Glucocorticoids are known to induce osteocyte apoptosis, whereas mechanical loading has been shown to sustain osteocyte viability. Here we show that mechanical loading in the form of fluid‐flow shear stress blocks dexamethasone‐induced apoptosis of osteocyte‐like cells (MLO‐Y4). Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a rapidly induced signaling molecule produced by osteocytes, was shown to be protective against dexamethasone‐induced apoptosis, whereas indomethacin reversed the antiapoptotic effects of shear stress. This protective effect of shear stress was mediated through EP2 and EP4 receptors, leading to activation of the cAMP/protein kinase A signaling pathway. Activation of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase, an inhibitor of glycogen synthesis kinase 3, also occurred, leading to the nuclear translocation of β‐catenin, an important signal transducer of the Wnt signaling pathway. Both shear stress and prostaglandin increased the phosphorylation of glycogen synthesis kinase 3 α/β. Lithium chloride, an activator of the Wnt pathway, also was protective against glucocorticoid‐induced apoptosis. Whereas it is known that mechanical loading increases cyclooxygenase‐2 and EP2 receptor expression and prostaglandin production, dexamethasone was shown to inhibit expression of these components of the prostaglandin pathway and to reduce β‐catenin protein expression. β‐catenin siRNA knockdown experiments abrogated the protective effects of PGE2, confirming the central role of β‐catenin in mediating the protection against dexamethasone‐induced cell death. Our data support a central role for PGE2 acting through the cAMP/PKA and β‐catenin signaling pathways in the protection of osteocyte apoptosis by fluid‐flow shear stress. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


Ž . V. G. Kac see K1 classified finite-dimensional simple Jordan superalgebras over algebraically closed fields of zero characteristic. Study of Jordan superalgebras of positive characteristics was initiated by I. Kaplansky Kap1 , Kap2 . M. Racine and E. Zelmanov RZ classified finite-dimensional simple Jordan superalgebras of characteristics 2 with semisimple even part. In this paper we address the remaining case when the even part is not semisimple. Structure of these superalgebras is similar to structure of infinite-dimensional Jordan superalgebras of zero characteristic that correŽ spond to the so-called superconformal algebras of contact brackets see . KL , KMZ , NS , R .


In order to promote the construction of digital geo-spatial framework in China and accelerate the construction of informatization mapping system, three-dimensional geographic information model emerged. The three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology has higher accuracy, shorter period and lower cost than traditional methods, and can more directly reflect the elevation, position and appearance of the features. At this stage, the technology of producing three-dimensional geographic information models based on oblique photogrammetry technology is rapidly developing. The market demand and model results have been emerged in a large amount, and the related quality inspection needs are also getting larger and larger. Through the study of relevant literature, it is found that there are a lot of researches on the basic principles and technical characteristics of this technology, and relatively few studies on quality inspection and analysis. On the basis of summarizing the basic principle and technical characteristics of oblique photogrammetry technology, this paper introduces the inspection contents and inspection methods of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology. Combined with the actual inspection work, this paper summarizes the quality problems of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology, analyzes the causes of the problems and puts forward the quality control measures. It provides technical guidance for the quality inspection of three-dimensional geographic information model data products based on oblique photogrammetry technology in China and provides technical support for the vigorous development of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology.


http://hfs.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/08/21/0018720813502524 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/0018720813502524 August 2013 published online 21 Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Anna Pereira, Chih-Ming Hsieh, Charles Laroche and David Rempel Biomechanics, Part 2: Vertical Spacing The Effect of Keyboard Key Spacing on Typing Speed, Error, Usability, and


The working principle of turbine oil filter was analyzed.The functions of the control system were pointed out.The hardware and PLC control program were designed.The address assignment of PLC and the programming method of the control program were introduced.The flow diagram of the system program was given.All the functions are normal and the facilities is stable since it runs.So this system has some utility value.


The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) began systematic lunar imaging in January of 2010. WAC image maps and derived data products are allowing scientists to improve our knowledge of the Moon with science and engineering applications for future mission planning. The sharpness of the WAC images is an important measure of the camera performance over the duration of the mission time. Accordingly, a measure of the in orbit sharpness was achieved by computing the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the WAC multi-spectral optics from in-orbit lunar limb images. Historically, lunar limb images were used for MTF evaluation for imaging devices on Earth based satellites (e.g. NASA Earth Observer) as a supplement to other imaging targets, but were never used successfully for MTF computation for a lunar orbiter prior to this work (to the best of our knowledge). The proposed method is similar to the ISO 12233:2000 standard slanted edge gradient based method, but uses edge-fitting to obtain high resolution edge spread functions with the lunar limb (that is not perfectly straight). Adaptive noise suppressed derivative computation and the Monte Carlo method for obtaining robust statistics, two other enhancements to standard MTF techniques, are also used in this work. Both cross-track and down-track MTFs were obtained and the results show that the LROC WAC meets and exceeds the MTF requirement of greater than 0.2 at the Nyquist frequency.


Background: Insomnia is common in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD); they complain of falling asleep and awakening in the daytime. One of the neuropsychopathological mechanisms of insomnia is cortical hyperarousal. Previous studies explored cortical activities at pre-sleep and sleep stages among patients with primary insomnia and MDD, as well as the physiological arousal in the daytime among patients with chronic insomnia. There were few studies that explored clearly the psychopathological mechanism among patients comorbid with MDD and insomnia. The purpose of this study was to explore the daytime cortical arousal among patients comorbid with MDD and insomnia.


Background: Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is the major microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Painful-DPN is a major cause of mortality as well as morbidity. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNA) have emerged as critical regulators of many diseases, however, little is known about their expression patterns and functions in T2DM and its complications. Objective: To investigate the expression profile levels of lncRNA MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 in Egyptian patients with T2DM and to explore their associations with clinical and electrophysiological tests of both painful and painless DPN. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional controlled study enrolled 55 patients with DPN and 40 controls. All participants were subjected to a complete neurological examination and electrophysiological tests involving nerve conduction studies. The expression levels of lncRNA MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: The relative expression levels of MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 were significantly upregulated in patients with DPN (0.219±0.061, 0.006454±0.0018, respectively) compared to controls (0.111±0.013, 0.0033±0.004, respectively). Interestingly, the relative expression levels of MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 were significantly upregulated in patients with painful DPN (0.206±0.037, 0.0045±0.0008, respectively) compared to patients with painless DPN 0.219±0.083, 0.0058±0.0017, respectively). Patients with DPN had sensory-motor axonal polyneuropathy which was affecting both lower limbs more than upper limbs. P<0.001*. Conclusions: The relative expression levels of MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 were significantly upregulated in patients with DPN more specifically in patients with painful DPN groups, hence, MALAT-1 and miRNA-9 could be used as useful and reliable diagnostic biomarkers of DPN.


The present invention provides a histogram equalization method based on boundary. Said method includes the following steps: 1. calculating brightness value of video image; 2. fetching edge point of image brightness graph; 3. making histogram equalization to obtain gray-level mapping function; 4. for gray-level mapping function adding control factor; and 5. for brightness image making gray-level conversion.


The title sponsorship is a kind of important means of marketing and industrial innovation. This paper analyzes the internal reasons underlying those arguments, and maintains that title sponsorship of EMUs is the marketization process of its rights of usage, disposal and profit claiming, and title sponsorship has to be coordinated with brand establishment. Title sponsorship is an important way to realize value-added development of tangible and intangible assets. It's imperative for China Railway Corporation to establish operational platform, with efficiency and asset value management as core, formulate development plan, bring the potential of capital value-added and support the sustainable development of Chinese railway industry.


Wireless sensor networks are composed of many low-cost sensors deployed in harsh environments generally, which result in sensors suffer from physical attacks in which an adversary can compromise the node and carry out clone attacks. In this paper, we propose a reversible watermarking scheme which is based on data sampling interval against node clone attack. The watermark are computed from one data sampling time and embedded into the group data. The cluster completely reconstructs the watermark and statistical judge extracted watermark characteristics. Performance analysis and simulation also shows that the scheme has an effective detection results.


This study was conducted to examine the effect of the variable Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) and Operational Cost of Operational Income (BOPO) on the Profitability of PT. Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. The period used in this study amounted to 7 years, starting from 2012 to 2018. This research was obtained through secondary data sourced from PT. Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. This study uses the documentation method obtained from financial statements published on the official website of PT. Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, which is www.bni.co.id. The analysis technique used is multiple linear regression. The results showed that CAR, LDR and BOPO simultaneously had an effect on profitability. CAR had no significant positive effect on profitability, LDR had an effect on positive and significant towards profitability and BOPO has a negative effect and significant for profitability.


The liquid–liquid extraction process was simple and low cost with good energy consumption. Cyclopentanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and valeraldehyde as extractants were investigated. The initial concent...


Obtaining a broadband radiation spectrum in the wavelength range from 3 μm to 10 μm is a challenge. Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fibers appears to be a promising approach.


During the winter of 1924–25 some living specimens of a terrestrial sand-hopper were sent by Major A. A. Dorrien-Smith, D.S.O., Governor of the Isles of Scilly, to Mrs. E. W. Sexton of the Plymouth Laboratory. The specimens, which were handed over to the writer by Mrs. Sexton, have proved on examination to belong to a new species, which is described below and given the name Talitrus dorrieni. According to information received with the specimens the species has a truly terrestrial habitat: it is found living among the moist humus and under dead leaves in the gardens of Tresco Abbey.


The thermomechanical and creep behavior of a unidirectional metal matrix composite, namely, silicon carbide/aluminum (SCS-2/6061 Al) was studied experimentally. Experimental methods were developed, adapted, and applied to the characterization of the metal matrix composite system. The unidirectional SiC/Al composite was characterized thermomechanically under longitudinal, transverse and in-plane shear loading up to 399°C (750°F). The stress-strain curves of the composite in the longitudinal and transverse directions and the shear stress-strain curves were obtained at various temperatures. In addition, thermal strain curves as a function of temperature in the longitudinal and transverse directions were obtained. The composite was characterized by determining its moduli, strengths, and coefficients of thermal expansion at the various temperatures. The transverse creep characteristics of the unidirectional SiC/Al composite were also investigated at temperatures ranging from 204°C (400°F) to 288°C (550°F).


This paper explores the impact on industry betas of changes to the industry weights in the market index against which betas are defined. The exploratory analysis in the paper suggests that the effect can be substantial This phenomenon has implications for the way in which betas are estimated from time series data, and also for the common practice of using beta estimates from one country to estimate those in another. Possible solutions to the problems arising there from changes or variations in industry weights are suggested.


The "coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)" outbreak was first reported in December 2019 (China). Since then, this disease has rapidly spread across the globe and in March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Since the outbreak was first announced, our journal has extensively focused on the clinical features, outcomes, diagnosis, immunology, and pathogenesis of COVID-19 and its infectious agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).


The effects of some ions and drugs on the aconitine-induced fibrillation and flutter of the isolated mammalian Purkinje fibers were studied from the alteration of transmembrane potentials with intracellular microelectrodes. The concentration of potassium, sodium or calcium ions contained in the perfusing Tyrode solution was varied in the stage of the fibrillation and flutter, and EDTA, tetrodotoxin and propranolol (β-blocker) were added the perfusate and theirs effects were observed. From the results, the ionic background of the fibrillation was estimated and the differences in nature between the fibrillation induced by aconitine and by other methods were discussed.


This study aims to investigate the contribution of power relations to the realization of refusal strategies done by Sundanese male and female students. This study employs a descriptive qualitative approach. The data used in the present study were gathered from a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) that was distributed to 4 male and 4 female respondents. The data were analyzed by using Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss-Welts's (1990) classifications of refusal. The findings show that there is no substantial difference in terms of the strategies employed by both genders. It is also found that power relation influences the realization of refusal. This finding suggests that when the respondents refuse someone who is more powerful, they tend to prioritize the emotional feeling of the requester. Meanwhile, when the respondents refuse someone who is more powerless, they tend to prioritize things by using their logic


Abstract The direct band gap of cubic KBiO3 with space group Pn-3 calculated from the standard density functional theory (DFT) within the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof functional is ∼0·54 eV and obviously underestimated in comparison with the experimental value of 2·1 eV. Using the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof hybrid functional, the band gap can be corrected to ∼1·77 eV. Further, first principles calculations on Ag/Sb doped KBiO3 indicate that a flexible band gap can be obtained by adjusting the amount of Ag and Sb doping in KBiO3. In particular, K0·667Ag0·333Bi0·5Sb0·5O3 has a DFT band gap of 0·61 eV and larger dispersion at the bottom of the conduction band with smaller effective electron masses, which would lead to an enhancement in photocatalytic activity in comparison with pure KBiO3.


Magnetorheological (MR) properties were investigated for sphere, plate, and rod-like iron particles in suspension under the presence of magnetic fields to ascertain the effect of particle shape in MR performance. A novel two-step synthesis route for micrometer sized iron particles with different morphologies is described in detail. Small-amplitude dynamic oscillatory and steady shear flow measurements were carried out in the presence of external magnetic fields. Finite element method calculations were performed to explain the effect of particle shape in the magnetic field-induced yield stress. Compared to their sphere and plate counterparts, rod-like particle based MR fluids present a larger storage modulus and yield stress. The effect of particle shape is found to be negligible at large particle content and/or magnetic field strengths.


The process of membrane cleaning technology is discussed.Some factor and theorical models valuating economic efficient for membrane cleaning were invited,description and analysis of the achievement of engineering by the State Environmental Protection Engineer Center for Membrane(SEPEC-M) is summarized in detail.This shows membrane cleaning plays a important part in membrane technology widely utility,at last,the membrane cleaning market is reviewed.


The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Community Issues Survey (CIS) collects information semiannually from direct service providers to monitor economic conditions and identify issues impacting low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in the Fourth District—a region that includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. In March 2023, we surveyed more than 600 service providers who directly serve LMI individuals and communities across our District and received 95 responses (15 percent response rate). The results of this survey, summarized here, provide insights into how organizations and the households they serve are faring as they continue to navigate the impacts of inflation.


Energy-efficient 16-channel operation was successfully achieved by using the EAM-integrated DBR laser diode including an optical waveguide with high thermal efficiency. Clear eye patterns were shown at 28 Gbd PAM-4 in all channels.


Abstract Pure Pt and dilute alloys of Pt-Cu and Pt-Au were fast-neutron irradiated at 4 K, and subsequently isochronally annealed from 7 K to 750 K. The recovery spectra obtained using a resistivity method were compared with spectra of the same samples predoped with fast-neutron-irradiation-induced defects which exist above 400 K. The results could be compared favourably with existing data on prequenched and irradiated Pt. A comparison of these new results with existing data relating to the controversial 120 K and 360 K substages in Pt allowed more positive interpretations regarding the defect processes occurring at these temperatures. 5 SUMMARY


Objective: To study drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria in lower respiratory tract infection in patients in Respiratory Department of Internal Medicine. Method: On October 2011 to October 2013, there were 112 patients with lower respiratory tract infection in the hospital respiratory medicine ward were reviewed for analysis by collected patient's infected blood, urine and sputum for laboratory analysis and investigation of drug resistance. Results: In a total of 112 strains of pathogenic bacteria, gram negative bacteria, the number of strains was 68, accounting for 60.7% of all strains. The analysis of gram positive bacteria had the lowest drug resistance to vancomycin, but the resistance to erythromycin and penicillin was the highest, while gram negative bacteria were the lowest, but the drug resistance was high. Conclusion: In Respiratory Department Of Internal Medicine, patients with lower respiratory tract infection, the pathogenic bacteria which is gram negative bacterial infection is more common, to clarify the distribution of the infection of pathogenic bacteria, and the drug resistance to do a good grasp of the lower respiratory tract infection in patients with lower respiratory tract infection in patients with the role of a thing.


Accurate synthetic models of stellar populations are constructed and used in evolutionary models of stellar populations in forming galaxies. Following their formation, the late-type galaxies are assumed to follow the Schmidt law for star formation, while early-type galaxies are normalized to the present-day fundamental plane relations assumed to mimic the metallicity variations along their luminosity sequence. The stars in disks of galaxies are distributed with the Scalo IMF and in spheroids with the Salpeter IMF. We show that these assumptions reproduce extremely well the recent observations for the evolution of the rate of star formation with redshift. We then compute predictions of these models for the observational data at early epochs for various cosmological parameters Ω, ΩΛ, and H0. We find good match to the metallicity data from the damped Lyα systems and the evolution of the luminosity density out to z≃1. Likewise, our models produce good fits for low values of Ω to the deep number counts of galaxies in all bands where data are available; this is done without assuming existence of extra populations of galaxies at high z. Our models also match the data on the redshift distribution of galaxy counts in B and K bands. They also provide good fits to the observed colors. We compute the predicted mean levels and angular distribution of the cosmic infrared background produced from the early evolution of galaxies. The predicted fluxes and fluctuations are still below the current observational limits, but not by a large factor. Finally, we find that the recent detection of the diffuse extragalactic light in the visible bands requires for our models a high redshift of galaxy formation, zf≥(3-4); otherwise, the produced flux of the extragalactic light at optical bands exceeds the current observational limits.


The 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou takes place within a tense global political context. The outcome of the UK Brexit referendum in June revealed the deep divide between the politics of competitive nationalism and the commitment to international cooperation. It also reflected the depth of public reaction to global economic integration and the absence of response to public anxieties about social well-being and environmental sustainability from the political middle in many countries. China's hosting of the G20 Summit presents an opportunity to turn a corner in global summitry by strengthening global leadership at this critical juncture, while China's ability to do so depends on the willingness of other G20 members to comprehensively address public anxieties. The UN 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement, both reached in 2015, do provide political and policy answers to the public anxieties. The question is the effectiveness of the initiatives governments are taking to implement them, which could be framed together to achieve sustainability for all in the face of serious, demonstrable systemic risks. Many governments may resist this level of ambition and prefer to strike a lower profile as the world shifts its focus from goal setting in 2015 to goal implementation in 2016. Yet even with this less ambitious approach, there are ways that G20 countries can initiate processes that engage stakeholders in envisioning the future and developing alternative approaches and pathways to move their nations toward where they need to be by 2030 in terms of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. As people-centered and planet-centered agendas, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set in the UN 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement have the policy content necessary to provide hope and direction for anxious publics. Similarly, it is hopeful that G20 leaders can develop narratives and define commitments to address the economic insecurity of their people and in the meantime strengthen the G20's role in global governance.


Objective To investigate the alterations of tear film after sutureless large incision manual cataract extraction (SLIMCE). Methods SAw-eight eyes undergone SLIMCE operation were chosen ran-domly. Slit-limp microscope, break- up time (BUT), schirmmer Ⅰ test (Sit), FL were used to observe the alter-ations of tear film at different time points post-opcration. Impression cytology and microphoto-analyses tech-niques were also applied to observe the goblet cells at different time points post-operation. Results Subjective complaint of dry eye within 3 months after the operations were significantly increased compare with pre-opera-tions. The schirmmer Ⅰ test was greatly increased 2 weeks post operation,the mean scores of fluorescence in-creased and the mean break-up time decreased 1 month post operation (P <0.05 ). The impression cytology de-tection showed that the number of conjunetiva goblet cells in surgery area is lower at different time point post-operation respectively (29.62±4.31 ; 22.69±4.71 ; 39.05±4.27; 44.83±3.63; 45.76±3.55)than that in pre-operation (46.35±4.86 ) (P <0.05 ). Conclusion SLIMCE operation has effect on the stability of tear film.

Key words:
SLLMCE;  Cataract;  Tear film;  Impression cytology


Background Although the effect of bisphenol A on various health outcomes has been extensively examined, few studies have investigated its effect on asthma. Objective We hypothesized that exposure to bisphenol A in school-age children was associated with wheezing and asthma. Methods Participants included 127 children aged 7–8 years without a previous asthma diagnosis in an elementary school in Seoul, Korea. Three surveys were conducted, each 2 years apart. Bisphenol A concentration was measured at the baseline survey, and PC20, which is defined as the methacholine concentration that induces a decrease in FEV1 of 20% from baseline, was measured at every survey. Associations between bisphenol A concentration at 7–8 years of age and wheezing, asthma, and PC20 at ages up to 11–12 years were examined using generalized estimating equations, a marginal Cox regression model, and a linear mixed model. Results The log-transformed creatinine-adjusted urinary bisphenol A concentration at 7–8 years was positively associated with wheezing (odds ratio, 2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–5.31; P = .02) and asthma (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.51–3.00; P<.001) at ages up to 11–12 years. Bisphenol A was also negatively associated with PC20 (ß = −2.33; P = .02). When stratified by sex, the association between bisphenol A and asthma remained significant only in girls (hazard ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 2.18–2.76; P<.001). Conclusion Increased urinary bisphenol A concentrations at 7–8 years old were positively associated with wheezing and asthma and negatively associated with PC20 at ages up to 11–12 years.


A robust 40 Gbit/s TDM transmitter/receiver pair based on optical multiplexing/demultiplexing has been implemented for optical transmission evaluation. Back-to-back receiver sensitivities from -29.0 to -26.5 dBm were achieved and Q factors in excess of 18 (or one error in 10/sup 53/ years). With 560 km of dispersion-shifted fibre (DSF), system Q factors in excess of 8 (BER of 6.3/spl times/10/sup -16/) were maintained over a signal wavelength range of 2.5 nm.


There is provided a valve for metering fluid to a valve assembly (11), comprising having a valve opening (15), hollow valve body (14), a in the valve body (14) axially displaceably guided valve needle (17) and a valve needle (17) in the valve closing direction acts on the valve closing spring (18), a valve housing (12) and coaxial thereto the actuator housing (13). In the actuator housing (13) is an actuator module (20) for actuating the valve needle (17) against the tensile force of the valve closing spring (18) and a part of the valve assembly (11) accommodated fluid-tight. To compensate for different variations in length of the valve housing (12) and the actuator housing (13) and actuator module (20) and valve assembly (11) is at least one housing portion (121, 131) of the valve housing (12) and the actuator housing (13) made of a material having a having thermal expansion coefficient of less than 9 ppm / K.


Report describing an experiment to obtain heat-transfer and pressure-drop data for the air side of a liquid-metal to air, shell-and-tube heat exchanger. Testing was conducted in a 500 kilowatt facility using sodium as the shell-side heating fluid. Results regarding the shell-and-tube heat exchanger and finned-tube heat exchanger friction factor are provided.


Summary 1.The agglutinative, precipitative, and complement-fixing activity with meningococcal antigens and with agar was titrated in the serum of horses and rabbits under immunization with meningococci. Type-specific agglutinating activity appeared earlier than nontype-specific activity in both antimeningococcal horse- and rabbit-sera. Although specific activity developed more rapidly in type-I-III monovalent serum than in type-II serum, cross-agglutination or precipitation of heterologous specific polysaccharide was noted earlier in type-II sera. 2.With both horse and rabbit, precipitation and complement-fixation with meningococcal nucleoprotein in the monovalent sera were similar in time of appearance and in titer and were more marked than in the multivalent sera. 3.The immune rabbit-serum fixed complement with the isolated meningococcal polysaccharides; immune horse-serum did not. 4.The standard stock-strains of types I–III and II produced sera quite as specific and equally as high in titer as the more recently isolated type-I-III or -II strains. 5.The precipitation of agar did not parallel the cross-reactions with the heterologous type in these tests. It was comparable in intensity to that in antipneumococcal sera.


http://dx.doi.org/10.13045/acupunct.2013057 185 A Case Study on the Use of Megestrol Acetate and Korean Medical Treatment for the Loss of Appetite and Weight Loss in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS) Ho Hyun Jeong, Sang Mi Lee, Jong Chul Lee, Man Yong Park, Dong Woung Kim, Bong Keun Song and Sung Chul Kim* Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine, Gwang-Ju Oriental Medical Hospital, Wonkwang University Department of Internal Medicine, Gwang-Ju Oriental Medical Hospital, Wonkwang University


The utility model relates to a protocol converter for converting a universal serial port to MODBUS, which belongs to the technical field of an in-situ bus peripheral equipment interface, and mainly comprises an interface circuit which is connected with the universal serial port, an interface circuit which is connected with and supports a MODBUS protocol and a main control microcontroller unit (MCU) with two physical serial ports, and also comprises a nonvolatile memory module, an external crystal oscillator module and a reset circuit module. Protocol processing software which is embedded into the main control MCU adopts a dual data buffering area technology and a halt preventing technology and is mainly used for completing the protocol conversion and for receiving and storing a communication rule downloaded from a superior computer. The protocol converter has the advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, reliable work, multiple functions and strong universality. The protocol converter provides a good solution for the universal serial port to access the MODBUS bus and has a strong practical value in the technical field of the in-situ bus peripheral equipment interface.


AIthough the III-V compounds and their alloys are increasingly important in the everwidening range of electronic and electro-optic devices, fundamental thermodynamic and chemical kinetic data for the chemical transport reactions used for their preparation is sparse, with few exceptions. The modified entrairment method developed by Faktor, Garrett and co-workers cgn be used to study cheinical transport reactions and to obtain such data. The theoTy of the method is outlined and illustrated with examples frorrt the GaAs'HCI, GaAs-HBr, InAs-HCI, GaP-HBr and other IU-V systems.


The 29-year-old woman with anomalous left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary trunk whose case is presented is at the time of writing, the oldest patient on record in whom this condition has been diagnosed during life. The diagnosis was made by aortic cineangiography and confirmed by selective injection of contrast material into the right coronary artery. The collateral pathways between the right and the anomalous left coronary artery were thus defined. Vectorcardiographic and electrocardiographic patterns of anterolateral myocardial infarction with periinfarction block have not been observed in any of the previously reported adults with this type of rare congenital anomaly.The 27 cases of ligation of the aberrant left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary artery reported in the literature have been reviewed and the results of this operation discussed.Diagnosis of the anomalous left coronary artery in adult life is possible if it is considered in patients presenting with a continuous murmur at the base and electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial infarction.


The drosophilid fauna is well documented in eastern Australia but is poorly known in other parts of the continent. This paper summarises what is known of this fauna in the Northern Territory (NT), and includes results from banana trapping in the humid and arid zones. The 42 recorded species include species that breed in fruit, fungi and/or flowers, and a larval predator of scale insects. Drosophilids occur in all three major climate zones (humid, semiarid and arid) but predominate in the humid zone. Banana-attracted species in the humid zone (wet-dry tropics) were common in all sampled habitats: urban, rainforest and open woodland. They included predominantly urban and/or rainforest species. Of the species collected in open woodland, some are likely to be breeding there, whereas others may have been intercepted during movement across the area. The semiarid fauna is a depauperate version of that found in the humid region. Only three species have been recorded in the arid region: an endemic arid specialist, and two cosmopolitan species (D. simulans and D. melanogaster ) in urban Alice Springs. Overall, the NT drosophilid fauna represents a depauperate version of that found in eastern Australia, probably because of climatic factors and natural barriers to range expansion. There is little evidence of regional endemism, with probably only one (and at most three) species endemic to the NT, and no evidence of independent, natural dispersion from nearby Indonesia.


An information exchanging apparatus is provided to permit easier information exchange, and permit easy coordination among a comparatively large number of people. An information exchanging apparatus capable of exchanging information with a plurality of outside apparatuses comprising: a first wireless communicator(2) including a telephone transmitter and telephone receiver for wireless telephone communication with one of the outside apparatuses; a second wireless communicator other than the first wireless communicator; a transmitter arranged to transmit original information to the plurality of outside apparatuses through the second wireless communicator; a processor arranged to process response information from the plurality of outside apparatuses to be received through the second wireless communicator in response to the original information; and a distributor arranged to distribute result information from the processor to the plurality of outside apparatuses through the second wireless communicator.


Bioinformatics is a marriage of computer science with molecular biology. A practical bioinformatician must learn to speak the language of biology to enable fruitful cross-fertilization. However, the complexity of biological knowledge is daunting and the technical vocabulary that describes it is ever-expanding. In order to sift out the core information necessary for formulating a solution, it can be difficult for a non-biologically trained bioinformatician not to be lost in the labyrinths of confounding details. The purpose of this introductory chapter is therefore to provide an overview of the major foundations of modern molecular biology, so that a non-biologically trained bioinformatician can begin to appreciate the various intriguing problems and solutions described in the subsequent chapters of this book.


Damages to natural environment due to anthropogenic effects and its consequence are increasingly becoming outstanding problems in the world. Based on the analyses on the phenomena of ecosystem degradation in the Heihe River Basin, this paper puts forward the basic line of thought and the rebuilding models of the different regions. At the same time, it points out the restoration frames and some new restoration and rehabilitating measurements of the Heihe River Basin.


Radio frequency interference (RFI) represents all unwanted signals detected by radio receivers of a telescope. Unfortunately, the presence of RFI is significantly increasing with the technological development of wireless systems around the world. For this reason, RFI measurement campaigns are periodically necessary to map the RFI scenario around a telescope. The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is an Italian instrument that was designed to operate in a wide frequency band between 300 MHz and 116 GHz. One of the receivers of the telescope is a coaxial cryogenic receiver that covered a portion of the P and L bands (i.e., 305–410 MHz and 1300–1800 MHz) in its original version. Although the receiver was used for years to observe bright sources with sufficient results, its sub-bands can be redesigned considering the most recently evolved RFI scenario. In this paper, the results of a RFI measurement campaign are reported and discussed. On the basis of these results, the new sub-bands of the L-P receiver, together with the design of the new microwave filter selector block of the SRT receiver, are presented. In this way, SRT will cover up to 120 MHz and 460 MHz of −3 dB bandwidth at the P-band (290–410 MHz) and L-band (1320–1780 MHz), respectively. The bands of these filters are selected to reject the main RFI with high levels of amplitude and optimize the estimated antenna temperature and sensitivity of the receiver during the research activities, such as pulsar observations, very long baseline interferometer applications and spectroscopy science.


The subject of this paper is to determine the idealised stress-strain diagram (primal curve) as well as a numerical expression of a straight line and a parabolic curve for glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP). The intention is to create a tool, by which one could define the stress-strain diagram for any given glass fibre based on tensile strength. GFRP is a material that is increasingly being used in structures. Because of that we need to know some of its basic characteristics or of other similar composite materials, so as to be able to calculate these structures. This paper presents the modulus of elasticity determined by testing glass fibre reinforced polymer samples and a proposition of an idealised stress-strain diagram as well as a numerical determination of the modulus.


The dynamics of peer participation, or churn, are an inherent property of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems and critical for design and evaluation. Accurately characterizing churn requires precise and unbiased information about the arrival and departure of peers, which is challenging to acquire. Prior studies show that peer participation is highly dynamic but with conflicting characteristics. Therefore, churn remains poorly understood, despite its significance.In this paper, we identify several common pitfalls that lead to measurement error. We carefully address these difficulties and present a detailed study using three widely-deployed P2P systems: an unstructured file-sharing system (Gnutella), a content-distribution system (BitTorrent), and a Distributed Hash Table (Kad). Our analysis reveals several properties of churn: (i) overall dynamics are surprisingly similar across different systems, (ii) session lengths are not exponential, (iii) a large portion of active peers are highly stable while the remaining peers turn over quickly, and (iv) peer session lengths across consecutive appearances are correlated. In summary, this paper advances our understanding of churn by improving accuracy, comparing different P2P file sharingdistribution systems, and exploring new aspects of churn.


Present study was designed to estimate Genetic para meters for Non return-rate and open days in herds of Holstein in Iran. 72135 records of differe nt parity that collected from 15 large dairy farms during 1981-2006 used for analyzing. Data wer e statistically analyzed by using SAS software and GLM procedure. Features like herd, yea r, season of birth and age of cattle when they give birth were the fixed effects considered i n the model. Genetic parameters were obtained using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and ASREML software. Heritability values are 0.044 for Non return-rate and 0.0737 for open days.


. For the Neumann and Robin boundary conditions the uniqueness theorems for inverse obstacle scattering problems are proved in Lipschitz domains. The role of non- smoothness of the boundary is analyzed.


Abstract: The subject of the article is the issue of statutory concessions applied in public collective transport. The level of their differentiation in relation to bus and rail transport is a serious barrier to the tariff integration of these two means of transport. Hence, in the course of works on the amendment to the act on public collective transport, it seems advisable to attempt to standardize statutory concessions, as well as to include provisions relating to them to the indicated normative act. In the current legal state, the provisions regulating this issue have been included in at least a few acts. The adoption of the assumption assuming their unification should lead to simplification of the currently applicable system, and thus accelerate the process of ticket integration. Keywords: Tariff integration; Ticket; Statutory discount


Nitrogen levels in soils, shoots of Calluna vulgaris, and a few native plants were measured from areas in Tongariro National Park (T.N.P.). The Calluna was measured in winter and in summer. Associations between soil nitrogen level and plant nitrogen are weak. Comparisons between native plant and Calluna nitrogen levels indicate Calluna is high in nitrogen. Abundance of Phytophagous insects, and insect diversities are positively correlated with nitrogen levels in Calluna but not with soil level. INTRODUCTION. Nitrogen plays a vital role in all protein based living systems; nitrogen containing compounds are essential components of diets of most heterotrophic organisms. Invertebrates are no exception; for herbivorous invertebrates nitrogen is a vital governing factor ruling their growth rates, ultimate size, fecundity, productivity and hence population size and success (Brunsting & Heil 1985, McNeil & Southwood 1978). Correlations between insect abundance or diversity and food plant nitrogen levels have been shown by researchers (McNeil & Prestidge 1982, Prestidge & McNeil 1981, van Der Meijden et al. 1984). These studies, though, considers ' host' plant nitrogen levels affecting insects geared for feeding on those plants and not general insect abundance and diversity in a habitat that may contain much nitrogen, but not, of necessity, many ' host' plants! The approach to studing nitrogen influences in a community may be on a micro or macro scale, depending on the resolution required. Ofen a single plant (single bush effect) and the immediate concentration of nutrients and minerals in the adjacent soil influencing its individual nitrogen content, has a very different bearing on the community (structure and operation) than an ecosystem approach where the total nitrogen of an area or a plant species is held responsible for particular communitity structures (ecosystem effect). I believe that in Tongariro National Park where Calluna has invaded extensively areas of native vegetation ( eg. tussock/herb fields around Pukeonake to Chateau region) the ecosystem may still contain much nitrogen but little as host plant sources, and that single bush characteristics play a more important role, and predict a different structure than the ecosystems. The information gained is compared to English (European) heath systems, with special reference to the effects nitrogen levels have on population growth of Lochmaea suturalis, the proposed biocontrol agent and principle defoliator of Calluna.


In this paper, a continuation three phase power approach for distribution networks is presented, in which voltage regulation of transformers and distribution generation can be considered. Using the developed tool, the impact of the voltage regulation of transformers and distributed generation on the voltage stability of distribution systems is investigated. Numerical examples on the IEEE 37-bus radial distribution network are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach


This chapter relates how yellow fever continued to cause casualties during the US occupation after the Spanish-American War ended and how Major William Crawford Gorgas created a successful strategy to eliminate the disease from Cuba by attacking mosquito breeding sites. It goes on to tell the story of the plan to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, proposed earlier that century, with the Panama Railroad transporting military goods and soldiers, plus those seeking gold in California. A canal was proposed, but the first, French effort to build it cost hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of workers' lives lost before capitulating to yellow fever in 1889. Subsequent US construction, begun in 1904, was soon threatened by disease. When Colonel Gorgas brought his yellow fever control plan to Panama he faced criticism from his superiors but gained the support of President Theodore Roosevelt. The chapter relates how his plan, though seemingly improbable, worked, defeating yellow fever, saving countless lives, and allowing the completion of the canal.


The goal of endodontic treatment is to eliminate pathogenic bacteria of
infected root canals. The most frequent bacteria can cause infected root canals is
Enterococcus faecalis which is resistant to some medicaments and root canal irrigation.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new antimicrobial method that involves the use of a
photosensitizer and a light source for root canal disinfection. Irradiation time of PDT can
affect produce of singlet oxygen and ROS to destruct bacteria Purpose : To analyze
difference irradiation time of photodynamic therapy against the number of Enterococcus
faecalis bacteria Method : This study used a culture of Enterococcus faecalis bacteria
which was divided into 7 groups in eppendorf tubes. Group I as the control group, group
II, III, IV, V and VI was given photosensitizer Toluidine Blue O (TBO) and
photoactivated with irradiation time for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 seconds. After
incubation the number of bacteria was calculated. Result : There was significance
difference (p < 0,05) among the various groups. Irradiation time of PDT for a longer time
(Group VI and VII) showed the significantly higher antibacterial effects of Enterococcus
faecalis bacteria. Conclusion : The more irradiation time of PDT results the less number
of Enterococcus faecalis bacteria. A 50-second irradiation time is the most effective time
to against the entire number of this bacteria.


Several β-dicarbonyl compounds were electrochemically oxidized in a methanolic solution in the presence of sodium cyanide and sodium methoxide to yield the corresponding α-cyano-β-dicarbonyl compounds in moderate to good yields. Presumably, a two-electron transfer transforms the anion derived from the β-dicarbonyl compounds into a cation, which then reacts with a cyanide ion to afford the cyanation products.


We present a study of dual-wavelength optically pumped midinfrared semiconductor lasers, in which the effects of several design parameters are analyzed. We observe that when the short wavelength waveguide mode overlaps the long wavelength gain region, photon re-absorption occurs, favoring long wavelength emission. We demonstrate high power output from a laser emitting at two wavelength bands.


Dear Prof. zur Hausen, We read with surprise the letter by Michos and Michels in response to the letter by Cook et al. Michos and Michels state that: ''[. . .] 4 articles by the same authors [i.e., us][. . .] address the same research question using the same data''. According to them, this is the reason why they overlooked that 2 articles were correlated and erroneously included them in the same meta-analysis. Thus, the statement by Michos and Michels accuses us to have made multiple publications, an act on the brink of scientific fraud. But in fact, the cited articles do not use the same dataset, nor do they address the same research hypothesis, and nor are they written by the same authors. The first article was published in 1996 and included 232 testicular cancer cases. The second article is an update of the first one and includes 628 cases. The fact that the data from the former study are included in the latter is clearly written in the introduction of the 2002 article: ''The study is an enlargement of a previous investigation (Akre et al., 1996), and the aim was to increase statistical power, in order to enable separate studies of testicular seminomas and non-seminomas''. The aims of the third and fourth articles, which were authored by 2 independent research groups, were not to study the association between birth weight and testicular cancer, but to investigate whether the association between adult height and testicular cancer could be attributed to fetal growth or postnatal catch-up growth. In addition, their data overlap only to a limited extent. We conclude that the scientific mistake made originally by Michos et al. was marginal, but they erred much more seriously in the false accusation they made to explain it.


Due to the complexity of wireless communication networks and the open nature of wireless links, complex upper layer network encryption cryptographic algorithms are also difficult to implement effectively in complex mobile wireless communication and interconnection networks, and traditional cryptography-based security policies are gradually not well able to meet the security management needs of today's mobile Internet information era. In this paper, the physical characteristics of the channel in the wireless channel are extracted and used to generate keys, and then, the keys are negotiated so that the keys generated by the two communicating parties are identical. Then, the generated keys are used by the communicating parties to design the interleaving matrix for encryption of the message. The false bit rate of the system is investigated for the case of an interleaving matrix generated using different quantization methods of keys. The problem of characterizing the encoding and encryption techniques for interleaving keys for the physical layer sensing antenna arrays of wireless channels is studied in depth. The physical layer wireless channel interleaving technique and the wireless channel physical layer encryption technique are organically combined, and a joint interleaving encryption method based on the physical layer key of the wireless channel is designed and used to encrypt and randomize the physical layer data information of the OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system, which improves the security and reliability of the wireless channel information transmission. The effect of physical layer keys under different physical layer quantization methods on the performance of the wireless channel interleaving encryption algorithm is studied, and the quantization methods of pure amplitude, pure phase, and joint amplitude phase are investigated for the characteristics of wireless physical layer channels.


Data assimilation is the process of finding the best estimate of the current state of a system. In numerical weather prediction (NWP) this system is the atmosphere and oceans. In most operational weather forecasting centres variational data assimilation is performed using a different set of variables from the actual model variables. The transformation of variables simplifies the problem by assuming that the errors in the transformed variables are uncorrelated. The validity of this hypothesis is key to the accuracy of the data assimilation. Recently a potential vorticity (PV) based set of variables has been proposed. These new variables are thought to exploit more accurately important dynamical properties of the atmosphere. Here we present new results, obtained with a simplified 1-D shallow water model, comparing the PV-based variables to the vorticity-based variables currently used at operational weather forecasting centres, including the Met Office. The validity of the fundamental assumption that the errors in the transformed variables are uncorrelated is tested in a variety of dynamical regimes. The results show that the errors in the PV-based variables are uncorrelated across all regimes tested. This is not the case, however, for the vorticity-based variables. This suggests that the PV-based control variables imply a better representation of the background errors than the current vorticitybased variables. Finally, initial data assimilation results are presented. Experiments are run in high and low Burger regimes and analysis increments compared when the vorticity and PV-based control variable transforms used in the assimilation.


We present a method of determining the background doping type in semiconductors using capacitance–voltage measurements on overetched double mesa p–i–n or n–i–p structures. Unlike Hall measurements, this method is not limited by the conductivity of the substrate. By measuring the capacitance of devices with varying top and bottom mesa sizes, we were able to conclusively determine which mesa contained the p–n junction, revealing the polarity of the intrinsic layer. This method, when demonstrated on GaSb p–i–n and n–i–p structures, concluded that the material is residually doped p-type, which is well established by other sources. The method was then applied to a 10 monolayer InAs/10 monolayer AlSb superlattice, for which the doping polarity was unknown, and indicated that this material is also p-type.


The improvement of consuming harmonious is conditional in society economic market.The market level of perfect and equilibrium is higher,the level of consumption harmonious is also higher.The ownership of produced means,which is the basis of the produced relationship and consumption relationship,has decisive effect on consumption and consumption relationship.Perfect laws and statutes are environment system that will promote the consumption harmonious.


This study is a case study on the alternative design of a grand bridge in metropolitan area. The introduction of optimum design concept was attempted in selecting foundation installation method and analysing the stability of pile foundation. In the pile foundation design, various methods, such as conventional static analysis, wave equitation analysis and test piling were carried out. By taking various parameters into consideration, a most cost effective pile design was made. Finally vertical and lateral behavior of pile and driveability were confirmed from the test piling.


This study aims to find out how much influence the level of education, age at first marriage and income on the fertility of female workers in Mojoduwur Village, Mojowarno District, Jombang Regency. This research is a quantitative study using cross-section data. The data used in this study are primary data with respondents as many as 77 female workers who are married or have been married and already have children. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the level of education and age at first marriage had a negative influence on fertility while income had a positive influence on fertility in Mojoduwur Village, Mojowarno District, Jombang Regency. From the results of the regression that has been done, it can be obtained the R-square value (R2) of 0.366 this shows that the percentage of education level, age of first marriage and income is 36.6% while the remaining 63.4% is explained by other variables outside the study .


The main task of this contribution was to explain the ways of the spread of noise pollution from the traffic. Descriptive simulation explains justification of each road construction by a simple way. It is confirmed that the projects which had contained a noise study simulation were easier to enforce for public than those without it. Also vegetation growth simulation in different time horizons is already slowly becoming an important part of the urban transport projects, due to the increasing of environmental pressure. Practice shows that the design value of these simulations is increasing because of the rising of the global traffic load.


The genetic relationship of the five species of scale insects Ceroplastes japonicus Green,Ceroplastes ceriferus Fabricus,Eulecanium gigantea Shinji,Didesmococcus koreanus Borchsenius and Phenacoccus fraxinus Tang was studied by examining the genomic DNA and the polymorphisms PCR using the microsatellite primers.The results showed that their genetic relationship revealed by interspecific clustering analysis confirmed their status in the two classification systems established by Tang and Hodgson respectively and at the same time,the result also supplied some new molecular evidence for supporting Hodgson's system.The clustering analysis intraspecific individuals showed all individuals were assembled together in the species of Ceroplastes japonicus and Phenacoccus fraxinus respectively.No obvious mix-clustering was put up between the species of Ceroplastes ceriferus and Ceroplastes japonicus from the same area and the same host.The individuals of Didesmococcus koreanus and Eulecanium gigantea from the same area exists mix-clustering markedly.The analytical results from Nei and Shannon genetic polymorphism index showed that the genetic trend of the five scale insect species from two indices was identical basically,namely genetic diversity degree from large to small in turn Ceroplastes japonicus,Didesmococcus koreanus,Ceroplastes ceriferus,Eulecanium gigantean and Phenacoccus fraxinus.The interspecific genetic diversity degree was lower than that of intraspecies.


Abstract: L‐Glutamate (10 μM–1 mM) released endogenous adenosine from rat cortical synaptosomes. Studies with excitatory amino acid antagonists, (+)‐5‐methyl‐16, 11,dihydro‐5H‐dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten‐5, 10‐imine maleate (MK‐801), 6,7‐dinitroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione (DNQX), Mg2+, and agonists N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA), kainate, and quisqualate, indicated that this release was not receptor mediated. D,L‐2‐Amino‐4‐phosphonobutanoic acid (APB) also did not affect glutamate‐evoked adenosine release. Inhibition of glutamate uptake by dihydrokainate or replacement of extracellular Na+ blocked glutamate‐evoked adenosine release. D‐aspartate, which is a substrate for the glutamate transporter but is not metabolized, also released adenosine, suggesting that release was due to amino acid transport and not to its subsequent metabolism. D‐Glutamate, a relatively poor substrate for the transporter, was correspondingly less potent than L‐glutamate at releasing adenosine. Glutamate‐evoked adenosine release was not Ca2+ dependent or tetrodotoxin sensitive and did not appear to occur on the bidirectional nucleoside transporter. Inhibition of ecto‐5′‐nucleotidase virtually abolished glutamate‐evoked adenosine release, indicating that adenosine was derived from extracellular metabolism of released nucleotide(s). However, L‐glutamate did not release ATP and did not appear to release cyclic AMP. Therefore, transport of glutamate into presynaptic terminals releases some other nucleotide which is converted extracellularly to adenosine. This adenosine could act at P1‐purinoceptors to modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission.


As a country, the Netherlands—it could be argued—is one of the most well connected in Europe. Their fast and frequently running rail network, consisting of almost 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) of track, ensures that no matter where someone lives or works, they are in close proximity to a station. It therefore comes as no surprise that the nationwide system serves over 1.2 million passengers each and every day, half of whom bookend their train travel with bicycle rides—chiefly because of the practicality evidenced by Utrecht's massive investment in bike-parking facilities, which nevertheless some suggest will fail to provide enough capacity, even when complete.


Review of Nicola Migliorino, (Re) Constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-Cultural Diversity and the State in the Aftermath of a Refugee Crisis. New York: Berghahn Books, 2008.


Large scale deployment of renewable resources introduces significant complexity in performing load balancing and ACE/frequency regulation. Wind and solar energy are intermittent which may diminish rapidly while system load is increasing. This operating condition places an additional burden on conventional resources that are on-line and available for load balancing and ACE/frequency regulation to meet the challenges surrounding the aspects of uncertainty and variability that come with having variable generation in the system. There are two major attributes of intermittent generation that notably impact system operations — variability (generation changes according to the availability of the primary fuel, i.e. — wind or sunlight in this case resulting in swings of the plant output) and uncertainty (magnitude and time of the generation output is unpredictable). While variability is more of a function of regulation, uncertainty can be aligned more to the need for ramping requirements. The objective of this paper will be to understand the feasibility of ramp rate limits within the present CAISO's conventional generation fleet to meet renewable requirements in 2020 and determine the additional ramp capability required with the integration of renewables to CAISO footprint. Moreover, statistical analysis will be done to characterize the ramp effects and determine the worst hourly changes with renewable energy penetration.


The HIRDLS instrument is an infrared limb-scanning radiometer designed to sound the upper troposphere, stratosphere, and the mesosphere as part of the Chemistry Platform for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Program. The instrument performs limb scans at multiple azimuth angles, measuring CO2, O3, H2O, aerosols and other significant greenhouse trace gases in 21 channels ranging from 6.12 to 17.76 micrometer. The Detector Subsystem (DSS) focal plane assembly (FPA) contains the 21 detectors for the science measurements and a set of alignment detectors to be used for instrument integration. All detector elements are Photoconductive HgCdTe operating in the 60 - 65 K range and each channel has a separate cold filter. The FPA is mounted in a customized vacuum dewar which couples to a Stirling-cycle mechanical cryocooler via a sapphire rod. Lockheed Martin has designed, fabricated and tested detectors covering the entire HIRDLS spectral range. All the n-type HgCdTe starting material was grown at Lockheed Martin. The vacuum dewar and the preamplifier designs were done at Lockheed Martin. In this paper, we will discuss the key features of and design drivers for the DSS design and the design validation activities. The details of the DSS to instrument interfaces will be discussed. We will consider the solutions found for design and packaging issues with the DSS, and the design trades made at the subsystem level to optimize the instrument performance and increase the ease of assembly and instrument integration.


An attempt has been made to prepare γ -alumina containing nickel in framework by a solution process, and to ap-ply the nickel-containing alumina for fi ller in polymer electrolyte based on poly(ethylene oxide). The obtained polymer electrolyte exhibits higher conductivity than those without fi ller and with alumina fi ller in particular at temperature lower than 45℃ , while the mobility of lithium ion appears to be similar regardless of the existence of nickel in alumina fi ller. This attempt has exhibited that the ceramic particles containing transition metal species can be used as eff ective fi llers for the improvement of transport properties of polymer electrolytes.


1. Electrical properties of the membrane of photoreceptor cells in the lateral ocelli of barnacles, Balanus amphitrite and B. eburneus were investigated by intracellular recording, polarization and voltage‐clamp techniques.


GOING INTO SPACE in search of answers to medical and other questions is, of course, not without risk. In the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," dogged by the deranged computer "HAL," astronauts had little time to worry about derangements in body physiology. In reality, however, long-term space travel sequelae such as bone demineralization and muscle atrophy merit the intense study being given to them by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Four major challenges impose limits on the duration of human space journeys: physiological deconditioning, ionizing radiation, psychological difficulties, and life support. Deconditioning is a serious concern, says a senior NASA astronaut, William Thornton, MD, adding: "If you go into space for 6 months without exercise, you may expect to be carried off when you get back." Thornton points up a basic fact: "The heart is nothing more than muscle. It will atrophy without the demands made on it


A novel class of biocompatible, pH responsive bio-polymers exhibiting FRET in low pH environments is reported. Conformational and spectral properties of this novel class of fluorescent reporter molecules are discussed, as well as potential applications.


Research and design of automated pharmacy were introduced.It has been pointed out that the system should be provided with three main functions namely medicine supply,medicine storing,medicine fetching and the realization scheme of each function.On the basis of the design of the systematic mechanical structure,the corresponding controlling systems of automated medicine supplying device,automated medicine fetching device,automated medicine sorting device were designed,and the study on the controlling method of each executing mechanism was carried out.Finally a detailed analysis was carried through on the function of the system software.The database of systematic medicines was constructed,and the software design of four modules of database management,automated medicine supply,automated medicine fetching,and automated medicine sorting was achieved by applying the multithread technology.Presently the development of system had already been accomplished,and this system was applied to the outpatient service pharmacy of hospitals with good operational effects.


In this article, the linear and weakly nonlinear instability in a rotating anisotropic magnetic fluid layer when the layer is internally heated and the solid matrix and fluid are not in local thermal equilibrium is studied. The Darcy model for the permeable medium and Coriolis force term for rotation are considered in the momentum equation. For the linear stability analysis, normal mode has been performed while weakly nonlinear analysis is carried out with a truncated Fourier series. The Runge–Kutta–Gill numerical method is used for solving the finite-amplitude equation to study the transient behavior of the Nusselt number at the lower boundary. Effects of parameters on the Rayleigh number have been studied in gravitational as well as microgravity conditions. It was found that Taylor number Ta and thermal anisotropy parameter ηf had a stabilizing effect on the convection. Heat transport is decreased with the increase in Taylor number Ta and thermal anisotropy parameter ηf. When internal heat is less (ξ = 1.5), the heat transport rate is high, and when internal heat is sufficient (ξ = 0.3), the heat transfer rate is low.In this article, the linear and weakly nonlinear instability in a rotating anisotropic magnetic fluid layer when the layer is internally heated and the solid matrix and fluid are not in local thermal equilibrium is studied. The Darcy model for the permeable medium and Coriolis force term for rotation are considered in the momentum equation. For the linear stability analysis, normal mode has been performed while weakly nonlinear analysis is carried out with a truncated Fourier series. The Runge–Kutta–Gill numerical method is used for solving the finite-amplitude equation to study the transient behavior of the Nusselt number at the lower boundary. Effects of parameters on the Rayleigh number have been studied in gravitational as well as microgravity conditions. It was found that Taylor number Ta and thermal anisotropy parameter ηf had a stabilizing effect on the convection. Heat transport is decreased with the increase in Taylor number Ta and thermal anisotropy parameter ηf. When internal heat is less (ξ = ...


Slobodan Šupić 1 Tiana Milović 2 Miloš Šešlija 3 Suzana Draganić 4 UDK: 666.972.1 DOI: 10.14415/konferencijaGFS2018.028 Summary: The most important environmental concerns in the use of concrete in civil engineering practise are the emission of CO2 during the manufacturing of cement and the consumption of non-renewable resources as raw materials. If an alternative material can substitute at least a portion of the cement, but that does not contribute additional emission to the atmosphere and/or conserves natural resources, and possesses cementitious (binder) properties, then the environmental impact of the concrete industry can be reduced. Based on this premise, SCMs are increasingly being investigated and used worldwide in the production of cement-based composites. This paper provides a review of different alternative materials, available in Serbia, that can be, under certain conditions, used as a binder and replace a part of cement in the concrete industry.


The information technology field has been increasingly plagued by threats to the security of information systems, networks, and communication media. The solutions to these problems have primarily focused on the techniques to more closely safeguard networks (i.e. firewalls) with similar efforts being put into assessing the vulnerabilities of the hardware and software aspects of the systems. With the exception of discussions into more creative password selection, discussion pertaining to the role of the user, can play in reducing the risk of human error and thus promoting system security has been extremely limited. This lecture will present an overview of information security issues impacted by human interaction that may or may not play a role in promoting system security. Understanding that information systems are in fact composed of hardware and software components which must be addressed using traditional information security protocol, this lecture will provide an understanding of the possible risk that the human/user poses to an information system. Once the risks or factors associated with the human in the security of the system are identified, the next question is do the factors matter? The objective of this lecture is to present an intellectual discussion of human factors issues and their impact on information security. This is an important discussion topic that the information technology field can not afford to ignore.


The Euclid Creek Tunnel is largely a precast concrete, segmentally lined, single shield driven CSO tunnel. The launch chambers, consisting of a tail and enlarged starter tunnel, were excavated by a roadheader in advance of the TBM arrival. After the TBM drive was completed, these launch chambers required a cast in place final liner that was originally designed with a single layer of circumferential and longitudinal reinforcing bars. This paper reviews the program to substitute a wholly plastic fiber-reinforced final lining in lieu of the reinforcing steel, including design, testing, construction and challenges of implementation.


Electroencephalographic imaging is the estimation of 3D neuronal current sources on the cortical surface from the measured electroencephalogram (EEG). It is a highly under- determined inverse problem as there are many 'feasible' images which are consistent with the scalp potentials. Previous approaches to this problem have primarily concentrated on the weighted minimum norm inverse methods. While these methods ensure a unique solution, they often produce overly smoothed solutions and are sensitive to noise in the data. Our group previously proposed a maximum entropy approach to obtain better solutions to this problem. We incorporated a noise rejection term into the maximum entropy method, thereby making it analogous to a Bayesian maximum a posteriori formulation. Additional information from other modalities, like functional magnetic resonance imaging, could be incorporated into this method in the form of a prior bias function to improve solutions. While this approach gave better results than the minimum norm methods, the solutions were still somewhat smooth and blurry. In this work, we developed and tested an iterative version of the maximum entropy method to obtain more localized solutions. This method starts with a distributed estimate computed by the maximum entropy method. It then recursively performs maximum entropy estimations producing a progressively more focal current distribution. We present the method and test its validity through computer simulations for both noiseless and noisy data. The results suggest that the proposed method is a powerful algorithm with good utility for EEG imaging.


Chimney technology has wrongly become a symbol of environmental damage. Going beyond this facile symbolism, we find that, using Heidegger's notions in his work "The Question Concerning Technology," the essence of chimney technology is rather revealed to ameliorate the negative effects of industrial pollution on the environment. Comparing then the essence of chimney technology to the essence of certain modern technologies commonly labeled "green," i.e. windturbine and hydrodam, we see that chimney technology is, in essence, more amenable to the environment because it is subject to nature's elements and forces, and does not challenge them to be revealed for us as standing-reserve.


This paper explores some salient issues concerning immigrant health. Ethnic health disparities are inherently linked to immigration since ethnic identities often are traced to the country of origin of one's immigrant ancestors. Two of the central questions that have dominated the medical and social science literature on immigrant health are the central focus of this paper. These issues involve the magnitude and mechanisms shaping health selectivity and the determinants of health trajectories following immigration. As part of this paper, we also developed a theoretical model that attempts to explain the diversity in health selection among immigrants.


Using a corpus-based multi-dimensional (MD) analysis, this paper investigates the functional linguistic variation in corporate blog (CB), and aims at identifying text types that are distinguished linguistically. Data for a self-built corpus are drawn from 41 out of 50 top ranking corporate blogs. In the multidimensional analysis, 32 linguistic features were tagged, counted and normalized. Then, the normalized frequencies of these features were used in a factor analysis, which identified six factors: (1) personal involvement narration, (2) informational production, (3) interactive persuasion, (4) abstract/impersonal style, (5) evaluative stance, (6) general information vs. technical information. The six factors were then used as predictors in a cluster analysis, through which six clusters were identified, including (1) descriptive discourse, (2) technical conversation, (3) interactive storytelling, (4) evaluative information report, (5) persuasion and (6) interactive instruction. Findings also indicate that all these different clusters (text types) identified have different communicative purposes, but share a common motive for success in business world: using corporate blogs as interactive public relations tools to gain a targeted audience and acquire long-term readers and customers to achieve their organizational goals in business world.


There is intense international interest in the development of spiny lobster aquaculture and of particular interest is the development of artificial diets for spiny lobsters. However, there is little information on the feeding behaviour of spiny lobsters and their ability to handle and consume artificial feeds of different dimensions. Observations of the feeding behaviour of juveniles of the spiny lobster Jasus edwardsii in culture found that they waste significant amounts of food through externally fragmenting the feed pellets before sweeping particles into the mouth. The consumption efficiency of different sized pellets was found to change markedly with increasing size of the juvenile lobsters. Up to 50% of artificial food was wasted by the inefficient feeding behaviour of the lobsters. However, consumption of the feed could be reduced by as much as 19% by altering pellet size. These results indicate that the size of feed pellets, and their consistency and fragmentation characteristics, will be critical aspects of cost-effective feeding of cultured spiny lobsters.


In August 2019, the national initiative Women in Engineering and Sciences (MIC) was launched with the objective of raising awareness and monitoring gender equity, equal opportunities and women empowerment. This project, led by a group of professors, hopes to accompany, support and join efforts, for a stronger impact within our academic community. This study presents the work of the linking committee towards the empowerment of women engineers through linked experiences. The methodology of this work includes: 1) integrating a multi-campus team to work in the engagement and linking committee, 2) identifying internal efforts towards the empowerment of women, as well as external efforts in companies, organizations and other universities through research and interviews, and mapping the networking ecosystem 3) analyze the information to identify key partners for collaborative projects, and 4) create a community by implementing Lean In circles (leanin.org) and replicate the project at other campuses. The work done and the reflections hope to be a roadmap and source of inspiration to other engineering institutions working towards a culture of gender equality and women empowerment.


The response of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) juveniles to crude protein (CP) levels in practical diets was evaluated in an experiment with 120 juveniles and 80 days of feeding. The diets containing porcine meat meal, soybean meal, corn and wheat meal, with 22, 30, 36, or 44% CP. Ten juveniles (153.0±1.5 g) per tank (850L) were fed twice daily with pelleted feed (3% of biomass). Linear effect of CP on final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, carcass and fillet yield, coefficient of protein retention, protein efficiency rate, deposition of fat and protein, and hematocrit were observed. It was also observed effect on triglycerides and total cholesterol in blood, indicating that dietary protein was being used as energy source. Feed conversion ratio and fat content in whole fish showed quadratic effect, with maximum points at 40.6 and 37.1% CP, respectively. The best CP content for grass carp in growing phase was 44%, and the variation of protein content in diet changed the metabolism of grass carp juveniles, reflected in blood and carcass parameters.


The use of numerical prediction models are essential to modern society. Data assimilation is a technique that aims to increase the prediction accuracy by combining a model output with observational data, resulting in a state that is closer to the true state of the problem. Depending on the size of the model output and the number of observations to assimilate, the combination of these two sources of information may require intensive computing and become a challenge, even for supercomputers used in this type of application. Thus neural networks have been proposed as an alternative to perform high quality data assimilation at lower computational cost. This paper investigates the use of NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) in data assimilation. NEAT is capable of adapting the connections weights and the neural network topology using principles of evolutionary computation in a search for a minimum topology and best performance. In this work, two different models were used for testing: the Lorenz Attractor and Shallow Water model. The experiments compared the results obtained with NEAT and backpropagation neural networks, using as benchmark the Best Linear Unbiased Estimator (BLUE). In the experiment with the Lorenz Attractor, NEAT was able to emulate the data assimilation task with smaller error at lower computational cost. For the Shallow Water model, tested using different grid sizes, it was observed that the errors obtained with both neural networks were small, but NEAT showed high error values. On the other hand, NEAT always gets a topology with significantly fewer operations, and the computational cost difference increases with the grid size.


The UNESCO experiments on communication through television in the field of adult education conducted in France, Japan and India during the current and the previous decades demonstrated for the first time the potential of television for thr promotion of culture and education among the general masses. They also indicated that the tele-clubs, organized for group viewing in both urban and rural communities, could be an effective and adequate means for the purpose of communicating messages of social education. The results obtained from the special series of telecasts underscored the fact that the appeal of television was not restricted within national boundaries. The indirect co-operation of France, Japan and India-countries with different cultural backgrounds-toward the growth of a common institution like the tele-club was not merely a significant step in the effort to bring into reality an international exchange of ideas and experiments in the field of educational television; it also reinforced the concept of international communication through a global television system.


Truss structure is widely used in civil engineering applications for its advantages of easy transportation, convenient assembly and uniform loading. However, it is difficult to achieve real-time health monitoring because of connection diversity and complexity of truss structures. As a novel structural health monitoring technique, electro-mechanical impedance method could monitor the health state of one structure by measuring the spectra of impedance or admittance of the piezoelectric elements, which are bonded on the surface of this structure. This approach has the advantages of nonparametric model analysis, easy sensor installation and high local sensitivity, especially in sensitive frequency range. The damage information, which is tested and recorded by using electromechanical impedance method, could convert into intuitive results through neural network because of its good ability for nonlinear mapping. In this paper, a three-layer assembly truss structure was chosen as experimental object, piezoelectric elements were bonded on structure joints to measure structural impedance spectra, the change of these structural impedance spectra was tested and recorded under high frequency excitations when different truss bars were loosed, and then, one back-propagation (BP) neural network was built and trained by this damage information, which were treated as input samples. These results show that the sensitivity of impedance method is not the same to different frequency range and trained neural network could quickly identify loosen truss bars.


The possibility of using broken glass as an substitute for coarse aggregate in concrete serve as one promising solution to the escalating solid waste problem. Industrial wastes are the foundation of many concrete admixtures. The use of concrete for the disposal of solid waste has concentrated mostly on aggregates since they provide the only real potential for using large quantities of waste materials This study has been conducted through basic experimental research in order to analyze the effect of recycled glass bottles as coarse aggregates in terms of its physical and mechanical properties. Test results shows that the recycled broken glass can be used up to 10% weight of coarse aggregates in concrete mixtures and a mix design of 5% weight insertion to the concrete mixture gives a desirable result in terms of compressive strength.


Abstract This article briefly reviews the significance of conflict in urban planning, then investigates the occurrence of urban planning role conflicts in Queensland local authorities. Survey results show that jurisdiction for decision-making is a more likely source of role conflict that are differing organisational goals. Some recommendations follow.


Sub-nanosecond impulse response of high-voltage InGaAs/GaAs HBTs was characterized by using a time-domain sampling oscilloscope with the cable delay and loss corrected in frequency domain. A peak voltage of 10 V with a width of 200 ps was obtained, which was attributed to the delayed onset of the Kirk effect. The Agilent HBT model was modified to account for the stronger-than-expected field and temperature dependence of the Kirk effect. The modified model correctly predicts the impulse response of the HBT and, hence, can be used in the design and simulation of impulse-based ultra-wideband circuits.


Most tissue characterization methods use RF data originating from backscattering processes in the insonified tissue. Characterization of the tissue of a thin layer (e.g., an artery wall) poses problems because of the small amount of data available. To avoid problems that arise from the use of short (broadband) pulses the method proposed uses long and almost monochromatic pulses. The frequency dependence of the acoustic parameters can be assessed by using different central emission frequencies. A deconvolution algorithm is used to separate overlapping reflections from closely spaced tissue interfaces. Wiener inverse filtering together with correlation of deconvolved signals results in an accurate determination of the position of specular reflectors. The accuracy of the peak values detected in the envelope signal is not sufficient for quantitative determination of tissue parameters, but still much better than results from the analysis of short waveforms.


The 1H (270, 400 MHz) and 13C (22.5, 67.5 MHz) NMR spectra of a series of 2,3‐3,5‐ and 3,6‐dimethyl‐3‐(m‐hydroxy‐m‐methoxy‐phenyl)piperidines of proven or potential opioid ligand activity are reported. The data were analysed in terms of configuration and preferred conformation, and some key deductions were confirmed by NOED and 2D COSY experiments. In the 3,5‐dimethyl derivatives, isomers with preferred axial or equatorial 3‐aryl substituents were identified.


The asymmetric summation of kinetically distinct glutamate inputs across the dendrites of retinal "starburst" amacrine cells is proposed to underlie their direction selective properties, but experimentally verifying input kinetics has been a challenge. Here, we used two-photon glutamate sensor (iGluSnFR) imaging to directly measure the input kinetics across individual starburst dendrites. We found that signals measured from proximal dendrites were relatively sustained compared to those measured from distal dendrites. These differences were observed across a range of stimulus sizes and appeared to be shaped mainly by excitatory rather than inhibitory network interactions. Temporal deconvolution analysis suggests that the steady-state vesicle release rate was ∼ 3 times larger at proximal sites compared to distal sites. Using a connectomics-inspired computational model, we demonstrate that input kinetics play an important role in shaping direction selectivity at low stimulus velocities. Together, these results provide direct support for the 'space-time wiring' model for direction selectivity.


A decrease in operating and exploration costs prompted a rise in drilling, leasing, and geophysical activity in the south Louisiana onshore region in 1984. However, because of a persistent gas surplus and uncertain oil prices, operators adopted a conservative strategy for reserve replacement that included an increase in development drilling, an acceleration of enhanced oil recovery projects, and a concentration of extension and exploration drilling in the established Miocene and Oligocene trends. Operators drilled 1,447 wells in 1984, an increase of 15% over the 1,230 wells drilled in 1983. Total footage also rose from 13,453,752 to 15,324,733 ft. Oil companies drilled 245 wildcats, 302 other exploratory tests, and 900 development wells (development drilling increasing 18%). Seven newfield discovery wells were completed in 1984, of which 4 produced from Wilcox (Eocene) sandstones, 2 were perforated in the Oligocene, and 1 well was completed in the Austin Chalk (Cretaceous). There were 36 significant extensions, of which 33 found production in rocks of Miocene and Oligocene age. Leasing activity increased 10% to 885,903 ac. This level is far below that of 1980, 1981, and 1982 when more than 1 million ac were leased each year. Leasing activity was heaviest in Lafourche, St. Tammany, Vermilion, Calcasieu, and Beauregard Parishes. Geophysical activity also had a slight increase of 4% in 1984. A total of 1,259 crew-weeks of seismic shooting was recorded as compared to 1,212 crew-weeks in 1983. Cameron, St. Martin, Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, and Vermilion Parishes recorded the highest levels of geophysical activity.


We consider the dynamical behavior of the (nonlinear) amplitude fluctuations in the transmitted radiation of the optical bistability in the transition region. A Fokker-Planck model with nonlinear diffusion coefficient (multiplicative Gaussian white noise) is used to describe the system in the "good-quality" cavity limit. Choosing a parameter set corresponding to a numerically small but tractable tunneling rate between the stable and metastable states we study, as functions of the external coherent field and system size, the spectrum and the response to a small additional injected coherent signal. The numerical calculations are facilitated by the construction of complex-valued continued-fraction representations for the spectrum of amplitude fluctuations and for the response function. This representation allows us to discuss the memory effects caused by deviations from a simple Gaussian-Markov behavior around the transition region. In addition, such a representation enables the construction of "a posteriori" error bounds on the power spectrum.


Williams (6, 7) was the first to observe that epidermal strips taken from the area of leaf enclosed by an unswept porometer cup show much wider stomatal pores than elsewhere. Heath's experiments with Pelargonium and wheat (4, 5) showed that sweeping the porometer cup with dry or humid air caused considerable closure of the stomata as compared with the areas in still air. In a repetition of Knight's experiment on the changes in transpiration rate in relation to the leaf water content, Gregory et al (1) showed that the higher transpiration rate following a period of still air was due to wider stomatal pores and not to a higher leaf water content as suggested by Knight. They attributed the observed wide opening of stomata, possibly, to a reduction in the carbon dioxide concentration of the enclosed still air as a result of photosynthesis. In a previous investigation (2), the author has shown that when the air stream circulating through a porometer cup attached to an illuminated cherry laurel leaf was stopped for given periods, the stomata of the enclosed leaf portion opened gradually and considerably with time. When ventilation of the porometer was renewed, the stomata showed a rapid closing movement. The present investigation is an attempt to add to the information on the response of stomata to moving and still air.


Small RNA molecules regulate eukaryotic gene expression during development and in response to stresses including viral infection. Specialized ribonucleases and RNA-binding proteins govern the production and action of small regulatory RNAs. After initial processing in the nucleus by Drosha, precursor microRNAs (pre-miRNAs) are transported to the cytoplasm, where Dicer cleavage generates mature microRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These double-stranded products assemble with Argonaute proteins such that one strand is preferentially selected and used to guide sequence-specific silencing of complementary target mRNAs by endonucleolytic cleavage or translational repression. Molecular structures of Dicer and Argonaute proteins, and of RNA-bound complexes, have offered exciting insights into the mechanisms operating at the heart of RNA-silencing pathways. 217 A nn u. R ev . B io ph ys . 2 01 3. 42 :2 17 -2 39 . D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w .a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g A cc es s pr ov id ed b y 12 0. 89 .1 14 .1 65 o n 03 /1 5/ 16 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y. BB42CH10-Doudna ARI 6 April 2013 15:48


A 8-12 GHz fully monolithic transformer-coupled cascode power amplifier (PA) with the chip size of 2 × 2 mm2 fabricated using the 0.25-μm SiGe:BiCMOS technology is presented in this paper. Through circuit/layout co-design, the distributed capacitor structure which is connected to the base of cascode transistor is proposed to reduce the base connection inductance for solving circuit instability and improving the gain in the design. Moreover, the PA features a three-stage cascode architecture that includes both high-speed (low breakdown voltage) and high breakdown voltage (low-speed) SiGe transistors. The proposed PA attained a measured small signal gain of 27.6-29.6 dB from 7.7 to 12 GHz with a 5.0 V dc supply. A 28 dBm maximum output power with an 18.5% power-added efficiency at 10 GHz have also been achieved.


The magnetic reconnection process is known to govern the transfer of solar wind plasma into the terrestrial magnetosphere. Numerical simulations were employed to qualitatively analyse the plasma fl ...


This paper deals with the application of predictive vector quantization (PVQ) techniques for coding of speech signals at low bit rates. Memoryless vector quantizer (VQ) has also been studied for comparison, Computer aided design of VQ and PVQ systems has been done using the algorithms presented in the literature. The results obtained using computer simulation for coding of sampled speech have been presented and discussed. A comparison between various PVQ design algorithms has been carried out. It is concluded that PVQ system results in significant improvement in signal to quantization noise ratio over memoryless VQ. Steepest Descent Algorithm for PVQ design is easier to use in practice and yields consistent results.


This report provides a fact sheet that tracks selected economic and social development indicators for Latin American and Caribbean countries. It also classifies country economies by income.


This paper discusses how theories of definition and probabilistic theories of categorization could help distinguish between translation and (literary film) adaptation, and eventually between translation (TS) and (literary film) adaptation studies (LFAS). Part I suggests readopting the common parlance definition of "translation" as the accurate rendition of the meaning of a verbal expression in another natural language, and "adaptation" as change that leads to better fit. Readopting these common parlance definitions entails categorical implications. The author discusses three parameters: whereas "translation" represents an invariance-oriented, semiotically invested, cross-lingual phenomenon, "adaptation" refers to a variance-oriented phenomenon, which is not semiotically invested, and entails better fit. Part II discusses how theories of categorization could help distinguish between TS and LFAS. The study of the disciplinarization of knowledge involves epistemic and socio-political conditioners. This section concludes that medium specificity, i.e., the linguistic versus lit-film paradigm, plays a major role in separating TS from LFAS. Another player that deserves more attention is the Romantic as opposed to the Classicist value system.


This paper lists the pronunciation types of the ancient initials "xiao, xia, yun, yi" (晓、匣、云、以) in Pinghua of southern Guangxi province, with a discussion of the origins of the types. The paper consists of three sections: (1) today's pronunciation of the ancient initial "xiao"; (2) today' s pronunciation of the ancient initial "xia"; (3) today' s pronunciation of the ancient initials "yun, yi and xia .