensibly.


The original slit spectrograph intended for observations of faint objects is described. The main results obtained with this device are briefly discussed.


It discloses a MBMS service provision method in a mobile communication network. Multicast and broadcast service of a mobile communication network service (MBMS) method, the procedure and, wherein each of the transmission time for scheduling a respective transmission time for transmitting each of the data associated with the different MBMS service scheduled by including the scheduling information in a scheduling message comprises a step of transmitting from a network node to a mobile terminal, wherein the scheduling information is periodically provided to a time predefined according to a predefined schedule, the transmission period of the scheduling information, determined for a particular MBMS service. MBMS, transmission time, scheduling information


The well preserved male imago of a new species, Balticobaetisca stuttgardia sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Baltic amber (Eocene). The new species is the second representative of the previously monotypic fossil genus Balticobaetisca Staniczek & Bechly, 2002, so far only known from the species B. velteni Staniczek & Bechly, 2002 from Baltic amber (Eocene). Simultaneously, the second record of the fossil species Borinquena parva Staniczek, 2003 from Dominican amber (Miocene) is presented. Complementary descriptions and illustrations of the studied specimens are given, and distinguishing characters and taxonomical data are discussed.


One kind of fatty acid-carnosine composite and its preparation process are disclosed. The composite has the general molecular structure expression of His-Ala-C(O)-(CH2)nCH3, where nu¢4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14; and the composite has molecular weight of 324-465D. The preparation process includes: the SN2 nucleophilic substituting modification reaction of carnosine containing free amino group and acryl radical-containing fatty acyl chlorideCH3(CH2)nCClO, , where nu¢4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14, to obtain coarse fatty acid-carnosine composite product; reverse efficient liquid chromatographic separation and collecting the composite; and freeze drying to obtain purified fatty acid-carnosine composite product. The composite has the advantages of antioxidant activity, high intracorporeal biostability, long half life and high bioavailability, and expects to become the active components of antioxidant medicine for treating senile dementia, atherosclerosis, etc.


The role of direct versus indirect experience in the attitude-behavior consistency issue is reviewed. Using a new communications model, the authors extend the direct/indirect experience paradigm to a common marketing scenario: product trial versus product advertising. The specific contributions of attitude strength and type of behavior are examined, and results show that when attitudes are based on trial they predict purchase very well. When attitudes are based on advertising, however, attitude-behavior consistency is significantly reduced. Implications for when attitude models should be applied in marketing research and practice are discussed.


Higher education institutes have integratede-learning systems (ELS)in theireducational infrastructure. The development and implementation of ELS needs continuous qualityevaluation and assessment to attract more learners.A conceptual model consisting of system, serviceand information qualities was evaluated to measure the user satisfaction. Data was collected from 356learners including Post Graduate (52%) and Graduate (48%)students of Virtual University, Pakistan.To investigate the research hypotheses, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed. Theempirical analysis indicated that information quality (0.38, p<0.05), service quality (0.14, p<0.05)andsystem quality(0.48, p<0.01) were the positive and significant indicators for user satisfaction.Thevariance explained by the model is 71% that showed the significance of model.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Oral mucositis (OM) is considered the most frequent acute side effect of the antineoplasic treatment, with ulcerative lesions resulting from a painful symptomatology, affecting the oral cavity in response to the Antineoplastic treatment. In order to study these side effects, experiments in animal models are necessary, using antineoplastic drugs for the induction of OM and anesthetics, mainly Ketamine and Xylazine, to perform scarification of the cheeks. Objective: The goal is to report an experimental model of induced OM, without the use of anesthetics for the scarification stage of the animal cheeks. Methods: Fourty five male Wistar rats, 7 weeks old and weighting 220g, were used, divided into 2 groups; with OM induced by 5-Fluorouracil intraperitoneal administration. Two days later, Group I was physically contained, in contrast, Group II were anesthetized with Ketamine and Xylazine, focusing on irritating the cheek mucosa using the tip of a sterile needle, in order to potentialize the development of OM. The animals were euthanized with an anesthetic overdose. Results: Concerning the experiment of 5-Fluorouracil chemo-induced of OM, where the irritation was performed by physical containment, without the use of anesthetics (Ketamine and Xylazine), the animals had a longer survivability and a rapid improvement of the side effects induced by chemotherapy. Conclusion: This new model is promising, considering that the use of anesthetics (Ketamine and Xylazine) showed a high mortality rate. In the absence of anesthesia, all the animals survived until the end of the experiment involving chemotherapy model with 5-Fluorouracil and physical restraint.


Federated learning (FL) is essentially a distributed machine learning paradigm that enables the joint training of a global model by aggregating gradients from participating clients without exchanging raw data. However, a malicious aggregation server may deliberately return designed results without any operation to save computation overhead, or even launch privacy inference attacks using crafted gradients. There are only a few schemes focusing on verifiable FL, and yet they cannot achieve collusion-resistant verification. In this paper, we propose a novel Verifiable, Collusion-resistant, and Dynamic FL (VCD-FL) to tackle this issue. Specifically, we first optimize Lagrange interpolation by gradient grouping and compression for achieving efficient verifiability of FL. To protect clients' data privacy against collusion attacks, we propose a lightweight commitment scheme using irreversible gradient transformation. By integrating the proposed efficient verification mechanism with the novel commitment scheme, our VCD-FL can detect whether or not the aggregation server is involved in collusion attacks. Moreover, considering that clients might go offline due to some reason such as network anomaly and client crash, we adopt the secret sharing technique to eliminate the effect of federation dynamics on FL. In a nutshell, our VCD-FL can achieve collusion-resistant verification and collusion attack detection with supporting the correctness, privacy, and dynamics. Finally, we theoretically prove the effectiveness of our VCD-FL, make comprehensive comparisons, and conduct a series of experiments on MNIST dataset with MLP and CNN models. The theoretical proof and experimental analysis demonstrate that our VCD-FL is computationally efficient, robust against collusion attacks, and able to support the dynamics of FL.


Skid resistance of road surface plays an important role on urban traffic accidents. It is thought that reduction of surface microtexture leads to reduced skid resistance. Hence, it affects driving safety negatively and may cause traffic accidents. This paper is about the effect of skid resistance and intersection safety. Urban four leg signalized intersections were selected from Isparta city. The surface frictional properties were measured and it was tried to find critical skid resistance value with the help of British Pendulum Tester. Macro texture values of the intersections were determined with Sand Patch test and concluded that surface macro texture contributes to skid resistance. An analysis technique based on probability theory has been used. This method is used for expounding the interaction between skid resistance-intersection and accident rates. After the study results are evaluated, it is understood that pavement roughness is very important for urban intersection safety measures.


Objective To explore the induction of TNFα secretion by microglia with amyloid β-peptide. Methods Primary mouse microglia was purified and cultured. Microglia was activated with a series of doses of amyloid β-peptide. Cell survival rate was determined by MTT assay. Morphology of microglia induced by amyloid β -peptide was observed with microscope. Concentration of TNFα secreted by microglia was measured by ELISA. Results Amyloid β-peptide did not show cytotoxicity in microglia. Microglia was activated with a series of doses of amyloid β -peptide (0.1,1.0,10,50,100μmol/L),and TNFα was secreted when microglia was activated. Concentration of TNFα increased with rising of amyloid β-peptide,and TNFα increased slightly when concentration of amyloid β-peptide was above 10μmol/L. TNFα was secreted by microglia induced by amyloid β-peptide for 2h,and high peak occurred 24 hours after induced by amyloid β-peptide. Concentration of TNFα declined after microglia was induced by amyloid β-peptide for 24h. Conclusion Activation of microglia by amyloid β-peptide is correlated with the stimulant dose and time of amyloid β-peptide. Microglia induced by amyloid β-peptide for 24h with 10μmol/L concentration is suggested.


Abstract. Patterning based on directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymer (BCP) has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective manufacturing technique for advanced sub-20-nm structures. This paper describes the application of Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry (MMSE) based scatterometry to optically characterize polystyrene-b-polymethylmethacrylate patterns and Si fins fabricated with DSA. A regression-based (inverse-problem) approach is used to calculate the line-width, line-shape, sidewall-angle, and thickness of the DSA structures. In addition, anisotropy and depolarization calculations are used to determine the sensitivity of MMSE to DSA pattern defectivity. As pattern order decreases, the mean squared error value increases, depolarization value increases, and anisotropy value decreases. These specific trends are used in the current work as a method to judge the degree of alignment of the DSA patterns across the wafer.


The cyclization reactions of N-methylpent-4-enylaminyl (10), hex-5-enyl (11) and pent-4-en-1-oxyl (12) radicals were investigated theoretically at the CBS-RAD(B3LYP, B3LYP) level of theory. In all three cases the correspondence between calculated and experimental data was excellent. N-Methylpent-4-enylaminyl (10) is predicted to undergo irreversible (ΔG = −5.4 kcal mol−1; ΔG‡ = 12.1 kcal mol−1) cyclization through the 5-exo manifold. The role of (Bu3Sn)2O in the reactions of arenesulfenamides 6–9 and N-butyl-2-[(phenylselenyl)methyl]pyrrolidine (15) with Bu3SnH in benzene at 80 °C has been reassessed. The purpose of (Bu3Sn)2O in these reactions is to scavenge 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and PhSeH, respectively, which are produced in situ from the reaction of adventitious bis(benzothiazol-2-yl) disulfide and PhSeSePh, respectively, and Bu3SnH. The reaction of N-butyl-2-[(phenylselenyl)methyl]pyrrolidine (15) with Bu3SnH was reinvestigated and found to produce only N-butyl-2-methylpyrrolidine (16) thus confirming the irreversible nature of the cyclization of N-methylpent-4-enylaminyl (10) under the conditions employed in this study.


Business organisations all over the world are striving hard to evolve strategies to survive in the new era of competition ushered in by globalisation. Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is one such strategy. In this paper, various countries across the world have been separated on the basis of various regions and development in their respective economies. To compare the degree of implementation of an ideal supply chain in these countries, a Supply Chain Management Index (SCMI) has been formulated with the help of questionnaire survey and analysis. Various strategies have been suggested for different economies in the world for optimising their supply chain network and improving its respective SCMI. Opportunities and challenges offered by the global supply chain, as suggested by various experts, have been pointed out and discussed thoroughly. The effect of bullwhip on global supply chain has also been analysed. Further, the factors affecting the GSCM have been identified and discussed.


The main objective of this work is to present a methodology that determines the back up contract level and pricing criteria that take into account the risk aversion profile of the investors. The risks considered are those associated with random forced outages and spot price volatility in hydro-thermal systems. The back up contract level is determined based on VaR concept according to the back up requirement probability distribution and the hedging level desired by the investor. Two pricing criteria are presented and discussed: the mean value and the certainty equivalent. The latter takes into account the investor's risk aversion by means of utility functions. The methodology is applicable to portfolios of hydro and thermal plants operating in different systems, i.e. with possible different spot prices. A case study analysing the impact of back up strategies for a set of hydro and thermal plants is presented and discussed by using a configuration of the Brazilian system.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. Conventional neuroimaging does not fully capture the effect of CAD on cognition. This study uses diffusion tensor imaging to determine whether subtle changes in white matter (WM) microstructural integrity can further predict CAD-associated cognitive impairment. Participants (n=49) were recruited at entry into cardiac rehabilitation. Composite Z-scores were computed for executive function and memory. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired. WM integrity as quantified by fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left parahippocampal cingulum was significantly associated with executive function (F1,44=11.43, p=.002). FA in 10 other WM tracts examined was also associated with executive function but did not survive statistical correction for multiple comparisons. No associations were observed between FA in WM tracts and memory. Subtle WM microstructural changes may contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive decline in a population prone to early neural risk for dementia.


Tono Monogatari, published in 1910, is the pioneering and classic work of Yanagida Kunio, the father of modern Japanese folklore. Using Tono Monogatari as the starting point, Yanagida himself created the Japanese folklore, which the Japanese are proud of. Japanese academic circles have always regarded Tono Monogatari as a record of the local folk in Tono, Northeast Japan. Even Zhou Zuoren, who first got acquainted with this book in Japan, regarded it as a work of purely Japanese local studies. This article first starts with the text of Tono Monogatari, examines the relationship between its "Chinese style" and Chinese culture, and points out the Chinese cultural influence. On this basis the author traced the source of certain stories in Tono Monogatari, analyzed the way and process of these Chinese materials spread to Japan, and the changes that occurred after they were incorporated into Japanese folklore. By finding out that Tono Story has derived from many aspects of Chinese culture, it refutes the academic view that Tono Story is a pure Japanese folk heritage.


IPv6 is the core protocol used in next generation Internet.It's imperative for the existing IPv4 to transit to IPv6.The universities are the leading force of the research and application of IPv6 network.The inevitability of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is analysed and several methods of deploying the IPv6 campus network based on the status quo of IPv6 network and the process of transition.A concrete application technology solution is provided to IPv6 configuration in Windows.


Flowers thinning allows the reduction of seeds to harvest, increases their weight, and therefore, can modify the source-sink relationship during the post-anthesis period in cereals. In 2003 a field experiment was established at Montecillo, State of Mexico (19° 29' N, 98° 54' W and 2250 m altitude), with the following objectives: 1) to quantify the seed yield per panicle (number and weight of seeds) and the seed weight when the number of flowers is reduced, and its effect on the embryo and endosperm dry weight ratio; and 2) to analyze the distribution of dry matter (DM) among the plant organs during the post-anthesis period in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). At flowering, two thinning levels were applied (R1 and R2, plus a control) in the main inflorescence of three cold tolerant genotypes: two maintainer lines (B1 and B9) and the variety VA-110. In R1 (less severe thinning), the branchlets were alternately removed (proportion 1:1); in R2 (more severe thinning) two adjacent branchlets were eliminated and the third was left intact (proportion 2:1). The seed yield per panicle and the dry weight of the seed, embryo and endosperm were evaluated in the three genotypes. Additionally, in B9 and VA-110, the dry weight of the plant organs was quantified at flowering and at physiological maturity; the difference between the two samplings was used to evaluate the distribution of DM during the post-anthesis period. VA-110 presented lower seed yield (SYP) and lower number of seeds per panicle (NSP), but higher weight of 100 seeds (W100S) than the two lines. In the most severe thinning, the NSP decreased and the W100S increased. Individual seed weight increased up to 33% in VA-110, and in average 55% in the two lines; but the intensity of the thinning did not modify the proportion (7:1) dry weight of the embryo: dry weight of the endosperm. The compensation between the NSP and W100S was the reason that the differences found in the SYP between the control and the thinning intensities were lower in line B9, intermediate in VA- 110 and higher in line B. The analysis of the distribution of DM indicated that the lamina, leaf sheets and the vegetative structures of the inflorescence, are organs that participate as important physiological sources during the post-anthesis period in sorghum.


Fingernail imaging has been proven to be effective in prior works [1], [2] for estimating the 3D fingertip forces with a maximum RMS estimation error of 7%. In the current research, fingernail imaging is used to perform unconstrained grasp force measurement on multiple fingers to study human grasping. Moreover, two robotic arms with mounted cameras and a visual tracking system have been devised to keep the human fingers in the camera frame during the experiments. Experimental tests have been conducted for six human subjects under both constrained and unconstrained grasping conditions, and the results indicate a significant difference in force collaboration among the fingers between the two grasping conditions. Another interesting result according to the experiments is that in comparison to constrained grasping, unconstrained grasp forces are more evenly distributed over the fingers and there is less force variation (more steadiness) in each finger force. These results validate the importance of measuring grasp forces in an unconstrained manner in order to study how humans naturally grasp objects.


1. Received: June 24, 2019. Accepted: Feb. 05, 2020. Published: Apr. 22, 2020. DOI: 10.1590/1983-40632020v5059098. 2. Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Viçosa, MG, Brasil. E-mail/ORCID: firstname.lastname@example.com/0000-0003-1138-8197. 3. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Ciências Agronômicas e Ambientais, Frederico Westphalen, RS, Brasil. E-mail/ORCID: email@example.com/0000-0002-0354-7744, firstname.lastname@example.com/0000-0002-3013-5702, firstname.lastname@example.com/0000-0002-1099-6900, email@example.com/0000-0002-3854-1449. Maize seeds lost during harvest may emerge and establish themselves during the cultivation of common bean, becoming a problematic weed in succession crops. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the infestation level and interference period of volunteer maize on agronomic traits of common bean. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design, with four replications, in a 2 x 8 factorial scheme consisting of two maize infestation levels (4 plants m-2 and 12 plants m-2) combined with eight coexistence periods between crop and weed (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 88 days after the emergence of the common bean). Variables related to the common bean vegetative growth (plant height, stem diameter, number of side branches and shoot dry matter) and to its grain production (number of pods per plant, grain yield and weight of 1,000 grains), as well as the period prior to interference, were assessed. The increase of the coexistence period and volunteer maize infestation level negatively affected the common bean growth and grain yield. The densities with 4 plants m-2 and 12 plants m-2 of volunteer maize reduced the common bean grain yield by 60 % and 84 %, respectively; while the periods prior to interference between crop and weed, for the respective infestation levels, were 15 and 8 days after the common bean emergence. In addition, the volunteer maize reduces the period prior to interference to very low values, indicating the need to anticipate the control of this weed.


Cancer and its treatment tend to destroy both sexual function and sexual performance. In gynaecological oncology that applies even more because the sexual machinery is directly involved. As a result, sex for fun and sex for procreation will disappear from the couple's menu. Bothering about possible sexual side effects seems not very relevant. That makes discussing this topic also absent from the menu of the oncology professionals, causing unnecessary additional sadness to the woman and her partner and potentially causing additional damage to their relationship.


A 7-year-old boy was playfully revolving a partly insulated electric wire which accidentally struck a bamboo pole in its path. He soon found that his left nostril was hit and blood trickled from the site. Unsuspected on investigation, a small fragment of the wire was found within the brain. The sequence of events is reported.


The invention discloses a high-nitrogen suspension-type liquid fertilizer which comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 50-80% of saturated mother solution and 20-50% of solid-liquid mixture. The saturated mother solution comprises the following components in parts by weight: 0-6 parts of potassium humate, 20-50 parts of nitrogen fertilizer, 5-20 parts of potassium fertilizer and 5-30 parts of water. The solid-liquid mixture comprises the following components in parts by weight: 5-20 parts of phosphate fertilizer, 0.2-1 part of minor element raw material, 70-100 parts of water and 5-26 parts of assistant. The suspension-type product has the advantages of excellent stability, excellent uniformity, excellent flowability, no stratification or precipitation after long time, high cost benefit and lower cost, and implements the high-concentration formula.


Background. At the present time the issue of studies of the informal sector has become topical primarily due to the fact that the informal economy unites qualitatively dissimilar activities, fully or partially not subordinate to the formal standards of management, without being backed by contracts and recorded by the statistical records. The composition of the informal economy is quite heterogeneous and includes the shadow and criminal activity, domestic labour providing self-sufficiency of families and network exchanges between households on non-market basis. The purpose of the work is to define a typology of the informal sector of economy on the basis of the selection criteria. Materials and methods. In this work, depending on the features of the tasks, different methods of economic research were used: abstract-logical when setting the goals and objectives of the research; comparative analysis to reveal the peculiarities of formal and informal sectors of the economy and other issues addressed in the work; induction and deduction for determination of the definitions of the main criteria of the informal economy typology. Theoretical basis of the study consisted of the works by Russian scientists, in particular, S. Y. Barsukova, and foreign (L. A. Munro, P. Doeringer, J. Losby, G. S. Fields and others) economists on the influence of the informal sector on the national economy. Information and empirical base of the research includes materials from periodicals and the Internet. Results. In the course of the study the authors analyzed the approaches to the typology of the informal sector, identified the main criteria of classification of the informal sector of the economy, compared the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Conclusions. Thus, the informal economy includes such different forms that it is difficult to give them only the right definition. For a more complete definition one must allocate its main criteria: legality; type turnover; the result of activity; assessment of the state bodies; taxation; terms and conditions of employment; the initiative of the counterparty.


The interrelationship between the spatial distribution of soil Se and its characteristic element combinations that indicate different origin materials of three high quality rice-cultivating areas in Jiangmen city(Douhu,Niujiang and Zhaiwu) of Guangdong province was study.The results showed that soil Se in those areas resulted from continental deposits,of which the base source contributed more to soil Se than the granite source.Of the seven Se species studied,the species strongly bound in organic compounds and the humic acid-bound species accounted for more than half of total Se content,and the correlation coefficient between these two Se forms and total Se was high,indicating that the enrichment of Se in soil is closely related with organic matter activities.The distribution,migration,and the total transmission of Se in the roots,stems,leaves,chaff and grain of rice constituted a dynamic process.The Se transferred upward from the soil and the roots was gradually accumulated in various organs,the concentration factor being in the order of C stem-chaff C soil-root C stem-grain C root-stem.Se content of the shoots of rice was less than 50% of total Se of the plant.Total soil Se of the high-Se areas was related to organic Se and residual Se in the soil.The content and forms of Se were significantly affected by soil pH,Eh and organic matter content.


Objective To study the effect of Pingfeng Gujin Granule (PFGJG) on the immune function in mice. Methods The effect of PFGJG on the immune function in mice was determined by detecting the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes,the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) and the activity of natural killer (NK) cell. Results These immune parameters differed significantly between PFGJG group and control groups,and the effect of PFGJG obviously exceeded that of Yupingfeng Granule. Conclusion PFGJG can evidently induce the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes, stimulate the production of IL-2 and IL-1 and increase the activity of NK cell in mice, so it has a considerable immune-enhancing effect.


Abstract Background Women living with HIV (WLWH) have higher rates of long-term amenorrhea (no flow for ≥12 months) than HIV-negative women. However, little is known about the consequences of amenorrhea for WLWH. Both amenorrhea and HIV are associated with lower areal bone mineral density (BMD); though the combined effect of both on BMD remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study we investigated whether prolonged amenorrhea adversely affects BMD among WLWH. Methods We investigated BMD (using a Hologic bone densitometer) and prolonged amenorrhea among WLWH and HIV-negative control women of similar socioeconomic backgrounds aged 19–68 in the CARMA cohort. Participants were stratified by HIV status and history of prolonged secondary amenorrhea defined as a self-reported absence of menses for at least one year in the past or present, occurring at age <45 years and not due to surgery, breastfeeding, pregnancy or hormonal contraception. Hip and spine Z-scores (age- and race- standardized BMD values) were compared between groups using linear models, followed by multivariable analysis of BMD-related factors. Results WLWH (N = 129) had significantly lower hip (mean±SD −0.4 ± 0.9 vs. 0.3 ± 1.1; P < 0.001) and spine (−0.5 ± 1.3 vs. 0.2 ± 1.3; P = 0.001) Z-scores vs. controls (N = 129). Multivariable linear regression found prolonged amenorrhea was independently related to lower hip (P = 0.01), but not spine (P = 0.94) BMD. Within WLWH, the effect of amenorrhea was also additive to that of HIV, with hip Z-scores of -0.8±0.9for those with amenorrhea vs. -0.3±0.8for those normally cycling (P = 0.01). Amongst WLWH, those with prolonged amenorrhea had higher rates of illicit substance use, smoking, chronic opioid therapy, hepatitis C viral infection, and poorer HIV viral control than those with normal menstruation. Conclusion These data suggest that WLWH having prolonged amenorrhea of ≥1 year's duration are at increased risk for hip bone loss, a finding influenced by comorbid, HIV-associated conditions. Screening WLWH for menstrual history will allow early discovery of osteoporosis risk, and stimulate preventative measures to mitigate bone loss. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


Since protoplanetary disks rotate with Keplerian velocity, the emissions from disks have characteristic profiles due to doppler shift. Analyzing the profiles of lines, we will obtain the information on the distance from the central star of the line emitting regions. We have calculated the chemical structure of protoplanetary disks and H2O line profiles, and have proposed the method to locate the position of the H2O snowline in the disk midplane using high-dispersion spectroscopic observations. We have found that the H2O lines with small Einstein A coefficients and relatively high upper state energies are dominated by emission from the disk region inside the H2O snowline, and thus their profiles potentially contain information which can be used to locate the position of the H2O snowline.[2][3].


Wallmans Lawyers seeks to be proactive in assisting to reduce the high rates of mental illness in the legal profession, by encouraging our employees to utilise the services of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) should they need to seek help.


ABSTRACT – We contemporarily studied cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood (PB) T‐cell subsets, defined by monoclonal antibodies, in 29 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 10 patients with other neurological diseases (OND). AH subjects showed a clear‐cut prevalence of CSF T‐cells. Similarly, T‐helper and T‐suppressor subsets tended to show higher percentages in CSF in almost all subjects except relapsing MS, who were characterized by low percentages of T‐suppressors in PB and even much lower percentages in CSF. Helper/suppressor ratios were found to be almost similar in the two body compartments of OND patients, lower in CSF than in PB of chronic progressive MS, always higher inCSF than in PB of relapsing MS. MS patients in remission showed both patterns of progressive MS and OND patients. Our results demonstrate that the loss of PB T‐suppressor in relapsing MS is not due to a migration of such cells into CSF. Furthermore, regarding T‐lymphocyte subsets, a typical CSF/PB pattern characterizes relapsing MS from other patients.


Serayu Barrage is one of the weirs built in the river segment with a gentle slope of the riverbed. Serayu barrage, which was built in 1993, is used to meet the needs of irrigation water for irrigation areas Gambarsari - Pesangrahan with an area of ± 20,795 ha of irrigated land and to meet the needs of raw water in Cilacap Regency. Because this weir is located in a sloping river segment, with these characteristics the weir will easily increase sediment upstream of the weir due to the low flow velocity of the upstream weir. This study is intended to analyze the increase in sedimentation in the upstream weir based on Shen and Hung's model of sediment transport analysis. An analysis of the increase in sediment upstream of the weir was carried out for the study year from 2007-2036. The results of this study indicate that the increase in sedimentation upstream of the Barrage of Serayu's motion continued throughout the years 2007-2036. Then with using predictive analysis of the second order polynomial model, until 2036, occurs increased sedimentation in the upstream Serayu Barrage of 15,392 tons/day.Keywords: Shen and Hung sediment transport model, Increased sedimentation, Upper Serayu barrage


Partially carbonized polyimide (CPI) membranes were prepared on a porous alumina support from carbonization of polyimide membranes at 460-500°C. The permeance of O 2 through the CPI membrane increased with the increasing carbonization temperature, although the separation factors (O 2 /N 2 ) reduced from 11 to 4. The highly permeable CPI membranes carbonized at 500°C were silylated with 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl disilazane (HMDS) at 90°C, 150°C and 180°C before or after carbonization to solve an adverse humidity effect on gas permeation. The molar ratios of C/Si in the cross section of the silylated CPI membranes were analyzed by SEM-EDX measurements. The separation of dry air through the nonsilylated and silylated CPI membranes was performed before and after a steam treatment. Continuous air permeation tests under saturated steam were also performed with prolonged time. The CPI membranes silylated at 180°C had deposition of organosilicate on the outer surface of polyamide layer, resulting in the reduction of the O 2 flux. On the other hand, the flux of O 2 and the separation factor for the CPI membrane silylated at 150°C before carbonization did not reduce drastically under saturated steam. The results of chemical composition analysis for polyimide and carbonized polyimide suggests that water-resistant CPI membranes with high O 2 permeation flux were synthesized by taking advantage of reactive carboxyl groups in the membrane before carbonization.


The galactic cosmic rays are the main source of ionization in the Earth stratosphere and troposphere. The induced by primary cosmic ray particles ionization is important in various processes related to atmospheric physics and chemistry, specifically the minor constituents. The ion production in the atmosphere is enhanced compared to the average following major solar energetic particles events, specifically over the polar caps. During the solar cycle 23 we observed several strong ground level enhancements, one of the strongest among them been the Bastille day event on 14 July 2000. In the work presented here we apply a full Monte Carlo 3-D model in order to compute the cosmic ray induced ionization. The model is based on atmospheric shower simulation with the PLANETOCOSMICS code and the ion production rate is considered as a superposition of cosmic rays with galactic and solar origin. The ion production rate is computed as a function of the altitude above the sea level and the short, mid and long term ionization effect relative to the average due to galactic cosmic rays is computed.


Abstract I report the first example of communal parasitism in galling aphids and quantify the effects of gall invasion by the inquiline aphid Tamalia inquilina Miller on its host, Tamalia coweni (Cockerell). On populations of the host plants Arctostaphylos spp., both T. coweni and T. inquilina exhibited facultatively communal behavior and co-occupied galls with no apparent agonistic interactions. Although total reproductive output of adult offspring was similar between galls containing T. coweni alone and galls with both species, the allocation of brood was skewed toward that of the inquiline; hence, T. inquilina is a parasite of T. coweni. The presence of T. inquilina had no significant effect on survivorship of T. coweni in mixed-species galls. T. inquilina successfully reproduced in open galls abandoned by T. coweni, and under these circumstances was best characterized as commensal rather than parasitic. My data indicated T. inquilina was significantly more likely to move between galls, supporting the hypothesis that the inquiline actively seeks galls to invade. As frequent occupants of unsealed galls, T. inquilina may incur higher risks of predation and desiccation than T. coweni: experimental evidence showed that at least one specialist predator preferred T. coweni to T. inquilina and that T. inquilina withstood experimental dessication for significantly longer periods than did T. coweni. I suggest the distinctive morphology of T. inquilina is a correlate of the ecology of its parasitic life history on T. coweni.


Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry, Director of the Heart Research Center Nominated by Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare, Chonnam National University Hospital, 42 Jaebonro, Dongku, Gwangju, 501-757-Republic of Korea Phone: 82-62-220-6243 Fax: 82-62-228-7174 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Accepted Date: 17.02.2015 ©Copyright 2015 by Turkish Society of Cardiology Available online at www.anatoljcardiol.com DOI:10.5152/akd.2015.0054 Searching for the key to improve infarcted cardiac wall motion and prevent ventricular remodeling after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Beyond symptom-onset-to-balloon time


Some of the outcomes of the metric study applied to Revolucion y Cultura journal during the period 1967 - 1970 are explained in this article. Topical and aut...


The dilemma encountered in the development of the Oroqen language and culture is typical. The Oroqen language contains nomenclature terms and forms of expression for natural landscapes, natural phenomena, grasses, flowers and fruits, wild animals, etc. in the cold-temperate forest zone of northern China. The Oroqen language is the living corpus, thought bank and life bank of Greater & Lesser Khingan Mountains and Stanovoy Range in China. However, in the course of modernisation and the impact of powerful modern Chinese language, Oroqen language is seriously endangered. Therefore, it is crucial to establish scientific and effective conservation measures and development systems based on this situation. Based on the current situation and dilemmas of Oroqen language development and ethnic education in northern China, this paper focuses on the influencing factors and makes recommendations for school and government policies to promote Oroqen education and culture.


The Acquadolce Subunit on the Island of Elba, Italy, records blueschist facies metamorphism related to the Oligocene–early Miocene stages of continental collision in the Northern Apennines. The blueschist facies metamorphism is represented by glaucophane‐ and lawsonite‐bearing metabasite associated with marble and calcschist. These rock types occur as lenses in a schistose complex representing foredeep deposits of early Oligocene age. Detailed petrological analyses on metabasic and metapelitic protoliths, involving mineral and bulk‐rock chemistry coupled with P–T and P–T–X(Fe2O3) pseudosection modelling using PERPLE_X, show that the Acquadolce Subunit recorded nearly isothermal exhumation from peak pressure–temperature conditions of 1.5–1.8 GPa and 320–370°C. During exhumation, peak lawsonite‐ and possibly carpholite‐ or stilpnomelane‐bearing assemblages were overprinted and partially obliterated by epidote‐blueschist and, subsequently, albite‐greenschist facies metamorphic assemblages. This study sheds new light on the tectonic evolution of Adria‐derived metamorphic units in the Northern Apennines, by showing (a) the deep underthrusting of continental crust during continental collision and (b) rapid exhumation along 'cold' and nearly isothermal paths, compatible with syn‐orogenic extrusion.


Dynamic Traffic Assignment modeling fundamental combined with urban congestion analyze method is studied in the paper.Three methods is erected on congestion analyze especially the stochastic user optimal DTA models is considered.Correspondingly,dynamic system optimal model is suggested to responding conges-tion countermeasure and ideal user optimal model to predicted congestion countermeasure respectively.


An object of the present invention is to reduce the power consumed by mobile communication terminal having wireless LAN connection function. To achieve this object, when data communication operation is started, a control unit determines whether connection to wireless LAN is available, and if so, detects the battery remaining amount in battery unit If the battery remaining amount is equal to or greater than a first threshold, data communication is performed through wireless LAN connection. When the battery remaining amount is smaller than the first threshold, screen for recommending connection through cellular communication is displayed on display unit. When the battery remaining amount becomes smaller than a second threshold smaller than the first threshold, power source control unit performs predetermined power saving operation.


As of December 1989, 79.4% of Rwanda's 350 health structures provided family planning services. Family planning services were available at 18 public and 13 private hospitals, 108 public and 60 private health centers, 46 public and 12 private dispensaries, 10 public and 10 private infirmaries, and 13 secondary family planning posts. 65.7% of the family planning services were in public facilities and 34.3% were in the private sector. Over 70% of health services in all prefectures except Gisenyi had family planning services. About 80% of private sector facilities had family planning services, but the majority provided only the so-called natural methods. The secondary family planning posts were created to increase access to family planning. The number of new acceptors of family planning has increased steadily since the national family planning program was initiated in 1981. The number of new acceptors in 1989 was estimated at 45,844, including 31,571 new acceptors of injectables, 9521 of pills, 2417 of barrier methods, 1804 of auto-observation methods, 425 IUDs, and 115 of implants. The number of new acceptors varied widely in different prefectures, with Kibuye, Cyangugu, and Kibungo having few new acceptors. Over 2/3 of new acceptors received services in public sector facilities. The total number of family planning users was estimated at 64,266 in 1989, up from 40,133 in 1988 and 755 in 1981. Some 70.1% of all acceptors use injectables and 21% use pills. The national contraceptive prevalence rate for women in union was 5.7% in 1989, which was corrected for underestimation to 6.2%.


In this paper,COD removal and colour removal of H-acid model waste water under wet air oxidation using a gaseous source of air with different temperature,air pressure and pH value are investigated.The results show that COD removal and colour removal of 10 000 mg/L H-acid waste water under 200℃,5 0MPa air pressure and 7 5 pH value after 60min retention time are 88 7% and 95 2% respectively.According to GC/MS analysis,the main residual component is acetic acid after COD removal reaches above 86 8% under wet air oxidation and there is no toxic H-acid component existing in the residual products.The First-order reaction dynamic model of WAO of H acid waste water includes two steps between experimental temperature 171℃ and 200℃.


In this paper, we present a new wideband miniature branchline coupler as a key circuit to be integrated in 60-GHz packaged beamforming networks for phased-array antennas. First, the integrated passive device (IPD) technology from STMicroelectronics is investigated in the mm-wave range through the simulation, fabrication, and measurements of a microstrip line and a simple hybrid coupler. Then, a novel coupler topology with emphasis on miniaturization and broadband operation is theorized. Analytical equations are derived and a 60-GHz coupler is optimized on IPD technology. Measurement results are discussed and compared with state-of-the art publications. The whole 57-66-GHz bandwidth is efficiently covered with the three following performance: -10-dB impedance matching, ±1-dB amplitude imbalance, and ±5° phase imbalance. As an application example, the novel coupler is integrated into a 4 × 4 Butler matrix suitable for an array-antenna demonstrating stateof-the art performance in terms of insertion loss and phase error. The measurement of different samples shows low variation of the IPD process because of very good reproducibility making it a suitable candidate for circuits operating in the 60-GHz band.


OBJECTIVE To investigated the effect of berberine on intracellular distribution of glucokinase (GK) stimulated by different concentration of glucose in NIT-1 cells. METHODS The NIT-1 cells were cultured in the medium containing low(5.5 mmol·L-1)or high (16.5 mmol·L-1) concentration of glucose respectively. After treatment with different concentration of berberine or biotin,the amount of insulin in the medium was determined by RIA,intracellular ATP content was measured by ATP Bioluminescence Assay Kit. The GK activity of NIT-1 cells was determined with the method of enzymatic analysis,while the intracellular distribution of GK was detected with immunofluorescence. RESULTS Compared with the control,the insulin levels of berberine treated NIT-1 cells were significantly increased under the stimulation by high concentration of glucose in the culture media,the intracellular ATP contents were augmented,the GK activity enhanced,and express of intracellular GK promoted. However,the facilitating effects of berberine on GK in NIT-1 cells was not observed when cultured under low concentration glucose. CONCLUSION It is suggested that berberine could promote the express of GK in intracellular stimulated by high concentration of glucose.


The inclusion ideal graph of a commutative unitary ring $R$ is the (undirected) graph $In(R)$ whose vertices all non-trivial ideals of $R$ and two distinct vertices are adjacent if and only if one of them is a proper subset of the other one. In this paper, the metric dimension of $In(R)$ is discussed. Moreover, the structure of the resolving graph of $In(R)$ is characterized and as an application, we compute the strong metric dimension of $In(R)$.


The antioxidant activities against DPPH free radical of crude extracts using ethyl acetate and methanol from ink sac, muscles, and bones of 5 squid species (Uroteuthis chinensis, Uroteuthis sibogae, Uroteuthis duvaucelii, Sepia esculenta, Sepioteuthis lessoniana) collected in Khanh Hoa waters were investigated. These activities ranged from 4.21% (ethyl acetate extract from ink of U. chinensis) to 54.51% (methanol extract from muscle of S. esculenta.). The functional group analysis by infrared adsorption spectrum (FTIR) in these crude extracts revealed the absorption peaks of melanin in ink, polysaccharide in bone and protein in muscle extracts. In addition, the SDS-PAGE result of some methanol extracts showed the presence of proteins with a molecular weight of 30-150 kDa.


Equity capital of any business entity is one of the types of economic capital category. It is essential for the proper functioning of the institution due to changes in the sources of formation and environment. Capital contributed by the founders at the opening of the company, is considered to be the initial funds used to organize the initial activity of the enterprise, or additional funds in a period of growth and expansion. In addition, equity capital protects institutions from financial instability and excessive risks, protects them from bankruptcy, covers losses of current expenses, increases customer confidence, and meets the needs of the clientele in commercial and consumer goods. To ensure the life of the enterprise in modern conditions, management personnel must, first of all, clearly assess the financial condition of their enterprise and potential competitors. Financial position is the most important characteristic of an enterprise's economic activity. It assesses the competitiveness, potential of business cooperation, and the extent to which the economic interests of the company and its partners in financial and industrial relations are secured. However, the ability to determine the real financial situation is not sufficient for the successful operation of the enterprise and the achievement of its goals. The company organizes accounting depending on its actual state, volume and type of activity: independently determines the forms of organization of accounting work; forms accounting policies; determines the scope of financial and industrial accounting; develops the procedure for monitoring economic operations, as well as makes other necessary decisions for the organization of accounting. In addition, you can see that the company has recently been developing dynamically and is a profitable enterprise. Other important indicators show high performance and development directions. In General, this company is one of the most promising and large taxpayers. Therefore, the analysis of the main indicators that characterize the effectiveness of the enterprise in the conditions of market relations is carried out. The ability to calculate them correctly, identify the impact of various causes on changes in their level, analysis allows you to more widely disclose reserves for improving production efficiency, develop proposals to eliminate the identified shortcomings, improve the financial situation and develop. It is necessary to take into account the achievements of the development of economic activities of the organization. The process of formation of the volume and structure of the capital of the organization should be organized not only at the beginning of its economic activity, but also in order to continue and increase future activities. And its achievements are determined by the capital structure and business plan.


In this paper, we analyze the performance of various sensor fusion models using an unmanned ground vehicle. In the given attack scenarios, we examine how the attacks influence on each fusion model by comparing the results of the models. We conduct the experiments with real measurement data obtained from an unmanned ground vehicle.


Conscious regulation of negative emotion has been shown to affect human eyeblink startle responses, but whether these results depend on modulation of arousal-or valence-based processes is unknown. The authors presented participants with negative, neutral, and positive pictures and directed them to enhance, maintain, and suppress emotional responses. On emotional picture trials, startle responses decreased as a function of cue in the following order: enhance Ͼ maintain Ͼ suppress. Analysis of negative and positive picture trials separately revealed similar patterns of startle modulation by emotion regulation. There were no effects of emotion regulation on neutral trials. Results indicate that arousal, not valence, may be critical to startle modulation via conscious emotion regulation. Emotion regulation refers to the processes by which aspects of an emotional response are modulated (Gross, 1998). Because adults regulate emotions in multiple situations and ways (Gross, 1999), improved understanding of emotion regulation is important for psychological and neuroscientific models of emotional information processing. Better understanding of emotion regulation may also yield novel insights into psychopathology and psychotherapy , given that emotional dysregulation characterizes most psychopathological conditions (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition; American Psychiatric Association , 1994), and emotion regulation instruction is central to several psychotherapies (e.g., Beck, 1976). A substantial body of work with both nonhuman animals (e. has demonstrated that startle responses to acoustic probes are modulated by emotional factors. For example, startle responses are reliably potentiated when an organism is exposed to stimuli that provoke fear. Here we consider how one form of emotion regulation— cognitive change (Gross, 1998)—alters startle probe responses. Cognitive change refers to humans' ability to alter the meaning ascribed to emotionally evocative stimuli. Jackson, Malmstadt, Larson, and Davidson (2000) demonstrated that cognitive change can affect eyeblink startle. In that study, participants viewed emotionally negative and neutral pictures. During picture presentation, participants heard cues to " enhance " (increase), " maintain " (keep constant), or " suppress " (decrease) emotional arousal elicited by the pictures. The full set of regulation cues was presented on negative trials (neutral trials always featured the maintain cue), and acoustic startle probes were presented. On negative trials, startle responses decreased as a function of cue in the following order: enhance Ͼ maintain Ͼ suppress. This paradigm has since been used in neuroimaging studies, which have shown that attempts to cognitively enhance, maintain, and decrease negative emotions lead to increased, sustained, and diminished amygdala activation, …


Hypothyroidism is a thyroid hormone deficiency that affects age groups. The incidence of hypothyroidism is on the rise; conventional treatment comprises life-long hormone replacement therapy (levothyroxine). Missing doses lead to the recurrence of symptoms. Homoeopathic medicines are prescribed based on individualisation and are said to be beneficial in treating such conditions. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the role of homoeopathic medicines in the treatment of hypothyroidism.

An open-label, interventional study on 30 patients was carried out in the Outpatient and Inpatient Departments of Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College, Howrah. The patients were evaluated for 1½ years. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level and Zulewski's clinical score were recorded at baseline and after 6 months of treatment for assessing the primary and secondary outcomes. Medicines were prescribed based on strict homoeopathic principles.

The result showed that the mean ± standard deviation serum TSH level decreased from 18.18 ± 16.58 to 7.68 ± 8.51 (P < 0.0004) and the mean value of Zulewski's clinical score also decreased from 7.30 ± 1.39 to 3.60 ± 1.87 (P < 0.0001) after 6 months of treatment.

The outcome of individualised homoeopathic treatment was found satisfactory with evidence of overall improvement in patients.


Diffusion process at the electrode/electrolyte interphase drives the performances of the lithium-sulfur battery, and activated carbon (AC) can remarkably vehicle ions and polysulfide species throughout the two-side liquid/solid region of the interphase. We reveal original findings such as the values of the diffusion coefficient at various states of charge of the Li-S battery using a highly-porous AC, its notable dependence on the adopted techniques, and the correlation of the diffusion trend with the reaction mechanism. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) identify in the carbon derived from bio-residues heteroatoms such as N, S, O and P which can increase the polarity of the C framework. The transport properties are achieved by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT). The study reveals Li+-diffusion coefficient (DLi+) depending on the technique, and values correlated with the cell state of the charge. EIS, CV and GITT show DLi+ within 10-7-10-8 cm2 s-1, 10-8-10-9 cm2 s-1, and 10-6-10-12 cm2 s-1, respectively, dropping down at the fully discharged state and rising up upon charge. GITT allows the evaluation of DLi+ during the process and evidences the formation of lowly conducting media upon discharge. The sulfur composite delivers in Li-cell a specific capacity ranging from 1300 mAh g-1 at 0.1C to 700 mAh g-1 at 2C with S loading of 2 mg cm-2, and from 1000 to 800 mAh g-1 at 0.2C when S loading is raised to 6 mg cm-2.


Bachelor thesis on the topic "Changing lifestyles in patients after myocardial infarction" consists of two parts. The theoretical part deals with the anatomy and function of the heart, the vascular supply to the heart, the theory of myocardial infarction and its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. It also deals with the primary and secondary prevention of myocardial infarction. The research part is occupied with quantitative research, research methods - questionnaires. The questionnaires were designed for patients who have had myocardial infarction. The research was conducted in two cardiology clinics. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts. The part before myocardial infarction, the part after myocardial infarction and general information about the patient. Un the end of the thesis you can find evaluation of the whole work, including evaluation of my pre-determined goals.


In this paper, we study the singular set of 3-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Under the condition$\frac{1}{R^{\frac{3s}{q}+2-s}}\int^{R^{2}}_{0}(\int_{B_{R}}|u|^{q}dx)^{\frac{s}{q}}ds <C,$ for $(q,s)\in\{(2,5),(5,2)\},$ we use the backward uniqueness of parabolic equations to show that the Hausdorff dimension of the singular set is less than 1.


Abstract : This paper proposes a new vehicle stability control method that quantifies and uses the level of lateral force saturation on each axle/wheel of a vehicle. The magnitude of the saturation, which can be interpreted as a slip-angle deficiency, is determined from on-line estimated nonlinear lateral tire forces and their linear projections. Once known, the saturation levels are employed in a saturation balancing control structure that biases the drive torque to either the front or rear axles/wheels with the goal of minimizing excessive under- or over-steer. The control structure avoids the need for an explicit reference model to generate target vehicle responses. The method is particularly suited for a vehicle with a torque-biasing or independent axle or wheel drive system. The benefits of the proposed approach are demonstrated considering a nominally unstable heavy vehicle in an extreme obstacle avoidance type dynamic maneuver.


County averages of impervious surface area (ISA), and the urban and woodland fractions were determined for all 67 Pennsylvania counties from archived Landsat image data for the years 1985 and 2000. This paper focuses on changes in these quantities that occurred during the 15-year period, the patterns of development across the state, and the possible reasons for the changes. Changes in ISA suggest a movement of population away from the largest cities into less populated areas where land is more abundant and where taxes and land values are lower. Most counties experienced at least some gain in ISA, primarily in low- and mid-level density development (mainly housing). Other than a few exceptions, Lackawanna and Erie Counties, counties experiencing dominant growth in the high density categories were generally less developed and with less impervious surface area than the average.


ABSTRACT Background The COVID-19 pandemic enforced a sudden change in practice and a move into online delivery for many art therapists in the UK, often with minimal guidance and little previous experience of remote delivery. Aims To explore ways in which practitioners adapted practice to ensure continuity of service and client safety at distance. Methods An online survey designed to explore practitioners' perspectives and experiences of using digital technology in art therapy sessions with clients. Results Vast majority of 96 respondents reported having worked with clients online as a result of the pandemic. The respondents expressed concerns about safety of practice and their own confidence in delivering therapy remotely. Increased clinical supervision, specialist training, and support from colleagues were valued in the rapid transitioning to online practice. Conclusions A snap shot of art therapists' responses to a need to adapt their practice due to the pandemic is presented, including approaches to working with technology and strategies that therapists employed to ensure their clients' and own safety. Implications for practice/policy/future research Being able to offer a safe environment for clients is a priority for practitioners. Further research, guidance and training might offer the support needed for developing a suitably safe online practice. Plain-language summary Art therapists practice in the UK has until recently been primarily face to face, being in the same space with their clients while offering art therapy sessions and being able to observe how they use art materials to create artwork. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many UK-based art therapists needed to adopt creative approaches to make a rapid shift to delivering therapy online, often with minimal guidance and little previous experience of remote delivery. We have conducted an online survey to explore how art therapists have made changes in their practice and what has supported them in the process. 96 art therapists took part in the survey and shared their experiences and strategies that they have adopted to rapidly move to connecting with clients remotely. They have shared that safety of their clients was of key importance and showed how this concern has guided their transition into online practice. The respondents mentioned that clinical supervision and support from colleagues were helpful in ensuring safety of their clients and themselves. Since online art therapy is expected to continue beyond the pandemic, more research in the area is needed as well as guidance and training for art therapists that would increase their confidence in working with clients online.


The multi-project resources scheduling in construction engineering application has received much attention in recent years due to it is an important issue to achieve the best performance for any organization. In this paper, a multi-objective multi-resources (MOMR) mathematical model is proposed to handle the multi-project scheduling problem. In this model, the local objectives and the global objective of construction organizations are considered. Although the multi-project multi-resource scheduling (MPMRS) problem is one of the important issues that is increasingly considered by researchers, most of the reported projects scheduling approaches are applicable by the scheduling of multi-project as a single project. This due to a MPMRS problem is more difficult than a single project in case of multi-resource scheduling. Consequently, the MOMR model in terms of improved solutions to generate the best resource scheduling in the multi-project environment is needed. The modified genetic approach (MGA) is adopted to solve the proposed model. Finally, the experimental results showed that the total penalty cost of projects and customers' satisfaction are improved by using the proposed approach compared with the previous approaches.


Understanding potassium fertilizer supply and demand is important in terms of the fertilizer market and sustainable development of agriculture.This study analyzes the relationship between potassium fertilizer supply and demand and evaluates China's potassium fertilizer market based on the economic theory of welfare-maximization.We evaluate the characteristics of potassium fertilizer supply and demand in three time periods(before 1998,1998~2006,and after 2006) and propose measures to optimize the potassium fertilizer market.China has been a major consumer of potash resources and potassium fertilizer for decades.Consumption of potassium fertilizer increased by 10% annually from 1991 to 2006,reaching 6.6 million tons in 2006.Only about 25% of that was produced in China.Potassium fertilizer markets were dominated by different driving forces during China's different economic development stages.Before 1998,the market was restricted by centralized planning,and price and production were directly controlled by the government,so market prices for potassium fertilizer didn't directly reflect supply and demand,and resource allocation was inefficient.During 1998~2006, the potassium fertilizer market was affected by immature market mechanisms,and while market prices began to reflect supply and demand,resource allocation was not fully efficient,although it showed improvements.After 2006,market price has more efficiently reflected potassium fertilizer supply and demand as the market economy continues to mature,and suppliers become more rational and function according to market demand,improving the efficiency of resource allocation.Potassium fertilizer demand is expected to reach 11 million tons.This study suggests that a fully mature market economy helps to optimize potassium fertilizer supply and demand and resource allocation.Simulation results of our predictive model(after 2006) showed a positive correlation between potassium fertilizer production and price.In coming years,potassium fertilizer demand will continue to increase due to population growth and food supply requirements.Domestic and imported supplies will be optimized under a consumption-demand function and production function,and all participants will receive the maximum social welfare.The government should cultivate both the domestic and international markets to balance potassium fertilizer supply and demand.


Acquired RASopathic changes associated with BRAF-inhibitor treatment Dear Editor, Vemurafenib and dabrafenib are two examples of BRAF inhibitors. Their use is not exclusive to dermatology. These inhibitors are widely utilized by other specialists, yet only dermatologists are primarily consulted because of their adverse events. Therefore, knowledge of the dermatologic adverse events of these molecules, which act as primary RASopathy simulators, is of the utmost importance and academic interest. A 14-year-old boy with a history of pilocytic astrocytoma positive for the BRAF V600E mutation started treatment with vemurafenib. After 3 months, the patient developed eruptive melanocytic nevi. A discrete thinning of the hair was also observed. Subsequent consults evidenced madarosis, keratosis pilaris, retroauricular verrucous keratosis, and acquired kinking of the hair (Fig. 1). MRI controls evidenced a notable improvement. Paradoxically, the RASopathic changes began to be socially limiting, thus the patient discontinued the medication with improvement of skin adverse events, yet presenting neurologic deterioration so treatment was reinstated, observing reappearance of the previously described symptoms (Table 1). A 13-year-old girl, diagnosed with multisystemic Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), began targeted systemic therapy with vemurafenib. Approximately 2 weeks after, she presented multiple melanocytic nevi associated with thinning and kinking of the hair and eyebrows, a rash similar to keratosis pilaris, and increased photosensitivity (Fig. 2a,b). A 38-year-old woman with a history of pleomorphic xantoastrocytoma positive for the presence of the BRAF V600E mutation started treatment with vemurafenib. The patient consulted presenting follicular keratosis, madarosis, alopecia, eruptive melanocytic nevi, and plantar keratoderma (Fig. 2c,d). RAF is an intracellular constituent of the RAS/MAPK pathway, which has different isoforms: ARAF, BRAF, and CRAF. The activating mutation in BRAF induces nuclear cell proliferation and survival. It is well known that somatic mutations of this molecule, particularly V600E, corresponds to 50–70% of the


Controllable synthesis of novel sandwiched polyaniline (PANI)/ZnO/PANI free-standing nanocomposite films is reported via spin coating of ZnO quantum-dot interlayer on PANI base layer and then PANI surface layer on the ZnO interlayer. The thickness of the ZnO interlayer and the PANI surface layer can be easily controlled by adjusting spin time and spin speed, respectively. The effects of the ZnO interlayer thickness and the PANI surface layer thickness are examined in detail on the photoluminescence (PL) property. It is worth noting that coverage of the PANI surface layer on the ZnO interlayer can not only lead to great enhancement in the PL property but also to a maximum PL intensity at a medium PANI surface layer thickness. This maximum PL property is caused by the combined ZnO/PANI carrier transportation and PANI shielding effects. In addition, the nanocomposite films show reasonably good conductivity. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012


For coal gasification operation optimization problem,a multi-population competitive co-evolutionary cultural differential evolution(MCCDE)algorithm is proposed.In MCCDE,a competitive co-evolutionary strategy based on differential evolution and a fitness value evaluation method are designed.And some ideas from cultural algorithm are also introduced into MCCDE.Meanwhile,an operation optimization model is constructed.MCCDE algorithm is used to solve the problem of operation optimization model.Simulations with a Texaco gasification unit for example testified that optimized operation variables can be found and the effective gas rate can be increased by the optimization model and algorithm.Finally,a coal gasification operation optimization system software is designed and developed,modeling,control and optimization technologies can be used in practical production to gain more economic benefits through the use of the coal gasification operation optimization system software.


There is an interesting description of theological education in Russia since 1944 (71-80), and a very useful appendix (117-45) giving the text of Soviet laws on religion (1918, 1922, 1929) and of the administrative statutes adopted by the Church in 1945 and 1961. The bibliography lists works in Russian and English, but contains nothing in French or German, and nothing published since 1962. There are some odd historical judgements in the course of the book, as when the author terms Mount Athos 'the most ancient shrine of Orthodoxy in the world' (65). Has Dr. Stroyen forgotten about Jerusalem? This book traverses well-trodden territory, adding little to the information already available in the existing studies on the subject written in English. The student will turn for preference to the works of (for example) Curtiss, Spinka, Kolarz, and above all of Nikita Struve, who covers the same ground as Dr. Stroyen, perhaps with less objectivity, but with an incomparably greater skill and brilliance.


Current production methods of medical isotopes consist of intense neutron-bombardment of highlyenriched solid uranium targets, followed by rapid extraction via a chemical process. The fission of the target nuclei has a relative high yield (±6%) of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) which is used as a source of medical isotopes. Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) is the main source of Technetium-99m (Tc99m), which is a short-lived metastable tracer isotope widely used in the field of diagnostic radiography. Over the last decade the Mo-99 supply chain has suffered several disruptions. In light of the development of the Holland Particle Treatment Center (Holland PTC) and the PALLAS reactor in Petten, the Reactor Instituut Delft (RID) decided to explore different experimental setups aimed at a more efficient production of Mo-99. One of these is the implementation of a closed aqueous homogenous reactor loop in the Hoger Onderwijs Reactor (HOR). This production method uses a liquid uranyl nitrate solution, which the loop leads past a neutron source. This process is preferable over conventional methods, because it can run continuously and because the Mo-99 is relatively easy extractable from the salt solution. The research loop at the RID will function as a proof of concept for an upscaled version inside the new PALLAS reactor and will also be used as a small local Mo-99 production facility for the Holland PTC. Previous studies have shown a substantial heat production inside the loop due to fission. This study focusses on the dissipation of that heat and the effect of different heat transfer fluids on the steady state temperature profile. It aims to determine a maximum power production that keeps the maximum temperature under 100◦C . In order to determine the temperature profiles, the setup has been modelled in COMSOL. Deuterium oxide appears to be the most effective heat transfer fluid of the fluids that have been studied. The results show that maximum power production that keeps the temperature below 100◦C is 1025 W . This model used deuterium oxide as a heat transfer fluid. The produced power roughly translates to an uranium concentration of 27.6 g U L−1 with an enrichment level of 0.2.


AbstrcatThe key problem to be solved in establishing function resultant mechanism by analytic method is to calculate the equation of two connected rod clevis.As for the three sets of linear equation in corresponding positions,it is convenient and quick to solve them by matrix method.As for the five sets of nonlinear equation in corresponding positions,three equations are used first to infer relevant formulas of parameters,and then these formulas are put into another two equations to calculate by using the method of limited calculating precision.This method not only is quick and convenient,but also can guarantee to have three precise keys and another two keys that are in accordance with certain precision.


In an attempt to simulate the properties of blue copper proteins three low molecular weight and low symmetric solid copper(II) complexes have been synthesized. Ligands with highly ' asymmetric coordination environment have been prepared in two steps. The first step involves synthesis of zinc-coordinated Schiff base of benzothiazolines, which are then subjected to reduction followed by removal of the metal ion from these reduced complexes. The free ligands thus generated are then used for in situ complexation with Cu(II). These complexes exhibit an intense S→Cu(II) charge transfer band at ≈600 nm with high extinction values, which is characteristic of Type I copper complexes. The conductivity, magnetic susceptibility and IR studies also support the assigned structures to the complexes.


Due to anisotropy of grain oriented silicon steel, magnetic permeability along various directions cannot be determined only by that of rolling and transverse direction. A novel method for describing anisotropy of magnetic permeability is proposed in this paper by incorporating multi-direction magnetization curves, which is closer to reality compared to material model provided by present commercial finite element method (FEM) software. Furthermore we have discussed the choice of magnetization curve for static magnetic field problem, elaborated measurement method of 2D magnetic property. In order to apply measurement data in computing static electromagnetic problem, FEM equation considering 2D magnetic property is deduced. At last, based on FEM software developed by ourselves, magnetic field of a non-gap inductor is analyzed, distinction of flux distribution for various material model indicates that fine material model is of great importance to precise analysis of magnetic field.


Most firms in the U.S. are simultaneously regulated by multiple regulatory agencies. These agencies rarely, if ever, consider how their actions to promote compliance with their own standards might affect firms' inputs into compliance with standards of other agencies. This paper investigates whether and why such regulatory spillovers occur by analyzing how firms trade off regulatory demands. Heightened oversight in one regulatory domain may, on one hand, lead firms to reallocate inputs away other domains; on the other hand, if are complementary inputs into compliance, it may increase firms' compliance in both domains. I investigate this relationship empirically by studying how stricter air quality regulation affects plants' occupational safety and health regulatory compliance and performance. Using variation induced by a 2004 revision to the Clean Air Act's ozone standard, I find that, on average, air quality regulation leads to 9 percent more violations of safety and health standards. The effect only holds for smaller plants, where compliance efforts across domains are most likely substitutes, and there is no effect on compliance with standards that have likely complementarities with air quality regulation. Furthermore, regulated plants experience 3.5 percent higher rates of workplace injuries and illnesses. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests the higher injuries and illnesses resulted in social cost of $45 million per year, which is roughly 5 percent of the estimated annual cost of implementing the 2004 ozone air quality standard. ∗Email addresses: email@example.com. I wish to thank Kevin Lang, Johannes Schmieder, Seth Sanders, and Michael Toffel for invaluable guidance. I also thank Mark Curtis, Manasi Deshpande, Rob Fetter, Scott Harris, David Levine, Michael Lipsitz, Jay Shimshack, and Jonathan Wiener for helpful discussion, and seminar participants at Duke University and North Carolina State University. Mitchell Ochse provided excellent research assistance. The usual caveat applies.


Several landmark projects are expected to start up this year. The next wave of projects involves larger, more powerful turbines. If a global warming treaty emerges, distributed power becomes a serious alternative to cnetral stations, and as public favor grows, wind energy could soar even higher


Irregular grid interpolation is one of the numerical functions that often used to approximate value on an arbitrary location in the area closed by non-regular grid pivot points. In this paper, we propose method for achieving efficient computation time of radial basis function-based non-regular grid interpolation on a cylindrical coordinate. Our method consist of two stages. The first stage is the computation of weights from solving linear RBF systems constructed by known pivot points. We divide the volume into many subvolumes. At second stages, interpolation on an arbitrary point could be done using weights calculated on the first stage. At first, we find the nearest point with the query point by structuring pivot points in a K-D tree structure. After that, using the closest pivot point, we could compute the interpolated value with RBF functions. We present the performance of our method based on computation time on two stages and its precision by calculating the mean square error between the interpolated values and analytic functions. Based on the performance evaluation, our method is acceptable.


Typical item response theory (IRT) rating scale models assume that the rating category threshold parameters are the same over examinees. Unfortunately, such models are inappropriate for rating data that exhibit differential item functioning (DIF). The authors introduce a new Bayesian nonparametric IRT model for rating scale items, which is more appropriate for rating data that contain DIF. The model is an infinite mixture of Rasch partial credit models, with mixture distribution modeled by the local (Dependent) Dirichlet process. The model treats the rating category thresholds as the random parameters that are subject to the mixture, with (stick-breaking) mixture weights that are covariate-dependent. Thus, the model allows the rating category thresholds to differ across items and examinees, while allowing the form of the distribution for the category thresholds to vary flexibly as a function of covariates. The authors illustrate the new model through the analysis of simulated data and real data. The model demonstrated the ability to correctly identify DIF items. Moreover, the model attained better predictive-fit performance than did other commonly used IRT rating models.


A one-dimensional heat transfer problem in the phase-change slab, one side of which is isothermal while the other is insulated, is considered. Both cases-fusion and solidification-are treated. Slab temperature at the initial moment is assumed constant and not critical. The main goal of this paper is to find the additional time required for a total phase change, compared with the case of the critical initial temperature. By analogy with perturbation problems in hydrodynamics, and appropriate solution is constructed consisting of an inner and an outer solution. The evaluation of the maximum error of the integral heat balance equation of the slab is treated as an indirect evaluation of the accuracy of the solution obtained. This evaluation shows that the solution can provide sufficient accuracy only in cases in which at least one of the three nondimensional parameters of the problem is small.


Abstract We present ALMA, a new research project aimed at investigating the interaction between language and knowledge practices from AD 1100 to 1500. Our primary question is how Medieval Italian, French, Occitan, Catalan, and Spanish developed into languages of knowledge and scholarship (German Wissen(schafts)sprachen) in permanent opposition to and exchange with the predominant Latin (but also with Arab, Greek, and Hebrew). Focusing on two domains, medicine and law, the project combines linguistics, text philology, and the history of science with the Digital Humanities and ontology engineering. ALMA will create two multi-lingual, domain-specific text corpora by integrating text editions of hitherto unedited manuscripts and incunabula, and digitized printed editions. Our corpus-linguistic exploration of the ALMA corpora will provide the basis for lexical-semantic studies that analyze emerging knowledge networks and the depth of their linguistic representations. We hypothesize that language evolution and the development of more complex linguistic structures will allow for measuring the impact of knowledge practices on medieval vernacular languages. We will trace the dissemination of lexical material across languages, language varieties, cultural spaces, and periods. This will enable us to follow specific vernacular communication channels. We will use cutting-edge technologies to compile, publish, and share our findings, and to model them in the form of historicized ontologies and Linked Data. Our onomasiological, ontology-driven approach will result in the creation of domain models that can be re-used within the Semantic Web. This has great potential to be relevant for researchers from different disciplines.