The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been implicated in amphibian declines around the world, including the southwestern United States. I studied patterns of Bd infection in Hyla arenicolor, Rana catesbeiana, and R. yavapaiensis in the Rincon Mountains and Tucson Basin in Arizona. Bd prevalence and infection intensity were location dependent in all species and R. yavapaiensis may be a reservoir of Bd for H. arenicolor, where they co-occurred. Treatment of a backyard population of R. yavapaiensis with itraconazole did not reduce winter frog mortality due to Bd. The lethal Bd infection threshold of this population was between 59,847 and 4,237,330 zoospores. Zoospore loads from swabs of freshly dead frogs did not differ significantly from those taken from those same frogs following freezing and thawing. Thus, important information regarding infection intensity and probable cause of death can be gathered from frogs collected by others and frozen until convenient to process. 10 CHAPTER 1 PATTERNS OF CHYTRID FUNGUS (BATRACHOCHYTRIUM DENDROBATIDIS) INFECTION IN AMPHIBIANS OF THE RINCON MOUNTAINS AND TUCSON BASIN, ARIZONA Abstract The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been implicated in amphibian declines around the world, including in the southwestern United States. While amphibians of southern Arizona were known to test positive for Bd, little was known about how, or if, these amphibians were affected by this disease. I swabbed lowland leopard frogs (Rana yavapaiensis) and canyon tree frogs (Hyla arenicolor) from streams in the Rincon Mountains and used quantitative PCR to determine patterns of Bd prevalence and infection intensity in both species, in different life stages, at different locations, and across elevations and seasons. I also studied patterns of Bd infection in American bullfrogs (R. catesbeiana) and R. yavapaiensis from ponds across the Tucson Basin neighboring the Rincon Mountains. I filtered water at each location to see if Bd would be detected in the water when frogs at that location also tested positive for Bd. In the Rincon Mountains, prevalence and infection intensity (averaged across all sites) was higher for R. yavapaiensis than H. arenicolor. In the Tucson Basin, mean prevalence and infection intensity was higher for R. yavapaiensis than R. catesbeiana. Prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in H. arenicolor were associated with location and season, as well as the interactions of location and elevation and location and season. Prevalence of Bd was also associated with the interaction between location and life stage. 11 Prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in R. yavapaiensis were associated with location and the interaction between location and elevation. Infection intensity of Bd was correlated with elevation. Neither prevalence nor infection intensity of Bd in R. yavapaiensis from the Rincon Mountains were associated with life stage, season, or the interaction between location and life stage and season. I found some evidence that R. yavapaiensis from the Rincon Mountains caused the prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in H. arenicolor to be greater, where the species co-occurred. Patterns of Bd infection in H. arenicolor were temperature dependent (increasing with elevation) when R. yavapaiensis were not present, suggesting that R. yavapaiensis may be a reservoir of Bd for H. arenicolor. Prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in R. catesbeiana differed between locations, but was not associated with life stage. Prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in R. yavapaiensis from the Tucson Basin also differed between locations. Bd results from water filtrates were inconclusive. 12 Introduction Amphibians are experiencing declines and extinctions worldwide (Stuart et al. 2004). While habitat loss and over-harvesting are the major contributors, disease has emerged as an additional cause of declines and extinctions, especially those that occur in pristine habitats (Stuart et al. 2004, Wake and Vredenburg 2008, Collins 2010). Specifically, the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been implicated in global amphibian declines, and is believed to have caused the decline or extinction of at least 200 amphibian species (Skerratt et al. 2007). Bd was first described in frogs from Australia and Panama (Berger et al. 1998) and was identified as a previously undescribed fungal pathogen of amphibians (Longcore et al. 1999). Retrospective studies provide evidence that Bd was the cause of the declines of several amphibian species, decades before its 1998 discovery (Lips et al. 2003a, Retallick et al. 2004, Hale et al. 2006). Bd zoospores infect and grow in amphibian keratin cells in structures called zoosporangia (Berger et al. 2005a). Zoosporangia development coincides with maturation of amphibian keratin cells, and when a keratin cell is ready to be shed, zoosporangia discharge their zoospores into the water to reinfect the host and infect new hosts (Berger et al. 2005a). Bd zoospores are waterborne, and die when desiccated (Johnson et al. 2003). Bd infection is localized to where keratin is located: tadpoles only have keratin in their mouthparts, whereas metamorphosed and adult frogs have keratin in their skin at the bottoms of their hands and feet and within the ventral abdomen (Marantelli et al. 2004). 13 Most species are not affected by Bd as tadpoles, but some experience high rates of Bd related mortality post-metamorphosis (Lamirande and Nichols 2002, Muths et al. 2003, Marantelli et al. 2004, Rachowicz and Vredenburg 2004, Woodhams and Alford 2005). In a Bd-positive captive population of great barred frogs (Mixophyes fasciolatus), it was found that rapid redistribution of Bd at metamorphosis from mouthparts to keratinized skin caused all individuals (n > 500) to die from their infection (Marantelli et al. 2004). Recently metamorphosed poison dart frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) were also more susceptible to high Bd infection loads then adults (Lamirande and Nichols 2002). Bd causes the disease chytridiomycosis, which is thought to occur by causing an imbalance in osmotic homeostasis through the inhibition of electrolyte transport across an amphibian's skin, causing a decrease in sodium and potassium, resulting in cardiac arrest and death (Voyles et al. 2007). There is some evidence that higher Bd levels also lead to dehydration (Voyles et al. 2012). Bd grows and reproduces best from 17-25C, can survive freezing, and dies when exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time (e.g., 37C for 4 hours) (Longcore et al. 1999, Johnson et al. 2003, Piotrowski et al. 2004). Many studies found a higher prevalence of infection in the winter and spring than in the summer (Aplin and Kirkpatrick 2000; Berger et al. 2004; Kriger and Hero 2007a; McDonald et al. 2005; Ouellet et al. 2005; Pearl et al. 2007; Retallick et al. 2004; Rothermel et al. 2008; Woodhams and Alford 2005), due to these seasons being near the optimal temperature for Bd. Despite the high winter prevalence, some frog populations appeared to persist with stable infections of Bd (McDonald et al. 2005; Retallick et al. 2004; but see Green et al. 14 2002). Large numbers of dead or dying frogs, thought to be due to chytridiomycosis, have also been found in the winter (Berger et al. 2004; Bradley et al. 2002). Frog populations at elevations with optimal temperatures for Bd generally experience a higher Bd prevalence and are at more risk to decline due to Bd (Burrowes et al. 2004, Brem and Lips 2008). Prevalence and infection intensity of Bd in frogs in Brazil was highest at lentic breeding habitats at high elevations (1600m versus 0-1000m, Gründler et al. 2012. Infected Cascades frogs (Rana cascadae) in Oregon were more prevalent at high elevations in the early season (cooler months) than lower elevations at all other seasons (2400m versus 730-2000m, Piovia-Scott et al. 2011). Species that are more aquatic experience more frequent Bd-related declines than terrestrial species (Lips et al. 2003b, Kriger and Hero 2007b), though some aquatic species, like American bullfrogs (R. catesbeiana) and African clawed frogs (Xenopus spp.), are resistant to Bd (Daszak et al. 2004, Garner et al. 2006, Kielgast et al. 2010) due to a strong anti-Bd response of their antimicrobial peptides (Rollins-Smith et al. 2002, Ramsey et al. 2010). As a result, R. catesbeiana and Xenopus spp. are considered reservoirs of Bd and vectors of the fungus to naïve populations of other species (Weldon et al. 2004, Garner et al. 2006, Bai et al. 2010). Pacific chorus frogs (Pseudacris regilla) have recently been implicated as reservoirs of Bd in the Sierra Nevada of California, with Bd-positive individuals carrying infection loads up to ten times greater than those found lethal for the sympatric mountain yellow-legged frog (R. sierra and R. muscosa), even at sites where mountain yellow-legged frogs were extirpated (Reeder et al. 2012). Other potential reservoirs of Bd include pond water, certain aquatic insects, waterfowl, and fish, 15 and it is suggested that any of these reservoirs (or something else) could spread Bd from one location to another (Collins et al. 2005, Johnson and Speare 2005, Garmyn et al. 2012). Much debate revolves around whether Bd is a recently introduced disease (the novel pathogen hypothesis) or is endemic to populations and has increased in virulence and pathogenicity due to changes in the environment (the endemic pathogen hypothesis, Fisher et al. 2009). Genotyping of Bd strains has revealed little difference between strains worldwide and Bd has not been detected in frog specimens in North America prior to 1961, supporting the novel pathogen hypothesis (Morehouse et al. 2003, Ouellet et al. 2005, Morgan et al. 2007). Bd is thought to spread to different countries through international trade (Daszak and Cunningham 2003, Mazzoni et al. 2003, Bai et al. 2010). The origin


This study investigated whether followers' work satisfaction
mediates the relationship between a transformational leadership
style and group performance. An evaluation of 32 CEOs by 500
subordinates took place after three months of intensive
cooperation within a managerial simulation game. All of the
respondents were college students. The followers assessed their
work satisfaction using three questions from the Job Diagnostic
Survey. Each CEO was evaluated by an average of 15 followers in
terms of his/her transformational leadership style using the
Czech Leadership Questionnaire. Group performance was assessed
based on the final profits of the 32 game companies.
Multi-level regression was performed to test the hypothesis.
Individual transformational leadership perception related
weakly to individual work satisfaction. Group transformational
leadership related to group performance partially through group
work satisfaction. The mediation effect was strong but
significant only at a 10% level because of the limited number
of teams (clusters). The advantage of the study was the
assessment of the leaders by a large number of followers and
the multi-level data analysis. The study is unique because the
standardized design of the managerial simulation game enabled
an objective and comparable appraisal of the group performance.
Contributions to transformational leadership theory, research,
and practices are discussed.


There is limited information available about organic fertilization of vegetable transplants. The availability and release of the mineral nutrients from organic fertilizers is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of compost rate and chicken manure on the growth of tomato transplants. Tomato transplants were grown in an organic peat-based substrate (Garden Safe® Organic Potting Mix) amended with six rates of either compost (0% to 50%, by weight) or chicken manure (0% to 40%, by weight). The results showed that plant dry weight was minimally affected by compost rates, suggesting that compost provided only a minimal amount of nutrients to the plants. However, since transplants produced with compost-amended substrate were of similar quality compared to those produced exclusively with the substrate, it suggests that compost may be used to partially replace peat-based substrates used for transplant production. Shoot, root and plant dry weight increased with increasing rates of chicken manure (applied prior to seeding) reaching a maximum at 10%-20% (by weight) and then declined at 40% rate. Thus, chicken manure mixed with the substrate appeared to provide enough nutrients to tomato transplants. INTRODUCTION Organic vegetable growers are increasingly faced with reduced supply and poor quality transplants (plugs). Vegetable transplants produced organically are often of low quality because of poor fertilization management. There is limited information available on fertilization of organic production of vegetable transplants. A major challenge in organic production is the uncertainties in bio-availability of macro and micro nutrients contained in organic fertilizers or amendments. In most instances the essential nutrients are in unavailable forms or need to be chemically modified to be available to plants. Thus, it is usually difficult to determine optimum application rates of organic fertilizers based only on the chemical composition of organic amendments. Chicken manure has a higher mineral nutrient content and higher rates of N mineralization compared to compost (Eklind et al., 2001). The objective of this study was to determine the effect of compost rate and chicken manure rate on growth and development of tomato plugs grown organically. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted in a greenhouse at the Horticulture Farm, Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, Ga, during the fall of 2006. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) 'Florida-47' transplants were grown in organic substrate (Garden Safe® Organic Potting Mix) amended with different rates of either compost or chicken manure. The design was a randomized complete block with four replications (replication = one 200cell tray) and six treatments (rates of compost or chicken manure). In the compost trial, the treatments were 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, or 50% (by weight). Compost (Longwood Plantation, Newington, Georgia) was prepared from cotton gin waste, chicken litter, and a small amount of peat humus, mixed, and composted for a minimum of 10 weeks. In the Proc. IV IS on Seed, Transplant and Stand Establishment


CeO 2 , Ce 1– x Zr x O 2 , and Ce 1– x Y x O 2– δ ( x = 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00) have been rapidly synthesized to estimate their catalytic behavior in decomposing CH 3 SH. The role of oxygen vacancies, and the rela‐ tionship between the oxygen species and catalytic properties of CeO 2 and Zr‐doped and Y‐doped ceria‐based materials are investigated in detail. Combining the observed catalytic performance with the characterization results, it can be deemed that surface lattice oxygen plays a critical role in me‐ thanethiol catalytic conversion over cerium oxides. Ce 0.75 Zr 0.25 O 2 shows higher catalytic activity for CH 3 SH decomposition due to the large amount of surface lattice oxygen, readily available oxygen species, and excellent redox properties. Ce 0.75 Y 0.25 O 2– δ displays better catalytic stability owing to the greater number of oxygen vacancies that would promote bulk lattice oxygen migration to the sur‐ face of the catalyst in order to replenish surface lattice oxygen. In addition, the results show that the difference in chemical valence between Ce and the heteroatoms would strongly influence the amount of surface lattice oxygen as well as the mobility of bulk‐phase oxygen in these catalysts, thus affecting their activity and stability. Surface lattice oxygen plays a key role in decomposing CH 3 SH. Oxygen vacancies promote bulk lattice oxygen migration. The valence dif‐ ference between the doped ions affects the catalytic behavior.


This study considers three problems of outliers in circular statistics. The first problem is an attempt to use the standard outlier detection procedures for linear data set by approximating circular variables by linear variables. This is possible for large values of concentration parameter. Series of simulation studies are carried out to specify the accepted value of the concentration parameter so that the von Mises distribution can be approximated by normal distribution.
The second is the problem of outliers in circular samples. Two numerical tests of discordancy are proposed to identify outliers. The test statistics are based on the summation of circular distances and chord lengths respectively from the point of interest to all other observations on the circumference of a unit circle. The approximate distributions of the test statistics are derived. Simulation studies show that both statistics perform better than other known discordancy tests. On the other hand, a boxplot version for circular data sets is proposed. Via simulation studies, we show that the resistant criterion highly depends on the concentration of circular samples.
The third problem is the existence of outliers in the circular regression model. Firstly, we propose a new definition of circular residuals which can be used to identify outliers using various graphical and numerical tests. Secondly, three numerical tests are developed to detect influential observations based on row deletion approach. The first two are defined using the circular distance between the observed and fitted values with the derivation of the approximate distributions. The other test is an extended version of the COVRATIO statistic in linear regression to the circular case. In general, the three numerical tests perform well in detecting influential observations.
For illustration, we consider two real circular data sets, namely, the frogs' data set and the wind direction data set. In conclusion, the statistics proposed by this study are able to solve some problems of outliers in circular data.


Hu FB, Willett WC. Optimal diets for prevention of coronary heart disease. JAMA 2002; 288:2569-2578.

> Context: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of mortality in industrialized countries and is rapidly becoming a primary cause of death worldwide. Thus, identification of the


In the mathematical analyses of ad hoc network theories,the node space distribution of a mobility model is an important foundation for the theoretic research of many relevant characteristic of ad hoc network,e.g.,network connectivity,MST,average path length,network capacity etc.,and is a key factor to the simulation results. Random direction mobility model is a commonly used mobility model in the field of ad hoc network. In this paper,the space probabilistic distribution of this mobility model is investigated. Through the analyses of the probability and average length of the events that contribute to the node space distribution,the exact formula of the node space probabilistic distribution are derived in both 1D and 2D regions. The results of this paper provide precise theoretic foundations for derivations,proofs,simulations and applications of ad hoc network based on random direction mobility model.


We demonstrate empirically how recent proposals to modify the penny-based system of stock trading may have simultaneous and opposite effects on the incidence of high frequency trading (HFT) and the trading of undisplayed (or "dark") liquidity. We do so by exploiting the fact that the existing ban on sub-penny quotations (Rule 612 of Regulation NMS) only applies to equity orders (bids or asks) priced at or above $1.00 per share, thus creating a sharp distinction in tick size regulation between those orders that are just above $1.00 and those just below it. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that permitting subpenny orders for stocks priced below $1.00 per share is associated with a sharp increase in the incidence of HFT and a sharp decrease in the trading of undisplayed liquidity (i.e., dark pools and broker internalization). Changes in market quality are mixed, with both quoted spreads and depths declining significantly for stocks priced just below the $1.00 cut-off. Our findings are robust to changes in stock exchange fee structures at the $1.00 cut-off, although maker/taker fee structures are shown to impair market quality both above and below this price point in certain contexts. These results are strongly suggestive that recent proposals by major U.S. stock exchanges to permit subpenny orders for stocks priced above $1.00 per share may result in greater HFT without necessarily changing the costs of trade execution. Conversely, Congress' mandate in Section 106(b) of the JOBS Act for the SEC to investigate increasing tick sizes for emerging growth companies can be expected to erode further the amount of trading that occurs on conventional stock exchanges while potentially reducing the incidence of HFT. Lastly, our findings indicate that any reform to either increase or decrease tick sizes should be accompanied by limitations on exchanges' maker/taker fees to minimize the incentive these fees can create for market manipulation.


Figure 1: Schematic structure of a mature hurricane. I. Boundary layer: Surface stresses cause radial influx and low level convergence. II. Main vortex: Tangential winds are approximately in gradient-wind balance => Negligible radial flux. III. Subsidence region: The inward directed pressure gradient force decreases with height leading to high-level divergence. IV. Eye: Downward directed flux of relatively dry air originated from region III. Katrina, 2005


The creation of the structure of a table can be done with a visual interface like phpMyAdmin, it is easier in this way than with SQL code


Summary Coronaviruses are a diverse group of viruses that infect mammals and birds. Bats are reservoirs for several different coronaviruses in the Alphacoronavirus and Betacoronavirus genera. They also appear to be the natural reservoir for the ancestral viruses that generated the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreaks. Here, we detected coronavirus sequences in next‐generation sequence data created from Eonycteris spelaea faeces and urine. We also screened by PCR urine samples, faecal samples and rectal swabs collected from six species of bats in Singapore between 2011 and 2014, all of which were negative. The phylogenetic analysis indicates this novel strain is most closely related to lineage D Betacoronaviruses detected in a diverse range of bat species. This is the second time that coronaviruses have been detected in cave nectar bats, but the first coronavirus sequence data generated from this species. Bat species from which this group of coronaviruses has been detected are widely distributed across SE Asia, South Asia and Southern China. They overlap geographically, often share roosting sites and have been witnessed to forage on the same plant. The addition of sequence data from this group of viruses will allow us to better understand coronavirus evolution and host specificity.


This paper uses the information entropy method to measure the rough set's fuzziness,and makes the pretreatment before the reduction of rough's decision attribute with eliminating the difference which due to the redundance of decision attribute.Combination of SVM in solving the small sample,nonlinear and high dimensional pattern recognition problem has a lot of unique performance advantages.In this paper,an improved algorithm is given and the classification results are tested.


1 Abstract—Microswimmers are artificial microscopic entities able to propel in viscous fluids and have the ability to perform tasks at the microscale. This capacity allows to impact many scientific areas such as micromanipulation, lab-on-a-chip devices or targeted drug delivery. In this study, optical video microscopy was used to examine propelled paramagnetic colloidal carpets. First, previous results were reproduced by sliding carpets on top of a flat substrate. In order to investigate more complex situations as the one occurring in natural systems, a different substrate was used. We have slid carpets on top of a periodic structured landscape, namely a two-dimensional colloidal crystal, composed of silica particles. We observe the emergence of novel phenomena when external and time dependent magnetic fields are applied over a colloidal paramagnetic carpet driven across a periodic structured landscape. Stair-like trajectories, periodic oscillations and spontaneous reorientations of the carpet were observed. Also, the comparison of the average speed of the carpet on top of a flat substrate and on a patterned substrate is reported.


This work aims at, to study the influence of Nd 3+ on the dielectric properties of a ceramics material of general formula: Pb[Zr 0.45 Ti 0 . 45 (Zn 1/3 , Sb 2/3 ) 0.1 ]O 3 and of structure perovskite. The selected samples were prepared by the method of synthesis with solid way. The study of the dielectric properties of the system showed that the values of the permittivity, the resistivity, increase with the addition of  Nd 3+  1%. Keywords:  Ceramics PZT, Dielectric Properties, Polarization.


The cytogenetic aberrations were considered as markers for diagnosis and prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), while the expression and regulation under different cytogenetic groups remain to be fully elucidated.


Abstract In the South China Sea Arbitration, the Tribunal decided that China had not breached the due diligence obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment under Articles 192 and 194(5) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning Chinese fishers fishing with explosives, but that China had breached the same obligation regarding Chinese fishers harvesting endangered species. This article looks at how the Tribunal interpreted and applied the due diligence obligation and argues, from a Chinese perspective, that there were facts overlooked by the Tribunal that China could have presented to counter the evidence of the Philippines, which might have been enough to affect the decision on destructive fishing had China participated in the Arbitration.


High-skill tasks such as aircraft maintenance procedures generally require considerable on-the-job training (OJT). Because OJT requires a considerable amount of time, longterm scheduling of OJT by considering both working efficiency and skill development is required. The authors have proposed education coefficient (EC) as a parameter that adjusts the frequency of OJT and have proposed a scheduling support system for longterm scheduling of OJT considering working efficiency and skill education. Users of the proposed scheduling support system can easily adjust the balance between working efficiency and skill education by changing EC. However, it is difficult for them to find effective values of EC that realize a good balance between working efficiency and skill education to maintain a certain number of skilled workers. In this paper, we propose a simulation-based scheduling optimization system using a simple genetic algorithm (GA). The purpose of this study is to adjust the value of EC automatically by considering the balance between working efficiency and skill education and to find effective rules for adjusting the value of EC. The experimental results show that the proposed system computes solutions that are better than those computed by using a constant EC.


We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a causal operator to have a local realization of class $C^k (k = 1, \cdots ,\infty ,\omega )$ of the form \[\dot x = f(x,u),\quad y = h(x).\]We show that two minimal local realizations of the same response map are locally difleomorphic.


(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)INTRODUCTIONNowadays innovations play one of the most important roles in the economic development and in the industry of the country. Innovations provide the rapid growth of manufacturing of the new high-tech and improvement of the preexisting products on the market, which contributes to the development of competition and determination of the companies to the creation of competitive products. As we know, competition is the engine of the progress. Innovations also directly connected with the financial investments (innovations), which are not on the first place.Firstly, the term «Innovation» was introduced to the scientific usage by the famous Australian economist Joseph Schumpeter (1939), who laid the theoretical foundations of the system of innovations and showed the role of innovations in the processes of change in technology and management. According to the ideas of Joseph Schumpeter, the term «Innovation » means the means the change with the purpose of implementation and use of new types of consumer goods, new industrial and transportations, markets and forms of organizations in the industry. By the way, we may conclude that Innovation is the creation of the new, unique product, which does not have analogues in the past or it is the better model of the product from the remote past. As a result of transformation of the potential scientific-technological progress to the real product or technology, which entail fundamental organizational, administrative, and industrial-technological transformations, and at the same time they provide a qualitative growth of the efficiency of processes or products, which are marketable.The regulation of innovative activity in the Russian Federation bases on the Federal Law, from 23.08.1996, N°127-FL (12.22.2014) "The law about Science and State Scientific and Technical Policy". This law regulates the relations between the subjects of scientific and (or) scientific-technical activities, public authorities and consumers of scientific and (or) scientifictechnical products (works and services), including the provision of the state support for innovation. An innovative activity in the Republic of Tatarstan governed by the law of the Republic of Tatarstan, from 02.08.2010, N°63-LRT, «The law about innovation activity in the Republic of Tatarstan». The law defines the goals, tasks and principles of the innovation policy of the Republic of Tatarstan, and at the same time it regulates relations, which arise in connection with the establishment and implementation of the measures of the state support of innovation activity in the Republic of Tatarstan .METHODEvery innovation process requires the allocation of certain financial resources for its implementation. There are two methods of financing innovation. We know about direct and indirect methods. Figure 1 presents the basic methods of direct financing of innovation.We may see the basic methods of indirect financing of innovations on Figure 2.The essence of the method of indirect financing is obvious and it reduced to the fact, hat the provision of innovative projects carried out directly by the need to implement them by logistical, labor and information resources - by passing the stage of raising funds and spending them to purchase these resources.The process of innovation, also as all processes, has the result. Analysis of innovation activity allowed us to identify areas with the most effective indicator of . The best results were achieved in the organization of expanding the range of goods, works and services, and in the improving of the quality of goods, works and services (Figure 3). The index value in these areas was 2.4. The same value for their expansion was for the preservation of traditional markets.The highest productivity was observed in the direction of improving the quality of works, goods and services, with the index of 2.6, in the field of communications and information technologies (Figure 4) in the period from 2003 to 2006. …


The purpose of this paper is to study the diverse concepts of nature and the Way in the poetry of Kim Si-seup. In the poetry the representation of nature functions in relationship with the experience and life of the poet and his philosophy of the Way of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Through an analysis of the nature and function of Chinese characters and the poetry, as well as its expression of the experience and life of Kim Si-seup, including his views on the laws of nature, human nature, and being true to one's nature, this paper attempts to show that the representation of nature functions in relationship with the Way of Confucianism in the rational form of the poetry, in relationship with the Way of Buddhism in the compassionate purpose of its depiction of the world of impermanence and suffering, and in relationship with the Way of Taoism in its portrayal of the virtue and wonder of a life lived in accordance with the providence of nature.


This article reviews the application of SF-36 in assessing the quality of life in Chinese and non-Chinese patients with atherosclerosis.The article examines atherosclerosis in a patient's quality of life evaluation,impact on patient quality of life on the main factors and treatment options,drug efficacy,and an evaluation of nursing intervention for patients in order to provide a reference.


Abstract Tattoos can have cultural or medical significance. Occasionally, evidence of this type of body modification may be found in archaeological remains. This paper describes three tattoos found in a collection of human remains from the site of Semna South in Sudanese Nubia. The tattoos date to the Meroitic period, about 2000 years ago. Two tattoos were located on the dorsal surfaces of naturally mummified hands. These tattoos were examined using infra-red reflectography to enhance visibility. The tattoos are relatively complex designs and may relate to the social status or the group affiliation of the individuals bearing them.


There were quite a lot of anti-war novels with historical theme in the citizens' magazine Wanxiang when Shanghai was occupied by the enemy.The great events about military forces were never cared about by females,but in these novels,the anti-war spirit was shown primarily by female leading roles.Investigating into the role function of females' in these saving-nation stories,we have found that most of them were marginalized or abnormal females such as "concubines","illiterate rural women" or beauties,but no gentlewomen.All of these showed the male historical narrative tradition laying behind such stories.


The concept of destructive code reads is a new defensive strategy that prevents code reuse attacks by coupling fine-grained address space layout randomization with a mitigation for online knowledge gathering that destroys potentially useful gadgets as they are disclosed by an adversary. The intuition is that by destroying code as it is read, an adversary is left with no usable gadgets to reuse in a control-flow hijacking attack. In this paper, we examine the security of this new mitigation. We show that while the concept initially appeared promising, there are several unforeseen attack tactics that render destructive code reads ineffective in practice. Specifically, we introduce techniques for leveraging constructive reloads, wherein multiple copies of native code are loaded into a process' address space (either side-by-side or one-after-another). Constructive reloads allow the adversary to disclose one code copy, destroying it in the process, then use another code copy for their code reuse payload. For situations where constructive reloads are not viable, we show that an alternative, and equally powerful, strategy exists: leveraging code association via implicit reads, which allows an adversary to undo in-place code randomization by inferring the layout of code that follows already disclosed bytes. As a result, the implicitly learned code is not destroyed, and can be used in the adversary's code reuse attack. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our techniques with concrete instantiations of these attacks against popular applications. In light of our successes, we argue that the code inference strategies presented herein paint a cautionary tale for defensive approaches whose security blindly rests on the perceived inability to undo the application of in-place randomization.


Monthly CalCOFI cruises of 1954, 1956, and 1958 were analyzed for abundance of populations of species of Chaetognatha, Siphonophorae, Chondrophorae, Medusae, and Ctenophora. Data were also noted on other abundant zooplankters in the samples (copepods, euphausiids, decapod larvae, pteropods, heteropods, polychaetes, salps, doliolids, and pyrosomes). Information was grouped into three categories of abundance of anchovy larvae per standard haul (more than 241 anchovy larvae, from 1 to 240, and absence of larvae). In general, concentration of predators was inversely related to aggregations of anchovy larvae. Absence of anchovy larvae coincided with prochordates, decapod larvae, pteropods, heteropods, and polychaetes, and abundance of anchovy larvae concurred with abundance of copepods and/or euphausiids. This habitat can be designated "anchovy water." Gut content analysis indicated that predatory pressure on fish larvae was weaker when there was abundance of other food animals, e.g. copepods and euphausiids in the waters, as shown by the plankton collections. RESUMEN


The following aspects were introduced briefly: the method and theories of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis,and test procedure .The test parameters wer; also discussed. In addition,based on the method of AES analysis,the tests were performed on 2.25Cr-1Mo steel which is widely used in hydrogenation reactors, and on the materials which were embrittled by step cooling and modified step cooling heat treatment . The results showed that the mechanism of temper embrittlement for 2.25Cr-1Mo steel was of the grain boundary segregation of impurity P, and the mechanism of accelerating temper embrittlement is of the continual grain boundary segregation of impurity P.


Based on the analysis of the security requirements of power internet of things and the idea of security solution provided by trusted computing, this paper studied the power Internet of things information security interaction model and key technologies to realize the information security interaction of power internet of things, and proposed a real-time evaluation model of terminal entities based on global trusted. Punishment factor and time factor were introduced to upgrade the evaluation method from single evaluation to global evaluation. Taking the power distribution system as an example, the information security intersection model of power internet of things based on behavioral trusted measurement mechanism was simulated. The simulation results showed that the model had continuous trusted measurement ability in dynamic uncertain network environment, and could make trustworthiness decision in real time and accurately. It is more practical and laid a good foundation for the research of trustworthiness connection, trustworthiness management and trustworthiness decision-making based on trusted measurement.


The paper introduces the basic principle, structure and distinguishing tactics of the weld seam defects distinguishing expert system based on neural network. According to the characters of weld seam defects, it distinguishes from different levels. Using the parallel processing and oneself learning of neural network, it overcomes some insufficiency of traditional distinguishing methods.


Many native speakers of American English show in their speech a phenomenon that could be called 'consonant cluster simplification.' This may be illustrated by examples such as: Rule R1 below would account for the simplification of these CCC-cluster:


• Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS; GHB was discovered in a search for therapeutic GABA analogs • GHB is popular as a dietary supplement and drug of abuse • Overdose leads to sedation and respiratory depression • Most patients recover fully within six hours, although respiratory arrest and death are reported • GHB withdrawal is similar to withdrawal from other sedative/hypnotic agents, such as ethanol • Congeners such as gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol have similar toxicity to GHB


Fennel (= Sago) pondweed ( Potamogeton pectinatus L.) is a submersed macrophyte of nearly cosmopolitan distribution. The plant is of worldwide ecological importance as structuring component of shallow lakes, and as food for waterfowl. We developed nine polymorphic microsatellite primers for the population genetic analysis of P. pectinatus . The loci were identified using a GA/CT-enriched genomic library using subtractive hybridization with magnetic particles. All nine loci were highly polymorphic with 6–9 alleles and heterozygosities ranging from 0.23 to 0.80 in a subset of N = 40 genotypes from five locations.


Introduction Background . The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm is now in many standards or recommendations, such as [ ANSI X9.62 ], [ SECG ], [ FIPS 186.2 ], [ IEEE 1363 ], [ ISO 15946-2 ], [ NESSIE ] and [ RFC 3278 ]. Organizations chose ECDSA because they regarded its reputational security sufficient, on the grounds that (a) it is a very natural elliptic curve analogue of DSA, and that (b) both elliptic curve cryptography and DSA were deemed to have sufficiently high reputational security. The standardization of ECDSA has created more intense public scrutiny. Despite this, no substantial weaknesses in ECDSA have been found, and thus its reputational security has increased. At one point, proofs of security, under certain assumptions, were found for digital signature schemes similar to DSA and ECDSA. The proof techniques in these initial proofs did not, and still do not, appear applicable to DSA and ECDSA. Thus, for a time, provable security experts suggested a change to the standardization of reputationally secure schemes, because slight modifications could improve provable security. Further investigation, however, led to new provable security results for ECDSA. New proof techniques and assumptions were found that overcame or avoided the difficulty in applying the initial techniques to ECDSA. This chapter describes some of these results, sketches their proofs, and discusses the impact and interpretation of these results.


Sepsis, the uncontrolled organism's response to an infection, triggers life-threatening systemic disease characterized by high morbidity, high motality and high costs. Although a large number of studies have found various beneficial treatments, the clinical benefit is not obvious, and the overall mortality rate of sepsis has not decreased. The sepsis caused organ damage, especially heart dysfunction, has a higher mortality. Therefore, to improve cardiac dysfunction and myocardial injury after sepsis can improve the prognosis of patients. This article reviews on the recent progress in the mechanism of sepsis-induced myocardial damage and the improvement of related treatment methods.

Key words:
Sepsis; Myocardial injury; Pathogenesis


Some Australian, Austronesian, Papuan, and Mayan languages employ geocentric locative descriptions. This form of describing both macroand microlocation involves fixed points of reference, based on the landscape or cardinal directional terms. An example glossed into English would be 'The axe is west of the tree'. The use of geocentric location in a Mayan language has been documented by Brown andLevinson (1993), and cognitive implications of languages with these systems have been suggested by Levinson (1992). The present paper describes a system of geocentric location in Tzotzil (Mayan). It explores the development of such a system, previously unreported in studies of the acquisition of spatial language. The use of the system among adults and children is presented on the basis of cross-sectional tasks, linguistic and ethnographic observations, and preliminary longitudinal work. Our findings suggest that children acquire the system around age 4;6; it appears to develop in stages of successively more integrated frames of reference: (a) egocentric, (b) locally anchored, and (c) abstractly coordinated. The acquisition of the geocentric system by Tzotzil-speaking children in the hamlet of Nabenchauk, Zinacantan, Mexico seems to follow Piagetian predictions that projective location is acquired after topological notions of space. However, our Tzotzil data show that Tzotzil children begin to master the geocentric system between ages 4 and 5, an age at which European children cannot systematically label their own right and left (Piaget and Inhelder 1956). This finding suggests that the presence of a geocentric system in grammar may orient language learners to more rapid acquisition of a spatial skill than might be predicted by Piagetian research.


Abstract Key physical variables for the Northwest Atlantic (NWA) are examined in the "historical" and two future Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) simulations of six Earth System Models (ESMs) available through Phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The variables are air temperature, sea-ice concentration, surface and subsurface ocean temperature and salinity, and ocean mixed-layer depth. Comparison of the historical simulations with observations indicates that the models provide a good qualitative and approximate quantitative representation of many of the large-scale climatological features in the NWA (e.g., annual cycles and spatial patterns). However, the models represent the detailed structure of some important NWA ocean and ice features poorly, such that caution is needed in the use of their projected future changes. Monthly "climate change" fields between the bidecades 1986–2005 and 2046–2065 are described, using ensemble statistics of the changes across the six ESMs. The results point to warmer air temperatures everywhere, warmer surface ocean temperatures in most areas, reduced sea-ice extent and, in most areas, reduced surface salinities and mixed-layer depths. However, the magnitudes of the inter-model differences in the projected changes are comparable to those of the ensemble-mean changes in many cases, such that robust quantitative projections are generally not possible for the NWA.


Congestion often occurs at several crossroads in the district. Therefore, efficient and optimal handling is needed, as well as planning for Traffic Lights. In this thesis research examines the Performance Analysis of Unsignaled Intersection. The research location is on the West Sumatra-Riau Cross Road, precisely at the Tanjung Pati Intersection, Fifty Cities Regency with 4 intersection arms, namely Tanjung Pati Road, West Sumatra-Riau Road, Lubuak Batingkok Road, and Batu Balang Road. The purpose of this study is to determine the traffic volume and whether it is necessary to reactivate the Traffic Light (Red Light) at the Tanjung Pati Simpang Empat. Data collection was obtained through field surveys. From the results of research and discussion at the Tanjung Pati Intersection, it was found that the degree of saturation (DS) was 1.25 with an average delay of 141 seconds/pcu. So from these calculations we can conclude that at Simpang Empat Tanjung Pati it is necessary to reactivate the Traffic Light to reduce traffic congestion that occurs at certain peak hours.        Keywords: Traffic Light, unsignalized intersection, degree of saturation, time delay.


In view of four aspects of a load which include load levels,change frequency,importance and power quality,this paper proposed a scientific and effective load classification method. Combined with related load characteristics and demands,the method breaks the relatively rough and one-sided malpractice of the original methods. Analyzing 15 industrial parks and 2 residential load data in a province,this method obtains reasonable load classification results. Therefore,it can be proved that this load classification method has some important guidance value for load forecasting,electricity price setting and system programming in intelligent distribution network.


A number of principles of geo-ecological optimization of landscapes of the Volga-Ural steppe region that are influenced by oil and gas production are proposed. The optimization provisions are developed taking into account the classical approaches to optimizing the natural environment and the principles of formation and functioning of technogenic geosystems of oil and gas fields in the steppe zone.


This is the first book dedicated to ceramics exported to Europe by the venerable Noritake firm, established in Tokyo in 1876. Over 580 vibrant color photographs display the porcelain tablewares, tea, chocolate, and coffee sets, dressing table sets, and vases produced from 1891 to 1939. Decorative motifs displayed include nineteeenth century formal, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco designs. The text provides a company history, backstamp explanations, a glossary, and a comprehensive guide to collecting. Values are included in the captions in both U.S. dollars and English pounds.


GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
The present study was devised: (a) to test whether an intensive (60 hours in 4 weeks) multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (involving physiotherapy, exercises to improve gait and balance using treadmill and stabilometric platform, occupational therapy) for Parkinsonian patients is effective in improving dyskinesia and motor performance compared to a control group undergoing a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (30 hours in 4 weeks involving physiotherapy only); and (b) to verify whether rehabilitation may lead to a reduction in levodopa dosage.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Forty Parkinsonian patients suffering from dyskinesias were admitted to study: 20 for an intensive multidisciplinary (Group1) and 20 for a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (Group2). The rating scales used for the clinical evaluation were: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scales (UPDRS) II, III, IV, Parkinson's disease disability scale (PDDS), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).

RESULTS
All outcome measurements improved in both groups of patients, but patients Group1 presented better results: UPDRS II was reduced by 33% in Group1 and by 22% in Group2, UPDRS III 29% vs. 22%, UPDRS IV 74% vs. 10%, PDDS 18% vs. 12%, and AIMS 71% vs. 8%. A different behaviour was observed for levodopa dosage at baseline and after treatment: dosage decreased by an average value of 210 mg (p< 0.0001) in Group1 and was virtually unchanged (30 mg reduction, p=0.08) in Group2.

CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that a rehabilitation protocol should be considered as a valid non-invasive therapeutic support for patients who show dyskinesias and that there are better results when the treatment is intensive.


Some designations of former professions that had a form of compound nouns in the Old Polish, such as e.g. bartodziej (keeper of wild forest bees), kolodziej (wheelwright), konowal (veterinary surgeon), piwowar (brewer), became a basis of numerous Polish surnames. The article discusses their number, phonetic-graphic and word-formative variations and geographic distribution.


Our biosphere has been adversely affected by plastic waste pollution, especially non-biodegradables in landfills, which induces hazardous chemical leaching and toxic gas emissions on burning into the atmosphere.


AbstractA totally new target scheme to exploit fusion reactions is presented. It is based on the propagation of a heat-detonation wave across the fuel that reaches fusion temperatures before expanding. The wave is launched from a small region of the target where fusion ignition temperatures are reached by the crash of cumulation jets. These jets are produced by a couple of hollow-charge conical liners placed close to the target. The collapse of each conical liner creates a dispersive supersonic jet with a specific kinetic energy high enough to ignite the small region of the target where the fusion wave is created. The energy gain can be very high, although it depends on the maximum fusion yield allowable in the reactor chamber.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer dated his becoming a Christian to a period during 1932 when he truly discovered the Bible, a discovery which liberated him from personal ambition for the service of Jesus Christ and his church.  In August that year he declared in a lecture at an ecumenical conference in Gland: "Has it not become terrifyingly clear again and again, in everything that we have said here to one another, that we are no longer obedient to the Bible?  We are more fond of our own thoughts than of the thoughts of the Bible.  We no longer read the Bible seriously, we no longer read it against ourselves, but for ourselves."


INTRODUCTION
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice for high-risk Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE
Compare the capacity to mobilize CD34+ cells for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using schemes with chemotherapy and without chemotherapy plus filgrastim in patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The clinical records of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who received an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant were analyzed retrospectively. Filgrastim alone or in combination with chemotherapy was used as mobilization scheme. Cell harvesting was classified as adequate when > 2 × 106 cells/kg were collected.

RESULTS
Forty-seven patients (Hodgkin's lymphoma, 24; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 23) were included. Comparing groups of Hodgkin's lymphoma mobilized with chemotherapy (15 patients) and without chemotherapy (nine patients), one apheresis procedure was sufficient in 73 and 44% of patients, respectively (p = 0.04), the average of CD34 + cells/kg collected was 11 x 106 and 3 x 106, respectively (p = 0.017), and the collection was adequate in 100 and 55.6% of cases, respectively (p = 0.014). Comparing the groups of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma mobilized with chemotherapy (six patients) and without chemotherapy (17 patients), one apheresis procedure was sufficient in 33 and 65% of patients, respectively (p = 0.26), the average of CD34+ cells/kg was 3.56 x 106 and 3.41 x 106, respectively (p = 0.47), and collection was adequate in 66.6 and 59% of cases, respectively (p = 0.37).

CONCLUSION
In Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, mobilization schemes with chemotherapy were more effective considering the number of cells collected, the number of apheresis required, and the percentage of successful cell collections. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, there were no significant differences between the two groups.


We propose a method for improved reconstruction of 3D object occluded partially by the unknown occlusion using computational integral imaging. To verify the proposed method, some experiments are carried out and the results are presented.


With the specific engineering as example,combined with engineering geological situation,the top-down construction application in high rise building basement was introduced.The main process and construction procedure of top-down construction in basement were illustrated,the advantages of the method were generalized compared with common methods,so as to further popularize top-down construction application in high rise building.


City Pictorial, New Weekly, Life Week are new-sharp magazines that have come into being in China in recent years. This article tries to view them through popular culture in order to summarize two inherent conflicts: game-spirit and consumerism. The core of game-spirit is "freedom" that shows in new-sharp magazines the advancement of individuality and self-affirmation, which is non-utilitarian. But as a mass media, magazines have inevitably become the disseminators of Consumer Culture. And consumerism shows the stimulation and satisfaction, so they are utilitarian and non-free and non- individual, too.


This paper presents Rubah, a new dynamic software updating (DSU) system for Java programs that works on stock JVMs. Rubah supports a large range of program changes (e.g., changes to the class hierarchy and updates to running methods), does not restrict important programming idioms (e.g., reflection), and, as shown by performance experiments using an updatable version of the H2 database management system, imposes low overhead on normal execution.


This study aim to obtain empirical evidence regarding the factors that can affect the delay in submitting audited financial reports (audit report lag) for all companies that listed on Bursa Efek Indonesia in 2020. This study used a quantitative method. The type of data used is secondary data from the company's financial statements and annual reports. The sample in this study was taken from data from all companies in various sectors listed on the IDX. The data analysis technique in this study used multiple linear regression test. The results of this study stated that the variables of liquidity, audit fees, and subsidiaries have an effect on audit report lag, while audit firm size, company size, and solvability variables have no effect on audit report lag.


Variation of the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly(EIA) crest over South China region during the solar activity increasing periods is analyzed using the Total Electron Content(TEC) data from International GPS Service(IGS) between November 2010 and October 2011.The variation of the EIA crest in TEC shows an obvious seasonal and semiannual variation.Locations of the daily EIA crest have quite a large range of scatter in both universal time and latitude,but the similar seasonal or semiannual variation is not seen in the location of the anomaly crest.The variation of EIA crest in TEC shows a very good correlation with the solar flux,but do not correlate well with the geomagnetic activity.


The present paper considers the application of the Newton-Kantorovich and modified-gradient methods to the Ipswich data. The object is assumed to be an inhomogeneous lossy dielectric cylinder of arbitrary cross section. Both inverse-scattering methods are based on electric-field integral representations. The Newton-Kantorovich technique builds up the solution by solving successively the forward problem and a linear inverse problem. This method needs regularization, and we use either the identity operator or a gradient operator for regularization. The modified-gradient method is iterative, as is the Newton algorithm, but does not involve a linearization at each step of the nonlinear inverse problem. Results of inversions with both methods, on two known impenetrable targets, are discussed.


Computational sustainability is a new interdisciplinary research field with the overarching goal of developing computational models, methods, and tools to help manage the balance between environmental, economic, and societal needs for a sustainable future. I will provide examples of computational sustainability problems, ranging from wildlife conservation and biodiversity, to poverty mitigation, to materials discovery for renewable energy materials. I will also highlight cross-cutting computational themes and challenges at the intersection of constraint reasoning, optimization, machine learning, citizen science, and crowd-sourcing.


Background: Satisfaction with intrapartum care is crucial for the well-being of the mother and newborn. It also serves as a proxy indicator for future utilization and recommendation of the facility. Conversely, little is known about women's level of satisfaction during the intrapartum period in the Ethiopian context of a high maternal mortality ratio. As such, the aim of this study was to assess women's satisfaction with intrapartum care and its predictors at hospitals in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia. Materials and methods: A hospital-based, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted in Harar hospitals, Eastern Ethiopia from February 1 to 28, 2017. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered questioner from 398 women who delivered in the selected hospitals during the data collection period. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was applied to identify the effect of each predictor on the outcome variable (satisfaction). A P -value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The proportion of women who were satisfied with intrapartum care in this study was 84.7% (95% CI: 81.1, 88.2). Factors including a minimal waiting time to be seen by the healthcare provider, ample availability of emergency drugs within the hospital, not having antenatal care follow-up, having a previous experience of home delivery, planning to deliver in the hospital, and experiencing a short hospital stay after delivery were statistically and positively associated with women's satisfaction. Conclusion: Overall, ~ 85% of the women were satisfied with the service provided in the facilities. Decreasing waiting time to be seen by the healthcare providers, ensuring emergency drugs in the hospitals, advising mothers to have antenatal care follow-up, and delivering in the health facilities are crucial to improve the quality of intrapartum care.


The sizes of deep tectonic tremors have never been accurately evaluated as a physical quantity. Here we estimate tremor size as the band‐limited seismic energy rate at 2–8 Hz, with accurate evaluation of the path attenuation and site amplification of seismic waves in four subduction zones: Nankai, Cascadia, Jalisco, and South Chile. The size‐frequency statistics of seismic energy rate, which are characterized by the median measure for each subregion, are spatially variable. The spatial variations are categorized into three types, with each type corresponding to a different tremor migration behavior. In type A regions where tremor zone is wider, seismic energy rates are highly variable in the dip direction, and tremor activities are usually initiated in the less energetic tremor zone. Some of them further penetrate into the energetic tremor zone and subsequently migrate for long distances in the strike direction. Type B regions are characterized by relatively narrow tremor zones, minor variations in energy rates in the dip direction, and long‐distance migration in the strike direction. Type C regions are characterized by isolated clusters of tremor activities without migration and by independent failure of each small tremor cluster. Given that the spatial distributions of tremor energy rates reflect heterogeneities in the strength of the plate interface, such distributions, which would be controlled by the width of tremor zone, may determine the regional style of slow‐earthquake behavior. Some energetic tremor regions act as switches that trigger large slow slip events, especially in type A regions.


Drinking water treatment works are increasingly placed under external stressors including climatic variability, land use and management, and pollution incidents. Routine high-frequency water quality monitoring is an integral part of operational control and is used to inform the treatment process and support the identification of risks. However, in order to improve decision making using the complex, time-series of water quality data that are generated (and typically archived), there must be distinction between basic sensor errors, artefacts of system design and management, and process driven patterns. This paper explores these complex data in order to support synthesis of uncleaned (or raw), high-frequency data; extracting information value from routine catchment wide monitoring. The data are presented in a form that enhances the capability and capacity to utilise existing complex data; improves understanding of complex surface water systems; and helps facilitate data driven models to investigate and forecast the dynamics between water quality determinands during hard-to-treat spate (or rainfall-runoff) events.


The present work adds to the continuing efforts of designing a natural bone-like structure by synthesizing a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) of poly(vinyl alcohol)–poly[(acrylic acid)-co-acrylonitrile] and impregnating hydroxyapatite (HAP) into the polymer matrix by an alternate soaking process. The prepared HAP–polymer scaffolds were characterized using techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The biomineralized semi-IPN was evaluated for water sorption capacity and the data were utilized for calculating network parameters such as average molecular weight between crosslinks (Mc) and crosslink density (q). The impregnated HAP was quantified as a function of the chemical architecture of the semi-IPN, number of reaction cycles and temperature of the swelling bath. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry


The relation between fiscal policy and business cycles is explored using an extension of Barro (1990). The balanced budget hypothesis is relaxed, and the existence of public spending adjustment costs is considered, generating a cyclical relation between fiscal policy and output.


Acid phosphatase has been prepared in an apparently pure state by affinity chromatography from human prostatic tissue. When dissolved in an acidic albumin solution, lyophilized and stored at −20°C for up to 2 years, no time-dependent loss of catalytic activity was detectable in the reconstituted material. Accelerated degradation tests also predicted complete stability. A preliminary distribution of the lyophilized preparation to 143 laboratories confirmed its robustness and demonstrated its potential usefulness as a calibrant to unify the results of different methods of measuring acid phosphatase activity.


The unrestricted resource behaviour of mines has caused considerable geological environmental problems. Specifically, the increasing water-induced accidents in mines affect safety production and environmental safety in coal mines. To further decrease water inrush disasters to the maximum extent, vulnerability assessment of groundwater inrush channel in coal mines has become a primary problem of chain-cutting disaster mitigation. In this study, first, influencing factors against formation and project of water inrush channel in coals were analyzed comprehensively. Second, 14 indexes, which influence the vulnerability of the water inrush channel, were selected from three perspectives of coal seam features, coal quality features, and hydrogeological features. A case study based on data of 56# coal seam and 68 coal seam of Taoshan Mine, China was carried out. The vulnerability of the groundwater inrush channel in the Taoshan Mine was estimated by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. Results demonstrate that coal quality features, hydrogeological features, and coal seam features are major factors that influence the vulnerability of the water inrush channel. Among them, coal quality features contribute 48.36% of explanations to the vulnerability of the water inrush channel. According to the vulnerability grade evaluation results of fuzzy mathematics, the membership degree of belonging to "III" was 0.3731, which was the highest. This finding indicates that the vulnerability of the water inrush channel in Taoshan Mine belongs to grade III, which is a moderate state. Research conclusions have important references to perfect the evaluation index system for the vulnerability of water inrush channel in coal mines, provide early warning analysis of water inrush disasters in coal mines, and realize the mining–environmental protection coordinated development.


Abstract The role of the robin, Erithacus rubecula Linnaeus, 1758 as a consort of autotrophic consortia is considered. It has been found that representatives of 9 higher taxa of animals (Mammalia, Aves, Gastropoda, Insecta, Arachnida, Acarina, Malacostraca, Diplopoda, Clitellata) have trophic and topical links with the robin. At the same time, the robin is a consort of determinants of autotrophic consortia, which core is represented mostly by dominating species of deciduous trees (Quercus robur Linnaeus, 1753 (24.6 %), Tilia cordata Miller, 1768 (17.5 %), Acer platanoides Linnaeus, 1753 (22.8 %), Acer campestre Linnaeus, 1753), and also by sedges (Carex sp.) and grasses (Poaceae). The robin also belongs to the concentre of the second and higher orders as a component of forest biogeocenoses and forms a complex trophic system. In the diet of its nestlings, there have been found 717 objects from 32 invertebrate taxa, belonging to the phylums Arthropoda (99.2 %, 31 species) and Annelida (0.8 %, 1 species). The phylum Arthropoda was represented by the most numerous class Insecta (76.9 %), in which 10 orders (Lepidoptera (46.8 %) dominates) and 20 families were recorded, and also by the classes Arachnida (15.0 %), Malacostraca (5.3 %) and Diplopoda (1.9 %). The invertebrate species composition was dominated by representatives of a trophic group of zoophages (14 species; 43.8 %); the portion of phytophages (7 species; 21.9 %), saprophages (18.7 %), and necrophages (15.6 %) was the less. The highest number of food items was represented by phytophages (N = 717; 51 %), followed by zoophages (34 %), saprophages (12 %), and necrophages (3 %). The difference among study areas according to the number of food items and the number of species in the robin nestling diet is shown. In NNP "HF", the highest number of food items was represented by phytophages - 47 % (N = 443), whereas zoophages were the most species-rich group (43.3 %, 13 species). In NNP "H", phytophages also prevailed in food items - 62.3 % (N = 164), but the number of phyto-, zoo- and saprophage species was equal (30.8 %, 13 species). In the forest park, zoophages were more frequent - 45.5 % (N = 110), but phytophages were the most species-rich (42.9 %).


To our knowledge, not many investigations about this topic were done in Southern Taiwan where the potential of rice residues from agriculture fields is abundant. Our purpose for those rice residues is to transform them into biochar. Our experiment was conducted in Southern Taiwan, where we studied the characteristics of biochar made from rice husks, applying different types of combustion and temperatures as well their effects on corn ( Zea mays L.) seed germination. The experimental trial was composed of seven (7) different treatments including the application of rice husk, rice husk biochar, chemical fertilizer, and soil. The biochar treatments used a mixture of 50% biochar and 50% soil to balance the quantities of rice husk biochar that could be incorporated into clayey soils. The effect of biochar application on corn growth was evaluated. Results showed that silicon content in rice husk biochar can inhibit seed germination linearly. Silicon in this study was found to be harmful significantly to corn seed germination when Si content in rice husk biochar was higher than 25 to 30 wt% indicating that increased levels of silicic acid and quantities of the amendment above 8-10 ton per hectare reduce the germination rate.


Book Title: Classroom Writing Assessment and Feedback in L2 School ContextsBook Author: Icy Lee2017, Springer, Singapore. ISBN 978-981-10-3922-5 (Print); 978-981-10-3924-9 (Online). 157 pages. Price: $99.99


The phenomenon of art has experienced many changes and transformations along with humanity. It can be said that important breaks in art occurred after World Wars. Especially, the beginning of the 20th century were the years which the foundations of the transformations in art were laid. The inclusion of ready-made objects, which are a part of daily life and produced as industrial products, into the art process as art objects started with Duchamp and supported the formation processes of the movements of art that emerged after 1950. These movements of art which have highlighted the notion of 'concept' in art and have been fed by 'socio-cultural' phenomena that emerged as a result of world wars.The industrialization movements, which especially had an impact on the USA and European countries, have shown their effect in many areas of life. The phenomenon of art has taken its share from the mobility of the industry. This situation virtually has prepared the ground for the emergence of 'struggle for existence' process of industrial products in the field of art. It can be said that, as the perceiver of art, the audiences have difficulty in interpreting the art that's been restructured with the involvement of industrial products.In this study, it is aimed to mention "the use ready-made objects reproduced by mass production technique as an art object in the process of industrialization" and to identify "the changes and transformations experienced in art in this process".


The famous aesthetic and temporal metaphors in Marx's Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte can be conceptualised if they are formalised using the discourse theory developed in Lacan's Other Side of Psychoanalysis. If we read Marx's most "psychoanalytic" analysis with Lacan's most "political" seminar, Brumaire's bourgeois revolution, the counter-revolution, and the proletarian revolution appear to be respective instances of the discourse of the master, the hysteric, and the analyst. Far from being reductionist, such a synoptic reading of Marx's discoursivisation of politics and Lacan's politicisation of discourse can prevent Derridean and similar reductionist interpretations of Marx's metaphors such as "spirit"/"spectre", "tragedy"/"farce", "phrase"/"content", "drape"/"parody", and "new"/"native language". And vice versa, it can render Lacan's matrix of discourses pertinent for Marxian analyses of contemporary capitalism, in which the discursive lien social itself is being commodified.


It is anticipated that the eco-friendly sustainable energy sources, e.g., solar, wind and hydro, etc, will be widely used in future green wireless communication networks. In this chapter, the characteristics of green energy are presented, and some existing energy-efficient green approaches for infrastructure-based wireless networks are investigated. The optimal deployment of green base stations (BSs), i.e., BSs powered by green energy, is formulated as a minimal BS placement problem. To minimize the cost of deployed BSs, a heuristic algorithm based on Voronoi diagram, called Two-phase Constrained Green BS Placement algorithm (TCGBP), is proposed. In TCGBP, a minimal set of BSs are selected such that all users are served and their quality of service (QoS) requirements can be fulfilled with the harvested energy of BSs. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed algorithm approaches the optimal solution under a variety of network settings with significantly reduced time complexity.


Aim  To determine the prevalence of symptomatic neurogenic bladder (SNB) and social and functional variables in a large sample of people with cerebral palsy (CP).


Quality control is increasingly important in printed circuit board manufacturing to be sure that electronic equipment is reliable.Under the circumstances, optical and electrical methods were here applied to test printed circuit boards.During electrical control, a flying probe test revealed such typical discontinuities in the electrical circuits of printed circuit boards as open circuit defects and short. According to the tests, the discontinuities were caused by such defects as etching, foreign inclusions and the reduction of the distance between conductors, as well. Both optical and electrical approaches to control the quality of printed circuit boards are able to make the system of quality control much more efficient.


This paper is a plea for greater cognizance of the errors of omission and commission committed by mainstream health economics, and the potential orientation in treating health and health care as (metaphorical) commodities that the unfettered influence of health economics may be prompting. Economic criticisms of mainstream health economics are evident, especially in the collection edited by John Davis (2001), but tend to be rather fragmented and lacking in credibility with our mainstream brethren. Contentiously, seeking the approval or otherwise of the mainstream is perhaps not as important as in other areas of economics, if indeed it is the case at all, but gaining the attention of other social scientists, medics, and policy makers may be of considerable consequence. The paper does not seek to speculate on strategies for addressing these bodies; instead it concentrates on the nature of the message.


The Deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in reactive gases could occur in obstructed spaces. One configuration in which DDT might occur is a channel filled with obstacles. The prior studies [1,2] have shown that the geometry and layout of obstacles have significant effects on the flame acceleration and DDT in an obstructed channel. The flow over obstacles creates flow instabilities, which increase the flame surface area and the rate of energy release. The resulting thermal expansion accelerates the flow and the flame. Obstacles, however, also have an adverse effect on the flame acceleration, since the flow over an obstacle loses its momentum. In addition, obstacles reflect and diffract the shocks formed ahead of the flame, and thus they affect how and where detonation is ignited by the shocks.


Abstract An emerging interaction design methodology is presented; it addresses the benefits of incorporating domain-specific knowledge into the interface. The methodology is informally described using three real-world examples, exposing how findings from Visual Perception, Psycholinguistics, and Cognitive Science can be applied to the design process. Tying the design process back to science can help us to understand why current standard-widget toolkits are suboptimal for many domains. It can also inform the development of tools and intellectual approaches valuable at various stages of design.


sic is so abstract. Learning to sing a beautiful "oo" has by no means the same appeal. Sharp differences in ability are appearing. A few children sing beautifully. One or two feel miserably inadequate and suffer because of it. All get fixed ideas about what they can sing. Some insist on soprano, not necessarily because they have high voices but because they think singing alto is unfeminine. A few are equally zealous in another direction for some equally irrational reason. Far too many want to sing alto because they can't get up there." It takes tact to persuade a girl who has difficulty in singing "America" in tune, that she is better fitted to sing the melody line, whatever her ability to "get up there," than to flounder in an alto part that she is incapable of singing correctly. In actual fact, only a few are obviously soprano or alto in the true sense. Our main


Dialectical way of thinking deeply reveals the law of understanding concerning the laws of movement of contradictory things,and is a scientific way of thinking.If the disseminator uses the news language,he should set the way of dialectical thinking as the guidance and set off from the general characteristics of news language.Also,he should,among the unity of opposites about "Truth,Accuracy and Ambiguity","Plainness and Vividness" and "Innovation and Norm",distinguish between right and wrong,grasp the direction and improve the viability of media.


The article focuses on the scholars' efforts to compile the ten volumes of the Great Dictionary of Contemporary Church Slavonic Language using software tools and a digitized corpus of texts to speed up the work and enable users to extract words and phrases from the corpus semi-automatically. One of the dictionary's advantages is its detailed descriptions of phraseology and linguistic metaphors. This is because the hymnographic works that comprise the Church Slavonic corpus are poetic in nature. The dictionary's primary goal is to provide information on the meanings of Church Slavonic words and phrases. Furthermore, the authors included grammar data for each word and encyclopedic data when necessary. The illustrations are complete with comparisons from Greek sources. The dictionary contains all of the dictionary found in the liturgical books, such as place names (toponyms), proper names identifying different people (anthroponyms), and function words.


Web Information may currently be acquired by activating search engines such as Northern Light. However, our daily experience is not only that Web pages are often either redundant or missing but also that there is a mismatch between information needs and the Web's responses. If we wish to satisfy more complex needs, such as produce Educational material and manage Educational dialogues we need to extract part of the Information and transform it into new interactive documents. The transformation to Knowledge useful for our purposes may either be performed by hand or automatically. In the paper we describe the preliminary choices for our system that will generate local Web pages and their associated interactive processes useful for learning foreign language terminology. Documents and dialogues are designed exploiting domain dependent classification principles (expressed as Abstract Data Types) and Agents. These "autonomous" software modules will be implemented in our own Agent Languages and operate conversationally both as Information seekers and as 1 From http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/people/foner/Yenta/glossary.html : a definition of serendipitous in an Agent's glossary: Serendipitous matches Serendipitous matches between users consist of matches made without the user necessarily intending to look for a match. A serendipitous match may involve a user who has not even thought to look for someone with similar interests on some topic, and may be surprised to find that there is any other user out there with such an interest. See also Brian La Macchia's thesis ( [1] ) about Internet Fishes. See also the on−line Webster dictionary at http://www.m−w.com/cgi−bin/dictionary : Main Entry: ser·en·dip·i·ty; Pronunciation: −'di−p&−tE; Function: noun; Etymology: from its possession by the heroes of the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip; Date: 1754: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. THAI−ETIS, Varese, Italy; June 21−22 1999 page 2of e25 S.A.Cerri, V. Loia, S. Maffioletti, P. Fontanesi and A. Bettinelli Serendipitous acquisition of Web Knowledge by Agents in the context of Human Learning −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− Knowledge constructors. Our work is part of a recently started European INCO− COPERNICUS project called LARFLAST.


Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. European Development: Approaching a Historical Explanation Michael Mann 2. States and Societies: The Miracle in Comparative Prespective John A. Hall 3. The Origins of Modernity: Caste and Feudality (India, Europe and Japan) Jean Baechler 4. The Uniqueness of the East Chris Wickham 5. China as a Counterfactual Mark Elvin 6. The Mamluk Military system and the Blocking of Medieval Moslem Society Jean-Claude Garcin 7. Islam: A comment Michael Cook 8. The Modernization of Japan: Why has Japan Succeeded in its Modernization? Jacques Mutel 9. The Russian Case Alain Besancon 10. Political and Social Structures of the West Karl Ferdinand Werner 11. The Cradle of Capitalism: The case of England Alan Macfarlane 12. The European Tradition in Movements of Insurrection Rene Pillorget 13. Republics of Merchants in Early Modern Europe Peter Burke 14. The European Family and Early Industrialization Peter Laslett Index specialists and students in history and sociology.


Reaction networks taken with mass-action kinetics arise in many settings, from epidemiology to population biology to systems of chemical reactions. Bistable reaction networks are posited to underlie biochemical switches, which motivates the following question: which reaction networks have the capacity for multiple steady states? Mathematically, this asks: among certain parametrized families of polynomial systems, which admit multiple positive roots? No complete answer is known. This work analyzes the smallest networks, those with only a few chemical species or reactions. For these "smallest" networks, we completely answer the question of multistationarity and, in some cases, multistability too, thereby extending related work of Boros. Our results highlight the role played by the Newton polytope of a network (the convex hull of the reactant vectors). Also, our work is motivated by recent results that explain how a given network's capacity for multistationarity arises from that of certain related networks which are typically smaller. Hence, we are interested in classifying small multistationary networks, and our work forms a first step in this direction.


[Problem] To provide a novel and improved illumination device, a method for controlling the illumination device, and an image-acquiring system whereby it is possible to adjust the light quantity for each of a plurality of light sources on the basis of a correlation between the luminance acquired from the light-receiving unit and the quantity of emitted light and precisely adjust the color temperature in the light-receiving unit. [Solution] The illumination device according to the present invention is provided with a white light source for emitting white light, RGB light sources in which the quantity of emitted light of each thereof can be independently adjusted, a multiplexing unit for multiplexing the white light and the emitted light to obtain illumination light, and a control unit for controlling the quantity of each emitted light.


The cytotoxic and genotoxic effects induced by alachlor and dichlorvos, two pesticides broadly used, were studied on RTG‐2 fish cell line. As measure of cytotoxicity, neutral red assay was used to determine the cellular viability. Toxicity ranking based on IC50 values found that alachlor was more cytotoxic than dichlorvos. DNA damage has been evaluated on RTG‐2 cultures by means of an in vitro assay based on the ability of PicoGreen® fluorochrome to interact preferentially with double‐stranded DNA (dsDNA), and the results indicated that alachlor induced DNA strand breaks at concentrations above 1.52 μg/mL, equivalent to 1/50‐EC50(48), whereas exposures to dichlorvos induced DNA damage only at the maximal concentrations tested 25 μg/mL (1/10‐EC50(48)). These results confirm the suitability of this method for the screening of genotoxic effects of this type of aquatic pollutants, and we suggest their use in hazard assessment for environmental risk procedures. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2012.


In this paper, we define invariant tensor product and study invariant tensor products associated with discrete series representations. Let G(V1)×G(V2) be a pair of classical groups diagonally embedded in G(V1⊕V2). Suppose that dimV1


The present invention provides a variable resistance memory and a write method of the variable resistance memory array of memory cells comprises a memory structure stored in a complementary state. A storage unit CU, the connection between bit line BL and a common source line BSL connected in series between T1 and the access by the variable impedance elements R1, a common source line and the bit line BLb BSL access transistor connected in series with transistors T2 and variable impedance element R2. The variable impedance elements R1, R2 is that the polarities in the same direction are connected in series between a connection node N variable impedance element R1 and the variable impedance element R2 is connected to the common source line BSL. Can be obtained by the present invention is highly integrated, low cost, small size variable resistive memory.


The written comments on the significant judgment of the Court of Appeal of Milan on the notorious case CIR / Fininvest, in particular focusing on the issue of standing for damages in the absence of further appeal of the transaction by which the damage award would be derived.


Employing a Weberian understanding of the centrality of a strong bureaucracy in the modern nation-state, this article examines the relationship between the state and elite education in France. Through a historical analysis and an examination of two current issues facing education – widening participation and pressures to internationalise – we illustrate how the legitimacy of the administrative and political establishments, as well as the status granted to elite education tracks, has been largely preserved. Furthermore, dominant social classes have actively played a role in this alliance, thereby limiting the circle of eligible individuals who can aspire to future elite positions.


The present invention provides a microarray using the probe selection methods and apparatus. Micro Arrays probe selection process according to the invention comprises the steps of: extracting information of a gene containing a homologous sequence having a sequence homology of the candidate probe input from gene sequence databases that store information about the gene sequence; The step of indexing the species name of the corresponding to the extracted gene using the gene of the extracted from the taxonomies (taxonomy) database for storing category information of the biological information; Extracting a name of a species corresponding to the species to expect the candidate detected by the probe type from among the title of the indexed species; Extracting phylogenetic species name of the belonging to the biological classification hierarchy using the tree information phylogenetic tree (phylogenetic tree) that stores a database that does not expect to be detected by the candidate probe inputted from among the title of the indexed species; It includes; and evaluating the homology scoring or ranking screen to the homology of the sequence of the prospective homologous probe with a sequence included in the gene of the extracted species. Probe, selection, a microarray, the gene sequence, taxonomies (taxonomy)


A scroll machine includes a shell and at least one of the scroll members disposed in the shell being mounted for axial movement with respect to the other scroll member disposed in the scroll. The amount of axial movement of the at least one scroll member is accurately controlled by providing a stop. The stop is defined by the contact of the end plate of the at least one scroll member with another member of the scroll machine which is accurately positioned within the shell of the scroll machine. The another member can be shell, or another component which engages the shell.


All the world knows of Albert Einstein the preeminent physicist. Perhaps fewer will know about his delight in conversing with non-scientists of all ages. This brief note records some of one teenager's conversations and correspondence with Einstein. Einstein's responses were a model of clarity and stimulation.


Objective:To explore the effect of homocysteine(Hcy) on proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC). Method: MTT to test cell number and flow cytometer to determine the cell cycle. Result:The cell number increased distinctly when quiescent cells were exposed to 5×10 -4 mol/L Hcy for 48 and 72 h (P 0.01). The cell number increased 50.75% and 84.83% compared with control group. Exposed cells to 1×10 -4, 2.5×10 -4,5×10 -4,1×10 -3 mol/L Hcy for 72 h respectively, we observed that the cell number increased 41.56%, 58.44%, 66.23%, 74.02% compared with control group. The S phase and G 2/M phase were also increased when cells were treated Hcy for 24 h, 36 h, 48 h (P 0.01). Conclusion:Hcy can promote the proliferation of VSMC obviously and the prolifertion effects are in a manner of dose-dependent and time-dependent. The result suggest that Hcy induce the atherosclerosis by the way of facilitating the proliferation of VSMC.


The invention provides 4-methyl-1,2,3-thiadiazole urea derivatives and a preparation method and application thereof. The derivatives have a chemical structural formula shown in the specifications. The invention further discloses a structural formula and a synthesis method of the derivatives, the application of the derivatives as a bactericide and a herbicide and a process for preparing a bactericide and a herbicide by mixing the derivatives with agriculturally acceptable aids or synergistic agents. The invention further discloses the application of the derivatives to control of agricultural, forestry and garden plant diseases and weeds together with a commercial herbicide, a herbicide and a plant growth regulator and a preparation method of the derivatives.


When a foreign company enters Russia, it has plenty of choices for choosing a favourable location. A country with 17 million square kilometres, 33 cities with more than 0,5 million inhabitants and 89 different administrative regions contains a wide selection of alternatives. Even though these 89 re gions have different resources, there are apparent similarities when comparing their socio-economic indicators, which in turn describe the business environment where a company operates. This paper analyses the regional economic similarities (and dissimilarities) of the 89 Russian re gions from the viewpoint of a foreign investor. The aim is to test how Russian regions could be cate gorized by using the self-organizing map (SOM) method (Kohonen, 1995). The SOM is a hierarchy preserving non-linear mapping, which can organize similar regions close to each other based on their numerical data. In addition, the SOM has many beneficial properties, such as tolerance of incomplete and missing data, and it has been successfully used in similar tasks, such as in forecasting bankruptcies, future prices, workplace behaviour and energy use (Wong, 1996). The goals of this paper are to find out: 1) what Finnish companies are seeking when investing in Russia (market, resource, efficiency, strategic asset); 2) which are the most decisive external factors affecting the investment decision making; and 3) whether utilizing self-organizing maps (SOM) are adequate in analyzing the Finnish enterprises' investment decision-making grounds in cess of a foreign investing company, in this study we conducted a survey among Finnish enterprises in order to find out the reciprocal dynamics of these indicators. On the basis of these results, the Russian regions will be categorized by utilizing the SOM. Thus, in comparison to existing investment potentia lity ratings (see for example RA-Expert, 2002), this study provides a unique and valuable insight into Russian regions from the viewpoint of investing Finnish enterprises. This study of Russian regions, applying self-organizing maps, provides a useful insight into the understanding of the uniqueness of Russian regional economic discrepancies.


The integration of information technology and the teaching content has become a hot issue in the process of educational informationization.From the efficient teaching point,this papecr combined with the application of Authorware and the Geometer's Sketchpad software 4.X in the middle school mathematics curriculum,ally the good interaction and the high effective multimedia integration function of Authorware with the unique mathematical expression of the Geometer's Sketchpad,as a powerful tool for students to learn mathematics and solve problems,to achieve the ideal effect of teaching mathematics in different teaching situation,make beneficial exploration in the multimedia teaching.


A fresh and new algorithm for retrieval of image is accessible using improved Otsu thresholding techniques in this chapter. The fundamental design work of the new algorithm is that the basic segments of the image are used to retrieve images within a digital library. the histogram derived from threshold. These methods include some knowledge of the distribution of an image, & will result in the less missclassification. Isodata algorithm is the iterative process for finding a threshold value. It first segments the image into two regions according to a temporary threshold value chosen .It then calculates the mean value of an image corresponding to the two segmented regions. Calculate the new threshold value & repeat until the threshold value does not change any more. Finally, choose this value for the threshold segmentation. One of the advantages of the algorithm is that, for a given retrieval image, the user can select a query segment with which to perform retrieval, thus it can satisfy different needs from different users.


According to the theory of spontaneous monolayer dispersion of salt onto carrier,the effects of different load methods,load capacities and calcination temperatures on the monolayer dispersion of CaCl2 onto 10X zeolite were studied by using XRD.The CaCl2(0.6 g CaCl2/g 10X) will be dispersed completely when the sample impregnated in ethanol solution is calcined at 500 ℃ or the sample impregnated in aqueous solution is calcined at 550 ℃,and but obvious ion exchange appears for the latter.The monolayer dispersion capacity of samples by dry mixture is remarkably smaller than the one of samples impregnated in ethanol solution and aqueous solution,and the peaks of crystal CaCl2 still exist when the load capacities of CaCl2 are reduced from 0.6 g/g to 0.4 g/g and the samples are calcined at 600 ℃.The solid reaction appears for all samples prepared by three different methods when the calcination temperature rise up to certain extent respectively.The method of impregnation in ethanol solution is suitable,the method of impregnation in aqueous solution is not as good as the method of impregnation in ethanol solution and the method of dry mixture is unsuitable for thermal dispersion of CaCl2 onto 10X zeolite.


This paper proposes a hierarchical switching strategy for mobile robots to detect obstacles and to track a given target using vision information only. In the proposed approach, the disparity image obtained from a stereo camera is used to build an obstacle map based on V-disparity. Color information and a self windowing technique are employed to track the target. A switching strategy based on a hierarchical architecture is employed to determine whether the mobile robot should perform obstacle avoidance or target tracking. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach, several experiments were conducted. The results indicate that the proposed approach is feasible.