Experimental results are summarized, concerned with the statics of liquid columns in capillary tubes under non-standard conditions. Three configurations are considered: 1. inclined capillary tubes; 2. capillary effect in the horizontal branch of an L-shaped tube; 3. capillary columns in a vertical tube. The effect of inclination on capillary rise (1.) had already been explored in [1] using water in glass-tubes, and it was found that the vertical rise progressively reduces for increasing the tube inclination. This behaviour is now confirmed for n-Hexadecane (C16H34). For L-shaped capillaries (2.), the length of the horizontal branch of the tube occupied by the liquid is detected, as a function of the elevation of the branch itself over the feeding pool. The statics of suspended liquid columns (3.) is investigated for two configurations, namely: i. freely suspended columns, and, ii. edge-ending columns. In the latter case the evaporation transient is also tracked. Even if the experimental basis is limited, the results are sufficient to highlight some of the peculiar features of the statics of capillary columns under the above conditions. In particular, it is shown that the contact angle hysteresis plays a fundamental role in all the cases considered.


The relationship between the theoretical dependence of the cutting speed on various technological factors, the physical and mechanical properties of the tool materials and the hardened gear allows the choice of rational cutting conditions in each specific production case, taking into account the required indicators of tool life, processing productivity, accuracy and quality of the surface layer. Cutting schemes and technological equipment were developed for intensive and high-quality gear cutting using the method of numerical simulation of the surface layer shaping process, which made it possible to obtain the stress-strain state of the surface layer of the gear being machined, tool and chips, and recommendations were developed for choosing the technological processing schedule. The numerical simulation method is based on solving a system of continuum mechanics equations (equations of motion, continuity, energy). The constitutive relations of the theory of elasticity, plasticity, and fracture are used as closing equations for the system.


The research develops the improvement of the Solid Waste Management Plan (PMRS) of the town of Cartavio for the current Environmental Management of the district of Santiago de Cao, optimizing the public cleaning service, strengthening the stages of generation, collection, treatment and transportation of solid waste through the implementation of collection routes for the units assigned to the street collection and sweeping service, and the establishment of strategic points for the collection of solid waste that reduced the collection time and operating costs to the time they increased the scope of the service; Likewise, the reactivation of the Program of "Segregation at the source and selective collection of household solid waste" was carried out with the objective of reducing the environmental problems with greater incidence in the locality, as well as the current regulations. Methodologies were used such as the one proposed by the Ministry of the Environment for the development of the Solid Waste Management Plan and having as main reference the Study of generation and characterization of solid waste of the District of Santiago de Cao prepared in September 2016, supplemented with programs of training and environmental education directed to the personnel and educational institutions. The improvement of the PMRS through the evaluation of results concludes that the increase in the scope of the collection service is total for all the zones of the locality daily, reducing operational costs in S / .2948 projected annually and referred to the saving in consumption of fuel and the establishment of a Program of Segregation in the Source that recovered around 2.9 Ton / month of reusable inorganic solid waste


We discuss the estimation of the uncertainty and sensitivity parameters for a model response under the assumption that the input variables are normally distributed and block-wise correlated with the covariance matrix, which is small in some norm. These conditions may arise when considering the impact of the group-wise neutron cross-sections' uncertainties on the uncertainty of some reactor parameters such as the neutron multiplication factor. The variance-based global sensitivity analysis, considered in our work, involves the calculation of multidimensional integrals. When the input uncertainties are small, the values of these integrals can be estimated using an asymptotic analysis method called the Laplace approximation. The asymptotic formulas for the output variance and for the global sensitivity indices have been obtained using the Laplace approximation method. It is demonstrated that the asymptotic formula for uncertainty propagation matches the uncertainty propagation formula being used in the local sensitivity analysis. The applicability of the obtained asymptotic approximations was successfully demonstrated on a test problem with realistic cross-section and covariance matrix values.


Electrotechnics course has the characteristic of the rich in content,covering a wide range and theoretical analysis tasteless.In terms of the teaching method of the heuristic teaching,combining the practical experience in electrotechnics teaching and research,this paper put forward heuristic teaching has applied to the course teaching to mobilize students to achieve the enthusiasm and initiative of learning.


Many of the common and serious chronic disorders affecting Mankind are brought about by environmental factors acting on a genetic background. The relative contributions made by nature or nurture in the pathogenesis of asthma at all ages remains unclear. Since the pioneering study of Cooke and Vander Veer [1], there has been general acceptance of the familial nature of atopic disease. Except in some very young children under two, asthma in children is found in association with immediate hypersensitivity to inhaled allergens and a family history of various forms of hypersensitivity. This condition of atopy is now thought to be inherited although the exact mode of inheritance needs further elucidation; work to date has shown evidence of correlation with HLA types and it has been suggested that the atopic gene is localized to the long arm of chromosome 11. Many studies have demonstrated that the risk of a child developing allergic disease increases if parents are allergic. A large prospective study by Horwood confirmed this association [2]. Predisposition to atopy may be inherited but expression of respiratory symptoms cannot be totally explained on this basis. After ill, not all children with eczema or positive prick test develop asthma. Moreover, 80% of identical twins are discordant for atopic symptoms. If the overall risk of allergy is under genetic control, symptoms of asthma develop in children as the result of multiple interactions between their immune system and the environment. There is plenty to support the idea that the dose of allergen exposure influences asthmatic symptoms. Historically, early experience with industrial asthma showed that almost anyone would wheeze if the exposure dose was high enough. More recently interest has focused on the role of the house dust mite whose allergen {Derp I) can now be measured immunologically. Naive adult communities, if inadvertently exposed to house mites, do develop more asthma. Conversely mite sensitive asthmatic adults do improve clinically and lose their house mite sensitivity in a mite free hospital environment. The month of birth may infiuence an infant's risk of subsequent inhalant allergy. In Finland, to be born between February and April increases the risk of sensitization to birch pollen and this birth effect phenomenon can be observed in young adult populations [3]. Observations like this have led to the theory that infants may be particularly vulnerable to allergen exposure in the first year of life. Recent observations by Sporik et al. in a cohort of children born to atopic parents suggest that the dose of house mite exposure in infancy is an important determinant of asthma at the age of 11 [4]. Childhood asthma is a group of heterogenous disorders. Toddlers wheeze with virus infection but less than half will go on to develop atopy or asthma in later life [5]. It is possible, but unproven, that the predisposition to wheeze with virus infections is also genetic. Wheezing in later childhood is strongly related to atopy and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. Cross-sectional studies on Southampton school children confirmed a strong correlation with parental asthma, atopy and bronchial responsiveness [6]. Similar results have been found in large epidemiological studies in Australia where asthmatic symptoms were strongly related to atopy, with house mite atopy being particularly predictive [7]. A relationship exists between atopy and bronchial hyperactivity. Exactly how wheezy symptoms, atopy and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) interact will remain unclear until the biological basis for these phenomena is known. Although atopy and BHR co-exist in children, there are inconsistencies between responses to methacholine and peak fiow measurements. Children with eczema who show abnormal bronchial lability with exercise have a greater number of hypersensitivity reactions to common allergens on skin testing. In adults, studies have also given confiicting results. Cockcroft observed a significant positive association between BHR and skin test reactivity with young atopic adults [8]. However, Bryant and Burns found no significant difference in bronchial responsiveness to methacholine between asthmatic subjects with and without atopy [9]. Experimental exposure to allergen does increase BHR in allergic asthmatic adults and in pollen sensitive asthmatics BHR increases in the pollen season. Mite sensitive adult asthmatics did reduce their BHR after a prolonged hospital stay in a mite free environment. Atopy and BHR may be genetically linked or associated with a common underlying cause such as an abnormality of bronchial mucosa. Whatever the explanation, they appear to act as independent variables. The infiuence of these characteristics on symptoms may also vary with age.


The article analyzes the factors affecting the effectiveness of the training process in football. It has been proven that improving the management of the training process based on the generalization and analysis of the structure of the competitive activity of football players and the general laws of the formation of sportsmanship is one of the promising scientific directions in the field of sports training methods in football. The peculiarities of the preparatory period of young football players at the stage of sports improvement and the structure and sequence of the distribution of training in the preparatory period have been determined. The training content of young football players in the preparatory period using the related training method has been developed. This issue is reflected in more detail in the works of foreign researchers of recent years, which are based on the practical experience of football team coaches using the technology of planning training loads, aimed primarily at developing physical qualities and improving the technical and tactical skills of football players.
In domestic science, as well as in foreign science, the strategy for organizing the training process in football is determined by the dynamics of the development of preparedness of young football players and the specifics of the competition calendar. The short duration of the preparatory period imposes special requirements on the training process, consisting in the need for quick recovery and long-term improvement of physical qualities and technical and tactical abilities at a high level before the start of the competitive period.


This paper investigates the vehicle recognition method based on the SURF algorithm and Bayesian classification model. This method is robust for it overcomes the problems of picture quality and shooting angle. Through the unsupervised Bayesian machine learning method, the vehicle type of unknown pictures can be recognized and fallen under the best matching type. The result shows that the vehicle rate is between 60% and 70%. When the number of feature points is between 180 and 210, we get the best result. The scale of training set is extremely important for perfecting the feature point information. Generally think, the training set is the bigger, the better.


This chapter analyzes the endogenous capacities needed to adapt best practices in governance based on the experience of the Mexico's Government and Local Management Award (GLMA). Processes of innovation and best practices in Mexican local governments have developed over the past fifteen yearsi as a result of the country's democratic transition, which is moving Mexico away from the semi-authoritarian and highly centralized regime that predominated during most of the twentieth century. Beginning in the second half of the 1980s and especially in the 1990s, Mexican municipalities initiated a new phase in their history thanks to a number of reforms which introduced greater democracy at the local level and enhanced the municipalities' autonomy from federal and state institutions. In other words, innovation and the search for better administrative practices were an outgrowth of this new, more evolved era of municipal public management. Progressively, each innovation is helping build the modern image of the municipal institution as an entity in continuous adaptation and interaction with parallel processes of democratic reform, decentralization, local development and the evolution of intergovernmental relations, not to mention its impact on civil societyii.


During the last two centuries, French forests evolved dramatically and changed the landscape of the country. The author proposes a cartographic synthesis of the present woodlands, on the base of national forest survey data, and an overview of the contemporary forest history during the 19th and 20th centuries Three significant periods are considered: the administrative and legal reorganization at the beginning of the 19th century; the first great forestation movement during the second half of the 19th century; and the accelerated transformation in the last decades, with widespread spontaneous and artificial forestation following land abandonment. Since the 1980s, forest research in France turned into a significant scientific topic in history, historical biogeography and paleoecology. The development of forest research encourages a new scientific approach based upon interdisciplinary programmes.


Descriptive listing of 14 of the principal journals devoted to the earth sciences in the USSR, with summarized data on the more than 100 publications issued during 1958.


In education, the intention to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been to improve the teaching, learning and management. To execute these processes successfully, developing a set of skills that go beyond the instrumental use of technology to go into teaching, research and management applications is required. In that sense, this documentary research aims to provide teachers in training and exercise theoretical orientations to address the incorporation of ICT in the areas referred from the minimum skills required in the light TPACK, model whose name is given by the acronym and Technological, Pedagogical and Content knowledge, which provides basic knowledge to address integration technology curriculum: pedagogical, technological and disciplinary knowledge. It is estimated that its use promotes processes of implementation of contextualized ICT.


We test a Wall Street investment strategy, ''pairs trading,'' with daily data over 1962–2002. Stocks are matched into pairs with minimum distance between normalized historical prices. A simple trading rule yields average annualized excess returns of up to 11% for self-financing portfolios of pairs. The profits typically exceed conservative transaction-cost estimates. Bootstrap results suggest that the ''pairs'' effect differs from previously documented reversal profits. Robustness of the excess returns indicates that pairs trading profits from temporary mispricing of close substitutes. We link the profitability to the presence of a common factor in the returns, different from conventional risk measures.


This paper introduces the agri-geologic background in Panzhihua area from stratigraphy,geologic structure,topography,hydrogeology and geo-chemical,features and analyzes problems in its agriculture development.In addition,it puts forward that the layout of eco-agriculture should take the geologic background into consideration and combine it with regional climate,soil geochemical condition to adjust agricultural structure and establish green and non-pollution production base in this area.


The dual generalized Bonferroni mean (DGBM) operator is a meaningful decision-making tool which can consider the relationship between any numbers of being fused arguments and has been applied to many MAGDM domains in past few years. The intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), which is characterized by the functions of membership degree and non-membership degree, has been investigated by numerous scholars. In this manuscript, combine the DGBM operator and IFSs, the major contribution and objective of the work is to develop two new aggregation operators: the dual generalized intuitionistic fuzzy BM (DGIFBM) operator and the dual generalized intuitionistic fuzzy weighted BM (DGIFWBM) operator. The last, we give an application example for evaluating the green technological innovation ability of the enterprises and some comparative analysis to testify the effective and scientific of our developed methods.


Recently, Raes et al. ([1][1]) responded in a letter to the editor to a paper of Scotton et al. ([2][2]) dealing with the effects of IL-13 on the transcriptional profile of human monocytes and those of IL-4 on murine macrophages ([3][3], [4][4]). The discussion dealt with the differences that were


The deadline for the AAPS Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award in Pharmaceutical Technologies has been extended to Tuesday, May 27. The reason is that the initial notice specified incorrect dates for completion of the students' dissertation research. The correct date is July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003. So any student who has completed their research and submitted their dissertation within this time frame is eligible. A second requirement is that the student must have already submitted an abstract for presentation at the AAPS Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, in October of this year. The deadline for abstract submission was May 7, 2003.


Axial velocity distribution of a steady tube flow was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Test fluids were aqueous solutions of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) containing solid particles (glass flake or glass bead) at high volume fractions. As a result, we observed a plug-like velocity distribution in the tube flow. This velocity distribution measured by MRI had a good agreement with that numerically calculated using the viscosity curve of the test fluid. Furthermore the effect of suspended particles on the velocity distribution in the tube flow with an abrupt contraction was also examined. We observed a plug flow for the CMC solution and the bead suspension, but a concave region in the velocity distribution near the centerline at upstream of the contraction for the concentrated flake suspension. This velocity distribution is caused by the shape of the glass flake particle.


Tackified textile fiber preforms are used widely in resin transfer molding (RTM) to produce aerospace-grade composite parts. In the present study, a new tackifier was developed to improve RTM laminate performance. The influence of tackifier concentration on spring back, thermal properties and mechanical performance was studied .It has showed that the new tackifier was compatible with the matrix resin and improved the textile handling ability; the ILSS was slightly increased without decreasing of thermal properties, modulus and flexural strength.


Optical fiber sensing technologies have been developed for more than forty years and applied in many different areas. They are suitable for power systems because of their electromagnetic immunity, their safety in nuclear environments, distributed sensing capability, their small size and so on. The practices of optical fiber sensors in power systems is growing explosively. We report the recent two-year results on the health monitoring of power transmission lines and towers based on optical fiber sensing technologies in Henan, including phase sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (phase-OTDR) based transmission line galloping measurement, Raman scattering based optical time domain reflectometry (R-OTDR) based transmission line distributed temperature sensing, and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) based tower strain measurement. The optical fibers in optical fiber composite overhead ground wire (OPGW)/optical phase conductor (OPPC) are used as sensing fibers to monitor the galloping and the distributed temperature along the transmission lines successfully, which may be the most convenient and low-cost way to use fiber sensing technologies. More than one hundred well packaged FBGs had been installed on a strain tower and realized the dynamic strain measurement, especially under the strong dynamic strain introduced by the transmission line galloping. The results of all those optical fiber sensors are relative and some considerations of optical fiber sensing net in power system would be discussed as well.


Discoloration in water distribution systems has been studied in partnership with a number of U.K. water companies by measuring the turbidity response to changes in hydraulic conditions induced by systematic flushing. The resulting data was used to verify a predictive empirical model and hence the underlying assumptions made in its development. Model simulations, made using previously established parameters defined solely by pipe diameter and pipe material, are presented alongside measured data to demonstrate this verification. The primary cause of discoloration observed is the mobilization of material from cohesive layers bonded to pipe walls. These layers demonstrate a profile of increasing shear strength with increasing degree of discoloration. Differences are demonstrated in the layer and ultimate shear strength characteristics of the discoloration layers formed in iron and plastic pipes, with a modeled shear stress of 1.2 N/ m2 shown to exhaust material layers in plastic pipes. Based on the observed d...


A Comparative study of Saponification reaction has been conducted in a Continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and Plug
flow reactor (PFR). The reaction chosen for investigation was hydrolysis of ethyl acetate with sodium hydroxide. The
objectives here are to examine the effect of process conditions on steady state conversion and rate constant in a PFR and
CSTR. The variables examined for comparative study are feed rate, temperature and residence time. Data were collected at
constant concentration of 0.1 M of both the reactants and at a constant pressure of 1 atmosphere. A reaction conversion of
72.8% and specific rate constant of 1.27 L/mol.sec were obtained for PFR as compared with a decreased value of 48.6% and
0.0478 L/mol.sec for baffled CSTR under steady state conditions. Conversion increases with increase of temperature both in
case of PFR and CSTR under studied range of temperature. Maximum conversion and rate constant of 68.4% and 0.688
L/mol.sec respectively were obtained for tubular reactor as compared with reaction conversion and rate constant of 63.4%
and 0.127 L/mol.sec respectively for CSTR as temperature varies. For PFR with a reactor volume of 0.40 liter, reaction
conversion varies from 50.4 % to 39.2 % corresponding to flow rates of 50 ml/min to 80 ml/min respectively. In case of
CSTR with adjusted reactor volume of 1.5 liter, reaction conversion varies from 46.2% to 44.8% corresponding to feed rate
values from 50 ml/min to 80 ml/min. In both cases of PFR and CSTR, residence time decreases with increased feed rate and
this leads to decreased values of reaction conversion for both types of reactors. The results obtained in this investigation may
be useful in maximizing the industrial level production of desired product and to predict the type of flow reactor more
suitable for ethyl acetate saponification reaction


Objective To discuss the advantage of adenoidectomy by plasma radiofrequency ablation through nasal endoscope.Methods Clinical data of 60 children with adenoid hypertrophy treated by plasma radiofrequency ablation through nasal endoscope were analyzed retrospectively,including hearing,snoring at night,nasal obstraction,rhinorrhea and postoperative adenoid residual.Results Adenoid in all cases shrank obviously with A/N value less than 0.6 and nasopharynx were clearly emerged.No complications occurred.The therapeutic effective rate was 100% and the symptoms disappeared or obviously relieved after followed-up 1-2 years postoperatively.Conclusion It is safe,simple and effective to resect adenoid by plasma radiofrequency ablation through nasal endoscope.This approach is worth generalization.


Characteristics of the uptake mechanisms for 3- o -methyl glucose (3mG) or 2-deoxyglucose (2dG) by guinea-pig seminal vesicles (S.V.) and anterior lobes of the prostate gland were investigated in vitro . Neither 3mG nor free 2dG (nonphosphorylated) were able to reach an equilibrium with tissue water and therefore were not concentrated in sex accessory organs. Substantial amounts of 2dG were phosphorylated by S.V., but these organs were unable to convert 3mG to 3mGPO4. Increasing the concentration of nonradioactive 2dG in the medium led to significant reductions in the percent space of total 2dG-14C. This reduction in the total fraction was due principally to the phosphorylation of this nonutilizable hexose and suggested that this effect was due to partial saturation of hexokinase or at least some phosphorylating mechanism. S.V. incubated in the presence of phiorizin (1.5 x 10-2 M) showed a significant reduction in the percent space for both total 2dG and 2dGPO4. Free 2dG and 3mG percent spaces were not affected by this inhibitor. Lowering the temperature to 20°C caused a reduction in the percent space of both total 2dG and 2dGPO4. The 2°C environment had no effect on the free 2dG or 3mG percent space. 3mG and free 2dG are probably incorporated into sex accessory organs by the process of simple diffusion, but their metabolic fates are different.


World energy generation for electricity is still dependent on fossil fuels since it is more reliable and secure than the current intermittent renewable energy systems. Although the integration of renewable energy as an energy mix is in progress, still it could not be able to replace fossil fuels. Dependency on fossil fuels will not only contribute to severe climate change but will also degrade future generation quality of life. Hence, the solution to quandary is by integrating nuclear power plants with those of renewable energy such as solar and wind to meet the energy demand and to ensure sustainability of energy source. The current operating nuclear power plants in the world use the concept of water-cooled reactors. It was designed so that the fast neutrons born from fission reactions were slowed down in the moderator to allow other fission reactions events in sustainable chain reactions. Besides, the slow neutrons with low energy is a favourable reactor feature for safe and efficient operation. The common types of nuclear fuel materials in water-cooled reactors are enriched uranium dioxide and natural uranium contained in nuclear fuel elements. After it has been used, the fuel elements will be stored as spent fuel. Prolonged storage of used nuclear fuels will make the volume of nuclear waste high and become hard to manage after a long period of storage. An effort to reprocess the spent fuel as to extract fissile and fertile material to be used in nuclear fuels usually was undertaken to reduce the waste volume. However, this process may lead to an undesirable proliferation of nuclear material. In this review article, research on the advancement of nuclear fuel materials will be discussed based on the reduction method of the nuclear spent fuel volume and radiotoxicity, as well as to study its sustainability for the future low carbon energy system.


Long overlooked, boredom has drawn increasing attention across multiple subfields of psychology (including clinical, developmental, educational, cognitive, and industrial/organizational psychology), as well as economics, philosophy, neuroscience, and animal cognition. In this paper, we review and integrate this work by providing a social psychological perspective on boredom as an emotion, and its role in signaling the need for change to restore successful attention in meaningful activity. In doing so, we discuss the implications of that approach for understanding boredom cross-culturally and cross-species, and identify opportunities for targeted interventions to reduce boredom and improve well-being.


The present disclosure is directed to optically transparent and IR reflecting films having a metal oxide based composite layer which can synergistically improve the optical properties, solar properties, and production speed of the whole composite.


The prospect of population decline in Europe is commonly understood to be an important policy problem. Discussions and research typically focus on the level and the trend of demographic indicators. Can policies be designed which, by targeting the constrained optimisation of rational individuals, cause the indicators to change in the right direction? In this intervention, I argue that like a surrogate marker in medicine, a demographic indicator is not a meaningful endpoint: something that is a direct measure of health or, analogously, a healthy society. Treating population indicators as meaningful endpoints can, as history has shown, lead to great harm. In my view, it is this misconception that makes population decline a truly serious and terrifying problem. So yes, population decline is a problem, but not in the way you, or the people who pose this sort of question, might think.


This paper presents a reference trajectory generation approach for impedance control by using neural networks to estimate the environment dynamics. In this method, the environment dynamics is estimated by a neural network (NN1), which constructs the relationship between the environment deformation and its first and second derivatives, and the interaction force. Another network (NN2) is then used to approximate the statics of the environment, which is the relationship between the interaction force and the deformation. The major advantage of the proposed method is that no exact environment model is required, so that it suites for operations on any unstructured environments. Furthermore, the neural networks have the capability of learning, due to which the precision of the generated reference trajectory will continuously be increased as the robot-environment interaction lasts. The system performance by using the proposed method is evaluated by simulations


At the beginning of this century, the pace to which resources are used is higher than its replacement rate, which means that mankind requires changes and deci-sions of high complexity for the international relations. This essay deals with the reaction capacity of the international community concerning this issue. It concludes that the real problem is to find a new equi-librium, between what it is destroyed and what it is created, such that to make institutions more effective.


In order to convert inactive and misfolded inclusion body TGF-β3 into soluble products,the purification and renaturation procedure was developed.After the inclusion bodies were extracted, abluted and dissolved in a 8mol/L urea solution.Firstly,the denatured rhTGF-β3 was directly loaded onto a CM Sepharosel Fast Flow column and then a Sephacryl S-100 column,so the monoeric rhTGF-β3(with the purity more than 90%) was obtained .Secondly, the monoeric rhTGF-β3 were added to a special solution containing of 1mol/L NaCl, 05mol/L l-Arg, 0.5mmol/L GSSG, 30mmol/L CHAPS and 20%(v/v)DMSO to renature.Finally,the renatured rhTGF-β3 was purified by a DEAE Sepharosel Fast Flow column and a Sephacryl S-100 column.During this process,at least 720mg/L(with the purity more than 94%)soluble TGF-β3 was gained ,which stimulated the proliferation of Balb/c3T3 cells by means of MTT assay.


The process of globalization is transforming society with unprecedented speed and scope. Along the way, social roles are being altered and identities are being transformed. How do the forces of globalization shape the self? How do changes to the self affect social relationships and alter larger social structures? This paper offers a conceptual framework for addressing these questions. The 'role-as-resource' perspective is employed as a tool for differentiating between two opposing processes. On the one hand, top down forces associated with technocapitalism serve to colonize the self by sustaining roles associated with global consumption and production, while disrupting or erasing traditional roles. On the other hand, bottom-up forces associated with local grassroots organizations and democratic social movements facilitate resistance by providing resources for a more agentic political self.


The utility model discloses a traction type picking threshing machine, which aims at providing the traction type picking threshing machine with the advantages of good harvesting quality and small harvesting loss. The traction type picking threshing machine comprises a full feeding threshing machine, a feeding device and a picker, wherein the feeding device and the picker are arranged on a machine frame of the full feeding threshing machine, a lifting feeler mechanism is arranged on the picker and consists of a feeler wheel, a support pulley, a swinging arm, a lifting oil cylinder and a steel wire rope, the feeler wheel is arranged at the front end of the picker, the support pulley and the swinging arm are respectively arranged on the machine frame, the back end of a cylinder body of the lifting oil cylinder is hinged and arranged under the machine frame, the front end of a piston rod of the lifting oil cylinder is hinged with the lower end of the swinging arm, and the steel wire rope suspended and connected with the upper end of the swinging arm is suspended and connected onto an upper support arm of the picker around the support pulley. The traction type picking threshing machine disclosed by the utility model is applicable to the walking picking threshing operation of crops such as soybeans, kidney beans, small red beans and the like.


This report briefly discusses proposed regulatory changes to revise federal fuel economy and environmental standards and reduce potentially large penalties. The technical proposals would be the first major structural change in these standards since 2012, and they come at a time when federal agencies are undertaking a regulatory review that may result in far greater changes.


Orientation: Unpredictable technology changes challenge how organisations operate in the global competitive business environment. Organisational strategy needs to be flexible, a capability that is impossible to achieve without effective leadership. Research purpose: To investigate the expectations of first year undergraduate business management students at a South African tertiary institution towards leadership and to what extent leadership influences organisational strategy. Motivation for the study: The results of this study contribute towards: (1) providing insight as to how possible future business leaders are expected to behave in order to have an impact on organisational strategy, (2) providing a better understanding of upcoming leadership trends from future generations and (3) business leadership and organisational strategy's interdependence. Research design, approach and method: Empirical research through a quantitative survey, distributed to 200 first year undergraduate business management students at a South African tertiary institution. Main findings: (1) That most important leadership style was transformational, (2) emergent strategies were preferred over deliberate strategies and (3) that leadership influence is important to have a successful overall organisational strategy. Practical and managerial implications: An outline of leadership conduct in terms of the expectations of possible future business leaders and that leadership had an influence on organisational strategy. Contribution or value added: If effective leadership training and development gets implemented on an early level (i.e. first year undergraduate studies), then future leaders might be able to develop their followers and inspire them to develop as leaders themselves, which could possibly create a longevity of leadership and organisational success.


Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) is an additive, direct-write fabrication technique that enables controlled material deposition of nanoscale structures. Typically, organometallic precursors are used, e.g. MeCpPtMe3, resulting in nanogranular materials composed of metallic nanograins (e.g. Pt) spatially embedded in carbonaceous matrix [1]. The distances between individual grains, as well as the chemistry of the carbon matrix significantly influence electrical [2] and mechanical [3] properties, which form the basis for potential applications of FEBID structures, such as gas sensing via nanoscale resonators. To find the connection between morphology, chemistry and materials' properties, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography is used for the characterization of an AD (as deposited) and EBC (electron beam cured) FEBID nanostructure.


We propose a new approach to calibrating four-port reciprocal test fixtures affected by leakage. It is based on the well-known 16-term error model that represents a stationary embedding of a two-port device tested. We determine all the terms from scattering matrices measured by a calibrated vector network analyzer (VNA) for just four symmetric standards (patterns), consecutively attached to the test ports. For the calibration, we employ three pairs of shorts, open circuits, and matched loads, and a reciprocal and symmetric transmitting pattern, the scattering parameters of which are unknown. We calculate the unknown parameters and error terms using a self-calibration algorithm and compact closed-form, analytical equations expressed in the scattering parameter notation. According to the abbreviated names of the employed patterns and the model, we call our procedure SOLR16 treating it as an extension of the popular short-open-load-reciprocal (SOLR) approach based on the eight-term error model for the leaky embedding. The SOLR16 method is particularly useful to calibrate test fixtures dedicated to mixed-mode device characterization as, e.g., leaky on-wafer probes. Experimental results of the calibration and in-fixture measurements of a photodetector encapsulated in a transistor outline (TO) package type confirm its efficacy and robustness.


Recurrent neural networks are proposed for synthesizing linear control systems through pole placement. The proposed neural networks approach uses two coupled recurrent neural networks for computing feedback gain matrix. Each neural network consists of two bidirectionally connected layers and each layer consists of an array of neurons. The proposed recurrent neural networks are shown to be capable of synthesizing linear control systems in real time. The operating characteristics of the recurrent neural networks and closed-loop systems are demonstrated by use of two illustrative examples.<<ETX>>


As the days went by, according to the needs of the new knowledge and professional education become a matter of concern. The boom in the education, private education also become a hot issue. Through the interior cases and theoretical study, which refer to the satisfaction about the educational institute and reading room, ergonomic factors will be examined. First, in the situation of reading room offering comfortable air and cooling-heating room environment is very important as high as concentration is. Second, according to the sensitivity and rationality, the illumination plan, using various methods and technology of color therapy students" learning effectiveness should be improved. Third, fully understanding furniture structure and designing, the needs about aesthetics and function should be satisfied.


The most frequent laboratory abnormality in patients with idiopathic deep-vein thrombosis is resistance to activated protein C1. Depending on the selection criteria, in vitro resistance to activated protein C can be identified in 20 to 50 percent of patients2–6. Protein C, a key element in the regulation of coagulation, circulates in plasma as an inactive precursor. On contact with thrombin bound to the thrombomodulin receptors on vascular endothelial cells, protein C rapidly becomes activated. Activated protein C enzymatically lyses two cofactors of the coagulation cascade, factor VIIIa and factor Va. It is thus a natural anticoagulant that . . .


For the critical aero-engine parts it's important to understand influence of cutting tools, cutting parameters, tool wear etc. on near surface condition which highly affect fatigue strength and at the same part life-time. New material implemented for the latest designs of aero-engines parts generate challenges for machining processes to fulfil strict requirements of aviation standards. Finish machining is the most important stage of process influencing fatigue strength. Cubic Boron Nitride (cBN) tool are often used for final stage of machining. The objective of this study was analysis of cutting mechanics during finish turning of modern nickel-cobalt based alloy with cBN insert. Observations of cutting tool wear and cutting parameters influence on the components of cutting force, surface roughness and residual stress are presented in this paper.


ABSTRACT Despite the effectiveness of dialogic instruction and whole-class discussion, it does not happen with regularity in the English Language Arts classroom. To examine this discrepancy, this study focused on the beliefs of teachers as they thought about discussion. To this end, the question addressed in this study was: How do high school English teachers define and conceptualize whole-class discussion in their classrooms? Fifteen high school English Language Arts (ELA) teachers were interviewed about their thoughts on whole-class discussion. Analysis of the interviews found seven meta-themes, which included three pairs of seemingly contradictory concepts about discussion. By understanding these contradictions, teachers and researchers can consciously focus on their purpose and emphasis, and make choices that can enhance whole-class discussion instruction in the classroom.


This is the first full-length monograph wholly devoted to a fascinating 'Socratic' philosopher, who was also a leader of the democratic faction in Eretria during the troubled years of Alexander's successors and paid for his good offices with calumny and exile; a man of striking individuality, a sharp tongue which made him many enemies and once even brought him to the brink of death, at the same time also famous for his friendship and hospitality, which won him the acquaintance of princes like Antigonus Gonatas and Ptolemy I and of men of letters like Aratus of Soli and Lycophron. Our information on Menedemus as can be expected is scanty and scattered in sources as far apart as Cicero and the Suda, and much of it is presented in a typically confused vita in Book II of Diogenes Laertius. Of the previous attempts at reconstruction, the short last chapter (pp. 176-94) of C. M. Mallet's Histoire de VEcole de Megare et des Ecoles d'Elis et d'Eretrie (Paris, 1845), is superficial and outdated even by standards of its own day. Kurt von Fritz' RE article of 1931 pointed the way towards a proper discussion, but attracted no followers for fifty years. All other discussions of Menedemus in modern literature are parts of longer works on the history of Greek or Hellenistic philosophy or literature, the development of logic, or on one or other of our sources.


Critically ill obstetric patients present a unique challenge as outcome of indwelling life is dependent upon the maternal well-being. Optimal patient management involves early detection and the multidisciplinary treatment by obstetricians, pediatricians, and anesthesiologists based on knowledge of physiological and pathophysiological alterations. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the available literature for the management of critically ill obstetric patient and recent update on commonly encountered situations.


The use of public display tools in a collaborative work environment involving a variety of caregivers in the emergency department (ED) is essential when providing patient care. Xiao et al. (2001) have examined the interaction of caregivers with the non-computerized whiteboards in the trauma center operating room unit, and have found that there exist intrapersonal as well as interpersonal systems of communication. Computerized tools, such as virtual public displays that replace traditional whiteboards, may hinder or support communication between caregivers. In a different domain, Watts et al. (1996) have documented the existence and utility of "voice loops" in NASA space shuttle mission control. In this observational study, we examine the interpersonal communication between caregivers in the ED with public display tools, in order to reveal the role of public tools in collaborative work. Nurses, physicians, and mid-level providers will be shadowed, and communication events documented, for 48 hours across 12 shifts, in a large, tertiary care hospital, ED setting. Results will provide insight into the role that non-computerized tools play in interpersonal communication, and also implicate the importance of various roles in which future public display tools in such settings may need to integrate.


Freundt's suggestion that a filamentous phase of growth forms an essential part of the life cycle of mycoplasma1,2 has been rejected by several authorities on mycoplasma morphology. DienesS and Liebermeistefl claimed that filamentous growth is characteristic of a few mycoplasma species only, notably Mycoplasma mycoides var mycoides, whereas the majority produce no filaments. They contended that most of the filaments observed by Freundt in mycoplasma cultures were artifacts created by the impact of external physical forces on the plastic mycoplasma cells. There is little doubt that filament-like protrusions can be formed by the exertion of physical stress on the delicate mycoplasma membrane. On observing mycoplasma cells sticking to a glass surface under the phase-contrast microscope, most pronounced morphological changes are seen to take place. The cells change shape like minute amoeba, producing pseudopodia-like protrusions. These morphological changes are apparently caused by fluid currents, but other forces, such as contraction of the elastic cell membrane, also have to be considered. It may, therefore, be expected that the drastic procedures involved in the preparation of mycoplasma for electron microscopy may result in the formation of filament-like protrusions. This phenomenon is probably most pronounced when negative-staining techniques are used (see, for example, the electron-micrographs in references 5 and 6), but can even be demonstrated when the gentle technique of fixation by very quick freeze-drying is applied as shown in FIGURE 1. In this electron-micrograph of Mycoplasma laidlawii cells, a thin plasma thread is drawn between two adjacent cells. The filament-like protrusions are usually much shorter than true filaments, and have a caliber of less than O.lp, compared to a caliber of 0.3-0.4~ of true mycoplasma filaments. To minimize artifact formation, the present investigation was carried out with the phase-contrast microscope. Observations were made on unfixed cells growing in liquid cultures. Photographs were taken as soon as the cells settled on the glass surface, when the images obtained on the photomicrographs closely corresponded to those seen moving freely in the liquid. Technical details of microscopy and photomicrography have been described in full elsewhere.' The fast growing M . laidlawii, Mycoplasma mycoides var Capri and Mycoplasma gallisepticum were cultured in tryptose broth,8 whereas the more exacting mycoplasma were grown in Edward medium.0 A young culture of the organism to be examined was diluted 1 : 100 in broth, and one ml of this dilution was transferred to 50 ml of broth. The bottles were incubated statically at 37OC and small drops were withdrawn for microscopic examination at various time intervals. M. laidlawii strain B could be grown in tryptose broth without PPLO-serum fraction. However, in this medium a steep decline in the number of viable cells occurred following the logarithmic phase of growth. This was somewhat counteracted by the addition of 1% PPLO-serum fraction to the medium, but replacement of the PPLO-serum fraction by a mixture of oleic acid and acetone-extracted bovine albumin had a more pronounced effect on viability. In this medium, M. laidlawii strain B grew in a very long and branching filaments, many of which were wholly or in part composed of uniform coccoid elements (FIGURE 2). The


Using as analytical devices several social variables which include ethnicity, life-style, age, sex, and social stratification, the social life of the native people of the Delta, and of Inuvik in particular, is studied. Through analysis of these components the degree of success enjoyed by native people in adapting to the new urban environment of Inuvik is assessed. It is found that ethnicity is no longer the prime factor in determining the nature of social interactiin in the Delta. A new grouping, in which people from all ethnic groups are included, is emerging. The emergence of this the "Northerner" grouping can be understood as a response by its members to a feeling of domination by "Southerners". Analysis also identifies several factors which hinder the successful acculturation of the "Northerner" population to the new town environment. While some of these come from outside, others derive from elements inherent in the preAirban life ways of the native people. In the former category are to be included the needs of these people for improved economic opportunities, education, job skills, and housing, all of which are necessary for better adaptation to the new town environment. In the latter category are several deeply.rooted attitudes about what is good And bad. Notable here are the "sharing ethic" and the "consumption ethic", both vital elements in the "bush" culture. Accepting all these difficulties, and acknowledging that some involve deeply rooted feelings, it is concluded that many problems may be solved if the "Northerner" grouping becomes more powerful, and if its members can develop greater awareness and pride in their identity.


This essay explains how the collection of papers in this volume contributes to the growing scholarly literature dealing with hockey's role in Canadian society and culture. In particular, this project explores aspects of hockey – and its connection to the sports media – which have not been sufficiently examined by historians. The cultural history of hockey in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has not been researched thoroughly by those working in the fields of sport history, Canadian history or cultural studies. This study addresses this deficiency by assessing key elements of the media-constructed 'world of hockey' during the early years of Stanley Cup competition. It examines local and national newspaper coverage of championship hockey games between 1894 and 1907 in order to understand interurban and regional rivalries, the national scope of the sports media, violence and gender construction and community representation. As local and national audiences were exposed to similar media texts and narratives about hockey, they developed shared understandings of the cultural meanings of the sport throughout Canada.


In this paper, performance of an underwater acoustic OFDM system is studied for various pilot allocation schemes having different pilot spacings in the frequency and time domain. The underwater OFDM system is first developed to support different pilot allocation schemes, and the experiments is conducted at the western sea near Janggohang, South Korea in July 2016. The system performance is, then, evaluated in terms of effective spectral efficiency and BER for different pilot allocation schemes. Analysis based on the measurements suggests the pilot allocation method showing good tradeoff between spectral efficiency and BER.


Channel assignment is one of the most important issues in the multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks. An improper channel assignment may lead to network partition or link failure. In this paper we focus on the channel assignment problem with the original topology preservation for the multi-radio mesh networks, and aim at minimizing the overall network interference. We have formulated an Integer Line Programming (ILP) which can be used to find the optimized solution for the channel assignment problem in small-size network. In this paper we also have developed a distributed algorithm for the channel assignment due to the NP-hardness of the ILP. Extensive simulation results have demonstrated that our algorithms have good performance in both dense and sparse networks compared with related works. The theoretic and experiment results have shown that the proposed algorithms serve as a practical solution to the channel assignment problem in the multi-channel multi-radio wireless mesh networks.


Neural damage caused by ischemia/stroke is initiated by excess reactive oxygen species (ROS). Different cell types and even same cell type, but in different regions in hippocampus are found to have differential susceptibility to ischemia/stroke. ROS levels have been found to be different in different cell types or neurons in different regions of hippocampus. However, the mechanism behind this scenario has not been fully understood.
We, for the first time, used a roGFP2 based GSH sensor to monitor the OGD-RP induced redox change of GSH system in mitochondria and cytoplasm from 3 different cell types (HeLa cell culture, pyramidal cells and astrocytes found in OHSC) in real-time. We observed that GSH in cytoplasm was insensitive to OGD-RP, while noticeable changes were found in mitochondria. Mitochondrial GSH get more reduced in OGD, but more oxidized in RP, and that the magnitude of change either in OGD or RP is larger in pyramidal cells than in astrocytes, not significant in HeLa cells. Heterogeneities in ROS production, antioxidant capacity of GSH and mitochondria membrane potential are responsible for the redox changes of GSH system under contrasting pathological conditions, different cellular compartments and various cell types.
In order to understand the differential susceptibility to OGD-RP in hippocampal CA1 and CA3, we study on ROS related critical molecules such NAD(P)H, H2O2 and GSH. During OGD-RP, NAD(P)H consumption is higher in CA3 because it is used more rapidly as reducing equivalents to maintain larger antioxidant pool in this subfield. Mitochondrial H2O2 and the oxidation degree of mitochondrial GSH are both lower in CA3 during OGD-RP. This can be ascribed to larger Trx2 pool in CA3 since Trx2 can scavenge H2O2 more fast and efficient than GSH system and is able to maintain lower H2O2 and GSH at lower oxidation degree.


Ferroelectric thin films may find potential applications in a broad range of ferroelectronic devices such as mass-storage memories. In this article, arrays of Pb(Zr0.3,Ti0.7)O3 (PZT) ferroelectric cells with minimum lateral size down to 500 nm were fabricated by nanoembossing technique. Structural characterizations of embossed PZT film were carried out by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. Ferroelectronic properties of embossed PZT film were investigated by using piezoresponse force microscopy and Radiant Technologies precision material analyzer. Excellent ferroelectric and piezoelectric characteristics observed in the embossed PZT films suggest that the nanoembossing process proposed in this article is promising to become a new manufacturing approach for high density PZT based memory devices at significantly lower cost than the existing technique.


The swash zone is that part of a beach over which the instantaneous shoreline moves back and forth as waves meet the shore. This zone is discussed using the nonlinear shallow water equations which are appropriate for gently sloping beaches. A weakly three-dimensional extension of the two-dimensional solution by Carrier & Greenspan (1958) of the shallow water equations for a wave reflecting on an inclined plane beach is developed and used to illustrate the ideas. Thereafter attention is given to integrated and averaged quantities. The mean shoreline might be defined in several ways, but for modelling purposes we find the lower boundary of the swash zone to be more useful. A set of equations obtained by integrating across the swash zone is investigated as a model for use as an alternative boundary condition for wave-resolving studies. Comparison with sample numerical computations illustrates that they are effective in modelling the dynamics of the swash zone and that a reasonable representation of swash zone flows may be obtained from the integrated variables. The longshore flow of water in the swash zone is in many ways similar to the Stokes' drift of propagating water waves. Further averaging is made over short waves to obtain results suitable as boundary conditions for longer period motions including the effect of incident short waves. In order to clearly present the work a few simplifications are made. The main result is that in addition to the kinematic type of boundary condition that occurs on a simple, e.g. rigid, boundary two further conditions are found in order that both the changing position of the swash zone boundary and the longshore flow in the swash zone may be determined. Models of the short waves both outside and inside the swash zone are needed to complete a full wave-averaged model; only brief indication is given of such modelling.


A single-chip, auto-zeroing, dual-polarity, single power supply A/D converter will be discussed, citing CMOS amplifier techniques used and performance results.


The relevance to the article topic due to the fact that the network character of interaction of educational institutions aims at the implementation of accessible education of children with disabilities as a strategic objective of educational policy of Russian Federation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the existing models of network interaction between special (correctional) and general education institutions, institutions of additional in the Chuvash Republic and administration of educational networks. Leading method to the study of these problems is the analyses of theoretical literature, statistical data and work experience of educational institutions of the Republic in the field of networking, which allowed to reveal mechanisms of effective management of network interaction of educational institutions on the basis of cooperation and competition, and to describe existing models of educational networks of the Chuvash Republic. Results overview of network interaction in education Chuvash Republic, identifying effective models and management mechanisms educational networks in practical terms allows to formulate and solve educational networks for the task of structural optimization, distribution of educational resources and motivational management. OPEN ACCESS 1792 G. V. VALIULLINA AND A. E. FEDOTOVA groups of educational institutions, and as a whole system, capable to concentrate resources in order to meet the diverse educational needs of children with disabilities (Chernova and Zakharova, 2011; Shieh and Demirkol, 2014; Fedotova, 2014). According to research by N.N. Malofeyev (2011), the leading tendency of the modern stage of development of national systems of special education is the integration (inclusion) in which the radical reorganization of interaction of structures of mass and special education, as well as the orientation of special education towards preparing a child with special educational needs for adulthood in society, recognizing the full civil equality of persons with disabilities, aware of the illegitimacy of division by a full majority and poor minority striving for full social integration of minorities (Malofeyev and Shmatko, 2008). Requirements to special school at the present stage of development of the domestic system of special education as articulated in the Law 273 – FZ "On education in Russian Federation" (2012) driving the need for reform and restructuring, indicate the need for a change of emphasis in the field of management. N.N. Jakovicka (2008) notes that the traditional view of the Manager-practice for the network of educational institutions as a mere collection of educational institutions located within a certain area, does not reflect its nature as a system. That it really is a system with its own composition of elements, connections and relationships between them, according to research. For Example, M.M. Potashnik (2006) believes that "the territorial core of the educational system is a specially organized, relatively comprehensive system of educational institutions..." V.S. Lazarev (2008) claims that the traditional view of the network of schools as a result of making sense of the new reality comes the understanding of the network as a system of schools and the new role of governing bodies, coordinating and supporting this activity.


Impedance matching networks are used widely in RF circuit design for many purposes such as maximum power transfer or optimal noise match. Passive impedance matching networks involving capacitors and inductors are often employed, but they are subject to process variation. The paper presents a process-variation insensitive network with matched passive components that has a low sensitivity to process variation. This network,, when applied in impedance matching, can lead to a reliable network with high immunity to process variation. The improvement on immunity as compared to a conventional passive network is revealed in Monte Carlo simulation. This approach can be extended to broadband impedance matching by cascading the proposed network.


Compound epithets tend to be widely used in contemporary fiction and are thoroughly addressed by rhetoric and stylistic studies. Still, there are few linguistic accounts for these creative utterances in cases when they are based on metonymical shifts. The paper aims to account for the applicability of Conceptual integration theory to metonymy-based compound epithets. The goal is to demonstrate the process of cross-mapping of mental spaces in cases of compound epithet metonymy. By using the fictional discourse examples dependant on the context, we shall provide an explanation for the process behind these metonymical constructions in terms of cross-mapping of different mental spaces.


The average power versus efficiency characteristics of common selected engine cycles and a few irreversibility mechanisms are analyzed toward assessing the universal nature of assorted equations that have been derived recently for efficiency at maximum power point. Most results derived to date are shown to be special cases of one general thermodynamic problem of linearly irreversible heat engines, which explains the unifying basis for seemingly fortuitous similarities in their maximum power point characteristics.


We numerically and experimentally study a low-threshold, high-power random fiber laser, featuring a linear output as well. We also provide a comprehensive guideline for designing such random fiber lasers.


Abstract : Transportation polytopes are a special class of polytopes arising as sets of feasible solutions to transportation problems. The same polytopes are formed by all nonnegative matrices with specified row sums and column sums. Such matrices can be considered as generalized doubly stochastic matrices. The combinatorial structure--in particular, the number of vertices--of transportation polytopes is examined. (Author)


Abstract Ni–3Al and Ni–3Ti alloys were deposited on AISI 1045 steel substrate using air plasma spraying process. In this regard, mechanically alloyed feedstock powders were used. Open circuit potential EOCP measurements and Tafel polarisation tests were carried out to study corrosion behaviour of the coatings in 3·5%NaCl solution. These tests indicated that the corrosion performance of the Ni–3Ti coating is better than that of the Ni–3Al coating. The corrosion current densities were three times lower in the Ni–3Ti coating than in Ni–3Al coating. In addition, Ni–3Ti coating showed better passive behaviour than Ni–3Al coating. After 10 h of immersion, the surface of Ni–3Al coating became pitted, and rust spots appeared on the surface. In contrast, there was no rusting and pitting on the surface of Ni–3Ti coating even after 10 h of immersion.


Abstract : The report examines the blast wave parameters obtained from an 8 lb spherical charge of RDX/ThT cased in aluminium, lead, magnesium or steel. Three different case thicknesses of aluminium were examined, two of lead, two of magnesium and one of steel. The shock wave profile was recorded with side-on piezo-electric pressure gauges placed between 4 and 20 ft away from the charge. High speed cine films were taken of the fireball growth. Peak overpressure and impulse enhancement over the values from an uncased RDX/TNT charge were obtained only from the thickest lead casing. All the aluminium, magnesium and steel casings gave a reduction in pressure except at the furthest distance from the charge. The thinnest casings of aluminium, lead and magnesium all produced impulses of the same value as those from an uncased charge.


Heart natriuretic peptides, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) act as key regulators of homeostasis of body fluids volume and blood pressure, by decreasing salt excess and water retention, and by inhibiting intensive action of sympathetic nervous system and secretion of vasoconstrictor hormones. Plasma ANP, N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP), BNP and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations are considerably increased in heart insufficiency. Intracardiac pressure and atrial and ventricular wall tension are the prime regulators of natriuretic peptides release from the heart. ANP primarily reflects atrial, and BNP ventricular overload. The in vitro stabilities of NT-proANP, BNP and NT-proBNP in EDTA whole blood are sufficient for routine determination. Specific immunochemical tests with acceptable precision are commercially available. However, the determinations are not standardized, which makes difficulties during the comparation of results gained by tests from different manufactures. BNP and NT-proBNP are in relation to ANP and NT-proANP, better diagnostic and prognostic markers of heart insufficiency. BNP measurement is useful for screening in high-risk population. BNP has an excellent negative predictive value for left ventricular dysfunction. It is also suitable for screening hypertensive patients for the discovery of hypertrophy or/and dysfunction of left ventriculy, as well as for risk assessment during the subacute phase of acute myocardial infarction. BNP and NT-proBNP measurement is also useful for treatment guidance and optimization of therapy in heart insufficiency. However, BNP determination cannot replace echocardiography or similar techniques, because these methods provide different information. Thus for the cardiologists natriuretic peptides determination is useful addition to the standard clinical investigation of patients with ventricular dysfunction.


Abstract The Administration of Ecclesiastical Goods between State and Church: Fabricae Ecclesiae in Wuerttemberg in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since the Middle Ages, fabricae ecclesiae served to finance the erection and the maintenance of churches. The Church claimed to freely administer these goods, even if lay men often served as administrators. In the 19th century, the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg took over control of these goods and ordered the state municipality, assisted by local clerics, to govern them. In 1887, the king of Wuerttemberg started a process to separate ecclesiastical from secular goods. After WWI, the fabricae ecclesiae in Wuerttemberg were administered entirely by the Catholic Church. This contribution analyses this evolution from three perspectives, namely universal canon law, state law in Wuerttemberg, and particular canon law. It thereby highlights the tension between self-administration and state control of ecclesiastical goods, especially in the 19th century, and points to the fact that even the Catholic Church was part of the secular ruler's authority over the church.


The performance of the tetraphenylborate (TPB) salts of lead complexes with non-ionic surfactant polyalkoxylates, namely polyethylene glycol 1540 (PEG 1540), Antarox CO-880 and polypropylene glycol 425 (PPG 425) as the active sensors for Pb2+ ions in poly(vinyl chloride)(PVC) membrane electrode systems has been assessed using 2-nitrophenyl phenyl ether (NPPE), dioctylphenyl phosphonate (DOPP) or dipentylpentyl phosphonate (DPPP) and their mixtures as plasticising solvent mediators. The PVC electrode based on Pb. Antarox CO-880. TPB-NPPE showed a higher selectivity towards Pb2+ ions in the presence of a large number of interferent metal ions and had a near Nernstian response between 10–1 and 10–5 mol dm–3 of Pb2+.In terms of range, the next best electrode was that based on Pb. PPG-425. TPB-DOPP, but this suffered from more interferences than the Pb. PPG-425. TPB-NPPE analogue and was of short range (down to 10–4 mol dm–3). The three electrodes, Pb. Antarox CO-880. TPB-NPPE, Pb. PPG-425. TPB-DOPP and Pb.PPG-425. TPB-20% DOPP + 80% NPPE, showed good end-point breaks in the potentiometric titration of sulphate in 80% ethanolic solutions with lead perchlorate, the best being the electrode based on Pb. PPG-425. TPB-DOPP. However, the lead(II) titrant system is susceptible to the interference by hydrogen peroxide that can occur in some analytes.


In order to eliminate disturb effects caused by temperature parameter and fluctuant electric current on pressure transducer from air intake pipe in the gasoline engine in operation,nonlinear intelligent correction of pressure transducer from disturb effects caused by temperature parameter and fluctuant electric current was made based on neural network information fusion technology.The results show that some effects from non-goal parameter for pressure transducer can be eliminated availably by using nonlinear intelligent correction,and the output stability after being nonlinear corrected is twenty times as the output stability before being nonlinear corrected and the measurement precision is enhanced by 2.0% at least.


We adapted a media mill to house an ultrasonic horn to transesterify triglycerides to biodiesel. This configuration combines enhanced mass transfer from the acoustic cavitation of the ultrasonic probe with nonconventional mixing from the media mill. It ensures oil and methanol circulates in the vicinity of the ultrasonic tip. We tested methanol, ethanol and isopropanol as alcohols and KOH as a catalyst to transesterify canola oil. The branched isopropanol lowers the biodiesel cloud point by 10 °C compared to biodiesel produced with methanol (fatty acid methyl ester). We withdrew samples at regular intervals and analysed them in a GC according to EN14103-2011. The ultrasonic-assisted mixing device that we designed converts most of the triglycerides with methanol within one minute of pulsed ultrasonic irradiation. The reaction with ethanol and isopropanol is faster than in classical batch reactors.


Coronavirus
Many in the scientific community have mobilized to understand the virus that is causing the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Gao et al. focused on a complex that plays a key role in the replication and transcription cycle of the virus. They used cryo–electron microscopy to determine a 2.9-angstrom-resolution structure of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase nsp12, which catalyzes the synthesis of viral RNA, in complex with two cofactors, nsp7 and nsp8. nsp12 is a target for nucleotide analog antiviral inhibitors such as remdesivir, and the structure may provide a basis for designing new antiviral therapeutics.

Science , this issue p. [779][1]

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abb7498


Anodic oxidation of niobium is carried out at different current densities and temperatures in 0.1 N oxalic acid solution iby eliminating the difference of film growth caused by different surface conditions. Tafel slope is found to be indepen~ent of temperature, but decreases with increase in current density. Dewald's double barrier theory of ionic conduc~on has been examined critically and various parameters calculated for Nb20, films and compared with those of Ta/l>, films. A comparison of Nb20s and Ta20, film data shows that Dewald theory is applicable to both the systems. HoYfever, magnitudes of various parameters are quite different in both the cases. The large values of parameters a and


The first record of vertebrate fossils from North Africa can be traced back to the nineteenth century with the discovery of dinosaur footprints in Algeria (Le Mesle and Peron 1880 in Taquet, this issue) and Paleogene mammals in Egypt (Dames 1894). North Africa is now renowned for its rich paleontological heritage, illustrated by an outstanding diversity of fossil vertebrates. Fossils from North Africa can document most of the history of vertebrate evolution, from Silurian jawless fish remains from Algeria to the prolific Mio-Plio-Pleistocene sequences of the Moroccan Atlantic coast, which cover the last 6 million years of vertebrate history. Vertebrate faunas give us an idea about terrestrial communities before the Permian–Triassic crisis in North Africa and document the turnover that occurred after this crisis. Jurassic and Cretaceous fossils illustrate the rise and diversification of saurischian dinosaurs (e.g. Jurassic outcrops from the Middle and High Atlas mountains of Morocco) and contemporary fauna, including marine reptile faunas (e.g. Upper Cretaceous Akrabou Formation, Morocco). The Cretaceous 'Continental Intercalaire', which extends across North Africa, and its contemporary Baharyia Formation of Egypt provide abundant data on vertebrate history from the Early to Late Cretaceous and show how dinosaurs evolved in the context of the continental break up. Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the famous Fayum province of Egypt document the Cretaceous–Paleocene mass extinction event and the subsequent evolutionary radiation, the shift in both marine and terrestrial vertebrate distributions across the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary and the dawn of placental mammal history in Africa. The important paleontological discoveries of the last decades, along with the will to protect our paleontological heritage, justify the need to gather the international community in order to document the current state of the knowledge and progress of studies on fossil vertebrates from North Africa. Beside its scientific aims, the 1st North African Vertebrate Palaeontology (NAVEP1) was also intended to promote the conservation and the protection of fossils as part of the natural heritage in North Africa. The NAVEP1 was held at the Faculty of Sciences Semlalia Marrakech (FSSM), Morocco, from 25 to 27 May 2009. It was organised by the 'Vertebrate Evolution and Paleoenvironments' team (EVEP-FSSM), in collaboration with the Moroccan Society of Herpetology and the Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 7207, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, (CNRS/MNHN, Paris). The conference attracted more than a hundred participants from 24 countries who gave 66 oral presentations and 25 posters. The sessions of the first 2 days were opened by two plenary lectures given by invited keynote speakers, Philippe Janvier (L'origine des vertébrés et les premières étapes de leur histoire évolutive) and Philippe Taquet (Les dinosaures du Maghreb, Histoire de leur découverte), respectively. The presentations were organised according to the geological time scale – Paleozoic: marine vertebrates and their biogeography; Paleozoic: continental vertebrates and their associated paleoenvironments; Mesozoic: the age of dinosaurs and contemporaneous faunas, the Mesozoic faunas and the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary and Cenozoic: the Cenozoic faunas and the rise of African mammals and man. They concerned research carried out in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Mali, Angola, Niger, Brazil, Yemen, but also on contemporary faunas from Switzerland, Spain, Argentina and Scotland, which all involve comparisons with a wide range of North African topics, from the Paleozoic to archaeological sites. The NAVEP1 was bracketed by preand post-congress field excursions: a 2-day pre-congress field excursion throughout the Permian and Triassic beds of the Argana Basin (High Atlas of Morocco) and a 1-day post-congress field excursion, under the auspices of the Moroccan Office Chérifien des Phosphates on the Cretaceous-Paleogene vertebrate localities from the phosphate Ganntour Basin, Morocco. The24papers published in this issue are a good sample of the diversity of the topics discussed during this event. They are also arranged in a chronological order, from the Upper Permian amphibians to the Quaternary faunas. Although none of them deals with the Middle Paleozoic vertebrate faunas, they reflect the richness of the North African fossil vertebrate sites. Our dearest hope is that the NAVEP1 and this special issue will be the first step towards the reconsideration of a large number of dispersed data on


Review(s) of: True to Her Word: The Faithful Maiden Cult in Late Imperial China, by Weijing Lu, Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2008. xviii + 345 pp. US$60.00 (hardcover).


Insulin resistance is one of the most fundamental reactions to injury and stress (1). In response to an injury, the activation of the neuroendocrine and inflammatory systems very rapidly (within minutes) sets the body in a metabolic state of stress. This includes a halt of anabolic processes, and instead substrates from all bodily stores (fat, carbohydrate, and protein) are released and made available as fuels, as building blocks for acute phase proteins or tissue healing. Central to this potentially massive change in metabolism is the development of insulin resistance. Insulin is the body's most important anabolic hormone, and to achieve the rapid mobilization of substrates, insulin actions are reduced. In surgical patients, the degree of insulin resistance is related to the magnitude of the operation (1). In major surgical procedures, such as major colorectal operations, up to 90% of the preoperative insulin sensitivity canbe lost after theoperation.This change in metabolism lasts for well over 1 wk, even after moderate surgical stress. What is now becoming more and more evident is that insulin resistance is one of the key mechanisms by which several common surgical complications are triggered. Traditionally, insulin resistance was regarded as the way the body should respond to stress, and for the most part it was believed that it was probably beneficial and purposeful and should not be interfered with. Indeed, in studies of certain situations of severe stress, insulin resistance can be a key for survival. This is true in acute hemorrhage, where insulin resistance is needed to mobilize glucose to achieve fluid movements and plasma refill (2). However, in contrast to this, recent studies in elective surgical patients have suggested that in modern surgical practice, insulin resistance is harmful by prolonging recovery (1), and in this issue of JCEM Sato et al. (3) present a very important study showing a clear relationship between insulin resistance and postoperative complications. In the study by Sato et al. (3), an impressive total of 273 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery had their insulin sensitivity determined right before and at the conclusion of elective cardiac surgery using the clamp method (although cumbersome, it is the gold standard for these studies). About half the patients had no known diabetes, whereas the rest did, and the diabetic patients were further analyzed on the basis of the preoperative glucose control as determined using glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The authors report several important findings related to the relationships between clinical outcomes, insulin resistance, andpreoperativeglucose control.Theyconfirmpreviousnotions thatHbA1chas somepredictivevalueandmaydevelop into a marker that should be controlled more carefully to identifypatientsthatneedspecificandmorestringentglucose control. This was evident in the group with the widest spread in HbA1c, the diabetics, but was not confirmed in the nondiabetics. However, in another study in nondiabetic colorectal cancer patients, preoperative HbA1c resulted in higher postoperative glucose levels and also more complications, again mostly infectious (4, 5). Perhaps the most important finding in the study by Sato et al. (3) is the clear relationship between insulin resistance and major complications, in particular infections. In their study, a fall in insulin sensitivity by 50% after surgery increased the risk of major complications by 5to 6-fold and the risk for a severe infection by more than 10-fold. These figures show how important this metabolic parameter is for outcomes. Given that an uncomplicated open upper abdominal operation results in a 50% reduction in insulin sensitivity and that most open colorectal procedures go well beyond this, it is not surprising to find that complications in general and infectious complications in


Background: Gastric cancer is a common digestive tract tumor in our China, with high morbidity and mortality. Similar with other tumors, the occurrence of gastric cancer was also a complex pathophysiological process, regulated by a variety of oncogenes and tumor suppressor gene.
Aims and Objectives: This study aims to investigate the expression of cyclin D1, CDC25B, and p27 in gastric carcinoma and to study their relationship with the occurrence and development of gastric cancer.
Materials and Methods: SP immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of cyclin D1, CDC25B, and p27 in 42 cases of gastric carcinoma, 42 cases of paracancer, and 42 cases of normal gastric tissue and then their relationship with clinical and pathological factors was analyzed.
Results: (1) The expression of cyclin D1 increased gradually in normal gastric tissue, paracancer, and gastric carcinoma (P>0.05). The expression of CDC25B was higher in gastric carcinoma (P<0.05) while p27 was lower (P<0.05). (2) The result of Western blot shows that the expression of cyclin D1 and CDC25B was higher in gastric carcinoma than that in normal gastric tissue while p27 lower in gastric carcinoma (P<0.05), same with immunohistochemical. (3) The expressions of cyclin D1 and CDC25B had correlation with lymph nodes metastasis, and p27 had correlation with degrees of pathological differentiation, invasion depth, and lymph nodes metastasis. (4) There was a positive relationship between the expression of cyclin D1 and CDC25B in same sample (r=−0.392, P<0.05).
Conclusion: Expression of cyclin D1, CDC25B, and p27 protein can be helpful in the prediction of the biological behavior and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.


The International Heliophysical Year (IHY) involved the effort of thousands of scientists from over 70 countries, ended in February 2009. The major objectives of the IHY included over 60 collaborative studies of universal physical processes in the solar system, the deployment of arrays of small instruments to observe heliophysical processes, a unique program of educational and public outreach, and the preservation of the history of the IGY, during a two year period. A follow on effort, the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) is designed to build on the momentum developed during the IHY to develop the capability to observe, understand, and predict space weather phenomena.


Background/Aim: Enzalutamide is prescribed for advanced prostatic cancer patients, regardless of physical comorbidity. We hypothesized that comorbidity negatively affects survival regardless of age, performance status and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response. Patients and Methods: All patients (n=106) treated at the ADRZ Medical Center with enzalutamide in the period 2015-2018 and who had undergone at least one PSA response evaluation were included in a multivariate analysis to test which variables independently affected Time to PSA progression (TPSAP) and/or overall survival (OS). Results: A poorer performance status appeared to relate to a two times increased risk of dying (HR=2.032, 95%CI=1.078-3.830). An older age did not appear to influence OS, whereas an ACCI of more than 9 points appeared to relate to a more than three times increased risk of dying (HR=3.538, 95%CI=1.466-8.538). Conclusion: Survival appeared to be strongly affected by comorbidity, irrespective of age and performance status in patients treated with enzalutamide.


Infertility is one of the most tragic of all marital problems. Male factor contributes for about 30–40% cases of infertility. Oligospermia is one of the commonest causes of male infertility. In alopathic system, commonly Testosterone, Clomiphene citrate, Tamoxifene and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) are used to increase sperm count. However these drugs are expensive and produce several adverse effects like gynaecomastia, hepatic carcinoma, deep vein thrombosis, lowering of HDL and rise in LDL, etc. In Unani System of medicine a large number of drugs are being used for the management of sexual dysfunctions and infertility but the efficacy of these drugs is not documented.


Our Pt-Net is a novel object detection network based on a pre-trained and multi-feature VGG-16 network. Firstly, Pt-Net is initialized by a pre-trained VGG-16 model and its own CNN output via a linear combination. Secondly, Pt-Net generates proposals via particle filter method on Conv5 feature map and crops the multi-feature maps which are combined by fusing hierarchical CNN features in corresponding positions. After that, we apply multi-feature concatenation for the cropped parts for more image feature information and adopt a novel two-dimensional overlap area loss function for localization. Finally, we apply our Pt-Net on both object detection task and face detection task which are trained on the PASCAL VOC dataset and WIDER FACE dataset. Pt-Net can achieve a mAP of 76.8% on the detection of PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset and state-of-the-art results on the FDDB benchmark at 43 fps on an NVIDIA GTX 1070p GPU.


The New Millennium Interferometer Laser Metrology Testbed is a technology demonstration for a key component of the New Millennium Interferometer (NMI). For the success of NMI, NASA's proposed mission to fly a space-based interferometer, control of its position must be very precise. Laser Metrology is a powerful tool that uses interferometry to make hyper-fine distance measurements. The proposal is to use laser metrology on the NMI mission, but there is a concern that it will be difficult to implement. This experiment simulates the difficulties that the real NMI mission will have by attempting laser metrology in a twodimensional frictionless environment. The final results are very promising, but success is heavily dependent on capabilities of the available equipment. Thesis Supervisor: George Verghese Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering


The pressure broadening of oxygen transitions at 119 and 425 GHz have been measured in the laboratory for nitrogen and oxygen broadening as a function of temperature. The measured values are significantly different from estimates used by Woody and Richards to obtain a secondary calibration in their cosmic background measurements. The effect of the new determination is to move the calibrated cosmic background further from a Planck function.


The use of femoral stems with dual-taper modularity in total hip arthroplasty offers increased flexibility in restoring hip-center anatomy. Independent of femoral fixation, the modular neck offers the surgeon additional options in recreating femoral version, correcting limb length, and altering offset. Additionally, proponents cite smaller incisions, less dissection, reduced impingement and dislocation, and ease of revision. However, adverse events associated with modular femoral neck usage, including local and systemic effects of corrosion, fracture, and complexities of revision, are now well documented. This review highlights the most current basic science and clinical literature regarding the complications associated with modular femoral necks and their mechanisms of failure.


This book on equity investment culture in India gives good insight in to the subject of equity investment. To-day in times of falling interest rate there is strong case for investment in equity to get better returns. This book will help individuals to get convinced to make investments in equities. This book will also give better clarity and remove negatives from the minds of investors. This book is having a different dimension and focus, mainly on equity culture of investor in India. This book divide into seven chapters Chapter-I deals with the meaning, importance and role of capital market in economic development, Chapter-II deals with the introductory aspects of the study Chapter-III highlights the issues related to primary market and secondary market. The next (IV, V&VI) chapters are devoted for the analysis and interpretation of primary data collected. Chapter-VII provides conclusions of the entire study and recommendations.


The title compound was synthesized efficiently in the solid state by exploiting pepsin catalysis. The ring systems are nearly coplanar. A short intramolecular S⋯O=C contact is observed.


This report, a preliminary delineation of a new lithic complex from the Central Plains, is presented for the immediate purpose of aiding other archaeologists working in the area. Once one has left such easily recognizable markers as the Folsom complex, the details of the archaic horizons of the Great Plains are confused until we reach such lithic complexes as those found at Signal Butte (Strong, 1935), Ash Hollow Cave (Champe, 1946), and more recently, Nebo Hill (Shippee, 1948). The primary value of defining the Frontier Culture complex at this time is that it affords a "pure" and relatively complete lithic complex by means of which comparative typological work in the Plains Archaic can be furthered.


Institute of Atmospheric Physics measures atmospheric attenuation on experimental FSO link on 850 and 1550 nm for more than one year. Experimental site is located at meteorological observatory on the isolated mountain with frequent fog, low clouds and strong wind occurrence. Measured attenuation is correlated with the wind turbulence intensity, visibility and LWC. Simple empirical models estimating attenuation on FSO link from meteorological parameters are formulated and verified through the experiment described. The paper shows also basic statistical behavior of the longterm FSO signal level in extreme conditions.


3-Alkenylsilanes and 3-alkenylstannanes are conveniently prepared by the silicon- and tin-directed regioselective elimination of sulfenic acid and sulfenamide from γ-silyl and γ-stannyl substituted sulfoxides and sulfilimines.


Electrical resistivity tests have been widely conducted in multiple scales, from a few centimeters to kilometers. While electrode spacing is used to define field resistance, laboratory measurements in a limited space need to consider electrode geometry. However, there are no studies that theoretically explore the effects of the geometries of electrodes and container size on laboratory electrical resistivity measurements. This study formulates a theoretical electrical resistance for the geometry of cylindrical electrodes and the size of a non-conductive container with the method of image charges. As a complementary study, experimental tests were conducted to verify the derived equations. The discussion includes the concepts of the spherical equivalent electrodes and a simple design method for container size.


Practice nurse Bernadette Olaofe, pictured above, works at the Binfield Surgery in Bracknell, Berkshire, where she has access to a successful exercise referral scheme.


An action in passing off provides a very good remedy and supplement to copyrights law, where there is no infringement of rights. Its wider scope can be imported in restraining unfair practices or unfair appropriation of business goodwill. The remedies available under this action include, injunction, account for profits, damages, declaration etc. In addition to statutory protection, all the above items are potentially protected under the "passing off" area of the common law (which has been shown by recent judicial decisions to be a strong form of protection in cases where reputation has been clearly established).


Multipotent adult stem cells have been promoted and utilized in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases (AD) are nquestionably debilitating, not only by diminishing quality of life, but also these disorders significantly reduce life span. To date, prevalent drug treatments acting to curb AD seem to be ineffective, thus there is a critical need to find alternative treatments. Stem cells derived from the umbilical cord blood and tissue, bone marrow, adipose, amniotic fluid, placental, and dental pulp have been recently used for treating some of these diseases. Here we highlight the current use of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) on Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Type I Diabetes, and Psoriasis.


Energy and climate problems that occur encourage the intensification of energy use efficiency, one of which is in buildings. The building sector is the largest contributor to energy consumption when compared to other sectors due to the need for comfort in life, including to regulate air temperature, ventilation, and artificial lighting. Window innovation as a building component leads to adaptive smart windows technology that has energy saving features. The use of these windows is attractive because they are designed to adapt to changing environmental conditions to minimize large heat losses by adjusting their transmissivity and conductivity. Various types of smart windows have developed, one of which is electrochromic technology as dynamic glass technology which has been widely used as smart windows in commercial buildings. Several studies have shown that its use in buildings has been shown to save energy consumption in buildings through the HVAC and lighting aspects. However, in today's technology, its performance still requires external power to adjust their optical conditions. Therefore, the innovation in developing electrochromic smart windows technology that is integrated with photovoltaic technology is an interesting thing to do. The combination of the electrochromic solution with photovoltaic Si-TFSC placed on a glass substrate provides promising optical performance and energy benefits. The integration of electrochromic and photovoltaic devices provides better efficiency in energy saving, because photovoltaic and electrochromic devices can achieve electrochromic layer discoloration without an external power source. Given the photoelectric and optical modulation properties of electrochromic photovoltaic windows that can function as solar cell modules as well as powered smart windows on their own, this technology has a major advantage in applying sustainable energy to buildings. In its application in buildings, to improve device performance, the control system can be applied by adjusting environmental conditions according to the sensor system readings to obtain better device performance.


Discussion Similarly, Sun & Cheng (1) reported a frequency of occupational dermatitis of 16% in 2793 consecutively patch tested patients in Taiwan, 54% having irritant contact dermatitis, 54% allergic contact dermatitis, and 8% both. The predominance of metalworkers in our study reflects the local working population. It has been reported previously (1–3) that metalworkers (4) and certain others of our occupational groups, i.e., nursing, catering, hairdressing and cleaning, are at high risk of occupational skin disease. Our most common allergens, i.e., nickel, rubber chemicals, chromium and fragrance mix, have been identified previously as occupationally relevant (1, 2, 5).


This study aim to explore the effects of presenting anomalous data on improving student's critical thinking ability. This study is an experimental research conducting on one-group pretest-posttest design. Purposive sampling was used in this study, where one class group was used as a sample of the study, namely 36 students of senior high school at MA Hidayaturrahmah NW Menggala, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The data of CT ability collected by instrument refer to Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test. The data analysis descriptively and statistically were done to process the data of research. Path analysis was used to evaluate the contribution of presenting anomalous data on improving student's critical thinking ability. The results of this study indicate that the presenting anomalous data at initial learning have an effect and contribute on improving student's critical thinking ability. Further reviews are described in this article.