Given the detrimental short- and long-term effects of peer-victimisation (Hawker & Boulton, 2000), it is not surprising that bullying has become a central topic for multiple parties; including stake-holders, the media, educators, and researchers. In addition to examining the effect that peer-victimisation can have on a child, researchers have also focused on associated risk and protective factors (e.g., Ttofi & Farrington, 2012) that exacerbate or ameliorate the effects of peer-victimisation respectively. Over the last few decades a wide-range of risk and protective factors have been identified, including poor academic achievement (Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel, & Haynie, 2007), mental health issues (Sourander, Helstela, Helenius, & Piha, 2000; Yang, Kim, Kim, Shin, & Yoon, 2006), exposure to child abuse and domestic violence (Bowes et al., 2009) and lack of parental involvement (Shields & Cicchetti, 2001). The following chapter will focus on one protective factor that has received increasing attention: friendship.
This chapter will begin by briefly presenting an overview as to the function of friendship in childhood before discussing evidence that suggests for some children, friendship can serve to protect against the experience of victimisation, and alleviate symptoms associated with peer-victimisation. In particular, the chapter will focus upon the different facets of friendship including: (1) the number of friends a child has, (2) the quality of these friendships, and (3) the individual characteristics of friends. The extent to which each of these three facets of friendship serve as a protective factor against peer-victimisation will be explored in turn. Paradoxically, friendship does not always function as a protective factor, but rather a child can be bullied by their friends. The 'darker' side of friendship will also be discussed, including why some children choose to stay friends with their perpetrator. Finally, this chapter will debate the effectiveness of peer support programs in schools and highlight areas that require further empirical focus.


Customer loyalty is a customer's commitment to a brand, product or service based on a positive attitude that is reflected in consistent repeat purchases. This study aims to analyze the effect of Brand Image and patient satisfaction on the loyalty of outpatients at Dr. RSUP. Tadjuddin Chalid Makassar. This type of research is a quantitative research using an observational study with a cross sectional study design. The sample in this study were outpatients at Dr. Tadjuddin Chalid Makassar, totaling 170 respondents. The results showed that there was a direct influence of Brand Image on patient satisfaction, direct influence of Brand Image on patient loyalty, direct influence of satisfaction on patient loyalty and direct and indirect influence of brand image on patient loyalty through patient satisfaction in the outpatient installation at Dr. RSUP. Tadjuddin Chalid Makassar. It is recommended to the hospital management to be able to use various media to carry out promotions in order to further expand information about the big name and logo of the hospital so that it is more widely known, implement and make policies and review things that are still lacking, especially making improvements by adding equipment. and maintain the hospital's physical facilities


Complex geological conditions of the Yamal Peninsula have special requirements for well testing to determine the optimal flow rate of gas condensate wells. Optimization of technological modes of operation of producing skvazhinvliyaet directly to the development of the Bovanenkovo field in order to control gas condensate production in the period of increasing production. This paper presents the rationale in choosing the technological mode of operation of wells. Through the use of hydrodynamic studies easily determine the optimal technological mode of gas condensate wells. Studies conducted in different modes with increasing values of depression. The choice of technological regime of operation of wells also depends on the type of gas and gas condensate reveals deposits, the initial reservoir pressure, temperature, composition of the reservoir gas, rock strength and other factors. Mode constant bottomhole pressure can increase the overall recovery factor of condensate during the period of increasing production by maintaining BHP. Due to the construction of the indicator curve can be determined by the pressure dew point of the study wells.


The topmost atomic layer of SrTiO3 (STO) substrates was investigated using in situ low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (LEISS) for ultra-thin YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) film growth. The topmost layer of a STO substrate after mechanochemical polishing consisted of SrO and TiO2 planes. The topmost layer was dominantly stabilized with a TiO2 plane after the STO substrate was treated with a pH-controlled NH4F–HF(BHF) solution. It was confirmed that the topmost layer of STO thin films deposited on STO substrates was affected by the surface structure of the STO substrates. Furthermore, the dependence of T c of heteroepitaxial YBCO ultra-thin films on thickness was better for BHF-treated STO substrates than for other substrates.


Peroxisomal proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) belong to a nuclear receptor superfamily of ligand‐activated transcription factors. The PPAR‐γ isoform is expressed in human T lymphocytes, and oral administration of PPAR‐γ agonists ameliorates the clinical course and histopathological features in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model for multiple sclerosis, suggesting a potential role for PPAR‐γ agonists in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. To assess a potential therapeutic role of PPAR‐γ agonists in multiple sclerosis, we compared the immunomodulatory effects of the thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs pioglitazone (PIO) and ciglitazone and the non‐TZD PPAR‐γ agonist GW347845 on human T leukemia cells (Jurkat cells) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)‐stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from 21 multiple sclerosis patients and 12 healthy donors. PIO, ciglitazone, and GW347845 suppressed PHA‐induced T cell proliferation by 40–50% and secretion of interferon‐γ and tumor necrosis factor α, by 30–50%. Inhibition of proliferation was increased to ∼80% and that of proinflammatory cytokine secretion, to 80–90% when PBMCs were first preincubated with PPAR‐γ agonists and re‐exposed at the time of PHA stimulation, indicating a sensitizing effect of PPAR‐γ agonists. Inhibition of proliferation was also observed in the tetanus toxoid‐specific T cell line KHS.TT2, albeit to a lesser extent. The antiproliferative effects of PIO and GW347845 were accompanied by a decrease of cell viability. Electron microscopy and Western blot analysis revealed DNA condensation and down‐regulation of bcl‐2, suggesting the induction of apoptosis in activated T lymphocytes. In summary, the data support the potential use of PPAR‐γ agonists as immunomodulatory, therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases.


-Self-diffusion coefficients of H20 molecules in Na-rich hectorite gel were measured by IH nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Spin-echo pulse sequences with magnetic field gradient pulses for the translational diffusion measurement were applied to the hectorite gel at the Larmor frequency of 20 MHz. Effects of clay fraction (0-51.2 wt. %) and temperature (20.0-60.3~ were studied. The results show: (1) Phenomenologically, the self-diffusion coefficient, D, of IH20 in the clay gel is expressed by the normalized diffusivity, D/D o = exp(-0.0257w), where D O is the water self-diffusivity in bulk water at temperature and w is the weight fraction of the hectorite (wt. %). (2) The activation energy of H20 diffusivity in the hectorite gel is nearly equal to that in bulk water. Hence, the normalized diffusivity, D~ Do, obeys a temperature-independent curve. (3) The exponential dependence of D/D o on w for w <30 wt. % is explained by a random-walk model, in which free or unbound H20 molecules migrate in the geometrically complex and tortuous pore structure of randomly scattered clay-mineral grains. Key W o r d ~ o m p l e x i t y of Pore Structure, Hectorite, H20, NMR, Self-Diffusion.


Introduction: Volcanism is widespread on the surface of Venus1, and Magellan data confirm that extrusive volcanism is linked to a range of tectonic and volcanic environments2. One subject requiring further investigation is the relationship of extrusive deposits to intrusive processes, and their importance to the formation and evolution of the ~rust3~4. Terrestrial lineaments associated with central volcano-tectonic structures may be the manifestation of the emplacement of subsurface dikes5 and their orientation is often linked to regional stress fields6. Similar lineament geometries appear in Magellan data, suggesting that analogous emplacement processes occur. To pursue this possibility further, we are mapping and analyzing an elliptical structure near Alpha Regio. Here we present the basic characteristics of the structure, the major geologic units of the region, and preliminary interpretations of regional stratigraphic relationships and the systems of structural elements. Descri~tion: A generally circular feature (45-60 km in diameter) lies within an ellipse (16S, 352E) forking an eye-like structure located 1500 km northwest of Alpha Regio (Fig. 1). The major axis of the ellipse runs NE-SW, aligned along a regional, 500 m topographic high coincident with the northern "arm" of Alpha and extending to the southwest tip of the ellipse; the minor axis aligns with the center of a gentle depression, 60 km wide and 300 m deep, which cuts the regional high. The circular feature in the center of the ellipse is the focal point of a complex system of regional lineaments, including two dominant sets (NW-SE, parallel to the minor axis in the vicinity of the ellipse and N-S at greater distances from the ellipse). Several features and units are observed (Fig. la): The Interior Ring is a radar bright region 5-10 km wide defined by both small concentric lineaments and graben, and termination of radial lineament sets. It encircles a region of plains and small shields. The Exterior Ring is a highly elliptical (major axis, NE-SW, of 210 km; minor axis of 105 km) radar bright region, 10-20 km wide, defined by concentric lineaments as well as, locally, an increase in the brightness and/or density of crosscutting lineaments. The Alpha Disrupted Zone extends west from the "arm" of Alpha and has a westward-tapering wedge shape with edges defined by enhanced radar brightness as well as increased lineament curvature and termination. Radar Dark Plains are distributed throughout the region but occur preferentially away from the elliptical structure. Radar Bright Plains are distributed throughout the region but occur preferentially adjacent to and within the elliptical structure. Shield Plains are characterized by multiple small domes 1-4 km in diameter that occur preferentially in zones along the trend of the major axis of the Exterior Ring. Structures (Fig lb) include: Fractures (lineaments with no topographic expression; range from a few hundred meters to tens of km in length; commonly occur as either linear, parallel members of a densely packed group or as isolated features). Fissures (narrow, negative topographic features which range up to 1 km wide with no detectable flat bottom). Graben (negative topography with a flat floor; typically linear, up to 2 km across and a few tens of km in length; often occur in en echelon pairs. In general, structures have four patterns of occurrence: 1) straight, 2) curved, 3) en echelon, and 4) sinuous (which appear to be interconnected en echelon patterns). Stratimaphv: Radar Dark Plains often appear to embay Radar Bright Plains (NW of the Alpha Disruption Zone and immediately NE of the Interior Ring), and are thus locally younger. Shield Plains are almost completely devoid of lineaments, suggesting that they are young relative to the other plains units in the region. Structural elements display cross-cutting relationships with units and each other. South of the elliptical structure, one set of troughs terminates at a 150 km E-W plains unit boundary, while another continues across. Preliminary Intemretation: The Interior Ring and the plains and shields within it are interpreted to be the surface manifestation of a subsurface magma reservoir, with the shields and plains representing surface eruptions. The radial structural elements that begin at the rim of the interior ring and extend outward for hundreds of km are interpreted to be the surface manifestations of


The first three and a half centuries of Brazilian historical development followed what Caio Prado Jutnior (1976) has called a "cyclical" pattern: the sugar boom in Bahia and Pernambuco during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, mining in Matto Grosso, Goias, and Minas Geraes during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, cotton cultivation along the coast in the mid-eighteenth, and coffee production in the center-south from the mid-nineteenth century onward. This process has more recently been analyzed as the particular stages in the development of capitalist relations and production forms within a dominated social formation (Silva, 1976; Pinheiro, 1975b; Carvalho Franco, 1974). More precisely, Brazil's position within the international division of labor was from the outset that of a supplier of agricultural goods and raw materials for the centers of manufacture and industry in another part of the globe. As such, this seemingly accidental pattern of prosperity, followed by decline, is really an illustration of the form that the primitive accumulation process assumed in Brazil.! Bourgeois social scientists have posited the notion that the process of capitalist development goes on in sectors; thus with the proper investments, management and resources, a country can move in a variety of ways, up or down the development "ladder" (Leff, 1968; Wirth, 1970; Baer, 1965). Marxists, on the other hand, have shown that the transition from pre-capitalist to capitalist production is characterized by a series of contradictions which means that the capitalist mode of production may replace the previous mode more completely in one sphere than in another. My purpose here is to demonstrate, contrary to the theories of the bourgeois social scientists, that the number of banks and import/export houses in Brazilian cities or the appearance of a few enterprises and urbanization are not absolute proof of the predominance of the capitalist


Why are consumer narratives of technology consumption fraught with ambivalence (Mick and Fournier 1998), identity tensions (Schau and Gilly 2003), anxiety (Meuter et al. 2003; Mick and Fournier 1998), and even fear (Clarke 2002; Helman 1988; Virilio 1997)? What is it about technology consumption, an arguably ev eryday experience in the context of increasingly ubiquitous digital, biomedical, information and communication technologies in today's "technology-intensive" markets (John, Weiss, and Dutta 1999, 78), that evokes such primal reactions in consumers? In the seemingly ba nal act of consuming technology, what exactly comes under threat? To explore these questions, we turn to the emerging discourse of posthumanism as articulated by Campbell, O'Driscoll, and Saren (2005), Giesler (2004), Giesler and Venkatesh (2005), Schroeder and Dobers (2007), and Venkatesh, Karababa, and Ger (2002). Signifi -cantly, posthumanist discourses challenge the underlying assumptions of the predominant information processing paradigm, which frames the majority of research on technology consumption (e.g. Bettman 1979; Bettman, Luce, and Payne 1998) and focus on how consumers mentally process the functional benefits of technology products. Within this paradigm, the following metaphors of consumers and their technologies remain unquestioned: firstly, technology is a positive enabler, secondly, the consumer is a disembodied con-sciousness, and thirdly, technology is extrinsic to human identity. In challenging these prevailing metaphors, the emerging posthuman paradigm instead acknowledges multiple and complex framing views around technology consumption which are already widespread in popular imagination and other academic disciplines. In particular, the concept of liminality provides a potent deconstruction of these metaphors. Liminality refers to


Genetic factors, Helicobacter pylori infection, salt over-uptake, decreased vegetable/fruit consumption, smoking, and metabolic syndrome are risk factors of human gastric cancer. Germline mutations of CDH1 gene, and SNPs of PTPN11 (SHP2), TLR4, IL1B, TNFA, BMP6, GDF15 and RUNX3 genes are associated with gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori activates CagA-SHP2-ERK and peptidoglycan-NOD1-NF-κB signaling cascades in gastric epithelial cells using type IV secretion system, and also TRAF6-MAP3K7-NF-κB and TRAF6-MAP3K7-AP-1 signaling cascades in epithelial and immune cells through lipopolysaccharide recognition by TLR2 or TLR4. IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and IFN-γ are elevated in gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori infection. IL-6 and TNF-α induce upregulation of WNT5A and WNT10B, respectively. WNT signals are transduced to ß-catenin-TCF/LEF, RhoA, JNK, PKC, NFAT, and NLK signaling cascades. WNT-ß-catenin-TCF/LEF signaling induces upregulation of MYC, CCND1, WISP1, FGF20, JAG1, and DKK1 genes. Notch signals are transduced to CSL-NICD-MAML and NF-κB signaling cascades. FGF signals are transduced to ERK, PI3K-AKT, PKC, and NFAT signaling cascades. Helicobacter pylori infection induces SHH upregulation in parietal cell lineage, while BMP signals induce IHH upregulation in pit cell lineage. Hedgehog signals induce upregulation of GLI1, PTCH1, CCND2, FOXL1, JAG2 and SFRP1 genes. JAG1 and JAG2 activate Notch signaling, while DKK1 and SFRP1 inhibit WNT signaling. Stem cell signaling network, consisting of WNT, Notch, FGF, Hedgehog and BMP signaling pathways, is activated during chronic Helicobacter pylori infection. Epigenetic silencing of SFRP1 gene occurs in the earlier stage of carcinogenesis in the stomach, while amplification and overexpression of FGFR2 gene in the later stage. Dysregulation of the stem cell signaling network due to the accumulation of germline mutation, SNP, Helicobacter pylori infection, epigenetic change and genetic alteration gives rise to gastric cancer. SNP typing and custom-made microarray analyses on genes encoding stem cell signaling molecules could be utilized for the personalized medicine.


There should be no other requirement for entering upon professional work than a diploma from a college chartered by the state for the purpose of educating students, whether it be a classical course or upon some special branch, employing well-qualified teachers, who are thoroughly in earnest in their work and loyal to their profession, and are desirous to see only those who are thoroughly competent, enter it; who count the qualities of the student of more value than the profits of the institution. It is evident that the schools are not all conducted on a basis like this, for the reason that there must be sufficient funds to defray all expenses, including the assistants' salaries, and sufficient dividend to justify the faculty or incorporators for the valuable time taken from their practice; not considering the added tone and dignity of being called "professor"—which is frequently used for profit. The question


The information age has brought with it one major problem that we didn?t use to have. We now not only leave a physical trace in the world as we move through it, but also have a digital one. People request or appropriate pieces of our personal information at every step we take.


Abstract This article engages with representations of 1980s indie rock and hardcore punk in recent publications, namely Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life and Erick Lyle's Scam fanzine. It asks how to avoid falling prey to the trappings of nostalgia (for example, using quasi-classicist aesthetic standards or one-dimensional approaches towards postmodern art) when trying to come to terms with retrospective accounts of the supposed "golden age" of independent music culture.


On the analyzing of the MAODV based on the algorithm of core tree,this paper presents a dynamic delay based multicast routing protocol ECBMR.By analyzing the algorithm and simulating the two routing protocols MAODV and ECBMR,the results show that ECBMR has a better delay than MAODV and a more balance of energy consumption.On the one hand,it saves the energy of the network system,on the other hand,it has a longer network lifetime than MAODV and successfully solves the inconsistent question of energy and delay.


The results of an experimental investigation in the use of conical-jet proximity sensors for chip detection and wear measurement on a moving shear blade are presented. The proposed scheme is to position, transverse to the movement of the shear blade, a vertical array of proximity sensors whose output as the shear blade moves past, along with the position of the shear blade, yield a profile of the shear blade. Comparison of this profile with a sharp, unchipped blade profile stored in computer memory yields wear measurement and chip detection information. Experimental data are presented on the effects of various parameters on the shear blade profile such as shear blade speed and direction, sensor supply pressure, and lateral transverse gap between the sensor and the shear blade. The results Indicate that the measurement system may be used to measure wear and detect chip formation.


As college athletics have become a big business, ticket pricing strategies are considered crucial to the operations of athletics programs. However, relatively little research has integrated and explained the process of ticket pricing in the context of intercollegiate sports. To fill the existing gap, the current study articulates a conceptual model of what factors are important for ticket pricing in intercollegiate sports. The model provides multiple theoretical frameworks whereby determinants (stakeholder-related, institution-related) influence ticket pricing (managerial pricing, dynamic ticket pricing) with two moderators (the nature of non-profit organizations, involvement of ticket outsourcing companies). The model proposed in the current study contributes to integrating both factors of the decision-making process on ticket pricing for intercollegiate sports.


The invention discloses an enzyme-linked immune spot analysis device and an enzyme-linked immune spot analysis method, belongs to the technical field of electronic medical instruments, and solves the technical problems that the existing enzyme-linked immune spot analysis device is inaccurate in analysis and count and cannot automatically remove impurities, and direct analysis by a doctor or a researcher is low in efficiency, inaccurate and high in subjectivity. The enzyme-linked immune spot analysis device comprises a base, an area light source, a two-dimensional moving platform, a kit tray, a kit, an annular light source fixing frame, an annular light source, a camera supporting frame, a support, a camera and a PC (personal computer), wherein the camera shoots a color picture of the kit under irradiation of the area light source and the annular light source, and transmits the color picture to the PC; the PC analyzes and processes the color picture to achieve enzyme-linked immune spot segmentation. The enzyme-linked immune spot analysis device is high in accuracy and more accurate in a spot segmentation result, and can effectively remove the edge effect of a micropore and strip-like impurities inside the micropore.


Coronavirus disease 2019 or also known as Covid-19 is a disease caused by a type of coronavirus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or better known as the corona virus. Covid-19 become a pandemic since 2020 and has been widely studied, one of which is in mathematical modeling. In this study, the spread of Covid-19 is modeled using the SVEIR (Susceptible, Vaccination, Exposed, Infected, and Recovered) model. The purpose of this study explains the formation of the Covid-19 SVEIR model, determines the equilibrium point, determines the basic reproduction number, and analyzes the stability of the Covid-19 SVEIR model. The purpose of this study explains the formation of the Covid-19 SVEIR model, determines the equilibrium point, the basic reproduction number, and analyzes the stability of the Covid-19 SVEIR model. The result of this study is to explain the formation of the Covid-19 SVEIR model and obtained two equilibrium points, the disease-free equilibrium point and the endemic equilibrium point. Furthermore, the basic reproduction number  is obtained through the Next Generation Matrix method. The results of the stability analysis at the disease-free equilibrium point were locally asymptotically stable with conditions  while at the endemic equilibrium point local asymptotically stable with conditions . The natural death rate is greater than the effective contact rate. A numerical simulation is presented to show a comparison spread of Covid-19 by providing different levels of vaccine effectiveness using the Runge-Kutta Order method.


We present here the report of a patient who initially presented as prolonged fever bicytopenia and granuloma in the bone marrow and was later found to be HIV positive. Extra-pulmonary histoplasmosis usually presents with unexplained fever and weight loss but in some especially with high antigenic load it may present as a syndrome resembling sepsis. Here we report one such case where AIDS was not diagnosed initially. (excerpt)


Primary Examiner-Lester L. Lee Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Denis A. Firth; John Kekich (57) ABSTRACT An improved process is described for the reaction of an isocyanate (mono or poly) with a carboxylic acid or anhydride (mono or poly) to form the corresponding imide, amide or amide-imides. The improvement lies in using as the catalyst the 1-oxide, 1-sulfide or 1 hydrocarbylimino derivative of a phospholene, phos pholane or phosphetane. The latter compounds are also substituted in the 1-position by a hydrocarbyl (C1-12) or halohydrocarbyl (C1-12) and may additionally carry one or more halo, lower-alkoxy, phenoxy, lower-hydrocar byl or halo-substituted hydrocarbyl groups on the ring carbon atoms.


A 67‐year‐old woman presented with lower body edema and was found to have a suprarenal inferior vena cava (IVC) obstruction without hepatic vein obstruction and partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) draining the right pulmonary veins to the IVC below the obstructed IVC on CT angiography. The patient underwent retrohepatic cavoatrial bypass with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) 16‐mm ringed graft via a posterolateral thoracotomy and retroperitoneal approach.


A prenatal diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is challenging. This study aimed to develop a coarctation probability model incorporating prenatal cardiac sonographic markers to estimate the probability of an antenatal diagnosis of CoA.


With the further internationalization of RMB and its rising international status, the Chinese government, enterprises and individuals have been involved in international business activities thoroughly and extensively, compared with the situation before entering WTO. Under the backdrop, the employers ask for more qualifications of the talents in International Finance. However, there are still problems in teaching content, teaching materials, teaching methods and practical teaching design, etc. of International Finance course in many colleges and universities, and the teaching quality fails to meet the requirements of the employers, resulting in imbalance between supply and demand. The paper tries to explore the problems in the teaching process of International Finance and proposes some suggestions for improvement in teaching content, teaching materials, teaching methods and practical teaching and examination reform, etc.


This article is devoted to the one of the most significant moments of the beginning of the history of discovery and study of the archaeological monuments and artifacts on the territory of Grozny and its suburbs in the end of the 1880-th, correlated with wide spread of illegal excavations on the territory of the Terek district (Terskaya) and visiting this site by the directors of the main archaeological structures of Russia - count A.A. Bobrinsky (Imperial Archaeological Commission, St. Petersburg) and countess P.S. Uvarova (Imperial Moscow Archaeological Society (Moscow). The immediate reason for such attention was the rumors that reached the center about a find of the golden "crown" by treasure hunters in one of the mound near the village of Kulary on the river Sunzha. The Terek regional and district administrations of Grozny actively participated in the search. One of the officials, Yu.K. Churakovsky, also took active part in the research of local archaeological sites carried out by the Imperial Archaeological Commission and the Imperial Moscow Archaeological Society, as well as in the collection of numerous artifacts recovered by robbers from the mounds on the Chechen Plain in 1887-1888. In the end, the «crown», having become the necklace of Early Sarmatian period (E.I. Krupnov, V.B. Vinogradov, M.P. Abramova) came to P.S. Uvarova and was later transferred to the State Historical Museum. Twists and turns of the story are preserved in the correspondence of P.S. Uvarova to Yu.K. Churakovsky, once again confirming the importance of the epistolary heritage in the study of the process of the formation of archeology in Russia.


Based on a deep comprehension of human living condition in the background of rapid urbanization since industria revolution in the western world,"Etopia" tries to discard the pursuing of eternal existence of classical static aesthetics of architectural entity.Regarding the changing discipline of physical distribution,information flow and pedestrian flow as the breakthrough point of design,considering architecture as a space-time process of collection and dispersion controlled by design,linking standardization,prefabrication and logistics assembly with open construction system, the traditional architectural visual angle of form is expanded and a possibility of upgrading"Chinese Construction"or"Chinese Production"to"Chinese Creation"is made.


In this paper, I argue that as academics we need to engage in self reflection on our own practice as educators. Among many things, this means looking at ourselves and challenging our own unhelpful arguments that work to rob us of our agency in terms of our scholarship. While beginning with an acknowledgement of broader realities, such as neoliberal agendas, that impact on our experiences of tenure and promotion, I wish to push the discussion further by arguing that one form of resistance to these unjust conditions is to reclaim our agency by revaluing our practice as educators. Hence, this paper begins with a challenge to some of our unhelpful arguments and proceeds to a discussion of several ideas that could be helpful in furthering our scholarship within a climate where quantity supersedes quality and where 'productivity' is the defining feature of success. My hope in writing this article is to offer my reflections and experiences as a way for other young academics to enhance their own scholarship. As such, this paper discusses the importance of writing for publication from an untenured academic's point of view and provides ideas that could assist specifically in engaging in the scholarship of teaching.


Data assimilation methods used for transient atmospheric state estimations in paleoclimatology such as covariance-based approaches, analogue techniques and nudging are briefly introduced. With applications differing widely, a plurality of approaches appears to be the logical way forward.


pulmonary fibrosis. Eur Respir J 2015;45:1717–1727. 15. Ley B, Newton CA, Arnould I, Elicker BM, Henry TS, Vittinghoff E, et al. The MUC5B promoter polymorphism and telomere length in patients with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis: an observational cohortcontrol study. Lancet Respir Med 2017;5:639–647. 16. Salisbury ML, Gu T, Murray S, Gross BH, Chughtai A, Sayyouh M, et al. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: radiologic phenotypes are associated with distinct survival time and pulmonary function trajectory. Chest 2019;155:699–711.


This article lists three typical abnormal microstructures of overhead power line suspension clamps, including inclusion, flake graphite and cementite network. A series of tests including macro check, hardness measurement, composition tests, Energy-dispersive x-ray analysis and metallographic observation have been carried out. The experimental results showed that the causes of abnormal microstructures mainly include: high content of impurities, flake graphite blank and unfulfilled annealing heat treatment. It is suggested to strengthen the supervision on suspension clamps before using, and focus on the quality inspection of metallographic structure and composition.


Considerable prior experience at higher education music campuses in Flagstaff, Chandler and Mesa, Arizona led to our engagement in substantial repurposing and renovation of their rehearsal, recording, practice, and performance facilities. Specific challenges due to existing mechanical system noise, poor sound isolation, and overall room-acoustics issues are discussed as well as their solutions and measured data upon completion.Considerable prior experience at higher education music campuses in Flagstaff, Chandler and Mesa, Arizona led to our engagement in substantial repurposing and renovation of their rehearsal, recording, practice, and performance facilities. Specific challenges due to existing mechanical system noise, poor sound isolation, and overall room-acoustics issues are discussed as well as their solutions and measured data upon completion.


In two separate experiments, a total of 180 citizens at a suburban shopping mall responded to questionnaires about a fictitious newspaper article describing a male child's suicidal death. In Experiment I (90 subjects), the child's age was reported as either 10, 13½, or 17. In Experiment II, an additional 90 subjects responded to a fictitious newspaper article describing a 10-year-old boy's suicidal death by gunshot, hanging, or drug overdose. Seventeen-year-olds who committed suicide were rated more psychologically disturbed than 13½- or 10-year-olds. Parents of 17-year-old suicides were liked more than parents of younger children. In the case of the 17-year-olds, respondents were more likely to say that they felt that the cause of death should not be publicly reported. Across all ages, fathers were perceived as significantly more psychologically disturbed by female than by male respondents. Children who shot themselves were rated more psychologically disturbed than children who overdosed, but parents were rated about the same regardless of the child's method of suicide.


Abstract : Native point defects in Y3Al5O12 (YAG) were studied in the framework of the pair-potential approximation coupled with the shell model description of the lattice ions. For the perfect lattice, a new set of potential parameters were obtained which reproduce structure, elastic and dielectric constants of YAG very well. The calculated formation energies for native point defects predict that the antisite disorder is preferred over the Frenkel and Schottky like disorder in YAG. The calculated value of the distortion caused by the antisite Y sub Al are in excellent agreement with the EXAFS measurements. In non-stoichiometric YAG, the calculated reaction energies indicate that excess Y2O3 or Al2O3 is likely to be accommodated by the formation of antisite rather than vacancies in the lattice.


In this talk an extension of discretely entropy stable discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods to the resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations is presented. In the continuous entropy analysis of the ideal MHD equations, which are the advective parts of the resistive MHD equations, the divergence-free constraint on the magnetic field components must be incorporated as a non-conservative term in a form proposed by Powell. Consequently, this non-conservative term needs to be discretized, such that the approximation is consistent with the entropy. Furthermore, as an extension of the ideal MHD system, the resistive parts are shown to satisfy the entropy inequality, continuously as well as discretely. This enables the construction of an entropy stable DG discretization for the resistive MHD equations. However, the resulting method suffers from large errors in the divergence-free constraint, since no particular treatment of divergence errors is included in the standard resistive MHD model. Hence, we construct and analyze a DG method that is entropy stable for the resistive MHD equations and has a built-in generalized Lagrange multiplier (GLM) divergence cleaning mechanism. Moreover, the considered scheme is derived for unstructured three-dimensional curvilinear hexahedral meshes. Finally, we provide numerical verification of the theoretical properties as well as the increased robustness of the derived method compared to standard high-order DG methods. We conclude with some simulation results, in which the novel solver is applied to real space physics MHD flows.


Often in the past decade, human exposure to toxic chemicals from landfills and other dump sites has been fingered as the culprit for unexplained sicknesses. Now, a thorough, documented, peer review of the scientific evidence for disease caused by environmental chemicals has been completed. The Universities Associated for Research and Education in Pathology has published a report on its nearly 18-month study of the information available on health effects from exposure to chemicals from waste dumps with a not totally unexpected general finding: ''There is little scientific evidence that chemical disposal sites have had serious effects on the health of populations living near them.'' The UAREP report does not make light of the magnitude of the chemical disposal problem. Joe W. Grisham, chairman of the scientific panel that reviewed the data and head of the pathology department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, emphasized that the report considered for its work only research papers published in the referenced literature. Just because the evidence has not appeared at this time does not mean there is not a potential problem. Other data are out there, he explained, some of them available, some involved in litigation, and some being kept formore » whatever reason by the federal government.« less


Let $mathcal{R}$ be a ring. For a quasi-bigraduation $f=I_{(p,q)}$of ${mathcal{R}} $ we define an $f^{+}-$quasi-bigraduation of an ${%mathcal{R}}$-module ${mathcal{M}}$ by a family $g=(G_{(m,n)})_{(m,n)inleft(mathbb{Z}times mathbb{Z}right) cup {infty }}$ of subgroups of $%{mathcal{M}}$ such that $G_{infty }=(0) $ and $I_{(p,q)}G_{(r,s)}subseteqG_{(p+r,q+s)},$ for all $(p,q)$ and all $(r,s)in left(mathbb{N} timesmathbb{N}right) cup {infty }.$ Here we show that $r$ elements of ${mathcal{R}}$ are $J-$independent oforder $k$ with respect to the $f^{+}$quasi-bigraduation $g$ if and only ifthe following two properties hold: they are $J-$independent of order $k$ with respect to the $^+$%quasi-bigraduation of ring $f_2(I_{(0,0)},I)$ and there exists a relation ofcompatibility between $g$ and $g_{I}$, where $I$ is the sub-$mathcal{A}-$%module of $mathcal{R}$ constructed by these elements. We also show that criteria of $J-$independence of compatiblequasi-bigraduations of module are given in terms of isomorphisms of gradedalgebras.


Use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) has increased dramatically in recent years, yet little is known about its effects on the developing brain. Neonatal rats were administered MDMA on days 1–10 or 11–20 (analogous to early and late human third trimester brain development). MDMA exposure had no effect on survival but did affect body weight gain during treatment. After treatment, body weight largely recovered to 90–95% of controls. MDMA exposure on days 11–20 resulted in dose-related impairments of sequential learning and spatial learning and memory, whereas neonatal rats exposed on days 1–10 showed almost no effects. At neither stage of exposure did MDMA-treated offspring show effects on swimming ability or cued learning. Brain region-specific dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine changes were small and were not correlated to learning changes. These findings suggest that MDMA may pose a previously unrecognized risk to the developing brain by inducing long-term deleterious effects on learning and memory.


Abstract: One of the most important and difficult duties of a smart video surveillance system is object tracking. The major purpose of this is to pinpoint the precise location of a specific item and to highlight that location with a buzzer and light. We considered secrecy when designing. We must protect the private documents. Therefore, we need to offer users permission before granting access to the location, buzzer, and light. This system was specifically created with authorization and confidentiality in mind. The various object tracking techniques that the researchers used are thoroughly reviewed in this publication. The purpose of this essay isto review numerous ways to object tracking and to examine, study, and evaluate them


The authors consider the jump change-point model with at most one change. With the help of the slip window method,the weak and strong consistency,the weak and strong convergence rate of change-point estimator are presented.At the same time,the Op convegence rate is studied at the local alternative hypothesis.


The Rubin Observatory's 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time will observe near to 20 billion galaxies. For each galaxy the properties can be inferred. Approximately 105 galaxies observed per year will contain Type Ia supernovae (SNe), allowing SN host-galaxy properties to be calculated on a large scale. Measuring the properties of SN host-galaxies serves two main purposes. The first is that there are known correlations between host-galaxy type and supernova type, which can be used to aid in the classification of SNe. Secondly, Type Ia SNe exhibit correlations between host-galaxy properties and the peak luminosities of the SNe, which has implications for their use as standardisable candles in cosmology. We have used simulations to quantify the improvement in host-galaxy stellar mass (M*) measurements when supplementing photometry from Rubin with spectroscopy from the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST) instrument. We provide results in the form of expected uncertainties in M* for galaxies with 0.1 < z < 0.9 and 18 < rAB < 25. We show that for galaxies mag 22 and brighter, combining Rubin and 4MOST data reduces the uncertainty measurements of galaxy M* by more than a factor of 2 compared with Rubin data alone. This applies for elliptical and Sc type hosts. We demonstrate that the reduced uncertainties in M* lead to an improvement of 7 per cent in the precision of the 'mass step' correction. We expect our improved measurements of host-galaxy properties to aid in the photometric classification of SNe observed by Rubin.


Atomic images were successfully observed on hydrogen terminated Si (100) and (111) surfaces in air by scanning tunneling microscopy. The surfaces were prepared by ultraviolet irradiation in an oxygen atmosphere followed by dipping in 1% hydrofluoric acid. For the (100) surface, the atomic images exhibit various structures such as rows along the [010] and [001] directions, an apparent (1/(2)1/2×1/(2)1/2)R45° ''sublattice,'' and a c(2×1) superlattice in addition to the square lattice corresponding to the Si(100)‐(1×1) structure. For the (111) surface, a triangular lattice pattern which agrees with the Si(111)‐(1×1) structure was observed. Such atomic images appeared in restricted areas. It is possible that slight oxidation or some adsorption enables or prevents the observation of atomic images.


Hot work tool steels are mainly employed in hot metal forming processes, especially as dies for forging, extrusion or die casting. In such applications, tool steel hot resistance is essential. During forging operations, hot work dies are exposed to high temperatures, in which tempering reactions can occur. Therefore, increased hot resistance can only be attained if such reactions are retarded. The new material described in the present paper, named VHSUPER ® , was developed focusing the increase in tempering resistance, through a different design of chemical composition. Pilot scale and industrial heats were produced and field tests were performed. The tempering resistance test showed the superior behavior of the new steel in comparison to AISI H11 and AISI H13 grades. This mainly results from its higher Mo content, which forms stable carbides during secondary hardening. In spite of the higher tempering resistance, impact tests showed that toughness was not reduced. The field testes, in hot forging dies, resulted in substantial increase in die life for the new


Abstract The thermodynamic theory for a fluid mixture in a gravitational field under a given pressure is developed. The local density and the local molfraction are varied to minimize the Gibbs free energy of the system. With the approximation of local thermodynamics, a set of coupled linear differential equations of first order is obtained. The non-local van der Waals-Landau contributions, leading to a set of linear differential equations of second order, are discussed for the two component lattice gas. Experimental methods allowing to determine concentration and density gradients are discussed also.


Objectives
To investigate the composition and drug resistance of pathogens causing the complicated urinary tract infections so as to provide guidance for reasonable use of antibiotics.

Methods
A retrospective analysis of clinical data and drug sensitivity test results of 108 patients with complicated urinary tract infections were made.

Results
108 cases were detected in 325 urine samples of pathogens, including 218 strains of Gram–negative, coccus (67.08%), 62 strains of Gram–positive coccus (19.08%), 45 of the fungus(13.85%); Gram–negative strains of Escherichia coli accounted for 30.15%, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.00%), Enterobacter cloacae (9.23%) and Klebsiella neumonia (7.69%).62 strains of Gram–positive coccus, staphylococcus aureus (7.08%), Enterococcus faecalis (5.54%) and urinary enterococci (4.92%) were commonly observed. The drug resistance rate of Gram–negative bacteria and positive bacteria to cephalosporins, penicillins, quinolones and gentamicin was as high as 50%, and the drug resistance rate of Gram–negative bacteria to meropenem and imipenem was less than 20%.The drug resistance rate of Gram–positive bacteria to vancomycin, teicoplanin and linezolid was less than 10%, and there was highly sensitive.

Conclusions
The complicated urinary tract infections bacterial spectrum and drug resistance have undergone significant changes, susceptibility testing should be carried out to select high sensitivity antibacterial drug clinically, it should not use a conventional cephalosporins and quinolones for empirical medication.

Key words:
Urinary Tract Infections; Drug Tolerance


We have developed an Audiographics Teleconferencing System that uses personal computers connected by basic rate ISDN lines. It permits up to six terminals to exchange multimedia data, including voice, images, and handwritten inputs. A4-size documents read by an image scanner can be transmitted to all teleconferencing terminals at high speed. They are reduced to one-third and displayed on a CRT in half an A4-size at high speed and at high quality. While participants talk, they can make and erase handwritten notes on an LCD tablet. This paper describes an overview of this system, the design method, and the system configuration


Temperature normals have been estimated for stations of the newly developed US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) by using USCRN temperatures and temperature anomalies interpolated from neighboring stations of the National Weather Service Cooperative Station Network (COOP). To seek the best normal estimation approach, several variations on estimation techniques were considered: the sensitivity of error of estimated normals to COOP data quality; the number of neighboring COOP station used; a spatial interpolation scheme; and the number of years of data used in normal estimation. The best estimation method we found is the one in which temperature anomalies are spatially interpolated from COOP stations within approximately 117 km of the target station using a weighting scheme involving the inverse of square difference in temperature (between the neighboring and target station). Using this approach, normals of USCRN stations were generated. Spatial and temporal characteristics of errors are presented, and the applicability of estimated normals in climate monitoring is discussed. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society


With the aim of preventing malnutrition, it has been proposed to provide information to consumers about the nutritional content of food using labelling on packages to promote healthier eating habits. Since the way in which the consumer uses the information available in the choice of healthy foods is not clear, this article aims to analyze the interrelationship between the different types of interpretative FOP labelling and the characteristics of consumers in the food purchase intention. Food purchase intention, or its negation, is determined by different combination of conditions were perceived healthiness plays an important role. Nutrition summary indicator labelling interacts with the nutrient-specific nutritional labelling, nutrition consciousness, perceived healthiness, age, and gender in different ways to determine purchase intention or negation of purchase intention. Governments must make additional efforts to ensure that the Nutri-Score guides citizens in making healthy food choices.


Gender differences exist, but the strength and importance of those differences is debatable. This study examined differences in performance among men (n = 64) and women (n = 56) on 14 neuro-cognitive temporal tasks. No adult norms exist for these tasks. Therefore, the goals were to 1) record and compare scores achieved by men and women, and 2) investigate differences in terms of performance (grade point average and physical fitness score) during Army Health Care Specialist Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Descriptive statistics and t-tests identified and compared scores by gender, while IM scores and performance relationships were explored with Pearson product-moment correlations and regression analysis. Men's temporal responses were closer to the reference beat than women's on 14.3% of tasks (p < 0.05). There were no significant relationships between temporal responses and physical fitness performance scores and only two correlations between temporal responses and grade point average (right hand tapping, Task Average and Super Right On (percent within ±15ms of the target beat) (r = 0.189, p = 0.04; and r = 0.20, p = 0.03). While this research upheld findings of differences between men and women in temporal abilities, the differences did not impact functional performance during AIT.


ed form of some factors which are addressed in table 6.1. Table 6.1 Effective factors in controlling resident agent preferences for settlement Factors Denotation Accessibility to education centres


A case of invasive Bowen's disease is presented. The patient was 59 years old and the lesion had been present for 16 years. There was no history of arsenic ingestion in any form. Histological examination showed clear invasion in the dermis, with similar morphological results. No metastasis to regional lymph nodes or distant organs was present. There was no evidence of any internal cancer.


The growing presence of financial operators in the oil markets has modified oil price dynamics. The diffusion of techniques based on extrapolative expectations – such as feedback trading – leads to departures of prices from their fundamental values and increases their variability. Oil price changes are here associated with changes in stocks, bonds and effective USD exchange rate. The feedback trading mechanism is combined with an ICAPM and provides a model which is then estimated in a CCC GARCH-M framework, both the risk premium and the feedback trading components of the conditional means being nonlinear functions of the system's conditional variances and covariances. The empirical analysis identifies a structural change in the year 2000. From then on oil returns tend to become more reactive to the remaining assets of the model and feedback trading more pervasive. A comparison is drawn between three and four asset minimum variance portfolios in the two sub-periods, 1992-1999 and 2000-2008. Oil acquires in the second period, besides its standard properties as a physical commodity, the characteristics of a financial asset. Indeed, the trade-off between risk and returns – measured here by the average return per unit of risk index – indicates that in the last decade oil diversifies away the empirical risk of our portfolio.


Adapting to the Bologna plan, the University panorama has required a review of subjects of long history such as Law, what is also a chance to introduce new programs to the subject such as Sports Law. Lawyers need to know Sports Law, since they are professionals who intervene in Society and in all its facets. Due to the importance of this subject, determined by its multidisciplinary content, provides a global vision of the legal system. Consequently, it is a chance to redraw procedures so that others in the University may be inspired to modernize other subjects with commitment to a Sports Law which brings it closer to sports and contributes to its development, besides, it requires to be constantly updated and consolidated itself.


thus making them more accessible to a broader population. The book possesses a good sampling of both the paintings and prints. One should not overlook how the courage, discipline and humanity detailed by Kent's story served to undergird the British ethos, as well as how it supported the value of prayer (as portrayed by MacGregor). While maritime historians and those interested in nautical affairs will be the chiefaudience for this book, it also has important information for the mechanics ofBritish imperial control, the dissemination of news, and the reinforcement of a British identity. Often the depth of research employed by the author results in a dry treatment of the subject, but Tracy's style avoids that problem and makes the work valuable for enticing readers to history.


You might think to run OLS in this situation the linear probability model (LPM). In other words, you'd model the expected value of Y as a linear function of some independent variables X. E[y] = xiβ (1) In the binary world, the expected value of Y is: E[y] = 1× Pr(y = 1) + 0× Pr(y = 0) = Pr(y = 1) (2) From this, we can see that we have: Pr(y = 1) = xiβ (3) This model is obviously very easy to estimate and you can interpret the coefficients as you would from a normal OLS model i.e. the coefficients indicate how a one-unit change in X affects Pr(y = 1). There are some problems with the LPM, though.


In this paper, we describe a genetic algorithm (GA) based approach for learning connection weights for an artificial neural network (ANN). We use simulated data sets to compare the GA based approach for learning connection weights against the traditional back-propagation algorithm. Our results indicate that GA based training of ANN has a higher reliability (in terms of over-fitting the training data set) and predictive power than the traditional back-propagation algorithm.


The Level-set (LS) method has been shown to be a powerful approach to model dynamic interfaces in the context of large deformations. The LS method has been applied to the simulation of microstructural evolutions as Grain Growth (GG) and Recristallization (ReX) at the mesoscale [1]. Interfaces between grains are then implicitly described in a Eulerian framework, as the zero-isovalue of the LS fields and their evolution is governed by convective-diffusive partial differential equations (PDEs). In the context of the Finite Element Method (FEM), the LS approach circumvents the notoriously difficult problem of generating interface-conforming meshes for geometries subject to large displacements and to changes in the topology of the domains. However, in order to maintain high accuracy, moving interfaces are generally captured by a locally refined FE mesh with the help of mesh adaptation techniques. In a microstructual problem, the large number of interfaces and the fine mesh required in their vicinity make the mesh adaptation process very costly in terms of CPU-time, particularly in 3D [2]. In this work, a different adaptation strategy is used. It maintains the benefits of the classical Eulerian LS framework, while enforcing at all times the conformity of the FE mesh to implicit interfaces by means of local remeshing operations [3]. With this approach, geometrical data such as interface normals and curvatures can be computed directly from the body-fitted mesh using the position of the interface nodes only, instead of relying on the costly and inaccurate approximation of the LS field derivatives. Changes in properties between grains, such as the dislocation density, can also be represented by a genuinely discontinuous jump at the interface, instead of resorting to a smoothed field. We will illustrate how the new method decreases the requirement in mesh density while maintaining the accuracy at the interfaces, hence reducing the computational cost of the simulations.


Today's test system mostly depends on the molding of the problems in library, but the data source in problems in library is the most complicated problem, For the office examination on computer, The random algorithm is applied to the test system which batched generated questions for the random test system of automatic, solved the questions the issues of aging. New questions will be produced more convenient, more diverse, as the examination system provides powerful support.


We study Gabriel-Zisman localization, localization by a multiplicative system and by a null system. We define the triangulated category and the derived category. Finally we describe a scheme for localization from a triangulated category to a module category.


The recently reported X-ray line signal at E γ (cid:2) 3 . 5 keV from a stacked spectrum of various galaxy clusters and the Andromeda galaxy may be originating from a decaying dark matter particle of the mass 2 E γ . A light axion-like scalar is suggested as a natural candidate for dark matter and its production mechanisms are closely examined. We show that the right amount of axion relic density with the pre-ferred parameters, m a (cid:2) 7 keV and f a (cid:2) 4 × 10 14 GeV, can be naturally obtainable from the decay of inflaton. If the axions were produced from the saxion decay, it could not have constituted the total relic density due to the bound from structureformation.Nonetheless,thesaxiondecayisaninter-esting possibility, because the 3 . 5 keV line and dark radiation can be addressed simultaneously, being consistent with the Planck data. Small misalignment angles of the axion, ranging between θ a ∼ 10 − 4 –10 − 1 depending on the reheating temperature, can also be the source of axion production. The model with axion misalignment can satisfy the constraints for structure formation and iso-curvature perturbation.


Motivated by the repeated damage to vibration-isolated equipment in almost all strong earthquakes that occurred in the past four decades, an experimental study was conducted to verify the adequacy of the current static method used for the seismic design of this type of nonstructural components. The study included earthquake-simulator tests of two HVAC equipment items supported by restrained vibration-isolators. The test results confirmed that seismic protection of vibrationisolated equipment by snubbers comes at the expense of amplified acceleration responses and dynamic loads, which are often much larger than those predicted by the static method. The differences between the predictions of the static method and actual dynamic responses of the equipment were attributed to four aspects not considered in the static method: Rotational responses of the equipment, nonlinear relationship between the gap size and seismic demands, effect of thickness and hardness of the snubbers, and effect of flexibility of the equipment.


This article reports a study on the dielectric relaxation processes of Cd 2Nb2O7 compound. Three dielectric relaxation modes I, II, and III were reexamined. By using the Cole–Cole equation fitting of the frequency dependence of dielectric constant and loss, we obtained more precise relaxation time data, compared to the data reported in the literature. The results indicate that the relaxation time for mode I follows the Arrhenius law with one slope rather than two slopes as reported in the literature in the frequency range of 10 – 10 Hz. However, the parameters obtained from the Arrhenius law fit are not physically reasonable. More physically reasonable parameters can be obtained by fitting the relaxation time to the empirical Vogel @Z. Phys.22, 645~1921!#–Fulcher@J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 8, 339 ~1925!# relation with essentially the same fitting quality. A comparison of Cd2Nb2O7 with well known triglycine sulphate~TGS! is made. The similarity between the dielectric response of Cd 2Nb2O7 and TGS is emphasized. The physical mechanism of the relaxation modes is briefly discussed. With increasing dc bias, the three relaxation modes were suppressed and eventually eliminated. This indicates that the dielectric responses of Cd 2Nb2O7 at zero dc bias are the sum effect of several dielectric modes with relaxation polarization superimposed on the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. @S0021-8979 ~00!03710-5#


The development of the first beam-index color television for the consumer market is described. The TV uses a 3.7-in beam-index cathode ray tube. A good index signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was achieved by developing a photodetection system and using the 3/4 nonintegral method. Compact size (133 mm*133 mm*133 mm) for portable use was realized by extensively incorporating surface-mounted components, developing an extremely small flyback transformer (FBT), and designing ICs for handling complicated index processing circuits. Solutions to the inherent problems of small television, i.e. heat dissipation and reception by rod antennas, were developed. The heat problem was ameliorated by circuit integration of the index signal process and the design of a low-power-consumption deflection system. Tuner pack technology was applied to pack the index signal processing in a metal shield, thus suppressing extraneous radiation and making nonantenna reception possible. >


Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) is a benign proliferative mesenchymal lesion of the breast. PASH presents as a palpable or mammographically detectable mass or is an incidental microscopic finding in up to 23% of breast biopsies. Its pathogenesis is unclear but may involve hormonal factors, as recently postulated. Its clinical, cytological, and radiological characteristics resemble those of other benign tumors, including low-grade angiosarcomas and phyllodes tumors. Because of its uncertain pathogenesis, PASH is usually treated via surgical excision, with post-excision recurrence rates ranging from 7% to 22% [1]. Although several cases of PASH have been recently reported, cases of PASH involving large, rapidly growing lesions refractory to surgical incision are rare [2]. In this study, we report our experience with a case of PASH that presented as rapidly growing bilateral breast enlargement refractory to surgical excision. We also review the pertinent literature, including the clinical and histopathological features, pathogenesis, imaging findings, treatment, and prognosis of PASH.


Objective To investigate the lesion types and the flow grades of the infrapopliteal arteriai lesion in diabetic patients based on digital subtraction arteriography (DSA).Methods 107 diabetic patients (211 limbs) with peripheral arterial disease underwent successful DSA on lower extremities.The flow grades of the infrapopliteal arteries (IPA) were categorized based on the blood perfusion and collateral formation of IPA on radiograph film:grade 0,if no blood fluidity and no collateral formations in all trunks of IPA and pedal arteries;grade 1,if two trunks without blood fluidity,one with uncontinuous blood fluidity,and pedal arteries perfused from collateral circulation;grade 2,if only one with continuous blood fluidity,and collateral circulation formed;grade 3,only two with continuous blood fluidity and collateral formations;grade 4,if continuous blood fluidity in all trunks of IPA and pedal arteries.Clinical manifestation was evaluated with the Fontaine stages.The lesion type of the IPA was classified from A to D:A,if 3 trunks of IPA were not occluded or only one was occluded (≤1/3 of total length) ;B,if one of 3 trunks of IPA was occluded(≥2/3)or two arteries with occlusion (one≤1/3,another ≥2/3,or two ≤1/3);C,if only two trunks occluded(≥2/3),or tibioperoneal trunk(TPT) and anterior tibial artery(ATA,1/3) with occlusion as well as posterior tibial(PTA) and peroneal artery(PA) were not occluded;D,3 trunks of IPA were occluded(1/3) or TPT and ATA (≥2/3) with occlusion as well as PTA or/and PA with occlusion.Results The prevalence of type A,B,C and D was 19.4%,30.3%,24.2%, and 26.1 % respectively.The grade 0,1,2,3 and 4 of flow categories were 7.6 %,33.6%,41.2%,12.3%, and 5.2% respectively.The type ?,?,?,and ? of Fontaine stages were 4.8%,8.7%,29.8%,and 56.7% respectively.There existed a negative correlation between the flow grades and Fontaine stages (r=-0.438,P 0.01) in 208 limbs.Fontaine stages approximately accorded lesion types.There was a downward tendency in flow grades from lesion type A to D (P0.01).Conclusions The analysis of the combined flow grades and the lesion types of the infrapopliteal arteries might be benefit for choosing the appropriate therapy and assessing the prognosis of diabetic foot and peripheral artery disease.


Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks as well as botnet-based attacks are among the most important security vulnerabilities in Internet of Things (IoT) environments. Most of the existing research approaches use centralized defense mechanisms to prevent DDoS attacks in IoT environments. However, it is important to provide a reliable and scalable solution to prevent DDoS attacks. Combining technologies such as distributed blockchain-based mechanisms and smart contracts facilitates the construction of a trusted distributed framework that can defend against DDoS attacks in IoT. In this article, we have proposed a multilevel DDoS mitigation approach (ML-DDoS) to protect IoT devices and other computing resources or machines using the blockchain-based framework. The core concept of the proposed system is to use a device-based verification mechanism using blockchain and exclude malicious devices from IoT environments. The proposed framework was developed using Hyperledger Caliper (a blockchain benchmark tool) and its performance was evaluated using three benchmark applications. Compared to the state of the art, the results show that the proposed framework achieves up to 35% improvement in throughput, up to 40% improvement in latency, and up to 25% better utilization of CPU.


Background: Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) is an inorganic zirconium silicate compound that selectively exchanges potassium for hydrogen and sodium. "Once" doses of SZC (with option to redose) in patients with hyperkalemia in hospitalized settings have not been evaluated. We hypothesized that a once dose of SZC would be non-inferior to sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) in reducing serum potassium. Objective: The objective of our study is to evaluate the effect of a "once" dose of SZC when compared with SPS in reducing serum potassium levels. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of patients who received either a "once" dose of SZC or single or repeated doses of SPS for hyperkalemia. The primary endpoint was mean absolute reduction in the first serum potassium value at least 4 hours after administration. The secondary efficacy endpoints were the rate of additional potassium-lowering therapies and the rate of normokalemia within 48 hours. Safety endpoints were the incidence of electrolyte abnormalities, hypoglycemia, hypertension, hypotension, and colonic necrosis. Results: A total of 260 patients were included in the analysis. The mean initial serum potassium was similar between groups (5.6 ± 0.4). The absolute serum potassium reduction was −0.88 ± 0.64 mEq/L and −0.75 ± 0.65 mEq/L with SZC and SPS, respectively. The "once" regimen of SZC demonstrated non-inferiority compared with SPS (P < 0.0001). The proportion of patients achieving normokalemia within 48 hours and the proportion of patients receiving additional potassium-lowering therapies did not differ between groups. Conclusion and Relevance: The "once" dose regimen (with redose option) of SZC was non-inferior to the "once" or repeated dosing regimen of SPS with regard to absolute potassium reduction. There were no significant differences in the rate of additional potassium-lowering therapies and the rate of normokalemia at 48 hours. The incidence of hypertension was less common among patients who received SZC.


To determine an underlying factorial structure of existential distress in Japanese terminally ill cancer patients, a principal components analysis was performed on 162 Japanese hospice inpatients.


Based on the discussion of to-contraction in English, Jagglie's proposal and Manzini's representational approach in the analysis of contraction are argued againat. Two refinements of the Minimalist Program in the domains of A-movement and control, i.e. no trace/copy in A-movement and control as raising, can straightforwardly explain contraction facts.The present derivational approach provides a further account of the nature of contraction.


1. Introduction Privacy is a quintessential cornerstone of most democratic legal systems (Eschet, 2004). (1) Its importance as a theoretical, social, and philosophical value, have seen it come to be protected and upheld by some of the highest legal standards, constitutions and international human rights treaties. But privacy, like technology and government, is undergoing a vacillating course. The concept of privacy, (2) in our case informational privacy, is relatively new. As noted by one writer (Godkin, 1890 p.12): "Privacy is a distinctly modern concept, one of the luxuries of civilisation, which is not only unsought for but unknown in primitive or barbarous societies." The laws relating to privacy are thus in a full state of evolution and the developments that have allowed privacy to blossom are equally as new. Concurrent with these rather welcome developments though, is the putative contradiction that privacy is also developing at a time when it can be reduced to very little, and this erosion is progressing quickly due to our continued ingenuity. One of the most recent examples of this ingenuity is radio frequency identification, where the hype attached to the potential privacy concerns associated with the technology, it is humbly submitted, seems to wane significantly in comparison to the technology's marketplace momentum. What will be examined in this article will be whether Europe's already under pressure omnibus data protection regime is up to the privacy challenges presented by our continued technological ingenuity. 2. Radio Frequency Identification--A Taxonomy of the Technology RFID is a simple concept with enormous implications (Finkenzeller, 1999). To paraphrase one writer (Drucker, 1999), it could be to the information revolution what the rail road was to the industrial revolution. The term 'RFID' is a generic expression for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify individual items. At its core, RFID is an extension of electronic database technology that has been used in the commercial sector for decades (EPIC Workshop Comment, 2004). RFID systems are a subset of a larger class of technology known as automatic identification (Auto-ID) systems. Similar in concept to the Universal Product Code (UPC), RFID devices are the next generation of barcodes. The tags have the ability to scan multiple items simultaneously as well as being able to constantly refer to an item's whereabouts at all times. It is for this reason that RFID tags have famously been termed 'barcodes on steroids' (US Senator Patrick Leahy, 2004). They consist of labels that are placed on merchandise or objects to identify their location. Patented in 1973, the core technology for RFID was initially employed as part of military applications in the 1920s by the British (Stockman, 1948), who through the use of the all 'Identity Friend or Foe' (IFF) system, used RFID signals to confirm the identity of their own aircraft in flight during World War II (Landt, 2005). No longer an object of wartime nostalgia; the commercial value of RFID, has now firmly sprung the technology from the fusty realms of military history, into those of contemporary political discourse and corporate consciousness. The actual idea of RFID product tracking was developed by Kevin Ashton, a brand manager at Proctor and Gamble (Stein, 2007). In attempting to resolve a growing supply-chain dilemma, Ashton, determined that by placing a small electronic tag (3) on each product, the monitoring and stocking of each cosmetic item could be facilitated. Ashton, somewhat controversially, tested this hypothesis in a store at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and it proved to be a resounding success (Garfinkel, 2002). Through additional experimentation the technology has grown and improved even more to such an extent that countless new applications have materialised and mainstream distribution now beckons (Cardullo, 2003). …


Sketch-based 3D shape retrieval has been extensively studied in recent works, most of which focus on improving the retrieval accuracy, whilst neglecting the efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for efficient sketch-based 3D shape retrieval, i.e., Deep Sketch-Shape Hashing (DSSH), which tackles the challenging problem from two perspectives. Firstly, we propose an intuitive 3D shape representation method to deal with unaligned shapes with arbitrary poses. Specifically, the proposed Segmented Stochastic-viewing Shape Network models discriminative 3D representations by a set of 2D images rendered from multiple views, which are stochastically selected from non-overlapping spatial segments of a 3D sphere. Secondly, Batch-Hard Binary Coding (BHBC) is developed to learn semantics-preserving compact binary codes by mining the hardest samples. The overall framework is jointly learned by developing an alternating iteration algorithm. Extensive experimental results on three benchmarks show that DSSH improves both the retrieval efficiency and accuracy remarkably, compared to the state-of-the-art methods.


We wished to explore the volume and accessibility of information about anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal injuries on the Internet. One hundred patients attending a Sports Trauma NHS outpatient clinic were surveyed to determine Internet use and to identify the terms that the patients used to describe their injuries. These search terms were used to conduct an extensive Internet search on five search engines for information about ACL and meniscal injuries. It emerged that 40% of patients attending outpatient clinic had searched the Internet. Over half of this patient group (58%) stated they would consider using the Internet to retrieve information about their medical condition. A total of 5947 web pages were accessed and categorised according to content. Only 393 (7%) pages contained information relevant to ACL and meniscal injuries. It appears that the number of patients using the Internet to retrieve information on their condition is increasing. As patients usually have no skills in information retrieval and the amount of information retrieved using layman's terms is negligible, their access to reliable and valid web sites containing medical information should be facilitated. Language: en


Less subject to external cultural influences,Tujia brocade art has always retained a strong geographic and ethnic characteristics.Originating from people′s daily life and closely related to people′s clothes,food,shelter and walking,it displays the artistic idea and language of human labor's most rustic life.Modern graphic design may use the references from the best elemnets embodied in the abstract geometrical constituent forms,shapes and colors of Tujia brocade so as to enrich its artistic languages and contents.


The various surface defects are unavoidable in slab continue casting production, the use of automatic scarfing machine is a high-efficiency way to eliminate the surface defects and improve the surface quality. The technical parameters, equipment components, energy medium consumption, working principle and application performance of scarfing machine in slab continue casting at Benxi steel were introduced.


Objective To analyze the variety of pathogens of lower respiratory tract infection in patients receiving mechanical ventilation and the microbial drug resistance . Methods There were 86 patients institutionalized in ICU which received mechanical ventilation and then pneumonia occurred in 64.The pathogens andtheir drug resistance were reviewed. Results A total of 84 strain pathogens were isolated by microbial culture. The ratio of gram-negative bacteria tototal microorganism isolated was 69.1%(58/84),and the gram-positive bacteria was 19.1%(16/84), and fungi were 11.9%(10/84). Among pathogens the most common were P.aeruginosa (29 strains), S.aureus(12 strains), P.klebsiella (14strain), and Candida albican (10 strains), their drug-resistance-multipleto antimicrobial agents is serious. Conclusion Gram-negative bacteria are the majority of the pathogens seperated from patients receiving mechanical ventilation of pneumonia in ICU.The pathogens show drug-resistance-mutiple to antimicrobial agents,and emphasis is on the rational use of antibiotics.


Progress in etiology and pathogenesis,the study of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of ulcerative colitis(diagnosis and treatment,experience Fang treatment,experience Fang plus treatment;Chinese medicine enema treatment,Chinese Herbs and enema treatment,other treatments),Chinese medicine for treatment of ulcerativethe advantage of the colitis.


Jack [John] Stanley Body is a New Zealand composer whose eclecticism is culturally and geographically very wide; he is prolific in his creative outputs; he is well-known nationally and internationally within and across a range of compositional styles; and he is celebrated in New Zealand, having received a New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the New Year's Honours (2001), and having been a Laureate of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand (2004).1 Jack Body was born in Te Aroha on 7 October 1944,2 and after high school his musical training took three main directions in the field of composition: firstly, at the University of Auckland between 1963 and 1967 under the guidance of Ronald Tremain (1923–98); secondly, with two short-term internships in 1969 and 1975 at the electronic music studio at Victoria University of Wellington with Douglas Lilburn;3 and thirdly, with Mauricio Kagel (1931–2008) in Cologne.4 In his mid-thirties, Body embarked on a career as a university lecturer in composition from 1980 at Victoria University of Wellington, and formally retired from the same university in 2009. From orchestral works to electro-acoustic forms and from installations to multi-media events, Body embraces diverse sounds in his creative work. Here I will focus on his specific interests in Asia, particularly Indonesia and especially Java, and the influences that Asia has had on some of his creative works. I will investigate what it is about Body's compositional voice that shows Indonesian influences, what stands out in his compositional style, and what this means for New Zealand in terms of its Asian connections.


In this paper, a novel network architecture Weighted Pyramid Network (WPN) is proposed to detect foreign object debris (FOD) on airfield pavement. WPN is a region-based algorithm and it produces region proposals from multi-scale layers with different ratio. Fed to fully-connected layer, these multi-scale proposals are exacted to the same size by undergoing a RoIAlign layer. Moreover, Finetune Loss is designed in WPN to concentrate the model on hard examples and this practice improves the efficiency of training a lot. In the end, compared to some popular object detection network, WPN is proved to achieve better result for FOD detection on airfield pavement.


The development of economy cannot be carried on the cost of sacrificing environment.Instead,it should base on optimizing structure,improving efficiency,lowering consumption and protecting environment,in which,energy saving and consumption lowering as well as protecting environment are the core elements.It is well reflected on the integrated planning of ecological construction and environment protection in Linyi.With the development of economy,the resources constraints are more and more outstanding.In order to develop economy quick and well,we have to change from the model of "high investment,high energy consumption,high pollution and low output" into the model of "low investment,low energy consumption,low pollution and high output".In this situation,Linyi put forward the goal of "two-oriented" society.It is a strategic thinking of global significance and also an important breakthrough to adjust the industrial structure.


The invention relates to SiO2 nano composite thermal insulation paste, which is characterized in that the form of the SiO2 nano composite thermal insulation paste is a paste mixture, and the dried paste mixture becomes micro pores, nano holes and a fiber structure compound. The paste comprises the following components by weight percentage: 20 to 50 percent of SiO2 nano aerogel, 0 to 30 percent of inorganic closed-hole micro-bead material, 7 to 15 percent of expanded pearlite, 0 to 1 percent of bentonite, 2 to 6 percent of penetrating agent, 10 to 20 percent of adhesive, 3 to 6 percent of calcium silicate fiber, 0 to 5 percent of magnesium aluminum silicate fiber, 0 to 5 percent of aluminum silicate fiber, 0 to 40 percent of water, 0.1 to 2 percent of flame retardant, and 3 to 7 percent of pigment. A preparation device is a vacuum intake and stirring device.


How to raise the perfornance of active data management is one of the problems to every designer of system. Using the ASP and database, from balancing the load of different level of B/S, this paper constructs the web-based network active data management model, that is constructed by data management modules, to optimize the active data management.


In the published article we used Minkowski functionals,  0 ,  1 , and  2 ( Mantz et al. 2008 ) , to analyze the statistical properties of small-scale structures produced by our generative adversarial network ( GAN ) -based Foreground Scale Extender ( FORSE ) algorithm 6 . The code used to produce these functionals contained an error that led to it considering only a portion of the input images in the computation. As a result, Figures 4 and 7 in the published article were impacted, and corrected versions are provided in Figures 4 and 7, respectively. The superposition of the Minkowski functional (  0 ,  1 ,  2 ) computed from the small-scale features generated by the GAN and those obtained from the real total intensity observations are at the level of ( 64%, 61%, 60% ) for Stokes I , ( 60%, 61%, 62% ) for Q, and ( 64%, 62%, 63% ) for U maps, respectively. Despite the lower values obtained in comparison to the previous version, these results still demonstrate the ability of FORSE to generate highly non-Gaussian features, as previously concluded. This is especially clear in the case of polarization, as shown in Figure 7, where the distribution of the functionals from the generated maps ( orange ) is much closer to the target distribution ( black lines ) than to that of a Gaussian fi eld ( green ) . We thank Viraj Manwadkar and Susan Clark for fi nding the error in our computation of Minkowski functionals and Jian Yao for


We used electrochemical analysis methods to study how the aconitum alkaloids lappaconitine and its salts (HBr-lappaconitine, HCl-lappaconitine) scavenge free radicals (superoxide anion radical, 2,2diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxy radical) on a multiwall carbon nanotubemodified glassy carbon electrode. The experimental results showed that lappaconitine, HBrlappaconitine and HCl-lappaconitine scavenge free radicals. Lappaconitine's free-radical scavenging capacity decreased in the order 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl > hydroxyl radical > superoxide anion radical > lipid peroxy radical. HBr-lappaconitine's free-radical scavenging capacity decreased in the order 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl > lipid peroxy radical > hydroxyl radical > superoxide anion radical. HCl-lappaconitine's free-radical scavenging capacity decreased in the order hydroxyl radical > 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl > superoxide anion radical > lipid peroxy radical. Scavenging ability toward 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl and lipid peroxy radical decreased in the order HBrlappaconitine > lappaconitine > HCl-lappaconitine. Scavenging ability toward superoxide anion radical and hydroxyl radical decreased in the order lappaconitine > HBr-lappaconitine > HCl-lappaconitine. The results show that the lappaconitine and its salts can be developed as natural antioxidants because of their free-radical scavenging activities.


Despite the remarkable progress achieved in the field of non-fullerene acceptor (NFA)-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs) in recent years, the large energy loss remains the major factor limiting the power conversion...


We propose a combination of cluster analysis and stochastic process analysis to characterize high-dimensional complex dynamical systems by few dominating variables. As an example, stock market data are analyzed for which the dynamical stability as well as transitions between different stable states are found. This combined method allows especially to set up new criteria for merging clusters to uncover dynamically distinct states. The low-dimensional approach allows to recover the high-dimensional fixed points of the system by means of an optimization procedure.


With current renewed interest in natural fibers, traditional suppliers of sisal such as those in Tanzania are
looking to reestablish high production levels despite the shortage of field workers for laborious and hazardous harvest
operations. Cutting force and energy determinations made with Agave sisalana leaves indicated that these parameters
were well within the capabilities of workers even at a work rate twice that of current levels. Measurements of leaf bending
resistance, friction coefficients, and mass distribution were made to assist designers of equipment to handle sisal leaves.
Physical simulations of cutting operations with worker aids aimed at obviating the stooping currently required of harvest
workers, indicated that only tools powered by some external energy source could match or exceed the current traditional
work rate of one leaf per 2.9 s. Among the design concepts formulated for in-field leaf handling, collection and transport
devices, there was an indication that an inverted umbrella type leaf catcher may have economic potential. Because the
cutting operation is complex and selective, it was concluded that the most immediate potential for sisal harvest
mechanization would involve manually operated cutting mechanisms using worker aids, combined with mechanized infield
collection, handling and transport of leaves.


The hypothalamus and leptin play a key role in the regulation of food intake. The present study investigated the effects of 4 weeks of short- or long-photoperiod on serum leptin levels and food intake in relation to mRNA expression levels of neuropeptide Y, agouti-related protein, pro-opiomelanocortin, and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript in the hypothalamus of Chevrier's field mouse (Apodemus chevrieri). There was a significant difference in body fat mass, food intake and neuropeptide Y mRNA expression between the two groups, but serum leptin level, agouti-related protein, pro-opiomelanocortin, and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript mRNA expression in the hypothalamus were not difference between the two groups. The elevation of neuropeptide Y mRNA regulated neuropeptides in the hypothalamus suggests a physiological role of neuroendocrine factors in food intake during the different photoperiod. We conclude that leptin may be involved in energy balance and body mass regulation.


Temperature dependence measurements of the subthreshold current are performed in MOSFETs and show that this current is well described by the Meyer-Neldel effect. A low-frequency noise model, based on carrier fluctuations including this effect, is established to describe the noise in the subthreshold region. This model leads to the qualification of several technologies and particularly to the extraction of the oxide state density.


Companies market their services and products on social media platforms with today's easy access to the internet. As result, they receive feedback and reviews from their users directly on their social media sites. Reading every text is time-consuming and resourcedemanding. With access to technology-based solutions, analyzing the sentiment of all these texts gives companies an overview of how positive or negative users are on specific subjects will minimize losses. In this paper, we propose a deep learning approach to perform sentiment analysis on reviews using a convolutional neural network model, because that they have proven remarkable results for text classification. We validate our convolutional neural network model using large-scale data sets: IMDB movie reviews and Reuters data sets with a final accuracy score of ~86% for both data sets.


One of the effective tool to enhance the ability to manage and supervise the training process, operating system in at university is the application of information and communications technology, on both the technical aspects and interactive environment. The investment in a strategic way from for technical infrastructure, equipment, manpower highly qualified highly qualified manpower and information infrastructure is the decisive factor to create the foundation for sustainable development in each stage of development of the Viet Nam universities in Vietnam.


This paper examines the key factors to consider when selecting the language(s) that would be most appropriate as media of instruction in schools within a multi-cultural and multilingual setting - in this case Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. The emergence and growth of urban codes in African urban spaces is a socio-linguistically significant phenomenon because it represents some recognition of these urban codes and places them into a "hybrid third space" where mixed languages and mixed identities are accommodated. Moreover, urban youth from different ethnic backgrounds can challenge the traditional linguistic and cultural identities of earlier generations that tend to categorize communities into rigid ethnic identities and cultural frameworks. The growth and spread of urban codes in urban settings even as mother tongue languages is a dynamic process that continues to grow despite deliberate efforts by educationists, language policy makers and other "language gatekeepers" to deThis paper examines the key factors to consider when selecting the language(s) that would be most appropriate as media of instruction in schools within a multi-cultural and multilingual setting - in this case Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. The emergence and growth of urban codes in African urban spaces is a socio-linguistically significant phenomenon because it represents some recognition of these urban codes and places them into a "hybrid third space" where mixed languages and mixed identities are accommodated. Moreover, urban youth from different ethnic backgrounds can challenge the traditional linguistic and cultural identities of earlier generations that tend to categorize communities into rigid ethnic identities and cultural frameworks. The growth and spread of urban codes in urban settings even as mother tongue languages is a dynamic process that continues to grow despite deliberate efforts by educationists, language policy makers and other "language gatekeepers" to demonize and discourage their use, supposedly because they are to blame for the poor performance of students during national examinations, particularly those that test competence and performance in English and Kiswahili-Kenya's official languages (the latter having the added accolade of being the national language). The argument in this paper is that this blanket condemnation and prohibition of urban children and youth to use familiar urban codes as their preferred forms of communication, which serves as a mother tongue for some, violates
monize and discourage their use, supposedly because they are to blame for the poor performance of students during national examinations, particularly those that test competence and performance in English and Kiswahili-Kenya's official languages (the latter having the added accolade of being the national language). The argument in this paper is that this blanket condemnation and prohibition of urban children and youth to use familiar urban codes as their preferred forms of communication, which serves as a mother tongue for some, violates


We report a high detectivity middle-wavelength infrared quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP). The InGaAs quantum dots were grown by self-assembly on an InGaP matrix via low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Photoresponse was observed at temperatures above 200 K with a peak wavelength of 4.7 μm and cutoff wavelength of 5.2 μm. The background limited performance temperature was 140 K, and this was attributed to the super low dark current observed in this QDIP. A detectivity of 3.6×1010 cm Hz1/2/W, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art quantum well infrared photodetectors in a similar wavelength range, was obtained for this InGaAs/InGaP QDIP at both T=77 K and T=95 K at biases of −1.6 and −1.4 V, respectively.


Electronic payment systems are considered as e-commerce backbone and one of the most important aspects. It can be defined as a payment service that uses information and communications technology including integrated circuit card, cryptography, and telecommunications network. This study aims to identify factors that influence the perception of electronic payments from the perspective of Malaysian consumers in Segamat, Johor. Malaysia is moving towards greater acceptance of e-payment, but majority of online population in Malaysia is still consider "infants" with a low level of internet knowledge, it will build up fears of using e-payment. This study will use primary data. Data will be collected through the distribution of questionnaires among respondents in Segamat. The dependent variable is perception towards e-payment and the independent variables that will be used in this research are benefits, trust, and self efficacy, ease of use, security and risk. The sample size for this study is 100 respondents in Segamat. The simple random sampling technique will be used to distribute the questionnaire to the respondents. The data will be regressed using the Statistical Program for Social Science. This research will provide an idea of the factors that influence the perception of consumers regarding electronic payments in Segamat.


Fe2(SO4)3·xH2O on silica has been found to be a novel efficient catalyst for the direct nucleophilic substitution of alcohols in solvent-free conditions. In this reaction system, the alcohols can react with various nucleophilic reagents for the convenient construction of C–C bonds and C–N bonds with the benefits of high conversion, no requirement to use excessive amounts of the nucleophile, only a catalytic amount of iron catalyst required, solvent-free and benign reaction conditions, and the feasible reusability of the catalyst.


Nowadays, Microchannel Plate (MCP), as a kind of electron multiplier based on the secondary electron emission, is widely used in many high-sensitive experiments, such as neutrino detection, which require as low noise as possible, while the conventional straight channel MCP will definitely have ion feedback, resulting in the sequential after-pulses being the major source of noise. Normally, the problem can be effectively avoided by coupling two straight MCPs in cascade and combining the channels into a"V"shape known as chevron MCPs, but this method is limited by the manufacturing techniques due to the inevitable gap that will worsen the resolution and peak-to-valley ratio. However, the ion feedback can be inhibited significantly for MCPs with curved-channels. Based on the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation framework, we investigate how the geometrical parameters of curved-channel MCP influence the gain and get the optimum pore diameter for the maximum gain with a fixed thickness and applied voltage. Additionally, the track-by-track simulation reveals that the average acceleration distance of a secondary electron inside the curved-channel is approximately 20~$\mu$m with a voltage of 950~V, a length-to-diameter ratio of 100:1, and a pore diameter of 20~$\mu$m.