Globally, wild seahorse populations are threatened due to, habitat destruction and unsustainable human exploitation among others. Furthermore, aquaculture-based mass-scale rearing is still uncommon due to the low survival rates of seahorse juveniles and exceptionally high feed costs. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of both highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) supplies and a copepod-based rearing for seahorse survival and growth. As the latter is expensive, the question arises as to how high survival rates of seahorse juveniles can be assured under low- to moderate-cost feed regimes. In particular, it remains unknown whether the diet species or their dietary HUFA profiles determine the successful development of seahorse fry. Therefore, the aims of this study were to assess the dependence of growth and survival rates of Hippocampus reidi brood on the animal feed and to infer the impact of feed species vs. dietary HUFA profiles on juvenile growth. A nutrition experiment was conducted where juveniles were treated either with enriched Artemia nauplii (low-cost diet Art) or with a mixed diet of Artemia and copepods (moderate-cost diet Art/Cop). Larval survival and growth were analyzed using Cox proportional-hazard and mixed linear model analyses. We found that i) both diets enabled good survival, ii) diet Art/Cop resulted in superior weight and height growth, and iii) the differential effects of diets Art/Cop and Art cannot be explained by their different HUFA compositions alone. From an economical point of view, our findings of high survival rates and relatively high growth rates with the medium-cost treatment Art/Cop may open new possibilities for the large-scale rearing of seahorses. Even the application of a low-cost Art diet might be appropriate for seahorse aquacultures as both survival and growth rates are only marginally lower compared to the former diet.


Currently, reinforcement learning (RL), especially deep RL, has received more and more attention in the research area. However, the security of RL has been an obvious problem due to the attack manners becoming mature. In order to defend against such adversarial attacks, several practical approaches are developed, such as adversarial training, data filtering, etc. However, these methods are mostly based on empirical algorithms and experiments, without rigorous theoretical analysis of the robustness of the algorithms. In this paper, we develop an algorithm to certify the robustness of a given policy offline with random smoothing, which could be proven and conducted as efficiently as ones without random smoothing. Experiments on different environments confirm the correctness of our algorithm.


Up against the impetuous and depressing fast-paced times, slow-paced amusement shows have come into being, which were watched by audiences with healing audio-visual presentations, turning the spiritual support for the audience to adjust their emotions and pursue poetic life. As a typical representative of slow-paced amusement shows, Back to Field has been a great success. However, the output of more and more similar programs makes it prominent in homogeneous modeling, leading the audience to lack emotional identity. Therefore, it is necessary to study audience needs. Based on the theory of uses and gratification, this paper takes Back to Field as an example and attempts to find out the trend of younger audiences as well as the reasons for diversified audience contact through the in-depth interview. In the era of audience orientation, it is conducive to grasping their needs, innovating constantly under their guidance, and actively leading their psychology, so as to create new glory in the slow-paced amusement industry and promote cultural self-confidence and self-improvement.


Republics of South Korea and Malaysia underwent economic crises in 1997. Both recovered by 1999 by taking radically different approaches. This study reports the comparative study of the perception of the economic crises by the policy makers of these countries. It uses cognitive maps to discover and compare the perceptual structures of decision-makers. This study finds that the causes of the crises were perceived different and so were the strategies adopted to overcome them, but there was something common in the way of thinking of policy makers of respective countries. The cognitive maps contained feedback loops.


The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on education which is now being carried out online (distance learning with the systemonline) withsmartphone. as a resultsmartphone excessively gives the effect of anxiety or fear when not in contact withsmartphone or so callednomophobia. In anticipation of usesmartphone excess, self-control is needed that is inherent in a person. Research objectives to find outSelf Control ToNomophobia during the Covid-19 Pandemic for Students of the D3 Nursing Study Program STIKES Karya Husada Kediri.
Descriptive research design, population of 170 respondents, sample of 63 respondents, techniquepurposive sampling, instrument with a questionnaire sheet, the research was carried out on 1-28 February 2022. The research variable wasSelf Control against Nomophobiaduring the Covid-19 Pandemic. Data were analyzed using a range of values and interpreted quantitatively.
The results of the research from 63 respondents showed that the majority of respondents 70% hadself control medium category and almost half of the respondents 30% haveself control the highest.
Self control influenced by the factors of residence, duration of smartphone playing and preferred learning techniques as well as gender.
It is expected that respondents who haveself control being to improveself control to anticipate usesmartphone excessively by way of usingsmartphone wisely and limit themselves in the use and respondents who haveself control high to maintainself control possessed to limit oneself in the effects of usesmartphone.


Offshore platform or specifically known as oil rig is a large structure with the ability to extract and process the oil and natural gas. An offshore platform has been built many years ago and there are several of offshore platform that still operating today even it already exceeded the limit of their design life. Mostly each of the offshore platforms has their design life which is 25 years old. Each of the offshore platform will faced the environmental condition such as wave, wind and current. These natural phenomena could lead to many of the problems at the offshore platform. For example wind, wave and current could lead to the decreasing of the fatigue strength at the joint of the jacket structure which is very dangerous to the offshore platform. In order to avoid the decreasing of the fatigue strength, a good welding should be applied to the joint of the jacket structure.


In this paper, the flame correcting method and prestress reinforcem en t method are introduced. Which is used to correct the down deflection on the gir der of 20 t bridge crane under longitudinal shear.


Recent theoretical predictions of "unprecedented proximity" of the electronic ground state of iridium fluorides to the SU(2) symmetric $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ limit, relevant for superconductivity in iridates, motivated us to investigate their crystal and electronic structure. To this aim, we performed high-resolution x-ray powder diffraction, Ir L$_3$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, and quantum chemical calculations on Rb$_2$[IrF$_6$] and other iridium fluorides. Our results are consistent with the Mott insulating scenario predicted by Birol and Haule [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 096403 (2015)], but we observe a sizable deviation of the $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ state from the SU(2) symmetric limit. Interactions beyond the first coordination shell of iridium are negligible, hence the iridium fluorides do not show any magnetic ordering down to at least 20 K. A larger spin-orbit coupling in iridium fluorides compared to oxides is ascribed to a reduction of the degree of covalency, with consequences on the possibility to realize spin-orbit-induced strongly correlated physics in iridium fluorides.


SRXRF is an analysis technology with non-damage and low detection limit. Geologically, this technology is little applied. In this paper, SRXRF is used to detect the composition of fluid inclusions in pegmatite type deposits such as the Jiajika rare metal deposit and Danba muscovite deposit in western Sichuan Province. The SRXRF spectrums of the same type dyke in the same deposit are similar, which show the experiment is in a stable state and the spectrums are reliable. In the Jiajika deposit, the spectrum peak values of Fe, Mn, Co in the fluid inclusions of No.134 dyke are higher than those of quartz dyke. The peaks of Ti, Rb, Ga, Zn present in the fluid inclusions of No.134 spodumene dyke, but not in quartz dyke. In the Danba deposit, the spectrum peaks of S, Zn present in the fluid inclusions of the Chunniuchang pegmatite, but not in the Lijiadongdi pegmatite. The peak value of Fe in the fluid inclusions of the Chunniuchang pegmatite is higher than that of the Lijiagongdi pegmatite. Comparing with the Danba deposit, the Jiajika deposit is rich in metal elements, especially Ga and Rb. In conclusion, the experiment shows that the compositions of mineralizing fluids in the Jiajika and Danba deposit are different, and the compositions of mineralizing and non-mineralizing fluids are different, too. On the other hand, this study shows that SRXRF is an effective method to detect the compositions of fluid inclusion, and it is necessary to decrease the radius of SRXRF facula, in order to increase the precision of SRXRF.


aware of any previous reports on the use of this medication in treating Xlinked retinoschisis. Moderate improvement in visual acuity was observed; however, optical coherence tomography demonstrated clear improvement in the foveal schisis. A causal relationship between the medication and the retinal status is strongly suggested by the recurrence of retinal schisis within 2 months after medication cessation and a recovery of retinal morphology when the medication was reinstituted. Acetazolamide may reduce macular edema by altering fluid transport across the retinal pigment epithelium, causing a reduction of the fluid contained within the macular schisis cavities even in the absence of fluorescein angiographic leakage. The utility of acetazolamide may be limited to young patients and those with mild central schisis. Given the dramatic results observed in this patient, a treatment trial of acetazolamide with additional patients seems warranted with the goals of preserving both retinal integrity and visual function.


The cross section for photofission of /sup 227/Ac by bremsstrahlung is obtained in the energy range 7--16 MeV from measurements of the integrated yields of fragments. The giant resonance has two peaks characteristic of a deformed nucleus with deformation parameter ..beta..=0.14. The dependence of the deformation of the ground state of nuclei in the actinide region on the number of nucleons is discussed. The fissility of the /sup 227/Ac nucleus is analyzed. The /sup 227/Ac fission barrier is 7.6 +- 0.2 MeV.


In the present study, the molecular profiles of rhizospheric bacterial communities of Tagetes terniflora, T. remotiflora and T. coronopifolia were analyzed at different times using soil samples under greenhouse conditions. To this end, samples spanning were obtained at 3, 30, 60 and 90 days. Metagenomic DNA was extracted and the 16S rDNA genes were amplified by PCR-touchdown to reduces the formation of spurious by-products. The amplified fragments were run through Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) to obtain their molecular profiles. Shannon's index showed a decline of bacterial diversity over time. Also, to visualize spatial proximities by species, a non-metric MDS ordination was conducted, generating a stress value of 0.179. A one way-ANOSIM showed significant differences between T. terniflora and T. coronopifolia (R = 0.78, p <0.05), and between T. remotiflora and T. coronopifolia (R = 0.791, p <0.05). Sequencing of some DGGE profiles bands showed that Pseudomonas was present at 3, 30 and 60 days in all species of Tagetes, while Chloroflexus and Delftia were present at 3 and 60 days in T. remotiflora and T. coronopifolia, respectively. The study demonstrated that the beneficial populations were positively selected and sample time and species affect the dynamic succession in the rhizobacteria communities.


Herein, a straightforward and efficient approach to iodinated indolo[1,2-c]quinazoline amines via I2/CHP-promoted cascade annulation of diarylalkynes and isocyanides has been described. This method features excellent regio- and chemoselectivities, good functional...


A dispersionless multiple-beam interferometer with a small distance between mirrors is described. The phase characteristics of the mirrors are chosen in such a way that the resonance condition depends only weakly on the frequency of the light, while a high sensitivity to displacement of the mirrors is retained. It thus becomes possible to significantly relax the requirements on the spectral width and frequency stability of the laser light source.


The consecutive reactions of (CH3)2Si(OC2H5)2 and CH3Si(OC2H5)3 with methoxide ions were investigated in methanol solutions. The reverse transesterification reactions with ethoxide ions could be neglected in both cases since the concentration of ethoxide in methanol solution was assumed to be low due to the fast equilibrium reaction C2H5O− + CH3OH ⇌ C2H5OH + CH3O−. The progress of the reactions was followed by monitoring the formation of ethanol with a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. All rate constants were determined at 295 K. The reactions between the dialkoxydimethylsilanes and methoxide ions were assumed to consist of two consecutive steps that can be represented by the net reaction; (CH3)2Si(OC2H5)2 + 2CH3O− (CH3)2Si(OCH3)2 + 2C2H5O−. The two consecutive rate constants were established as 1.93 ± 0.12M−1s−1 and 1.00 ± 0.12M−1s−1, respectively. The consecutive rate constants for the reactions between the trialkoxymethylsilanes and methoxide ions can be written according to the total reaction; CH3Si(OC2H5)3 + 3CH3O− CH3Si(OCH3)3 + 3C2H5O−. The three rate constants corresponding to each consecutive step were established as 1.12 ± 0.09 M−1s−1, 0.82 ± 0.10 M−1s−1, and 0.51 ± 0.06 M−1s−1, respectively. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Religious moderation is increasingly intensified to compensate some groups who continue to make the religious issues as object of conflict. The issue of religion is made as a commodity for political interests, even though Islam has been moderate since its inception. There is a lot of concrete evidence to show that Islam is a moderate religion. Become the mediator of religions that have been held before. Actually, when examined the moderation of Islam it has been built for a long time in Indonesia, especially in the world of islamic boarding school (pesantren). Including in Ma'had Aly (MA) Situbondo, as the institution that takes the Fiqh and Ushul Fiqh for its focus of learning studies, which is under the authority of the Salafiyah Syafi'iyah Islamic Boarding School Sukorejo Situbondo. Seeing the results of their discussion, which stated in Tanwirul Afkar Magazine, it can be seen that they are very moderate. The Fiqh that they convey is not only seen as a product, but also as a process, and that become the reason for their reasoning power of ushuly is always appears. The proposition is not only textual, but it is also contextual. Therefore from this good struggle with various kinds of fiqh madzhab and strengthened by the concept of ushul fiqh they had mastered make the moderate character formed by well.


This paper presents the design of a robust controller for a vehicle air suspension system using Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT). This study is primarily focused on control of linearized active air suspension system. For the purpose of simplicity, the dynamics of the air suspension system is modeled using a simple 2-DOF quarter car model. Uncertain dynamic system with different working condition has been considered for the vehicle air suspension system.


This essay proposes the category of subalternity as a tool to adjudicate between the often conflicting claims of diaspora and indigeneity. Written in the context of two itineraries on the part of the author – one a combined lecture/tourist trip to Ecuador and the second a talk presented at a symposium on indigeneity and postcoloniality in Urbana-Champaign – the essay begins by tracking the various knowledge claims that arise out of the experience of travel. It goes on to record a travel narrative to an indigenous community in Ecuador in which many of the concerns of representation, language and political recognition that colonized communities face are raised. The essay then moves on to a discussion of the risks of unilaterally privileging either the claims of indigeneity or the claims of diaspora.


The reservoirs of Qingshankou Formation and Quantou Formation in Yaoyingtai Oilfield have the characteristics of middle--low porosity,low permeability and complex pore structures.On the basis of the analysis of the characteristics of pore structure,the reservoirs are divided into two classes and seven subclasses according to the characteristics of pore throat distribution.The classes are single-peak type and double-peak type.The 7 subclasses are A type and B type——their pore throat distribution is wider and gently and there is one asymmetric peak,the pore throat radius at the peak is middle-large;C type and D type——their pore throat distribution has one wider and gently and relative symmetry peak,and the pore throat radius at the peak is middle-small;E type——its pore throat distribution has one symmetric peak and the pore throat radius is small;F type——its pore throat distribution has two peaks and the distance between them is greater;G type——its pore throat distribution has two peaks and the distance between them is smaller.The relationship between the pore structure features and hydrocarbon potential are analyzed.The analysis results indicate that when other reservoir forming conditions are the same,the pore structure features control the hydrocarbon potential of these kinds of reservoirs.A,B and F types of reservoirs have totally good hydrocarbon potential,C,D and G types of reservoirs have worse hydrocarbon potential,and F type of reservoirs have no hydrocarbon potential.


Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) enable vehicles to communicate with each other on the road. Many applications have been proposed for this kind of mobile ad hoc communication. Some of the examples of its applications that enhance road safety and efficiency along with supporting drivers, and provide infotainment services are intersection collision warning, lane merge assistance and smart traffic management. The main purpose of this paper is to study the components of the VANET architecture along with its data aggregation flow process and discuss two of the main aggregation techniques.


CIPN, which is the acronym of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (but should more properly indicate neurotoxicity), is a serious dose-limiting side effect of a large number of chemotherapy agents. There are no proven therapies either to prevent CIPN from occurring or to treat it once established, despite intensive investigations over the past several decades. CIPN can be due either to peripheral nerve damage, usually the peripheral axon, or to neuronopathy, usually affecting the dorsal root ganglion cells. CIPN and its impact on quality of life can last years after the completion of therapy, which underlines the need for effective prevention and treatment. The problems associated with CIPN will continue to grow as effective cancer therapies lead to greater numbers of cancer survivors. The pathogenesis of CIPN is still largely unknown. Currently several groups have posited that increased oxidative stress may be a unifying mechanism for the neurotoxic effects of several anti-cancer drugs belonging to completely different classes, acting on different targets in cancer cells. Mitochondria have been suggested to be one of the main intracellular targets in neurons, although the evidence for this interaction as an early event in CIPN remains unproven. This hypothesis might explain neuronal energy failure, activation of apoptotic pathways, and interference with calcium homeostasis, all effects demonstrated in cellular systems as well as in animal models. Several other mechanisms have been proposed, including reduced trophic factors production, tubulin metabolism interference and subsequent changes in axonal transport, ion channels activity modification, and plasma membrane transporters modulation. Recently, the interplay between CIPN onset and immune response within the nervous system ("neuroinflammation") has also been suggested as a potential relevant mechanism but this is poorly understood and requires more investigation. As CIPN and its mechanisms can be investigated in detail only in animal studies, refinement of the available in vivo models is required in order to provide more robust evidence which could be translated into clinical investigation. This would be particularly important for the future development of neuroprotective agents based on reliable identification of CIPN mechanisms. Hindering forward progress in the clinical arena is that the incidence and identification of CIPN greatly varies according to the diagnostic tool utilized. There remain a large number of choices for this including neurological examination, patient reported outcomes, nerve conduction studies, and other measurement techniques. Because there is no agreement upon set of standards, prospective clinical studies are hampered by the wide variability of approaches to clinical phenotyping and outcomes. This variability in research outcomes impacts studies of CIPN risk factors and clinical trials aimed to show effects of prevention or treatment of this condition. In addition, it is known that different specialists view CIPN differently, and even that patients themselves perceive it differently. Future directions in this field will require an approach that utilizes measurements and outcome measures that are simple, easy to reproduce, timely, and can be incorporated into complex oncological trials that may not have neurotoxicity as its primary endpoint. Because of the discrepancies between the promising results of many candidate preventive agents tested in welldesigned experimental studies and their poor translation in the clinical setting, there is not only the need for animal models refinement, but also for a shift in the design of future preventive studies to assess the full complexity of the CIPN clinical phenotype. There are currently no neuroprotective strategies to reduce the risk of CIPN and no treatments for established CIPN other than partially efficacious drugs to treat neuropathic pain. Currently, preventive "treatments" for CIPN are based on dose-reduction or drug withdrawal once CIPN is established in the hope that CIPN will resolve on its own. There is no clear ability to identify modifiable risk factors. The agenda for future research directions should include better definition of predictors for CIPN development, both clinical and genetic, to stratify patients at lower/higher risk for CIPN. Pharmacogenetic screening is potentially one of the most interesting approaches to understanding the high inter-individual susceptibility to CIPN. Unfortunately, currently no single SNPs yielding significant prognostic value in CIPN settings have been reconfirmed in multiple datasets or have been validated. In addition, most of the available pharmacogenetic results in CIPN have been obtained from studies that were insufficiently powered and had retrospective design, implementing post-hoc analyses. As such, these limitations in future should be overcome by well-powered prospective studies with a priori hypotheses based on the known role of the investigated targets in the peripheral nervous system, and the results should be immediately validated in an appropriate reference cohort using appropriate outcome measures for neurological impairment. There is an evolving area of the neuromuscular complications including CIPN from the use of the various immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). While there are numerous case reports, small series, and even reviews on this topic, large scale, prospective studies are lacking. Needed are better descriptions of the clinical phenotypes of neuromuscular toxicities, clear and long-term results of therapeutic interventions, and delineation of the underlying pathophysiology. Received: 6 June 2019 Accepted: 15 July 2019


Presently, emergency vehicles use lights and sirens to alert road users of their approach and presence. Unfortunately, pedestrians and vehicle drivers may react too late or in a wrong way and increase emergency vehicle response times and collisions caused by these emergency vehicles. This paper presents an information dissemination system to clearly report the arrival and destination directions of the emergency vehicle to road users to reduce collisions and response times of emergency vehicles. The proposed information dissemination system is based on a new MAC protocol named Frequency and Distance based Priority MAC (FDP-MAC) to send the emergency messages to the traffic management center and other vehicles with lesser delay. The proposed system is simulated in NS-2. The proposed MAC prioritizes and delivers packets according to their service type and distance between the vehicle and intersection. The performance of the proposed MAC is analyzed and compared with the standard IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11p MAC. The results show that the FDP-MAC delivers the emergency messages faster than IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11p. Moreover, this work will help the effective dissemination of information, management of emergency vehicles and help reduce their response time as well as number of potential collisions.


After a description of the rotary kiln and its process, this paper discusses the influence of primary and secondary fuels, followed by explanations regarding the burning zone brick and the question Brick or concrete?. Finally, the paper looks at various wear and lining concepts.


Characteristics of 305 calving sites used by 131 different radio-collared caribou (Rangifer tarandus) cows from the Porcupine herd in northeastern Alaska and the northern Yukon Territory were investigated between 1983 and 1990 to determine the factors influencing calving site selection. Cows selected areas north of the foothills primarily to reduce exposure of calves to predators. Sites dominated by Eriophorum tussocks were selected secondarily for access to newly emerging vegetation. Highest calf mortality occurred in years when snowmelt was relatively late and calving occurred closer to the foothills and in Canada. Industrial development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could increase calf mortality if calving were displaced south and east of potential development areas.


The paper presents a virtual test bench for the evaluation of a complete electric vehicle in Real-time based on the new configuration-based software environment NI VeriStand, using the scale vehicle dynamic testing. LMS Amesim software is used for testing and verification of a virtual electric vehicle model on a route where a New European driving cycle (NEDC) must be achieved. The model is uploaded into the real-time processor of the NI PXIe-8135 but first has to be converted into a DLL file (Dynamic-link library). Two FPGA's will be used in order to model the machine, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM) and the control of the machine with Field Oriented Control. The connection between the FPGA's and the PXI is done by digital and analog I/Os, using the connection boxes. The equipment's and the software used to programmed them are from National Instruments. The link between the Amesim model and the LabView FPGA, that is used to programmed the FPGA's, was made in NI Veristand.


Abstract : This study analyzes British combat service support at the operational level during the 1982 Falkland Islands War and discusses important considerations for providing operational sustainment to remote areas. It begins with a brief discussion of the rapid deployment of the British Task Force and the constraints that resulted that resulted for subsequent operational sustainment. Then, it examines British operational sustainment from time of deployment to the end of the war. The discussion includes organization; initial planning; importance of Ascension; final plans (to include medical evacuation) and how plans changed. The study then discusses six issues from the British experience that are important for the U.S. military to consider when planning and sustaining operations to remote areas: centers of gravity; air superiority and operational sustainment; forward basing; logistics-over-the-shore operations; protecting future sustainability; and improvisation. The study concludes that the U.S. military can learn important lessons from the Falkland Islands War.


In general, political participation means all the action of citizens that has the aim or the effect of influencing government or politics. Studies argue that media consumption and political participation are correlated: offline and online political participation affect each other. Knowing the relationship between online and offline political activity can improve estimations of offline political events based on social media data.
By comparing these empirical results, in this study we investigate whether social media usage reinforces or weakens the willingness to become involved in a demonstration or other offline political activity. Numerous studies have already attempted to measure this effect, with contradictory findings related to the direction and volume of the latter.
We explore this connection by synthesizing recent empirical political science papers. For this purpose, we compare the results of the former using Bayesian updating – a tool for comparing studies regardless of their methodology or data collection method. This method of data analysis is also insensitive to the operationalization of either the dependent or the explanatory variables.
Based on the aforementioned studies, our results prove that online political activity has a significant positive effect on offline political activity, in spite of the fact that some research has found an insignificant connection.


The aim of this study was to identify the effect of attacks from positions 1 and 6 in high-level Brazilian Men's Volleyball in order to understand the offensive structure of the game. The sample was composed of the observation of 142 2014-2015 Men's Superleague games, totaling 2969 reception, set and attack actions from positions 1 and 6. The results showed association between place of attack, attack tempo, type of attack and effect of attack (p<0.001). The results showed that the point of attack, when it is performed from position 6, is associated with parallel attack, while, when analyzing position 1, the point of attack is associated with potent diagonal attack. Furthermore, placed attack was associated with game continuity, as well as with low-quality receptions (b and c). In this context, it was concluded the attacking position influences the attack efficacy, according to time and type of attack.


Abstract Visible hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a fast and non-invasive imaging method that has been adapted by the field of conservation science to study painted surfaces. By collecting reflectance spectra from a 2D surface, the resulting 3D hyperspectral data cube contains millions of recorded spectra. While processing such large amounts of spectra poses an analytical and computational challenge, it also opens new opportunities to apply powerful methods of multivariate analysis for data evaluation. With the intent of expanding current data treatment of hyperspectral datasets, an innovative approach for data reduction and visualization is presented in this article. It uses a statistical embedding method known as t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) to provide a non-linear representation of spectral features in a lower 2D space. The efficiency of the proposed method for painted surfaces from cultural heritage is established through the study of laboratory prepared paint mock-ups, and medieval French illuminated manuscript.


Recently M. Ziman [quant-ph/0603151] criticized our approach for quantifying the required physical resources in the theory of Direct Characterization of Quantum Dynamics (DCQD) [quant-ph/0601033, quant-ph/0601034] in comparison to other quantum process tomography (QPT) schemes. Here we argue that Ziman's comments regarding optimality, quantumness, and the novelty of DCQD are inaccurate. Specifically, we demonstrate that DCQD is optimal with respect to both the required number of experimental configurations and the number of possible outcomes over all known QPT schemes in the 2^{2n} dimensional Hilbert space of n system and n ancilla qubits. Moreover, we show DCQD is more efficient than all known QPT schemes in the sense of overall required number of quantum operations. Furthermore, we argue that DCQD is a new method for characterizing quantum dynamics and cannot be considered merely as a subclass of previously known QPT schemes.


Abstract Two distinct structural trends compose the Atlantic Margin of Central Morocco, the northwesternmost Hercynian of Morocco, and reflect the form and position of a positive Bouguer anomaly underlying this area. Major fold elements of the Northern Sector strike 060; minor fold axes define a girdle striking 060. In the Western Sector major folds trend generally 330; fold axes define 2 girdles striking 040 and 330. Major fold trends in the Northern and Western Sectors converge on the Rabat area where they display a type 2 interference pattern. Trends of lineaments are not very consistent within either sector. However, a distinctive bimodal set of lineaments shows a similar shift in orientation. In the Southern part of the Western Sector the mean of the double peak trends 019 changing to 054 to the north and in the Rabat area it is 101. Eastward from Rabat the bisector changes to 095 after which the double peak merges into a single mode striking 090. Geological evidence indicates deformation in the two sectors proceeded almost simultaneously but with the locus of most intense deformation in the northern sector. These data are consistent with two most obvious models: (1) folding and fracturing around a passive ancient dome acting as a buttress,(2) uplift and southeastward movement of a large section of crust.


This paper presents the results on the presence of weeds in organic alfalfa crops in different years of growing, in Futog during the vegetation period in 2015. In the studied plots, 19 weed species were identified in the organic alfalfa crops, ranging from 13 in three-year-old crops to 17 in those in the fourth year of exploitation, with only 8 recorded in the five-year-old samples. Quantitative and qualitative weed community composition in the studied plots was dependent on the alfalfa crop maturity. It was found that there were statistically significant differences between the total infestation of alfalfa in different years crop utilization. Species Taraxacum officinale Web., Cynodon dactylon Pers. and Artemisia vulgaris L. had the greatest number and their number of individuals/m was statistically significantly higher than in all other identified species.


Pregnancy success in wild Norwegian lemming, Lemmus lemmus, and root voles, Microtus oeconomus, was monitored by recording the occurrence and condition of copulatory plugs, embryos, and mammae in ear-tagged females, which were recaptured several times throughout the summer of 1981 at Finse, Norway. Both populations increased and peaked in density during this period and evidence of pregnancy failure was found in several young, nulliparous females of both species. Similar observations have been reported in several other microtine species and the results are discussed in relation to (i) infertility of immature females, (ii) pregnancy block caused by unfamiliar males, and (iii) other stress related phenomena.


Many patients with breast cancer have a poor prognosis with limited therapeutic options. Here, we investigated the potential of chemo-immunogenic therapy as an avenue of treatment. We utilized two syngeneic mouse mammary tumor models, 4T1 and E0771, to examine the chemo-immunogenic potential of cyclophosphamide and the mechanistic contributions of cyclophosphamide-activated type-I IFN signaling to therapeutic activity. Chemically activated cyclophosphamide induced robust IFNα/β receptor-1–dependent signaling linked to hundreds of IFN-stimulated gene responses in both cell lines. Furthermore, in 4T1 tumors, cyclophosphamide given on a medium-dose, 6-day intermittent metronomic schedule induced strong IFN signaling but comparatively weak immune cell infiltration associated with long-term tumor growth stasis. Induction of IFN signaling was somewhat weaker in E0771 tumors but was followed by widespread downstream gene responses, robust immune cell infiltration, and extensive, prolonged tumor regression. The immune dependence of these effective antitumor responses was established by CD8 T-cell immunodepletion, which blocked cyclophosphamide-induced E0771 tumor regression and led to tumor stasis followed by regrowth. Strikingly, IFNα/β receptor-1 antibody blockade was even more effective in preventing E0771 immune cell infiltration and blocked the major tumor regression induced by cyclophosphamide treatment. Type-I IFN signaling is thus essential for the robust chemo-immunogenic response of these tumors to cyclophosphamide administered on a metronomic schedule. Significance: Many patients with breast cancer have few therapeutic options. We show that cyclophosphamide treatment induces extensive tumor regression in a syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer via a chemo-immunogenic mechanism linked to type-I IFN production. Our findings establish that IFN signaling is essential for the robust antitumor actions of cyclophosphamide and suggest that treatment resistance may stem from silencing the IFN pathway. This suggests a new avenue for improving breast cancer treatment efficacy.


The article made an analysis of various scientific approaches to the interpretation of certain provisions of international legal acts, acts of national legislation on regulation of the struggle and the international community against transnational laundering of proceeds of crime. In this context, we consider the problem of the Russian Federation legislation preventing the development of mechanisms making ownership of property and money obtained by criminal channel.


The invention discloses a high-precision machining device for a medical instrument. The high-precision machining device comprises a working substance area, a first total reflection mirror, a half reflection mirror, a convex lens and a power source and further comprises a water tank and support seats, wherein the working substance area, the first total reflection mirror and the half reflection mirror are located in a shell. The working substance area is located between the total reflection mirror and the half reflection mirror. The convex lens is used for focusing a laser beam from the total reflection mirror into a laser spot. The power source is connected to a laser and used for providing excitation energy. A water input pipeline and a water output pipeline of the water tank are connected to a water inlet and a water outlet of the laser for cooling working substances in the working substance area. The number of the support seats is two. The high-precision machining device is extremely short in continuous pulse heating duration, a weld spot can be minimized to dozens of micrometers or hundreds of micrometers, and the welding precision is further improved.


This work presents a Fabry–Pérot cavity refractive index sensor that is built on an optical fiber tip and enhanced by a monolithically integrated multipositional micromirror. The device is fabricated using a two-photon lithography process.


The boundary of the Martian ionosphere just above the photochemical layer, where solar-wind induced convection becomes important, is estimated. The Martian ionosphere is expected to terminate at an altitude of approximately 300 km.


We discuss the variational calculus for the Faddeev-Hopf model on a general Riemannian manifold, with general Kähler target space, in the strong coupling limit. This model has interesting similarities with pure Yang-Mills theory, namely conformal invariance in dimension 4 and an infinite dimensional symmetry group. We calculate the first and second variation formulae for this functional and discuss some solutions and their stability properties. In particular, it is proved that all immersive solutions are stable. From an explicit description of the spectral behaviour of the Hopf map S3 → S2, we are able to prove a conjecture of Ward concerning the stability of this map in the full Faddeev-Hopf model.


The rise of network religious belief,let young people can participate in religious activities,and don't have to get up early to the church,to create the church in 2 generations.The 2 generation college students' religious beliefs communication means diversification,activity time without law,receiving a religious information source is generalized,so students are easily misled by all kinds of information dissemination,showing a global,virtual role,open behavior,equal participation,followers of interactivity features etc.College educators should explore relevant coping strategies of Church 2 generation college students' religious beliefs from the aspects of attitude method,legal policy,team mechanism.


This is a brief analysis of the competitiveness issues of Kazakhstan. Policymakers and leadership of many emerging and transitional countries understand the importance of competitiveness. However the story end there and countries implement partial reforms and wait for the immediate visible results. In this brief paper I elaborate about the great amount of work that competitiveness requires and the need for holistic approach in this endeavor. [Tastanbekova K., Korabayev B., Kapenova A., Konakbayev A. Competitiveness issues of Kazakhstan. Life Sci J 2014;11(12s):26-29]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 5


The quality of teachers determines the quality of teaching and learning.With the new curriculum reform since 2001,teacher quality in Chinese schools is increasingly paid attention to by scholars,educators and policymakers. Based on the random-sampled,quantitative data collected in Jilin province by Chinese Ministry of Education,this paper intends to examine possible factors contributing to a qualified English teacher in China.Results indicate that English teachers with higher degree levels are better-qualified than lower degree levels, especially in terms of curriculum design,whereas urban English teachers are largely more qualified than those teaching in the rural areas.However,there do not exist significant differences in the three indicators of teacher quality between those from normal school training background and those from non-normal school background.Moreover,contrary to the common perceptions,years of teaching correlates negatively with the quality of English teachers in the Chinese primary, middle and high schools,which deserves more attention and further study.


The invention relates to a sample container for industrial analysis and a sampling device provided with the sample container. The sample container comprises a container body provided with an opening and further comprises a two-valve set which is installed at the opening. The two-valve set comprises a valve body and two O-shaped ball valve assemblies. The valve body is provided with a sampling passageway, a flushing and discharging passageway and two installation holes, wherein the two installation holes are communicated with the two passageways in a one-to-one correspondence mode. The passageway communicated with each installation hole is divided into a first passageway section and a second passageway section by the installation hole, wherein the central axis of the first passageway section and the central axis of the second passageway section are located on the same plane. The two passageways are provided with inlet ends located on the first passageway sections and outlet ends located on the second passageway sections. The sampling passageway and the flushing and discharging passageway are arranged in a spaced mode. The outlet end of the sampling passageway and the inlet end of the flushing and discharging passageway are communicated with the opening of the sample container. The two O-shaped ball valve assemblies are mounted in the two installation holes in a one-to-one correspondence mode and can be dismounted along the axes of the installation holes. By the adoption of the sample container for industrial analysis and the sampling device provided with the sample container, the number of leakage points of the sample container can be reduced.


What is being discussed in this article is to analyze the concepts of reason, love and metaphor. Comparison is made use by reason to discover obscurities and the information acquired by reason is limited to these obtained phenomena and it is and it is unable to discover esoteric secrets and love is the result of perception and cognition in person. The more powerful perception and cognition in people, the more powerful and stable is love. This love is the result of cognition. Love is always oriented to perfection and its operation is finite and the love for beauty is completed. Where love is involved in something, there will be no place for reason and it has no ability to resist against love. Resembling God as the one having body and to mention physical characteristics is a sign of infidelity and heresy and sublimation means not to mention humanly characteristics to God and to consider only this way and this is as making limited the nature of God and ignorance of the multitude aspects of his existence. The best way to come to recognize and divine knowledge is a combination of these two phenomena, that is metaphor and sublimation which


The relation between the dislocation density ρ in the surface of a crystal and the dislocation length per unit volume Λ is calculated assuming either isotropic distribution in space or isotropic distribution in one or several glide planes. It is found that for practically all purposes the relation Λ=2ρ can be used.


By using a sample of over 800 male cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) that died during a rare climatic event in our Nebraska study area in 1996, we investigated how testis size was related to body size, age, parasite load, a bird's past colony-size history, and spleen size. Testis volume increased with body size. After correcting for body size, testis volume was lowest for birds age 1 and 2 years but did not vary with age for males 3 years old or more. Birds occupying parasite-free (fumigated) colonies had significantly larger testes than did birds at nonfumigated sites. Testis volume increased significantly with the size of the breeding colonies a bird had used in the past. Testis volume had no relationship with spleen volume after correcting for body size. The results show within a species that larger testes are favored in more social environments, probably reflecting a response to increased rates of extrapair copulation (and thus sperm competition) among cliff swallows in large colonies. The presence of ectoparasites, by inflating levels of plasma corticosterone, may in turn reduce testis mass. These data provide no support for the hypothesis that large testes, perhaps by producing more testosterone, are immunosuppressive and thus costly for that reason. Copyright 2003.


The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C4H12NO+·Cl−, contains two independent ion pairs. Weak intramolecular C—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds result in the formation of three five-membered rings, which have envelope conformations. The crystal structure contains intermolecular O—H⋯Cl, N—H⋯O, N—H⋯Cl and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.


BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by progressive β cell dysfunction. Sheng-Mai Injection (SMI), a Traditional Chinese medicine preparation, is widely used for DM and its related complications.

OBJECTIVE
This meta-analysis aimed to summarize the applications of SMI in DM and related complications.

METHODS
Eight databases were searched, and meta-analyses were performed.

RESULTS
Fifteen studies, including 1273 participants, were included. All studies and participants included were from China. Pooled effects showed that SMI might reduce glycated hemoglobin (MD -0.46%; 95% CI -0.89 to -0.03; P < 0.01), fasting blood glucose (MD -0.83 mmol/L; 95% CI -1.30 to -0.36; P < 0.01), two-hour postprandial glucose (MD -1.27 mmol/L; 95% CI -1.96 to -0.58; P < 0.01), 24-hour urinary protein (MD -0.28 mg; 95% CI -0.51 to -0.06; P = 0.01), blood urea nitrogen (MD -1.31 mg; 95% CI -2.08 to -0.54; P < 0.05), Scr (MD -2.60; 95% CI -3.43 to -1.77; P < 0.05), ulnar nerve motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) (MD 1.45; 95% CI 0.03 to 2.87; P < 0.05), and tibial nerve sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) (MD 1.84; 95% CI 0.1 to 3.58; P < 0.05). There was no evidence of an effect on common peroneal nervous MNCV and SNCV, tibial nerve MNCV, median nerve MNCV, and SNCV. Adverse effects included less frequent gastrointestinal reactions, elevated transaminase, leucopenia, fever, and rash.

CONCLUSION
Combination use of SMI based on conventional hypoglycemic treatment can significantly improve HbA1c, FBG, and 2hPG in DM and reduce 24-hour urinary protein, Scr, and BUN in DM patients. SMI was found to have no effect on the neurological function of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.


Abstract German and Japanese counterterrorism policies differ from those adopted by the United States as well as from one another. Defeated in war, occupied, and partially remade during the Cold War, Germany and Japan became clients of the United States first, then close allies. Both countries offer easy tests to explore the extent to which the United States can hope to fight the war against terrorism, as it did the Cold War, supported by a broad coalition of like-minded states. On this central point the article's conclusion is not reassuring. In contrast to the Cold War, the relative importance of different self-conceptions and institutional practices appears to be larger and the systemic effects constraining national divergences smaller. Even among the closest allies of the United States, the very early stages of the war against terrorism point to substantial strains. Over a prolonged period such strains are likely to affect profoundly long-standing patterns of alliance.


Background: New corona virus (COVID-19), as an international health threat poses a challenge to physical as well as psychological resilience in the affected countries.
Objective: The aim of this survey is to explore the level of awareness, health seeking behaviors and preventive measures towards COVID19 among Najran University students.
Methodology: By adopting a convenient sampling technique, an observational and cross-sectional study was carried out at Najran University, Najran city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A self-reporting electronic questionnaire had been utilized for collecting data.
Results: A total of 684 students voluntarily completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was 20.2±4.1 The most cited source for obtaining information about COVID-19 was the social media (51%). Females showed higher level of knowledge and awareness about the symptoms of the disease than males (74.3% vs 69.9%) respectively, although the difference was not significant with (P-value >0.05). Concerning compliance with preventive measures, medical students were significantly aware and complying with various preventives measures towards COVID-19 (P-value <0.05). Moreover, females seem to be significantly more keen in seeking medical advice when needed than males (P-value <0.05). Almost more than two-third of the respondents know the recommended general precautions in terms of wearing masks, not to touch outdoors surfaces directly without gloves and avoiding crowded places. 556 (81.3%) of the participants believe that they should wear face-masks outdoors. Interestingly, 6% of the participants thought that they prefer to take some herbs daily in different forms to avoid being infected with COVID-19. Additionally, females had an overall higher Mean tension level towards being infected than males (Mean± SD was 5.61 ±1.65 vs 4.55± 1.63) respectively.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the students have high level of knowledge and awareness about COVID-19, beside positive attitudes to preventive measures and acceptable health seeking behaviors. It is highly recommended that the entire Najran University community level of awareness be assessed to design and implement educational programs when needed.


The present study examined the benefits of a brief reminiscence activity and the
relationships between reminiscence, generativity, and personality in older adults. The activity
was shown to be enjoyable, and participation resulted in an increase in episodic autobiographical
memory. This increase was related to using reminiscence as a means of decreasing boredom and
to the amount of reminiscence in general a participant tended to engage in. Furthermore, a
significant positive relationship was found between generativity levels and using reminiscence to
teach/inform others and to solve problems. In conclusion, this study highlights the efficacy of a
brief reminiscence activity and shows a potential to positively impact the lives of older adults.


Key Points Question Where do US veterans who are enrolled in both the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and Medicare Advantage undergo coronary revascularization, and what are the associated charges? Findings In a national cohort study, among the 18 874 dually enrolled veterans who underwent coronary revascularization from 2010 to 2013, 4115 underwent a procedure through the VA system only, and 478 did so through both the VA and Medicare Advantage. These coronary revascularizations cost the VA $214.7 million, reflecting duplicative spending, because the federal government prepays private Medicare Advantage plans to cover veterans. Meaning These findings suggest that US government officials should consider policy solutions to mitigate duplicative federal spending, given the financial pressures facing both Medicare and the VA.


The three-dimensional steady viscous flow field of an stator cascade with extremely low aspect ratio in ultra-micro gas turbine was obtained by numerically solving the 3D Navier-Stokes equations with time averaged Reynolds stress model under cylindrical system,combined with RNG k-e turbulent model and non equilibrium wall function.The unique physical features of flow field and the regulations of aerodynamic loss were revealed.Results show that,the phenomenon of double secondary flow exisits in extremely low aspect ratio stator.Though the height of the stator cascade in the ultra-micro gas turbine is only 1.3 mm,the wall influenced area is relatively small,less than 3% height of the stator cascade.The main static pressure load is undertaken by middle part of the profile.The total pressure loss mainly takes place in the near wall area,especially the one adjacent to suction side.The maximum Mach number on each section along spanwise appears in a narrow area between the central flow region and wall surface,not in the centre of main flow which is supposed to be.It is probably due to the mixing of low energy secondary flow with main flow.


Gossypitrin, a natural occurring flavonoid and the main bioactive substance from the flowers of Talipariti elatum Sw. (Blue Mahoe), is traditionally used in Cuba as expectorant and antasthmatic. It was analyzed by GC/MS using BSTFA as derivatization agent to get information about the chemical components present in the sample. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of another five different chemical compounds. According to NIST21 and NIST107 Libraries Databases the phytocompounds screened were D-Turanose, Thymolβ-d-glucopyranoside, Ribitol, 2-Deoxy ribose and Hydroquinone-β-d-glucopyranoside. In addition, the structures of another 13 compounds have been identified by GC/MS experiments after isolation in T. elatum in this sample for the first time.


Samples of eleven cottons with a wide range of fineness and immaturity properties, as measured by the Arealometer, were studied for airflow behavior on an experimental computerized system. Specific surface areas as calculated from the Kozeny relationship were obtained for void fractions ranging between 0.60 to 0.90. The observed variation in fiber fineness with void fraction was unexpected as originally applied to the Areal ometer. Nevertheless, both the specific surface areas A and AH at low and high specimen compressions, respectively, correlated favorably with results of the Arealometer. These correlations were best when the values obtained on the newly automated system were at fixed void fractions rather than fixed porous plug resistances to airflow as built into the Arealometer.


of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Argosy University-Orange County In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 IN PREVENTING AND DETECTING FRAUD IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS by Debra L. De Vay 2006 Chairperson: Dr. Ray William London Committee: Dr. Judie L. Forbes Dr. Suzanne Holmes Department: School of Business The collapse of Enron, WorldCom, and other large corporations in 2001 and 2002 motivated Congress to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The purpose of this legislation was to restore investor confidence in the United States stock markets, and to prevent and detect fraud in financial statements as well. This dissertation examines the effectiveness of SOX for the latter purpose of preventing and detecting fraud, using statistical enforcement data presented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and financial statement restatement numbers published by the Huron Corporation. The two methodologies utilized to analyze the data were the unpaired t test and the chi square test. Surveys were also emailed to executives and certified public accountants across the country to extract opinions as to the effectiveness of SOX. The statistical analysis results displayed that in 61% to 65% of the data sets, the numbers prior to the enactment of SOX were no different than the numbers subsequent to the enactment of SOX. The majority of the survey respondents feel that the benefits of SOX are not worth the costs, it is not effective in the prevention and detection of fraud in financial statements, and that it should be modified, but not eliminated entirely. While some sentiment exists that SOX is salvageable if revisions are executed, both the quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate support of the null hypothesis, that SOX is not effective in the prevention and detection of fraud in financial statements.


Mikania micrantha is notorious for its strong ability to colonize in new habitats.Existing photosynthetic studies have mainly focused on leaves,and less on non-photosynthetic organs such as stems,roots, and reproductive organs.The aim of this study was to clarify the photosynthetic characteristics of each such organ and its possible contribution to total carbon sequestration of the population.By taking the leaf as control,the photosynthetic electron transportation rate(ETR),PSII photochemical efficiency(ΔF/Fm) and photosynthetic rate(P) under saturation light,chlorophyll content(Chl.a+b) and carotenoid(Car.) content of the flower,fruit,stem and green root were measured.Although the ETR and ΔF/Fm of these non-photosynthetic organs were lower than those of the leaf,the ETR/Chl.a+b and ETR/Car.were much higher,indicating that the photosynthetic pigments are more efficiently utilized in non-photosynthetic organs than in leaves.In the reproductive season,the scaling-up of photosynthetic capacity from the organ level to the community level showed that all non-photosynthetic organs took up 19% and 49% of the total carbon sequestration by the IRGA method and the chlorophyll fluorescence method,respectively.Although leaf photosynthesis of this weed is of the C3 type,a C4-like vascular bundle full of chlorophyll was observed in the main vein of the leaf and young stems.In conclusion,the high efficiency of the C4 pathway compared to the C3 pathway might be devoted the high photosynthetic chlorophyll utilization efficiency(ETR/Chl.a+b) in stems,although more direct evidence is necessary to test this hypothesis.


Objective To synthesize and evaluat e the anti-HBV activities of alkoxy-substituted Matijin-Su(MTS) derivatives. Methods L-tyrosine methyl ester hydrochlorides served as raw mat erials. Key intermediates 4a- b were obtained by coupling with benzoic acid, hydrolysis, and coupling with L-phenylalaninol or methyl L-phenylalaninate hydrochloride. The target compounds were prepared by substituting 4 a- b with 2-dimethylaminoethyl chloride hydrochloride, and acetylation; or alkylating with 1, 2- dibromethane, and then substituting with various amines. The antiHBV activities of the target compounds were evaluated in Hep G2 2.2.15 cells. Results Eleven alkoxy-substituted MTS derivatives were prepared. Conclusion Compound 6(IC50: 2.18 μmol·L~(-1)) displays better anti-HBV activity than the other derivatives, including MTS(IC50: 11.16 μmol·L~(-1)). the slective index of 6 was 74.10, which was significantly higher than that of MTS(10.78), indicating that compound 6 may be a promising anti-HBV agent with safety profile.


Abstract We characterize H-spaces which are p-torsion Postnikov pieces of finite type by a cohomological property together with a necessary acyclicity condition. When the mod p cohomology of an H-space is finitely generated as an algebra over the Steenrod algebra we prove that its homotopy groups behave like those of a finite complex. In particular, a p-complete infinite loop space has a finite number of non-trivial homotopy groups if and only if its mod p cohomology satisfies this finiteness condition.


A conventional view of object categories is that they represent correlations among sets of object features. In this paper we present an analogous view of relational categories, the Micro-Relation Theory. On this view, relational categories such as ON and HIT are built up out of correlations among primitive relational features, which we call micro-relations. The process of learning relational categories involves three phases, the learning of the micro-relations within object dimensions, the learning of correlations between the micro-relations across dimensions, and the generalization from absolute to relative relations within dimensions. This paper focuses on the first two phases. We describe an experiment demonstrating the first phase of relational learning and a neural network simulation of the experiment. We conclude with a discussion of future work on the second and third phases of relational learning predicted by the theory. Grounding Object Categories For an animal, an object is a cognitive achievement, the outcome of a process that segments sensory/perceptual input into regions as it attends to the sensory/perceptual dimensions that have proven useful in making predictions, dimensions such as color, texture, size, and (the multiple dimensions that make up) shape. An object can be seen in part as the co-occurrence of a set of values on these dimensions, that is, as a feature vector. Two sorts of generalizations about objects are possible. One singles out a range of values along a single object dimension, treating all objects with that feature as belonging to a one category for some purpose. Such generalizations are often realized in natural language as adjectives (Gasser & Smith, 1998). For example, the object categoryRED groups together all objects with a particular range of values on the COLOR dimension. The generalization is that there is a set of objects of this type. Typically more useful is a second type of generalization, based on the discovery that certain features co-occur regularly. Categories in this second sense are bundles of correlations of values along different object dimensions. We will refer to these asobject feature correlations; they usually take the form of nouns in natural language. For example, the category APPLE is characterized by a particular shape, size, taste, smell, and texture. Categories of this type are valuable because of the inferences (predictions) they permit; given a subset of the associated features, the system can predict values on the other, correlating dimensions. This view of objects and object categories is straightforward to implement within a simple connectionist model. Each processing unit represents a range of values along a particular dimension. A pattern of activation across the units, that is, a vector of activation values, represents an object. That is, rather than being represented by an atomic symbol, an object is di tributed across a set of micro-features. Categories can be learned through unsupervised Hebbian learning, which strengthens the weights on connections between units which are co-activated. The weights then represent correlations across dimensions, the basis of correlational categories such asAPPLE. Thus the matrix of weights after learning encompasses all correlational categories, and each category can be seen as a subset of the units which are mutually excitatory. Activation of some of these units causes others to be activated or inhibited, representing inference or prediction. Grounding Relational Categories Now let's consider how we can similarly view relations in terms of co-occurring features and correlations. Starting again with object feature dimensions, a (binary) relation instance is the co-occurrence of pairs of feature values on the object dimensions. Note that some dimensions which may not be relevant for the identification of the objects because they tend not to be stable re relevant for relations, in particular, the location of the objects. As with objects, there appear to be two sorts of relational categories. One type is defined over a single dimension. Analogous to RED for objects, a particular pair of values for two objects along a single dimension may characterize a class of relation instances in the world. For example, in some environment it may be the case that red and blue objects tend to occur together. The co-occurrence of red with blue objects is an example of a primitivemicro-relation . Because a micro-relation is relational, it already involves a correlation, a correlation between values in two ranges along a single dimension such asCOLORor SIZE. Thus we will also refer to microrelations assimple relational correlations. Note that unlike primitive object features, micro-relations are not normally labeled. There is no word in English, for example, for the situation in which a red and a blue object co-occur. Instead labels are often applied to an elaboration of a micro-relation, arelative relational correlation. For such a correlation, the object dimension in question must be ordinal (for example, SIZE or DARKNESSrather thanCOLOR or SHAPE), and the relation applies to multiple pairs of values across the dimension. Examples areDARKER andSAME SIZE. Analogous to object feature correlations, we have a second type of relational category: correlations between relational features on different dimensions. Thus a LOCATION relational feature may co-occur with a SIZE relational feature, for example, if an object of a particular size is on top an object of another size. We refer to these ascomplex relational correlations. When such relational feature correlations remain specific to particular values or ranges of values on the two dimensions, they normally do not have associated linguistic labels. But when the relations along one or both dimensions become relative ( HIGHER, SMALLER), we often do. Thus for the relation we call sunsetin English several dimensions seem to be relevant, including the movement of the sun with respect to the horizon, the changing color and apparent shape of the sun, and the changing color of the western sky. An extremely important class of categories involving complex relational correlations consists of relational terms, such as the word on. These represent correlations between syntactic patterns, in particular the relative position of the noun phrase arguments of the relational term and semantic dimensions such as the relative position of the referents of the noun phrases. Thus the spatial relationON correlates with the syntactic pattern associated with the English preposition. Note that for complex relational correlations, it is necessary to specify which of the arguments in one relation corresponds to which of the arguments in the other relation. Thus it is the first of the two noun phrases in a phrase like th book on the tablewhich refers to the upper object and the second which refers to the lower. (This is the main way in whichondiffers fromunder.) The next section spells out our claims about the three phases in the learning of relations and describes a connectionist implementation of the model. Micro-Relation Theory Phases in Learning Relations Our main claim is that relations are built up out of microrelations, associations between specific features on two object dimensions, and that the most important and easyto-learn relations involve complex relational correlations (between micro-relations). There are three phases on the way to full-blown relations. 1. The micro-relations themselves must be built up. In the neural network implementation of the model each is represented by a unit with initially weak weights from the units representing the two object features. These weights are strengthened if the unit is activated in response to input patterns containing the associated object values. 2. Once the micro-relation unit is sufficiently activated by object feature input, it can be associated with another micro-relation unit on another dimension, representing a complex relational correlation. 3. Once the system comes to explicitly represent ordering within an object feature dimension such as LENGTH, it becomes possible to learn relative relational correlations such as LONGER. Phase 1 must precede phase 2 because complex relational correlations are formed micro-relations; hence the micro-relation units must be sufficiently activated for the weight that represent these correlations to be learned. Phase 1 should also precede phase 3 because there is nothing preventing relational learning from beginning even before the dimensions themselves have been figured out. The Architecture of Relational Learning Representing relation instances requires a way of distinguishing the different objects from one another, that is, a way of binding together the features associated with a given object. Thebinding problem, in one form or another, has surfaced in many forms in recent years, and a number of connectionist solutions have been proposed (Hummel & Biederman, 1992; Hummel & Holyoak, 1997; Shastri & Ajjanagadde, 1993). Most of these solutions, including the one we proposed in earlier versions of this model (Colunga & Gasser, 1998; Gasser & Colunga, 2000), make use of a dimension in addition to activation which characterizes network processing units, with synchronization along this dimension representing the binding of units. Here we propose a simpler solution, one that makes use of copies of dimensions. The idea is to treat relative position in space or time as a special dimension, one that maps directly onto hardware. This requires a relatively large number of units, but the visual system already utilizes a similar approach in deploying multiple feature detectors of a particular type (for example, motion in particular direction) that are specific to particular regions within the visual field. Multiple copies of object feature units alone do not solve the problem of where relations come from, however. There is sti


This study reported Iridium‐catalyzed monofluoroalkylation of various (hetero)arenes. Diethyl 2‐bromo‐2‐fluoromalonate was identified as an effective monofluoroalkylating reagent in iridium‐catalyzed C‐H functionalization. A wide variety of monofluoride‐containing compounds were directly synthesized with moderate to good yields. Additionally, the products contained 1,3‐dicarbonyl skeletons that were easily convertible in various reactions, highlighting the synthetic importance of this method.


It is shown that the description of certain class of representations of the holonomy Lie algebra associated to hyperplane arrangement $\Delta$ is essentially equivalent to the classification of $\vee$-systems associated to $\Delta.$ The flat sections of the corresponding $\vee$-connection can be interpreted as vector fields, which are both logarithmic and gradient. We conjecture that the hyperplane arrangement of any $\vee$-system is free in Saito's sense and show this for all known $\vee$-systems and for a special class of $\vee$-systems called harmonic, which includes all Coxeter systems. In the irreducible Coxeter case the potentials of the corresponding gradient vector fields turn out to be Saito flat coordinates, or their one-parameter deformations. We give formulas for these deformations as well as for the potentials of the classical families of harmonic $\vee$-systems.


An elegant way of testing the validity of a geological "static" model is to generate the (synthetic) seismic response of the static model, compare it to the actual seismic data and then update the geological model where appropriate. The workflow to "Close the Loop between the static model and the 3D seismic" can be implemented using Petrel's modeling and visualisation tools.


The organic electroluminescence panel development equipment includes one development unit with development tank to provide development liquid and disperse development liquid on the surface of organicelectroluminescence panel via soaking or spraying; one water washing unit with at least one water washing tank connected to the development unit to spray cleaning liquid to remove the residual development liquid on the electroluminescence panel; one drying unit with at least one blower to dry the washed electroluminescence panel; and one conveying unit to convey the electroluminescence panel in fixed rate inside the development equipment.


This paper considers the impact of complexity theory on the way in which we see propositions corresponding to the reality that they describe, and our concept of truth in that context. A contingently associated idea is the atomistic expectation that we can reduce language to primitive units of meaning, and tie those in with agreed units of experience. If we see both language and the reality that it describes and explains as complex, this position becomes difficult to maintain. Complexity theory, with its emphasis on non‐linear and dynamic interactions between multiple variables, within indeterminate and transient systems, supports the case for a connectionist and holistic analysis. Theories are more likely to be under‐determined by evidence and open to interpretation, with the potential for 'certainties' weakened. If educational situations are complex, then the drive towards specific and focused research findings that will support policy and practice, and the associated notion of control, is illusory. Rather than providing evidence for prescription, research is thus understood as descriptive and explanatory, within a range of interpretative possibilities. Action takes place within a necessarily incomplete and constantly changing situation, more appropriately understood in terms of survival than control.


I study microfinance solidarity group lending within a global game framework. Group members invest independently in either a safe or a risky project. Ex ante observation and coordination on the choice of projects is not always possible. Though risky projects allow microentrepreneurs to extract risk premia, safe projects raise the probability of success of the group loan, in which case group members benefit from access to business support services provided by the microfinance institution. I show how borrowers' perception of the strength of social cohesion within the microentrepreneurial community induces coordination on safe project choices.


The article discusses the main theoretical and practical issues (aspects) of the development of a banking product that underlie an integrated approach to the development of this product. First, the definition of a banking product is formulated and its characteristics are highlighted. Second, the process approach to the development of a banking product is disclosed and a list of stages of such development is proposed, indicating the appropriate procedures. Finally, the system of restrictions arising in the development of a banking product is considered, the problems associated with its development are identified, ways of solving these problems are presented, and recommendations for their implementation are formulated.
Following an integrated approach will allow the bank to create high-quality banking products, with the help of which it is possible not only to retain existing customers and attract new ones, but also to increase the efficiency of functioning, improve its image and reputation.
The relevance of studying the theory and practice of developing banking products is due to the regular nature of the development of banking products (as opposed to banking services), as well as an increase in banks' need to replenish their list with demanded and profitable banking products, which is caused by the growing instability of the economy, tightening regulation and increased competition.
The methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization allowed us to highlight the theoretical and practical issues (aspects) of banking product development


A changing sequence of independent variables is observed and on the basis of these observations, future values of the process are forecasted. In this paper, the Bayesian predictive density for k future observations for the univariate and multivariate normal sequences which change distribution more than once, are derived. Inferences are then based on these distributions.


This paper presents a methodology to the design of a multistage inference fuzzy controller in which the consequence in an inference stage is passed to the next stage as fact, and so forth. A new general method which is based on a performance index of the control system is used to generate fuzzy rule bases for the multistage inference. This proposed method can reduce the design cycle time. The new method has been applied to a two-trailer-and-truck system. The simulation studies showed that proposed method is feasible.


In the 1920s creation of nature monuments and reserves was based on the identifica-tion of typical and unique botanically representative sites of wild nature. This work involved a wide range of ethnographers, biologists, foresters and teachers. For these purposes, a col-lection of herbarium specimens was organized, following by analysis undertaken by skillful botanists in Kharkiv, which was at that time not only the Ukrainian SSR center, but also the key point in organization of nature conservation work. The study of herbariua preserved from that times makes it possible to understand how the environmental work was organized, as well as to compare the flora of the reserves at that time with its state today.


A Beta Radiation Effect involves biological damage caused by beta particles emitted from a radioactive source. Beta particle energy causes breakage of chemical bonds and ion formation in molecules, such as DNA and RNA, resulting in cell death or damage.


The damping and dispersion of ion acoustic waves in a plasma with two ion species has been studied. We have investigated the transition from collisional to collisionless regimes using the Grad 13-moment approximation. Two branches of the ion dispersion relation have been found. The fast mode has a similar velocity as in plasmas with one ion species, but a much stronger damping rate due to the friction force between light and heavy ions. The effect of friction disappears when both ion species have the same charge-to-mass ratio. The heavy ions with a low degree of ionization strongly increase the magnitude of the fast ion acoustic wave damping. The slow ion acoustic wave is also found in the collisionless region, but this mode vanishes when its frequency approaches the ion-ion collision frequency. The stimulated Brillouin scattering from two ion species plasmas has been discussed in the context of recent experimental data. It is shown that stimulated Brillouin scattering reflectivity from the laser-produced plasma is dramatically increased when both ion species have the same charge-to-mass ratio.


Taking perennial ryegrass'Aishente No.2'seed as material,using constant temperature incubator,the effects of super absorbent polymer(SAP)on heat resistance character and the physical indicators:relative electrical conductivity,root activity,proline(Pro),malonaldehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),and so on were studied.The results showed that with the increasing of high temperature stress,SOD,CAT activity and root activity were decreased,the content of Pro,MDA and relative electrical conductivity were increased.With the SAP,the heat resistance character of turfgrass was higher than those in control.But under the same stress temperature and time,without SAP as control,SOD and CAT activity,Pro content and root activity were significantly increased,MDA content and electrical conductivity were significantly decreased.


The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between elastic resistance and durability offered by national elastic tubes Auriflex® - 204 and imported elastic tubes Thera-band® - silver used as source of dynamic progress resistance (DPR) in programs of rehabilitation and sports training. The bodies test have been submitted to axial traction tests at 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 loading-unloading cycle. Each of the respective cycling values consisted of 6 bodies test. The loading-unloading cycle reached a maximum strain of 100% from the initial length and a displacement rate of 1800 mm/min (0.5 Hz) and after each test the bodies test were submitted to 300% of strain to obtain the force curve of the elastic tubes. The results obtained through this study confirm the reports of durability for the reference study of the Thera band® manufacturer. The Auriflex® 204 tubes present maximum force values higher than those of Lengruber® 204 tubes, despite they present the same area of transverse section and the same material, which is due to the methods and polymers employed in their production. The Auriflex® 204 tubes of more accessible cost lose their capacity to respond to the same force values after the cycling, although they can replace other imported tubes of better quality from adjusting to the target load.


On The viw of penal evolutionary history and its value tendency, the article discusses the development of injection Capital Penishment from the legal theory and points out the important meaning of reform executing capital punishment and its humanitarianism trade in China.


For the flood tunnel outlet of Binghanghe reservoir control project, after the alternatives of the energy dissipations of the bottom current, and the continuous and narrow joint bucket have been compared and discussed based on technical and economic views, the energy dissipation with narrow joint bucket has been adopted finally. However, as for the narrow joint bucket, the design energy dissipator's shape has no certain design method. In this project, we adopted the shock wave simplified formula to introduce the curve reflecting turbulent ray method and gained a satisfied symmetric curve narrow bucket shape. The hydraulic model tests proved that its effectiveness is good, which can meet the requirements of the flood releasing and energy dissipation in the mountainous areas where water head is high. The nappe of the energy dissipator is narrow and high. The water flow in the air forms turbulent fluctuation, aeration, and strong diffusion, which can vanish most of kinetic energy. After entering the injection pit, threedimensional diffusion energy dissipation is formed. The rate of energy dissipation is higher than that of the wide joint bucket, which can effectively decrease the erosion on the downstream bed and the twoside bank slopes.


Selective laser melting (SLM) process is the foremost metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology that precisely generates complex geometries from CAD files. Mechanical behavior of printed parts is greatly affected by printing parameters and defining the optimal values of the process parameters to enhance the mechanical properties of components is highly regarded. In this work, four different SLM parameters including scanning speed, laser power, hatch spacing and scan pattern angle were applied to manufacture SS316L parts. For investigating the effect of each parameter and their interactions on hardness and relative density, Taguchi L16 orthogonal array was employed. The influence of part geometry and remelting is also evaluated in order to optimize the hardness and relative density of components. The results exhibited that the laser scanning speed was the most predominant SLM parameter for investigated mechanical properties. Analyzing the regression formula obtained from the results showed that the optimum laser energy density resulted in a 0.37% and 5.38% increase compared to the lowest relative density and hardness, respectively. High remelting energy associated with low remelting scanning speed, caused an 8.5% and 17.9% rise in hardness of squares and triangles, respectively; however, it led 12.5% reduction in hardness for circles. Remelting caused a 2.32% reduction, 2.1% increase and 5.3% rise on relative density for circles, squares and triangles, respectively.


The two-level system (TLS) model is used to interpret the anelastic relaxation observed in the Nb–O (N) –D and Ta–O (N) –D systems at low temperature. In Ta there is clear evidence that the TLS interact mainly with the conduction electrons.


Rheological factor such as shear rate during membrane fabrication process has an effect on properties, structures and performance of membranes. Flat sheet asymmetric PSf/CAP blend membranes were prepared using an automatic casting machine at different shear rates in the range of 42.0 to 201.0 s-1. Results showed that increasing the shear rate from 42.0 to105 s-1 has increased the molecular orientation and thickness which then reduces the water content, porosity and pure water flux of PSf/CAP blend membranes. However, further increasing the shear rate beyond 105 s-1has resulted in an increase in the water content of PSf/CAP blend membranes.


This paperaddresses thescheduling problem injob-shop withtransportation constraints andextraconstraints including butnotlimited toinput/output buffer withlimited capacity infront ofmachines. Theproblem can beefficiently modelized toa disjunctive graph andthesolution generation canbelimited togeneration oftransportation sequences. Anefficient memetic genetic algorithm ispromoted toprovide solutions satisfying all systemconstraints. Thiswork provides numerical experiments including a comparative study withtheexactresolution oftheproblem of[1]andthe heuristic approach of[2].


Geosciences and related phenomena government funding for research insitu beams ion implantation (semiconductors) ion implantation (metallurgical) ion sources and control systems material analysis with ion beams medical applications with accelerators medical radioisotopes neutron activation analysis and bulk analysis with accelerators nuclear physics photon-ion interaction using fast beams positron beam experiments and facilities radiation effects radiation processing radiation therapy radioactive beam experiments and facilities radiological safety aspects of accelerators RBS single-event upsets stopping power surface analysis with ion beams (PIXE) synchrotron light source experiments targetry trace analysis with ion beams use of small accelerators in the undergraduate curriculum.


Abstract Background Ceftaroline (CPT) is a last generation cephalosporin with activity against MRSA. Recent data raised concerns regarding routine susceptibility testing in clinical laboratories, suggesting a poor performance for detecting nonsusceptible S. aureus (MIC >1 µg/dL) using either disc or gradient strips (Cantón R 2017) Aim To evaluate the results of CPT susceptibility testing with Etest® and disk diffusion (Kirby–Bauer technique [KB]) as compared with broth microdilution (BMD), in clinical isolates of MRSA obtained from different hospitals in Santiago, Chile. Methods During 2017, we prospectively collected consecutive clinical strains of MRSA recovered from the blood or other sterile sites in ten tertiary-care hospitals in Santiago, Chile. One isolate per patient was obtained. Identification was confirmed by MALDI-TOF and susceptibility testing of all isolates was performed at a central lab. CPT susceptibility was evaluated by BMD and KB following CLSI 2017 directions. Etest was performed as per manufacturer's instructions. Categorical agreement (CA), essential agreement (EA) and very major errors (VME) were evaluated. Susceptibilities were analyzed using CLSI established breakpoints Results Forty unique MRSA isolates were tested. Using BMD, the MIC50/MIC90 was 2/4 μg/dL, respectively. Moreover, only 18 (45%) isolates were CPT susceptible. Out of the remaining 22 MRSA strains, 8 (20%) were intermediate and 14 (35%) CPT-resistant (CPT-R). Using Etest, the MIC50/MIC90 was 1/2 μg/dL, with 31 (78%) isolates being considered susceptible and the remaining catalogued as intermediate. CPT susceptibility using KB catalogued 38 (95%) isolates as susceptible and only 2 as intermediate. No CPT-R strains were found by Etest or KB. The CA was for Etest and KB, respectively; Etest's EA was 80%. Worryingly, out of 14 CPT-R isolates by BMD, 6 were deemed susceptible by Etest and 12 by KB, obtaining VME rates of 43 and 87%, respectively Conclusion Performance of both Etest and KB to assess CPT susceptibility in MRSA isolates from Chile was poor, with a unacceptably high proportion of VME, and a CA lower than 50% for both techniques. Correlation of CPT susceptibility with the molecular epidemiology of the isolates is currently being performed Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


MgCl2 is a vital component of Ziegler–Natta catalysts for olefin polymerization. Here we synthesized anhydrous MgCl2 using different drying protocols and exploited 1H NMR to quantify the proton content. We report on our study of neat and ball-milled MgCl2 samples by means of 25Mg and 35Cl solid-state NMR. DFT calculations of the quadrupole tensor aid in analysis of the spectra. The results show that, due to the morphology of the neat particles, a preferred orientation is induced which manifests itself in unusual powder line shapes. Ball milling reduces particle size, which subsequently leads to a small distribution of quadrupole parameters for the bulk. Surface sites, highly relevant for catalysis, are not directly observed, due to their broad lines of low intensity.


Current regulations on the prognosis of the acoustic climate outdoors require that meteorological conditions should be examined as part of long‐term noise level calculations. The impact of meteorological conditions on the noise level was analysed using simulation calculations performed with NMPB‐96 method and Mithra software. Their aim was to determine the relationship between the value of these influences and the distance between the receiver point and the noise source and its height above the ground.The distance between a source and the built‐up area varied. A number of its locations in relation to the built‐up area ranging between 200m and 4 000 m were considered. The built‐up area consisted of a row of 11‐storey buildings ca. 600 m long. The ground floor height and the floor height were accepted to be 3.5 m and 3.0 m, respectively. Calculations were performed for various meteorological conditions: from P=0 (homogenous conditions) to P=1.0, increasing by every 0.1. The receiver point was located 2 m aw...


Features of the person are established for underaged offenders who are placed in the educational colony for underaged children who committed profit-motivated crimes and crimes against people. It is shown, that «mercenary» criminals are more socially active, sociable and at ease, demonstrative and spontaneous, whereas «status» criminals are more integrated and rigid, emotionally unstable and vindictive, that has allowed to establish interrelations between individual-typological characteristics and character of the perfect crimes. Application of the obtained results is proved at definition of rehabilitation works in conditions of educational-corrective institutions


In the semiarid region of Brazil the use of irrigation systems for applying fertilizers in horticulture is the primary means for incorporating nutrients in the soil. However, this technique still requires its use in wine vines to be assessed. In view of this, this study aimed to assess nitrate and potassium concentrations in soil fertigated with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers in 3 wine grape growing cycles. A field experiment was conducted with 'Syrah' wine grapes, in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil; it assessed five nitrogen doses (0, 15, 30, 60 and 120 kg ha-1) and five K2O doses (0, 15, 30, 60 and 120 kg ha-1) applied by drip irrigation system with two emitters per plant, with a flow rate of 4 L h-1. The experimental design used was the factorial split-plot, making up 13 combinations arranged in 4 randomized blocks. Soil solution samples were collected weekly with the aid of porous cup extractors for all treatments and at depths of 0.4 and 0.6 m by determining nitrate and potassium concentrations and electrical conductivity. Increased levels of both nutrients in the irrigation water increased the availability of nitrate and potassium in the soil solution. The highest nitrate and potassium concentrations were found in the second growing cycle at both depths studied.


An electronic learning environment has been developed for introductory physics laboratory work. Extensive use is made of Physlets (Physics Java Applets). The learning environment is tested with fourth semester physics major students at Ghent University. Students prepare their lab work assignment by first reading the lab guide and answering a selection of conceptual questions over the Internet. The tutor reads through the student answers and adjusts the intended instruction. During lab work, students perform experiments, analyse the recorded data, draw conclusions and report their findings. The first results indicate improved student attitudes towards discovery learning, increased engagement with laboratory work for physics and a better understanding of basic physics phenomena, compared to student groups in earlier years.


The harmony culture has a long history in China. Established in the pre-Qin period,the theoretical system firstly reveals the harmony of natural law which shows how to deal with the relationship between human and nature. The law of nature-human integration in traditional China has made great contributions to the world. Secondly,the system advocates the harmony of politics which is used to depict an ideal society; it therefore has become an understandable social ideal for people. Thirdly,it shows the interpersonal harmony which plays a significant role in interpersonal relationship. Getting along well with others but holding his own views differentiates a gentleman from a villain. The idea that "Harmony is most precious"provides an appropriate way in coping with interpersonal relationships. Finally,it states the harmony between body and mind; the harmony conveys a balance between body and mind and the high-point of inherent virtue.


Currently an internet- based platform for organic farming research in Germany and Europe is established as part of the German internet portal for organic farming. This portal is financed by the German Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food And Agriculture within the federal scheme for organic agriculture. An important part of the research platform is a database, containing all relevant results and projects. This database was developed by the Danish Research Centre for Organic Agriculture (DARCOF) and should now become a European database with scientific information related to organic agriculture.


Cognitive development is a thought process, namely the individual's ability to relate, assess and consider an event. Cognitive processes are related to the level of intelligence that marks a person with various interests, especially in showing ideas and learning in everyday life. The purpose of this study was to determine factors related to cognitive. In addition, the research design was cross-sectional using a sampling technique using proportional random sampling. The dominant factor related to cognitive development in this study is learning in PAUD. Snakes and ladders game is a popular game among children. Snakes and ladders is a game in the form of a board that is divided into small boxes and several boxes depicting a number of ladders or snakes that connect with other boxes. Usually, this game is played by two or more children. The research to be solved is how to improve children's cognitive abilities through playing snakes and ladders in children. The type of research conducted is direct practical research in the classroom on children.


Four basic failure modes for adhesively bonded rebar in concrete are discussed.Based on the Mohr theory,the relationship between the concrete strength and the height of the concrete cone and the resistance of the concrete is derived.Based on the test data for the bond failure,a formula is set up statistically.According to the force equilibrium a formula for the mixed-cone failure is obtained which is verified by the experiment date that the calculation results have good accordance with test results.The formula presented can be used in the practice design and construction.