A set of computer programs has been developed that provides the capability to simulate highway traffic and to calculate the associated noise levels. Extensive measurements of vehicular noise have been classified and averaged to produce characteristic spectra for passenger cars, heavy trucks, motorcycles, and other classes of vehicles. These spectra are used to represent the contribution of individual sources along a roadway. Sources are arrayed across multiple lanes to satisfy a stated proportion of cars, trucks, and other types of vehicles, as well as specified vehicle flow and speed. The individual contributions are adjusted for the effects of source—observer distance, air attenuation, vehicle speed, etc., and summed to produce a sample spectrum. Sets of these sample spectra can then be processed by computer to yield dBA values and statistical summaries of these values, or they can be utilized in the same fashion as measured data to determine noise levels adjacent to a highway. [Work performed as a part...


Subject/Problem Science courses often focus on memorization and test preparation instead of deeper learning. Recent calls for reform in science education at both the K-‐12 and undergraduate level advocate moving from courses that focus largely on memorizing the breadth of disciplinary content to courses that focus on science practices and core disciplinary ideas (AAAS, 2011; Korber, 2014; NRC, 2012; Nelson Laird et al., 2008). One approach to shift courses from memorization of facts toward development of scientific competencies is to include the development and revision of scientific models as part of instruction. Scientific modeling encompasses a diverse set of practices at the heart of the scientific endeavor (Passmore et al., 2013). Models can be tested, are revised based on new evidence, have explanatory power because they are based on underlying structure and causation, are often based on processes that cannot be directly observed, and are springboards for generating new scientific knowledge, in part, by generating testable predictions (Passmore et al., 2013; Schwarz et al., 2009; Windschitl et al., 2008). Therefore, the process of constructing scientific models and reasoning with these scientific models serves as an ideal platform to help students learn both disciplinary content and disciplinary practices. The incorporation of modeling in the classroom also fulfills the call in Vision and Change for students to apply the process of science as part of instruction and to develop skills in modeling and simulation (AAAS, 2011). The practice of modeling in K-‐12 education has had positive impacts on student outcomes (Jackson et al., 2008; Schwarz, 2002; Seel, 2003; Svoboda and Passmore, 2013). At the university level, diagrammatic modeling tools like schematic representations, concept maps and Structure/Behavior/Function (SBF) models are being developed and used in undergraduate biology education (Dauer et al., 2013; Luckie et al., 2011). Scientific practice also involves social construction of knowledge. Scientists must gather empirical evidence and use it to defend their scientific models or refute current scientific models. This is done in the context of the scientific community. In addition, the benefits of cooperative learning is well established (Johnson, 1991; Vygotsky, 1978), and it has been suggested that the use of cooperative learning enhances the benefits of model-‐based instruction (Coll et al., 2005). Based on best practices for productive cooperative learning, we developed instructional environments in which groups of students use evidence about phenomena to construct and evaluate scientific models of those phenomena. Then students use these scientific models to reason about phenomena with the overarching goal of engaging students in sense-making. During the modeling activities, we investigated group verbal interactions and sense-making using a ground theory approach. We also interviewed students to verify our findings.


Pain is an unpleasant sensory and distressing feeling usually induced by physical damages, and the intensity is further modulated by the experienced pain site. Objective assessment of pain is critical in a variety of clinical practices, however, the status quo in medical practices is based solely on self-report. Recent advancements have been observed in automatic assessment of pain using audio-video recordings, but most do not consider the complex clinical dependency between pain level and pain site. In this study, we propose a Task Specific Encoder with Soft Layer Ordering structure (TSEN-SLO) that utilizes a learnable tensor to flexibly share information between pain level and pain site while still keeping the representations of each task in their self-encoding layers to improve pain level recognition. Our network learns from both face and voice data and achieves accuracy of 70% and 48.1% in a binary and ternary self-report pain level classification in a challenging in-the-wild setting. The approach improves a relative of 6.5% and 9.1% compare to previous work on the same dataset. Further analysis also demonstrates the variation in the self-reported pain level as observed in the facial and acoustic features for different pain sites, which points toward a potential relationship between the neural-mechanism behind internal pain sensation and its effect on expressive facial/vocal behaviors.


The electronic structure, potential energy curves, and radiative transition probabilities of excimer systems have been examined using quantum mechanical methods. These molecules are characterized by repulsive or weakly bound ground state potential curves and by bound, strongly ionic, or Rydberg, excited states. They constitute a very interesting class of molecules which offer the possibility for high power, high efficiency UV laser operation. Calculations have been carried out using the density functional SCF-Xα method, modified extensively to correct for well known errors arising from approximations to the potential and exchange terms. A limited number of ab initio calculations were also carried out for comparison purposes. For the ArF system we find that the lowest excited ionic state has symmetry 2∑, and that the dominant laser transition observed at 1933 A should be assigned to B2∑ → X2∑. The C2Π3/2 → X2∑ transition is calculated to be two orders of magnitude smaller in emission intensity than the dominant transition, thus ruling out this assignment for the observed laser line in ArF. Preliminary calculations carried out for Ar2F indicate that the bound upper ionic state has 2B2 symmetry and that the most probable ground state also has 2B2 symmetry. This polyatomic system is predicted to exhibit a broadband emission spectrum with a relatively long radiative lifetime.


Glasses in a wide range of chemical composition were thermally poled and the stability of the second-order optical nonlinearity induced was studied through isothermal annealing experiments. Enhanced stability was found in aluminosilicate and aluminoborosilicate with respect to silica (at least a five order of magnitude increase in lifetime). Such dramatic enhancement was explained by the strong decrease of the alkali ion mobility due to specific changes in glass composition.


This study examines the operating characteristics pertaining to single-server Markovian queueing model possessing infinite capacity with functioning vacation. The server is subject to sudden halt while in normal busy period and immediately after repair process, its service resumes. The server failure and server repair follow the exponential distributions. Once the system becomes vacant, the server takes functioning vacation during which the customer waiting in the queue tends to renege and server serves the customer at a lower rate. The steady state probabilities are obtained in terms of transition rates of inflow and outflow processes by means of matrix geometric approach. Various measures of performance of the model are determined in terms of system state probabilities. Further impact of model parameters on these measures are shown graphically with the help of numerical illustration.


Aiming to solve the service congestion problem under multi-user environment and using multi-agent system technology,this paper proposes a dynamic individual behavior coordination mechanism with tradable reservations and congestion-avoiding feature.The coordination model is built on the mechanism.The model considers the environment that owns reservable,capacity-constrained resources.Furthermore,there exist hot resources in the environment.The reservation can be traded by auction with virtual currency.This auction mechanism is designed based on double auction mechanism.The computer simulation compares four different schemes and the results show that the model has superiority,which can considerably ameliorate the congest state and improve the average utility.The mechanism has stronger reality than the relevant research.


In the eld of arti cial intelligence, semantic networks are used for knowledge representation and natural language processing. Semantic networks are graph-based knowledge representation systems whose vertices are words and edges, relationships between words set by a rule. Dealing with semantic networks is a very complicated activity, mainly, when it handles networks with thousands of words. We conjecture the possibility of representing a given semantic network based on titles of scienti c papers (RST) by a uniform RST, so that this has the same topological structure and re ect the vocabulary of the original RST. The problem of our thesis is to know what a uniform smaller RST can be obtained from a given RST. This study aims to determine the critical point at which there is a topological change of a RST so that the network obtained re ect the vocabulary of the original RST. We conducted an experiment that it consists to submit RST removing vertices strategies. The results indicate the existence of a fraction fp vertices removed randomly and evenly preserving the topological structure and re ect the vocabulary of the original RST. Thus, RST may be represented by minimum uniform RST. The representation of knowledge is determinant in e cient processes search of information and di usion of knowledge. In addition, minimum uniform RST can assist researchers in the most e cient search issues related to its investigation.


A geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) mass is formed by placing closely-spaced layers of polymeric geosynthetic reinforcement in a soil mass during soil placement. The reinforcement in a GRS mass serves primarily to improve engineering properties of soil. The concept of GRS has been used successfully over the past few decades in many transportation facilities, including retaining walls, embankments, roadways, and steepened slopes. Tests and in-service installations have shown that GRS systems, particularly GRS walls with modular-block facing, are structurally sound, easy and fast to construct, and low cost compared to other designs. Interest in using GRS design for bridge abutments and approaches, in particular, has grown but a lack of rational and reliable design and construction guidelines for such structures has impeded more widespread adoption. NCHRP Report 556, "Design and Construction Guidelines for Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Bridge Abutments with a Flexible Facing," was produced as a first step effort toward developing such guidelines. The research described in that report addressed static loading conditions only. NCHRP Project 12-59(01), the subject of this report, was undertaken to develop design and construction guidelines for applications in seismically active regions. The research described here focused on single-span, simply-supported bridges subjected to seismic forces. Current seismic design methods for reinforced soil retaining walls – both pseudo-static methods and displacement methods – have been developed for situations where the self-weight of the soil is the predominant load. For a GRS bridge abutment, however, the abutment's top surface is intended to provide a foundation of the bridge superstructure. The GRS abutment will be expected not only to maintain its stability as a soil mass but also to bear the additional large sustained and seismic loads associated with the bridge superstructure. The objective of this research was to extend the earlier research reported in NCHRP Report 556 to consider seismic loading conditions and thereby provide a more comprehensive basis for developing rational guidelines for design and construction of GRS abutments and approaches with modular-block facing.


Chryseobacterium indologenes is found ubiquitously in the environment; it rarely causes human disease. Hence, we report a case of C. indologenes-associated pleural effusion in a patient with aortic dissection. Postoperatively, the patient developed massive right-sided pleural effusion with underlying consolidated lung. Culture of the pleural fluid yielded pure growth of C. indologenes which was susceptible to cotrimoxazole, minocycline, and tigecycline. Therapy was modified; tigecycline and cotrimoxazole were started following which the patient showed improvement, and subsequent cultures of the pleural fluid were sterile. This report promotes awareness of this organism as an emerging pathogen in lung infections and emphasizes the importance of targeted therapy.


During thousands of years, reindeer have adapted to living under harsh conditions with large seasonal variations in climate and forage availability. This adaptation implies that body functions and nourishment needs are strongly bound to the season. In the summer the reindeer has to maximize food intake to build up fat and protein reserves for the winter. More than 200 different plant species are included in the reindeer diet, but since reindeer have an unique ability to use the nourishment in lichen, different lichen species make up a large portion of their winter diet in many areas. Fundamental for reindeer husbandry is access to natural grazing during most of the year. This is why it is important to document the locations of the grazing resources for all land users in the area that is used for reindeer management, as well as for the long term planning of land use. During the past several years a new concept has been developed in the reindeer management sector, i. e., the reindeer management plan. It is supposed to be used like a forest management plan, as a planning tool, to give an improved view over the land use of Sami villages. In a reindeer management plan there is a system to classify various grazing types. However, today there is no connection between grazing types and the ground vegetation types used in forestry to access site index. A transformation between the two systems would allow easier planning of land use and cooperation between reindeer husbandry and forestry.

This thesis has concentrated on the possible connection between the grazing types in the forest (13 classes) of the reindeer management plan and the forest classification units used in the site quality class system of Hagglund & Lundmark (1981).

The objectives were to:
• examine the possibility to directly give the site class according to the site quality class system by using the registrations from the grazing survey of the reindeer management plan
• find a "key" to enable a translation between the grazing types of the reindeer management plan and the forest classification units in the site quality class system used by forestry
• present the translation in comprehensive and easily understandable diagrams
• exemplify how the mentioned translation can be used by implementing it to Mala Sami village grazing area.

The ability to determine site quality with the support of the grazing survey was very limited. However, it was possible to create a translation between the reindeer grazing types and the forest classification units in the site quality class system. The translation is presented in two different tables where one is relatively informative, showing for example different forage species. The other table gives more condensed information. Both tables indicate grazing values and every grazing type has a specific code (the "thun" code) that is linked to corresponding forest classification unit. Forest companies that operate in reindeer management areas can easily link grazing type codes to ground vegetation type codes in their computer systems. Consequently, this work can be used in different types of inventories and for planning of land use both by the foresters and the Sami villages. The coordinated scheme could be a base for discussions between reindeer husbandry and forestry concerning land use in areas involving both industries.


Objective To summarize the experiences of applying gastric tube in minimally invasive esophagectomy(MIE),in order to assess its feasibility and safety.Methods From June 2004 to August 2009,MIE was performed on 102 patients with esophageal carcinoma,including 71 males and 31 females whose age ranged from 37 to 79 years old with an average age of 61.1.Among them,62 patients underwent thoracoscopic laparotomy 3-incision esophagectomy,35 patients underwent thoracoscopic and laparoscopic 3-incision esophagectomy and 5 patients underwent thoracotomy and laparoscopic esophagectomy.Prevertebral reconstruction was performed on 58 patients and retrosternal reconstruction was performed on 44 patients.Results All operations were performed successfully with a perioperative mortality rate of 2.0%(2/102) and a postoperative complication rate of 41.2%(42/102).The complications included anastomotic leakage,anastomotic stricture and lung infection.The complication rate was higher in the retrosternal group than in the prevertebral group(56.8% vs.29.3%,P0.05).Anastomotic leakage rate in the retrosternal group was also higher than that in the prevertebral group(34.1% vs.6.9%,P0.05).There was no significant difference in anastomotic stenosis,gastric fistula,dysfunction of gastric emptying,heart and lung complications,chylothorax and injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve between the two groups.Conclusion Gastric tube is an effective way for reconstruction of the digestive tract after minimally invasive esophagectomy.The choice of prevertebral reconstruction or retrosternal reconstruction should be based on each individual patient.


This paper addresses the problem of dynamic protocol selection in open and heterogeneous multi-agent systems (MAS) for collaborative task performance. Protocols are interaction patterns which help agents coordinate their activities. Usually, agent designers select the protocols to be used for collaborative task performance. In open and heterogeneous MAS, such selection may lead to protocol mismatch at run time. Protocol selection mismatch may in turn result in a collaborative task not being performed, although it could have been performed had the protocols been selected properly. Our solution to this problem is to enable agents to dynamically select protocols. We first study the characteristics of protocols and the descriptions of collaborative tasks. Using these characteristics and descriptions, we devise mechanisms that enable agents to dynamically select protocols when they have to perform a task in collaboration. In this work we relax some restrictive assumptions made in prior work on protocol selection, and which may hinder collaborative task performance. In particular, we do not assume that agents trust one another. Additionally, because there is no protocol specification standard, we allow several protocol specification formalisms to coexist. Our method allows agents to select their protocols locally and individually, yet coordinate their selection with other agents' selections based on message exchange flows. Since the selection is performed locally, some errors may occur in the process. Our mechanisms provide means for detecting such errors and overcoming them. As we show, the complexity of our solution is empirically sufficiently low for practical use, and the level of success in coordinated protocol selection is very high.


Hip joints in radiographs were magnified in order to examine the appropriate magnification of templates for preoperative planning in total hip arthroplasty (THA). The magnification of each hip joint, in postoperative radiographs after THA, was calcurated using inserted implants (socket or femoral stem) as scales. The relationship between the magnifications and grade of obesity or hip flexion contracture was also examined. In most hips, the percentage of magnification was between 110 and 120. Obesity or hip flexion contracture did not influence the magnification. These date suggest that degrees above 110% are more appropriate than 110% for the magnification of templates.


A highly ordered uniform InN nanodot array was successfully grown by reactive sputtering using an anodic nanohole channel alumina (NCA) template. The nanodot array replicated the hexagonal lattice pattern of the NCA template with a period space of nanometer scale. The simplicity, flexibility, and practicality of this technique make it a prospective method for developing future optical and electronic devices of III-V nitride semiconductors.


Due to much closer to real application scenarios,the budgeted influence maximization (BIM) problem has attracted great attention among researchers. As a variant of the influence maximization (IM) problem, the BIM problem aims at mining several nodes with different costs as seeds with limited budget to maximize the influence as possible. By first activating these seed nodes and spreading influence under the given propagation model, the maximized spread of influence can be reached in the network. Several approaches have been proposed for BIM. Most of them are modified versions of the greedy algorithm, which work well on the IM but seems inefficient for the BIM because huge time consuming is inevitable. Recently, some intelligence algorithms are proposed in order to reduce the running time, but analysis shows that they cannot fully utilize the relationships between nodes in networks, which will result in influence loss. Inspired by this, we propose an efficient method based on boosted simulated annealing (SA) algorithm in this paper. Three heuristic strategies are proposed to improve the performance and speed up the proposed algorithm. Experimental results on both real world and synthetic networks demonstrate that the proposed boosted SA performs much better than existed algorithms on performance with almost equal or less running time.


This paper presents an overview of the formal institutional arrangements for natural resource management (NRM) in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) and the role of these arrangements as an enabling environment for community engagement in NRM. The appropriate scale of NRM management and the complexity and expense of effective community engagement is discussed. The paper highlights challenges faced by NRM groups in remote regions and their need for proper support and sharing in significant decision making processes. Regional interface groups are presented as relatively recent experiments in ecological intervention that have operated in a rapidly changing policy environment. The paper concludes with a summary of potential key challenges for NRM in the LEB region and suggests that interface organisations require understanding, capacity and support to utilise their investments and program activities to learn about how to improve and adapt to meet the challenges of their operating environment.


Starting from precalculated settings for the trim coils the magnetic field is automatically isochronized via a measurement of the beam phase history with the ten capacitive phase probes in the extraction-valley (see fig. 1) and an online computer routine which uses a calculated correction matrix. The beam centering is done with a radially localized first harmonic field bump and observed via measurement with the two radial differential probes. Programs for automatically finding the turn positions and calculating the amplitude and phase of the harmonic bump are developed.


The strong dislike evidenced by the American public towards the estate tax suggests that the wealthy wish to transfer resources to their heirs tax-free and would thus exploit mechanisms allowing them to reduce the tax burden whenever possible. However, I find strong evidence that the wealthy fail to utilize what is perhaps the simplest method of tax avoidance--that of making transfers to eventual heirs up to the annual exclusion. Instead they transfer far less than the amount permitted by the tax code, whether measured in cross-section or over time. In failing to give more, they forgo significant tax savings.


This chapter is devoted to the study of the interplay among structures of different fields under a geometrical perspective. We present here a methodology that, for each individual structure, performs an analysis of its proximal structures based upon their geometrical characterization previously introduced. Statistical results are obtained for the set of structures under study, presented in the form of combined probability density functions. A motivation for this methodology is presented in §7.1, followed by the description of the methodology itself in §7.2. Results of its application to the four fields studied in previous chapters of this thesis grouped by pairs, namely Q–[Aij ]+ and ωiωi–SijSij , are presented in §7.3 and §7.4, respectively.


Research on complexity leadership theory (CLT) is generating exciting new ways to think about leadership and organizing for today's complex environments. Contrary to top-down perspectives grounded ...


a deep concern for the conservation status of the entire family, were the motivations behind the International Symposium on Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of the World's Cats, 15 to 17 March 1971, at Lion Country Safari, a private African wildlife preserve in Laguna Hills, California. The goal of the symposium was to bring together cat experts and to determine the status of our present knowledge. To this end, 30 speakers and discussants presented 27 papers and held three open discussion sessions. Discussants included specialists on other carnivore groups, primarily the Canidae, for sake of comparative discussion. About 80 persons from 40 regional, national, and international conservation groups, and zoological and professional societies made up the audience. The first area of concentration was behavior. R. F. Ewer (University of Ghana) presented an extended review of maternal care and education of the young in the Felidae. She elalborated


ABSTRACT A series of seven 610-mm-diameter disks was con-structed with radii of curvature varying from infinite (flat disk) to 494 mm. The soil penetration of these disks depended on velocity, mass on the disk, and disk angle. At disk angles from 0.2 to 0.35 rad, disks with large radii of curvature penetrated deeper. At disk angles above 0.35 rad, small radii of curvature disks penetrated deep-er. In terms of disk penetration, the optimum value of radius of curvature-to-disk-diameter (R/D) ratio ap-pears to be 2.92 to 1.50.


At laboratory level, the effect of the presence of hydrophytes, Typha latifolia, in lab scale packed columns simulating artificial wetlands systems has been studied. Previous experiments have shown that redox (reduction-oxidation) potentials may render a good indirect insight of the presence of dissolved oxygen produced by photosynthesis and released in the root zone. Four 20-Liter reactors (10-L working volume) packed with volcanic lava were fed with synthetic wastewater (R1, R2) and tap water (R3, R4). Synthetic wastewater contained sucrose, (NH4)2SO4, and Na3PO4.12H2O to give a C:N:P ratio of 15:1:0.1, and 800 mg CODT (total chemical oxygen demand)/L. Two reactors, R1, R3, had a single macrophyte (Thypa latifolia), and R2 and R4 had no plant. The reactors were fully covered to avoid or minimize the diffusion of atmospheric oxygen, leaving only a hole for the plant to emerge. Reactors were maintained in a 28±2°C controlled temperature room with artificial constant light irradiation (20.6 Wm-2) from 15 fluorescent lamps that were on from 07:00 to 19:00 hours (12h light/12 h dark). Two hydraulic residence times were studied, 12 and 24 hours. Results indicate that the macrophyte presence enhances the conversion of substrates added to the synthetic wastewater, measured as CODT, and that the redox potentials were less negative in the plants root zone (between 300 and 400 mV at 10 cm depth versus the electrode A, at 2 cm, that was between 160 and 230 mV). For the reactors R1 and R2, with synthetic wastewater, particularly R1 (with Typha), bacterial proliferation thanks to the plant photosynthetic action, rendered redox potential values of –370 to –400 mV. Finally, the presence of the hydrophyte enhances the presence of microbial communities in the rizosphere.


Abstract The nematic lyophase of disodium cromoglycate dissolved in water can be made chiral by adding a wide variety of amino acids whose ability to induce helicity is systematically studied. Long, bulky side chains lead to small helical twisting power (HTP), whereas increased hydrophilicity of side chains leads to larger HTP. Some dipeptides have dramatically large HTP's. These factors can be understood in terms of a geometric and steric model.


Neodymium ortho-ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by using multiple analytical techniques. The synthesized material possesses cubic crystal structure with crystallite size in the range of 40 to 45 nm as characterized by XRD and FESEM techniques. The synthesized nanoparticles were used as electrode modifiers with graphite powder to prepare NdFeO3/GP electrode. The electro-catalytic activity of prepared electrode was examined to determine paracetamol in biological fluids using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulsed voltammetry. The npNdFeO3 based electrodes exhibits noteworthy results in the estimation of paracetamol with a limit of detection (400 nM) with a linearity range between 05 μM to 120 μM.


We will cover cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, endocrine, metabolic, oncological, musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, immune, and cognitive/psychosocial disorders. Within each disorder we will cover epidemiology, pathophysiology, molecular mechanisms, and diagnosis.


Some general concepts and theorems on the stability of numerical methods for ordinary stochastic differential equations (SDEs) along Lyapunov-type and other Borel-measurable, nonnegative functions are presented. In particular, we deal with almost sure, moment and weak -stability, exponential and asymptotic stability of related stochastic difference equations with nonrandom, variable step sizes. The applicability of the main results is explained with the class of balanced implicit methods (i.e. certain stochastic linear-implicit methods with appropriate weights). It is shown that, they are rich enough to provide asymptotically, exponentially and polynomially stable numerical methods discretizing stable continuous time SDEs by controlling the choice of their weights.


Abstract Settling depth of targets, with a density lower than the density of water, is a distance between water surface and a depth that the target reaches after dropping from a height. In this research, settling depth of apple was determined by a water column and a digital camera and then was experimentally modeled using multivariate regression program coded in MATLAB software. The considered parameters in multivariate modeling were physical characteristics (density, mass, and volume) and dropping height of the target. The characteristics were determined by standard methods. The best models were based on the density, dropping height and volume/mass with coefficient of determination (R 2), and mean square error (MSE) of 0.90 and 4.08, respectively.


Real-world image degradation due to light scattering can be described based on the Koschmieder's model. Training deep models to restore such degraded images is challenging as real-world paired data is scarcely available and synthetic paired data may suffer from domain-shift issues. In this paper, a zero-shot single real-world image restoration model is proposed leveraging a theoretically deduced property of degradation through the Koschmieder's model. Our zero-shot network estimates the parameters of the Koschmieder's model, which describes the degradation in the input image, to perform image restoration. We show that a suitable degradation of the input image amounts to a controlled perturbation of the Koschmieder's model that describes the image's formation. The optimization of the zero-shot network is achieved by seeking to maintain the relation between its estimates of Koschmieder's model parameters before and after the controlled perturbation, along with the use of a few no-reference losses. Image dehazing and underwater image restoration are carried out using the proposed zero-shot framework, which in general outperforms the state-of-the-art quantitatively and subjectively on multiple standard real-world image datasets. Additionally, the application of our zero-shot framework for low-light image enhancement is also demonstrated.


A theoretical simulation material balance method of variable multiple injected water was proposed to confirm the relationship between formation resistivity and water saturation.Through the theoretical simulation method,the influence factors of formation resistivity and water saturation of inflection point were analyzed.Comparison with the data of core displacement experiment proved that the numerical simulation method has high precision.The better the formation physical property or the bigger resistivity ratio of injected water to original water,the lower the water saturation of inflection point,the faster the process of water drive.The higher the irreducible water saturation,the lower the irreducible oil saturation or the bigger the saturation exponent,the higher the water saturation of inflection point,the slower the process of water drive.The inflection point usually appears when the injection water multiple is 1.4-2.0.The smaller the porosity,the higher the irreducible oil saturation or the bigger salinity ratio of injected water to original water,the bigger the waterflooded formation resistivity.And the waterflooded formation resistivity is even bigger than the reservoir resistivity.


The one-electron oxidation reaction of potassium 3,4-dimethyl-1,6,7-tris(tri-tert-butylsilyl)-1,6,7-trigermabicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-en-7-ide (2-·K+) with tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane in THF results in the formation of stable 3,4-dimethyl-1,6,7-tris(tri-tert-butylsilyl)-1,6,7-trigermabicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-en-7-yl (3•), representing the first bicyclic germyl radical with the bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-ene skeleton. The germyl radical 3• was characterized by X-ray crystallographic analysis as well as ESR spectroscopy, showing that it has a near-planar Ge-radical center.


This paper aims to investigate the development mode of Internet enterprise service platforms and analyze the marketing strategies that affect their implementation. The research method involves theoretical and empirical analyses, drawing on the theoretical achievements and practical experiences of internet enterprises. Specifically, the paper focuses on ByteDance, a young and successful internet unicorn company that has created several popular products such as Toutiao and TikTok. It analyzes the company's business philosophy and purpose, product profile, SMB commercial marketing strategy, and the problems existing in its marketing strategies. The paper recommends that enterprises should strengthen their technology construction, create a flat management mode, improve their corporate social responsibility, and enhance their corporate culture concept. These recommendations are essential for the survival and growth of companies in the highly competitive internet industry. The paper concludes that in the context of "Internet +", the scale effect of the network economy is significant and the internet marketing market is rapidly developing, providing an excellent opportunity for companies to interact, cooperate, and integrate resources to achieve their goals.


Family therapy (as with other treatment forms) needs to demonstrate its efficacy, but a major obstacle to the development and evaluation of therapeutic techniques in family therapy in particular, has been the almost total reliance on what is called classical group comparisons (e.g., treatment versus no-treatment groups). The focus on group comparisons, however, has meant a complete disregard for a methodology that is also highly appropriate; single-case design (or intrasubject replication) where the sample size is N = 1. In recent times, there has been an increasing disenchantment with classical group design for a number of reasons. For example, group comparisons are not always feasible in many clinical settings and tend to lack relevance for the practitioner's daily functioning. This paper elaborates these kinds of reasons and outlines the major advantages of using single-case design. There is little doubt that single-case methodology is becoming increasingly popular as an important research tool that can no longer be disregarded. Its specific applicability to evaluative research in family therapy is particularly appealing.


With ubiquity of social media platforms, millions of people are routinely sharing their moods, feelings and even their daily struggles with mental health issues by expressing it verbally or indirectly through images they post. In this study, we aim to examine exploitation of big multi-modal social media data for studying depressive behavior and its population trend across the U.S. to better understand a regions influence on the prevailing environment and available care. In partic-ular, employing statistical techniques along with the fusion of heterogeneous features gleaned from different modalities (shared images and textual content), we build models to detect depressed individuals and their demographics.


The contemporary China is being a speed social transferring type period.As a social cell,the family is also being in the profound change.Being connected with family such as all kind of the social relation,ethic as well as family's structure and faction of change etc.,which have made the family face to many new problems.In the view of the harmonious society,harmonious family construction's route choice may be included: Chinese traditional family ethical culture resources to be criticized and inherited,modern western countries family democracy management manner to be used for reference and be absorbed,to set up in people foremost and gender harmonious and equal new-type family value conception,and social policy work stronger for family crisis during the social transfer-type period etc.


Class-E operation at UHF and microwave frequencies is achieved by using transmission-line networks to provide the drain harmonic impedances of an ideal class-E power amplifier (PA). This paper develops a technique for analysis of such amplifiers that are based upon a finite number of harmonics. The technique is generally applicable to classes E, C, and F as well as PAs with harmonic reactances not corresponding to those of established classes. The analysis shows that the maximum achievable efficiency depends not upon the class of operation, but upon the number of harmonics employed. For any set of harmonic reactances, the same maximum efficiency can be achieved by proper adjustment of the waveforms and the fundamental-frequency load reactance. The power-output capability depends upon the harmonic reactances and is maximum for class F.


This article is devoted to such a burning problem as the impact of globalization changes on traditional cultural values, in particular on education, on teaching of the native language. We are trying to show how American civilization transforms the consciousness of Russians, planting concepts alien to the Russian culture that are expressed in language borrowings in many areas. This is clearly seen in the transformation of meanings, namely, in the replacement of words with native Russian roots for transliterated Anglo-American concepts. As a result, the foreign mentality invades the cultural space of Russian people, displaces the original concepts, preventing even an adequate translation of the borrowed concepts into Russian, which is observed not only in business or politics, but also in education. This process, we believe, is not objective, independent of the subjects. It reflects the advance of Anglo-American ideology and aims at a radical restructuring of the consciousness of the Russian people, the transformation of the Russian people into a mass without traditions, without moral values, without language. As a counteraction to the process of colonization of consciousness, we propose the implementation of a national-oriented educational policy, which will allow instilling in young generations the values rooted in the national culture


AbstractThis article develops, through an analysis of a single example, a linguistic ap-proach to narrative. I argue that the discourse structure of a text functions to set up a series of interpretive questions, questions that must be answered by any acceptable interpretation, but that also constrain what count as acceptable inter-pretations. I argue that the text I use as an example, a narrative from a woman in her 20s suffering from schizophrenia, is a typical-if striking-example of human narrative sense making. The global organization of the narrative, like all deeply senseful uses of language, flows from the organization of the discourse system (line and stanzas) and from the lived and earned coherence of the narra-tor's life. (Psychology)


1. National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), STC, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan 2. National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), STC, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan 3. Dept of Bio Medical Sciences, King Edward Medical University, Lahore. ..................................... Corresponding Author: Dr. Riffat Mehboob, Dept of Bio Medical Sciences, King Edward Medical University, Lahore. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com ..................................... Received 30-05-2017: Accepted 20-09-2017 Current Status of Neurology and Neuroscience Research in Pakistan


Summary NE Alberta hosts many producing oil sand projects. These projects require large amounts of thermal energy to produce most of which is currently provided by burning natural gas; and this increases the greenhouse gas footprint to producing such hydrocarbons. One possible solution is to instead use geothermal heat directly with hot fluids produced using Engineered Geothermal Systems. Geothermal exploration always starts with broad geological structure reconnaissance of the area. Unfortunately, the larger geological context particularly beneath those relatively shallow depths (typically less than 400 m) of interest to hydrocarbon exploration is still poorly understood. As such, we have selected a rectangular area of 22,000 km 2 extending across 56.25˚ to 57.12˚N and 111.92˚ to 113.52˚W that we refer to as the Athabasca region. The main two categories of data which are in used consist of over 600 km seismic reflection profiles and 22,000 km 2 High Resolution Aeromagnetic data. Also there is a large amount of available well-logs from 1,000 boreholes in this area that have a key role in interpretation of seismic profiles. These integrated data sets are used for outlining sedimentary basin, mapping geological formation tops, locating fault zones and other structural lineaments, finding true depth of metamorphic basement, and finally building a detailed geological model of the region. To date all the seismic profiles are interpreted and HRAM data is successfully corrected and gridded through the area. The 3D geological model is constructed using these available data that reveals some detail about the gross structure of the region. This model shows that the Precambrian basement reflector is a smoothly undulating surface that could be consistent with minor faulting. The topography of this surface affects the structure of overlying sedimentary formations.


A method for producing a three-dimensional sintered product, comprising the steps of: (a) sintering a predetermined portion of a first layer of powder material by applying a first optical beam to form a first layer having a higher density, (b) forming a second layer of powder material on the first layer, and (c) sintering of a predetermined part of the second layer of powder material by applying a second optical beam for forming a second layer having a lower density and connecting the second layer of lower density to the first layer with higher density, and (d) repeating steps (a) to (c) for forming a three dimensional sintered block having a plurality of first and second layers, wherein in forming the second layer of lower density on the first layer with a higher density a) after forming the first layer having a higher density with a thickness a predetermined exceeds value and is ground to a predetermined thickness, b) after forming a ...


Accounts are a collection of numbers commonly used for all transactions in the banking world, from saving, withdrawing cash, to checking account balances either directly or online using m-banking. In bank accounts and the process of opening them, there are various kinds of criminal acts committed by individuals and groups. As a bank's obligation to prevent crime so that it can provide trust to the community. In an effort to prevent criminal acts of fraud can be solved using data mining techniques, namely classification. The purpose of classification is to predict the class label of an object based on existing attributes. The classification methods used in this research are extreme gradiant boosting (XGBoost) and random forest on 22029 records. In the classification process, this study uses a percentage ratio of 90% train data and 10% test data and tuning parameters processed by randomized search cross validation. The research stages start from preprocessing to evaluation and get a train score of 99.50% and a test score of 99.59% for extreme gradiant boosting (xgboost) while random forest gets a train score of 99.46% and a test score of 99.59%. These results show that the classification results of extreme gradiant boosting (XGBoost) are better than random forest.


The recent measurement of the differential γ + c-jet cross section, performed at the Tevatron collider in Run II by the D0 collaboration, is studied in a next-to-leading order (NLO) global QCD analysis to assess its impact on the proton parton distribution functions (PDFs). We show that these data lead to a significant change in the gluon and charm quark distributions. We demonstrate also that there is an inconsistency between the new high precision HERA I+II combined data and Tevatron measurement. Moreover, in this study we investigate the impact of older EMC measurements of charm structure function on the PDFs and compare the results with those from the analysis of Tevatron data. We show that both of them have the same impact on the PDFs, and thus can be recognized as the same evidence for the inefficiency of perturbative QCD in dealing with charm production in some kinematic regions.


The human brain includes a capacity-limited memory system devoted to the short-term retention of task-relevant information. This system is called working memory. Some computational neuroscience accounts of working memory have explained it in terms of interactions between the prefrontal cortex and the mesolimbic dopamine system. Inspired by these models, we have constructed a software toolkit for creating working memory components for robot control systems, based on the proposed mechanisms used by the brain. We report our design for this toolkit, as well as the results of a feasibility study, involving a robotic version of the delayed saccade task, and we discuss future plans to test this framework in the context of more complex tasks.


Crosstalk contributes to attenuation and signal degradation on microwave transmission lines in addition to coupling signals between lines. Crosstalk is compared as an attenuation mechanism with skin effect and dielectric loss for coupled microstrip lines.<<ETX>>


Cetirizine (CTZ) and Salbutamol (SAL) are co-formulated for treatment of common cold and allergy [1]. Cetirizine (CTZ, Figure 1a) is [2-[4-[(4-Chlorophenyl) phenylmethyl]-1–piperazinyl] ethoxy] acetic acid). It is long acting antihistaminic which used for relief of allergic conditions [2]. The BP described non-aqueous potentiometric titration method for CTZ determination [3]. Previously published methods described for determinations of CTZ include HPLC either in pharmaceutical preparations [4-6] or in biological fluids [7,8], fluorimetry [9] and spectrophotometry [10].


Railway wheel axle experiences the problem of hunting above a critical velocity, which is a kind of self-excited oscillation. This paper investigates the linear and non-linear stability analysis of wheel axle constrained within a fixed bogie frame. From the linear analysis the critical velocity of the system with the existing parameters is found to be 268 km/hr. The influence of different parameters on stability of the system is further investigated in present study. Nonlinear analysis provides additional information compared with linear systems. Nonlinear analysis provides several stable solutions with a single set of parameters and each stable solution is function of the initial conditions. Using domains for initial conditions i.e. domains for attraction, chances for existence for stable solutions is determined. Present nonlinear analysis indicates that for vehicle velocity range from the critical velocity 366 km/hr to 392 km/hr, two stable solutions coexist i.e. the trivial solution with limit cycle solution and for the range of velocities beyond 392 km/hr one stable solution exist.


The Impact of Transformational Leadership Style on the Success of Global Virtual Teams by Shery Wojtara-Perry Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management (Leadership and Organizational Change) Walden University February, 2016 Abstract Organizations in the age of modern technology have a diverse workforce, who are spread around the globe, and the business leaders of the 21st century need to understand how best to manage, overcome new challenges, and know the various skills of team members to capitalize on their differences and unique skills. To allow those geographically dispersed workers to reach their full potential and facilitate team success. Global virtualOrganizations in the age of modern technology have a diverse workforce, who are spread around the globe, and the business leaders of the 21st century need to understand how best to manage, overcome new challenges, and know the various skills of team members to capitalize on their differences and unique skills. To allow those geographically dispersed workers to reach their full potential and facilitate team success. Global virtual teams (GVTs) operate in complex environments characterized by diverse cultural and organizational elements. The primary purpose of this correlational and nonexperimental quantitative research was to examine the impact of transformational leadership on GVTs, their productivity, and job satisfaction with leadership effectiveness. Using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), data analyzes were completed through SurveyMonkey.com and SPSS software. The study measured transformational leadership, the independent variable, by the leader's ability to motivate workers to be satisfied and productive, and by the leader's effectiveness in the organization. Data were assessed by frequency analysis, moderation analyzes, and multiple regression analysis on the dependent variables of job satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, and productivity. The findings from this study reinforced the positive relationships found between transformational leadership, employee productivity, and leadership effectiveness in GVTs. Results also showed that motivated employees increase productivity and help in the organization's growth. Implications for positive social change included improvements in GVT interactions to increase the exchange of diverse ideas that lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction. The Impact of Transformational Leadership Style on the Success of Global Virtual Teams by Shery Wojtara-Perry Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management (Leadership and Organizational Change) Walden University February, 2016 Dedication This study is dedicated to all of my professors, friends, and family, who have encouraged me throughout this journey to achieve the highest level of education available. I would also like to dedicate this dissertation to my daughter, who has been a blessing, and whom I love dearly! "All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea" – Napoleon


The county economic development status in the watershed area of Shaanxi Province under the south-to-north water diversion project was studied,and the positive and negative impacts of the project on the county economy in this area were analyzed,it was deemed that the sustainable development of its county economy should focus on the eco-tourism industry,eco-agriculture and industry,and some measures were proposed to promote the sustainable development of the county economy in the watershed area of Shaanxi Province.


The modern community in the implementation of "people-oriented" concept,taking the people-oriented into teaching of public physical education in college can not only make clear of physical education route under the reform of teaching,but also possesses certain theoretical support and realistic significance.This paper,according to many years of professional education and training experience,firstly,creates a harmonious relationship between teachers and students,establishes the guiding ideology of teaching,selectsthe practical teaching methods based on college public physical teaching curriculum design,takes people-oriented concept as the main route by using the pluralistic evaluation means in order to reach the ideal goal of college public physical education teaching


Mazhamai is one of the backbone parents in the wheat breeding.Genetic analysis of the Mazhamai is very important in studying the genetic mechanism of the backbone parents,and also in selecting parents in wheat breeding and improving breeding efficiency.Genetic analysis on plant height,number of fertile tillers,spike length,spikelets number per spike,kernels number per spike and thousand kernels weight was conducted on the 185 individuals of the F2 population derived from Mazhamai×Quality using correlation analysis and master genes + multiple genes mixture genetic model analysis methods in this study.The results indicated that all traits studied were quantitative traits controlled by polygene.The number of fertile tillers was controlled by a pair of master genes and polygene with heritability value of 0.557 and additive effect of the major genes estimated as 6.916.The lord gene expression was negative completely dominant.Plant height,spike length,spikelets number per spike,kernels number per spike and thousand kernels weight were all controlled by polygene.There were significant variations in plant height,spike length,spikelets number per spike,kernels number per spike and thousand kernels weight between Mazhamai and Quality,which meant that Mazhamai×Quality was an excellent combination and excellent genotypes could be selected from their progenies.


Abstract 4470 Objective: To evaluate the impact of disease status on outcomes of allogeneic hematopietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods: 32 patients with refractory AML received allo-HSCT after myeloablative conditioning regimen, including 17 patients not in remission (NR) and 15 patients in complete remission (CR) at the time of transplant. Treatment related adverse events, relapse rate and leukemia free survival (LFS) were compared in two groups. Results: There were no difference between two groups regarding patients gender, age, cytogenetic risk, donor type, stem cell resource, conditioning regimen, median number of CD34 + cells. 30 patients engrafted successfully. Only one patient failed to engraftment and another one died from veno-occlusive disease. Compared with CR group, NR group had a higher treatment related mortality (29.4% vs.13.3%,p=0.254), relapse rates (33.3% vs. 20.0% P=0.341),relative higher incidence of aGVHD (35.3% vs. 20.0%, p=0.287) and cGVHD (44.4% vs. 36.4%, p=0.217), but no significant difference was observed. 2-year LFS of the two groups were comparable (35.3% vs.40.0%,p=0.267). For the patient with refractory AML, univariate analysis showed that two factors, such as less than 35 years old and cGVHD, were benefit for overall survival. Conclusion: Regarding treatment related mortality, relapse rates, incidence of GVHD, there were no significant difference between the patients who achieved CR or NR prior to transplant. 2-year LFS of patients with CR and NR was comparable. In summary, our results showed that allo-HSCT is an appropriate treatment option for refractory AML patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


A new route to produce 3,4-dimethoxy phenethylamine was provided.1,2-Dihydroxy benzene was reacted with dimethyl sulfate to get 1,2-dimethoxy benzene,the yield was 96.7%.After the ether was brominated with high-selective bromating agent,the product could be obtained through Grignard reaction,esterification(the yield was 97.0%) and Gabriel reaction(the yield was 68.5%).The conditions were optimized and it provided an effective approach to produce correlative products.


We consider an electron that is trailing a swift ion in condensed matter and is trapped in the wake of the ion. The many-body theory of such a wake-bound state is developed, including polaronlike nonlocal self-trapping effects. The binding energy is computed self-consistently for several cases.


The present invention relates to a membrane plug-flow cooling chamber, particularly to a preform mold assembly. The assembly comprises a plug receiving cavity plate and the cavity in the cavity plate hole, cavity insert for forming the body portion of the preform; cavity insert at least partially defining a cavity insert and the cooling chamber in fluid communication with cavity insert with a cooling chamber U-shaped annular cooling chamber; U-shaped annular cooling chamber for providing cooling to the downstream end of the cavity insert. The present invention also includes a circulating cooling fluid to cool the cavity insert to a method of forming the body portion of the preform.


The inclusion of specialized food products intended for a specific category of the population is one of the measures aimed at improving the nutritional structure of children. The baby food industry is constantly evolving to meet the time challenges. New directions include the production of dishes of a high degree of readiness for baby nutrition. The direction of the production of ready-made meals has not yet been formed in baby nutrition and has broad prospects. The use of modern heat treatment technologies, including the production of dishes with a short shelf life, allows you to bring products and dishes as close as possible to homemade ones.


Millions of Americans are infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) annually, of which hundreds of thousands become seriously ill or die as a result. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone is infected with HIV in the US every 13 minutes; 65% of AIDS cases can be attributed to sexual contact. The best way to protect oneself against contracting STDs is to not have sex or to have a mutually monogamous relationship with someone who is known to be uninfected. However, for people who are sexually active, studies have shown that the proper and consistent use of latex condoms is the best defense. Using a latex condom during every sexual encounter can significantly reduce the risk of HIV and other STDs, while also protecting against pregnancy. Male and female versions of polyurethane condoms are available as alternatives to latex condoms. Condoms should be seen as commonplace, necessary personal hygiene commodities, like toothpaste and toilet paper. In the current context of HIV/AIDS, wearing condoms is just something you have to do, like brushing one's teeth.


Summary The turtle shell is an evolutionary novelty in which the developmental pattern of the ribs is radically modified. In contrast to those of other amniotes, turtle ribs grow laterally into the dorsal dermis to form a carapace. The lateral margin of carapacial primordium is called the carapacial ridge (CR), and is thought to play an essential role in carapace patterning. To reveal the developmental mechanisms underlying this structure, we systematically screened for genes expressed specifically in the CR of the Chinese soft‐shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis, using microbead‐based differential cDNA analysis and real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. We identified orthologs of Sp5, cellular retinoic acid‐binding protein‐I (CRABP‐I), adenomatous polyposis coli down‐regulated 1 (APCDD1), and lymphoid enhancer‐binding factor‐1 (LEF‐1). Although these genes are conserved throughout the major vertebrate lineages, comparison of their expression patterns with those in chicken and mouse indicated that these genes have acquired de novo expression in the CR in the turtle lineage. In association with the expression of LEF‐1, the nuclear localization of β‐catenin protein was detected in the CR ectoderm, suggesting that the canonical Wnt signaling triggers carapace development. These findings indicate that the acquisition of the turtle shell did not involve the creation of novel genes, but was based on the co‐option of pre‐existing genes.


. The rumen fermentations and N-balances of rumen fistulated sheep were studied on diets of silages treated with urea and acid preservative. The digestibilities and feeding values of the silages were also calculated. The experiment was performed according to 5 x 5 Latin-square design. The digestibilities were determined by total collection the collection period lasting seven days. The rumen samples were taken on the last two days during the collection periods before and 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 hours after feeding. Besides the silages the animals received mineral mixture and water ad libitum. Urea or acid treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on the consumption of silage DM. The consumption ranged from 1.7 to 1.9 kg DM/100 kg liveweight. Urea did not have a clear effect on the VFA production in the rumen. It tended, however, to decrease the proportions of C 3 and C 4 —C S acids in the rumen. Acid preservative decreased the production of VFA and the proportion of C 3 -acid (P < 0.05) in the rumen. The proportion of C 3 -acid was higher respectively, (P < 0.05). The rumen ammonia levels were extremely high, 60 —BO mg/100 ml, after feeding with urea treated silages. This was possibly partly due to the relatively short (14 days) adaptation time before collection period. The urea or acid preservative treatment gave no clear responses regarding the apparent digestibility values of the silages. The DCP values were highest (P < 0.05) in the urea treated silages, but no differences (P > 0.05) were found between the energy values, which varied between 0,12 0.14 f.u./kg of silage. There were no differences in the N-balances of the animals on different diets. The balances were positive on all diets.


Abstract : This thesis sought to design and implement a low-cost, portable, Free-Space Optics (FSO) communications device for Ethernet applications. Under some circumstances such a device would have utility at a Combat Operations Center (COC), a Field Artillery Position, or wherever else fiber optic cable is used in garrison or field. The design was based on commercial off the shelf components originally designed for fiber optic applications. Based on a 155 megabits per second (Mbps) media converter, the design used two fiber optic transceivers, coupled to collimating lenses to pass data over free-space. Sustained data rate of 100 Mbps was achieved with full network functionality on the optical bench with a low-power (0.5mW) laser diode transmitter without focusing optics on the receiver. The laser diode power(mounted on device), was measured with acceptable losses up to 300 ft during testing using a photodiode with focusing optics. The findings indicate that the system with proper collecting optics could be optimized for free-space communication at short to moderate ranges.


In this paper, a new simple design procedure of multi- frequency unequal split Wilkinson power dividers (WPDs) is presented. The procedure is based on using N-sections of transmission line transformers, instead of the conventional quarter-wave WPD branches, to realize a WPD that operates at N frequencies. Good isolation is achieved by using lumped resistors without any extra modiflcation to the conventional structure of WPDs. The analysis, design procedure, and mathematical expressions are presented for arbitrary design frequencies, and arbitrary power split ratio. For veriflcation purposes, a 1 : 2 dual-frequency, a 1 : 2 tri-frequency, and a 1 : 2 quad-frequency WPDs are designed and fabricated. The measured results show good agreement with those obtained using the presented design methodology and with full-wave simulated results.


Broiler breeders are commonly feed restricted using some variation of skip-a-day (SAD) feeding to prevent excessive body weight gains and poor flock uniformity that results in low egg production and hatchability. While these feeding programs have improved flock performance in the past, the level of feed restriction has increased with genetic selection for feed efficiency. This project examined pullets that were offered a high fiber diet of soybean hulls (alternate day feeding; ATD) on the off day of a traditional SAD feeding program in comparison to the standard SAD program. The two dietary feeding methods each with 3 replicate pens of 210 pullets were tested. A sample of pullets was weighed weekly to adjust feed intake and maintain body weights at those suggested by the primary breeder. Feed allocations for the ATD pullets were reduced from 10 to 20 wks to compensate for an improvement in gain in these pullets. Body weights at 20 wks were not different with SAD averaging 1838 g vs 1852 g for ATD. Bird behavior was monitored via high definition video cameras photo period began and ended, respectively, each day (8 am to 4 pm). There were significant differences comparing the birds behavior on the ON and OFF feed day for each respective feeding treatment. At 22 wks of age, pullets were moved to lay cages and fed on a daily basis. Egg production through 40 wks was significantly improved in the hens fed under the ATD treatment (70.7%) when compared to the hens fed SAD (69.3%; P=0.03) as pullets. Overall, ATD females had greater weight gain on a similar feed allocation, and were more productive hens, which suggests improved bird wellbeing.


prostaglandin synthesis and is associated with both anti natriuretic and vasoconstrictor effects. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 may lead to reductions in both prostagladinE2 and prostacyclin. Inhibition of ProstaglandinE2 may promote an acute relative reduction in daily urinary sodium excretion. The kidneys in patients with normal kidney function will tend to increase sodium excretion to compensate for the antinatriuretic effects of the Cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor or steroidal anti inflammatory drug to maintain homeostasis of sodium balance. This phenomenon occurs in lack of a elevation in blood rise in plasma Suppression of the Cyclooxygenase -2–dependent formation of prostaglandinI2 by the Thus, reduction in prostaglandinI2 formation, lead to a expected elevation of blood accelerate atherogenesis, patients receiving coxibs to an exaggerated thrombotic response to the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. the gastrointestinal epithelium, brain, spinal cord, and kidney. The COX-2 isoform plays an key role in induction of inflammation in response to injury, as well as later repair of inflammation. During angiogenesis, wound healing and in a variety of epithelial cells cancer, COX-2 may be induced by bacterial endotoxins, cytokines, growth factors which expressed in atherosclerotic plaques. 10, 11 . NSAIDS drugs competitively inhibit the cyclo-oxygenase enzyme (subtypes COX-1 and COX-2), lead to inhibition of PGS and thromboxane (TX) synthesis in peripheral tissues and nerves. PGs regulate a number of physiological functions including gastric mucosal protection, vasodilatation and platelet adhesion. shown to have potential adverse effects on cardiovascular events in patients with or without pre existing cardiovascular conditions, depending on the duration and dosage of these drugs. Patient which having pre-existing coronary artery disease, hypertension, and history of stroke are at the higher risk of cardiovascular disease after taking NSAIDS. The co-administration of NSAID'S and anti hypertensives shows mild elevation in blood pressure. The use of NSAIDs with other antiplatelet drugs (except aspirin) increased the rate of cardiovascular events like cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke.


We proposed the grating coupled surface plasmon resonance (GC-SPR) sensors using ZnO and metallic nanograting structures to enhance the sensitivity of an SPR sensor. The GC-SPR sensors were analyzed using the finitedifference time-domain method. The optimum resonance angles of 49 and 55.5 degrees are obtained in the 150 nm wide grating structure with a period of 300 nm for the ZnO thickness of 30 and 50 nm, respectively. Here, an enhanced evanescent field is obtained due to the surface plasmon on the edge of the bandgap when the ZnO and metallic grating structures are used to excite the surface plasmon.


Poly(e-caprolactone)(PCL)/β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) composite scaffolds, which can be fabricated using a rapid-prototyping process, have been used for bone tissue regeneration. However, one of the main defects of the three-dimensional (3D) PCL/β-TCP scaffold is the highly hydrophobic surface of the micro-sized PCL/β-TCP strands, which can cause poor initial cell attachment and proliferation. To overcome this problem, we propose a new and simple coating process supplemented with collagen solution. Three-dimensionally plotted PCL/β-TCP scaffolds simply coated with various concentrations (0.5, 2, 4 wt%) of collagen solution were studied in terms of water contact angle, water-absorption ability, mechanical properties and in vitro culturing of MG63 cells. Scanning electron microscope images demonstrated that the scaffolds were well coated with collagen solution, and the designed pore size (300 µm) and complete pore-interconnectivity of the scaffolds were well sustained. The scaffolds coated with collagen showed very good hydrophilic properties (0° at 3 min) with improved cell attachment and cell-viability, without any loss of mechanical property relative to the PCL/β-TCP scaffold.


Conservatism has been a strong strain of politics and social life in Turkey. Especially since the JDP came to power in 2002, this concept, along with the behavioral patterns associated with it, has become an important topic in academic, political and popular debates and publications. Conservatism is likely to maintain its significance in the near future, because the JDP government continuously invokes it, directly or indirectly, both in its discourse and conduct and thus maintains a socio-political environment in which it is impossible to be engaged in any discussion without some reference to the concept. However, despite its popularity and currency in debates, how conservatism is actually understood or defined by the political and social segments of the society that are considered or self-identified conservatives remains largely unknown. This study is an attempt to fill that void. It reports the findings of the qualitative analysis of the data collected for a comprehensive project, which included interviews with 126 local leaders in 12 provinces and from 6 different rightwing political parties (Justice and Development Party, National Movement Party, Felicity Party, Democrat Party)


The mastery of vocabulary greatly influences learner's English proficiency in four main language skills and learning efficiency of further study. Nation proposes three criteria for knowing a word, which includes nine subcategories [1]. However, most Chinese teachers still focus on the meaning and spelling of words when measuring learners' language competence. This article firstly demonstrates these nine subcategories and gives insights to Chinese teachers on language teaching. Then, this article lists the three most common challenges that Grade-one learners in primary school might face. To address these challenges, four suggestions are discussed, which include using direct teaching appropriately, using tools to enhance word associations, frequent recurrence, and meaning-focused production. Subsequently, it is beneficial to applying these concepts and suggestions into Chinese English class to improve vocabulary learning performance.


AIM:To study the expression of endogenous zinc finger protein A20 of mouse lung tissues in the process of spinal cord injury(SCI) and/or lipopolysaccharide(LPS) infection. METHODS: A total of 220 healthy mice(from Kunming, Yunnan Province) were randomized into 4 groups: control group(group N), SCI group(group A), LPS group(group B) and SCI plus LPS group(group AB). The expressions of A20 protein and mRNA were measured by immunohistochemistry(IHC) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and the degree of pathological lesion was detected by HE staining. RESULTS: Both A20 protein and A20 mRNA expressed at low levels in group N and the highest expressions of A20 protein and A20 mRNA were observed in group AB, which reached peak respectively at 8 h and at 4 h. In group AB, severe pathologic damage of lung tissues was observed at 0.5 h. The severest damage was seen at 4 h and it began to alleviate after 8 h. CONCLUSION: In the early period of SCI, the expression of zinc finger protein A20 is high, especially in the case of LPS infection. The increased expression of A20 following SCI(or with LPS infection) may play an important role in regulating inflammatory response.


The removal of ocular artifacts (OAs) from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is crucial for effective and accurate analysis of the signals in different neurological and brain computer interface (BCI) applications. Towards this aspect, various multi-channel and single-channel techniques have been proposed for the removal/suppression of OAs from EEG signals. Recently, due to the rising demand of resource-limited ambulatory systems, single-channel techniques are more preferred for OAs removal. Although the existing techniques effectively remove OAs, they introduce distortion in the denoised EEG signal and the corresponding neurological features. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a framework for automated detection and removal of OAs from single-channel EEG signal based on discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and adaptive chirp mode decomposition (ACMD). The proposed framework is built in four stages: application of DFT to single-channel EEG signal; rejection of low-frequency baseline wander components; processed EEG signal decomposition using ACMD; rejection of mode containing OAs based on proposed peak point count threshold criteria. The performance of the proposed framework is assessed using noise-free EEG and EEG corrupted with OAs signals with different shapes and frequencies taken from three publicly available databases and in terms of different performance metrics. Further, comparative performance analysis demonstrates that the proposed framework outperforms the existing OAs removal techniques based on wavelet thresholding, variational mode decomposition (VMD), and Savitzky-Golay filter (SG-filter).


Abstract In this paper, we first study the species of finite topological spaces recently considered by Fauvet, Foissy, and Manchon. Then, we construct a twisted pre-Lie structure on the species of connected finite topological spaces. The underlying pre-Lie structure defines a coproduct on the species of finite topological spaces different from those already defined by the authors above. In the end, we illustrate the link between the Grossman–Larson product and the proposed coproduct.


Objective:To optimize the histochemical staining of mucous cells in the digestive tract of freshwater fish.Method:The type and the distribution of mucous cells in digestive tract of Silurus asotus,Hypophthalmichthys molirtix,Carassius auratus were described using the AB-PAS(alcian blue and periodic acid schiff's reation) combined staining.Result:The mucous cells have four types:typeⅠ,in rose-red colour,type Ⅱ,in green-colour,type Ⅲ,in purplish-red colour,type Ⅳ,in purplish-blue colour.In forepart of oesophagus of the animals except C.auratus,the mucous cells appear in the shape of sphericity or oval;and in middle part of oesophagus,the mucous cells are goblet cells,and have two types of Ⅱand Ⅳ.In the ventriculus of the animals except C.auratus,the mucosal epithelium and mucous neck cells of fundic gland are mainly type Ⅲ and type Ⅰ cells,the mucous granules are being concentrated in their shallow part;and mucous cells of fundic gland,cardiac gland,pyloric gland of H.molirtix,S.asotus are mainly type Ⅲ and typeⅠcells.In the small intestinum of H.molirtix,S.asotus,goblet cells are mainly type Ⅲ and type Ⅳcells,but the goblet cells of C.auratus are mainly type Ⅱ and type Ⅳcells.In the large intestinum of the three species animals,mucous cells are mainly type Ⅱ and type Ⅳcells.


Extended 3D photonic crystals based on macroporous silicon are prepared by applying a periodic variation of the illumination during photoelectrochemical etching. If the lateral pore arrangement is 2D hexagonal, the resulting structure exhibits a simple 3D hexagonal symmetry. The dispersion relation along the pore axis is investigated by optical transmission measurements. Photonic band gaps originating from the pore diameter modulation are observed and the group velocities of the photonic bands are determined by analyzing the Fabry-Perot resonances. Furthermore, angular resolved transmission measurements show a spectral region of omnidirectional total reflectivity.


To estimate the success of a project it is necessary to collect and analyse data. Depending on the phase after which the evaluation is carried out it gives information about the status of the project or about the perspectives in the future. It proves which measures are successful and worth to continue. The problem is to find out which factors provide useful information and how to interpret and use them. This paper is about the development and effectiveness of a project which supports students in the study entry phase. It was monitored and different measures of evaluation were used. One of them was to observe the written exam results of all bachelor study programs of our university. In the process of interpreting the data, it was discovered that each study program was a little bit different and the challenge was to find a method to suit the requirement of all. This paper discusses this approach, shows what statements can be made and where the limits of this evaluation lies.


The aim of this paper is to present research work into designing prototype textile sensors devoted to measuring a human physiological signal, the frequency of breathing. These sensors may be used in medical applications or for firemen's protective clothing. The aim of our work was to design a textile sensor which could be easily included in clothing structures. The preliminary research into the sensorial materials is described in this paper.


This study examined the effects of Laboratory teaching method on the AcademicPerformance of Senior Secondary Biology students in Hadejia LGA of JigawaState. A Quasi experimental pretest and post test design was employed for thestudy with a sample of 30 students used which are selected using purposivesampling technique. A self-constructed Biology Achievement Test (BAT) based ontwo (2) Biology Topics and using SSCE practical questions as a guide was used fordata collection. While the experiment group was taught using Laboratory teachingapproach, the control group were taught using lecture method for a period of threeweeks. The data collected were analyzed using mean score and t test statistic toanswer the 2 Research questions and hypothesis raised in the study. The resultsshowed that the Experimental group performed better with higher means post testscore in the BAT and the male score is also found to be higher than that of thefemale students. Based on the findings it was recommended that the scienceteachers should always make use of laboratory method for the students duringpractical's, more efforts should be made to devote more hours to laboratory workand the Biology laboratory should be made more functional by making all thenecessary apparatus, specimen, chemicals, equipment and other materials availablesufficiently for students' use.


In this paper, we construct exact travelling wave solutions for the generalized (2+1)- dimensional ZK-MEW equation by using the solutions of an auxiliary ordinary differential equation given by Sirendaoreji (1). It is shown that some solutions obtained in this study are new solutions which have not been reported yet.


The democratisation of photography has gone hand-in-hand with the advent of the devices used for the ubiquitous production of images speaking to an individual's engagement with the world. As the various photographic formats have changed over the years, largely aligned with the impact of the medium/cameras used, it's interesting to note how the different forms of photography; social, constructed, manipulated and even commercial, are now largely facilitated by the online space, and how this has introduced a new universal immediacy and a renewed sense of intermediality to the art. This serves to highlight further that the photographic medium is less important than the underlying social component it facilitates. In other words, it's all about the relationship between the subject matter, the artist and how the two provide a unique perspective on our world. This paper will explore how 'the image' in the digital age has enhanced the possibilities of this unique form of unfettered communication, particularly in this era of the 'new-media' phenomena. It will do this by investigating, visually, the corporeality of perception in visual communications and how this has shifted our attention from the 'interaction of media' towards the 'interaction with media'. This paper will then interrogate the idea of 'media borders' and contextualise this discussion through an analysis of some common examples that serve to blur an individual's perception between media and reality; demonstrating that the image is being perceived not just as a form of representation, but as an environment used to 'augment' reality.


This paper starts with the definition of concrete-structural durability.Then it presents that durability design method should be combined with the theory of Structural Life-Cycle Cost(SLCC) based on the survey of the recent durability design theories.Moreover,the current situation of evaluation and life prediction of durable concrete structures are summarized,which makes it necessary to determine a durability index reflecting service life and a dynamic life-assessment system.Last,several basic problems in this domain are brought forth, including definition of durability limit state for concrete structures under given environmental condition and usage requirement,determination of indexes and parameters representing the durability characters of materials as well as structures and establishment of theory for analysis of durability dynamic detection data.


We explore the recent evolution of accessibility-related policy in Jordan and Peru, and specifically consider issues around assistive technology access for people with severe vision impairments. We find differences in capacity development and institutions in the two countries over time and how it impacts the ways in which recent policy consultations have taken place, and propose a capabilities framework as a means to examine and contextualize these differences. Narratives of assistive technology use by people in both countries emphasize ways in which the capabilities approach is also a valuable tool in understanding aspirations and how social interactions evolve with access to assistive technology. We argue that the findings from Peru and Jordan, given the diversity of policy environments, infrastructure, and socio-economic attitudes towards people with disabilities, give us an important lens towards understanding the evolution of disability rights and policies in various low and middle-income countries around the world.


In facial reconstructive surgery, new techniques based on the principles of tissue engineering have moved over the last decade from the bench closer to the bed side, where they are being combined with the principles of plastic surgery. In particular, mechanically competent cartilage grafts and osteoinductive constructs vascularized by flaps are envisioned to replace autologous or alloplastic materials, with the goal to reduce donor site morbidity and to increase graft durability. Here we provide an overview of typical surgical procedures in facial reconstructive surgery and summarize how advances in cartilage and bone tissue engineering might replace and improve current treatments.


In Hazard, risk and a bullet John Challenor briefly explores the hazard risk assessment and preparation he undertook for a charity motorcycle ride through Southern India.


Working over the queuing algorithm with the character of QoS and easy realization is always a significant measure to optimize bandwidth,also is a main approach to enhance the performance of IP network.This paper offers a queue scheduling algorithm of the PQ+CBWFQ in router based on heap sort,algorithm realization and hardware plan of low-cost.It is of important significance to design high-performance router in future.


The rapid of development of professional audio processing in the market nowadays
makes the manufacture ignore the user-requirement perspective. This makes end-user
(sound engineers) tries to find a new solution in audio processing. By developing a
real-time equalizer software (part of sound processing), the sound engineers may find
one of the best solution counter all the problem being faced by sound engineers.
These researches are conducted to find the best solution in the development the realtime
sound equalizer using all resources that are available in computer hardware and
software (component-based system) nowadays. This research had 3 objectives, the
first objective is to determined end-user requirement. The specification end-user
requirements are gathered through interview, observation and review field study.
After gathering the end-user requirement the next objective is to design the real-time
sound equalizer application based on requirement capture and data gathered. Than
based on the design the researcher develops a prototype real-time sound equalizer by
using component based system. This research achieves all the objectives when the
final application prototype fiilfills the entire requirement and the design that were
being gathered and analyzed.


The optimal power flow problem (OPF) is a complicated nonlinear mixed optimal problem with multi-objectives. The traditional optimization methods, such as linear and nonlinear optimization methods has obvious deficiencies of the dispersed variable approximation, and it can not achieve the reality of global optimization. This paper presents an improved algorithm for optimal power flow of power system_ modified cataclysmic genetic Algorithm (MCGA). It overcomes the traditional genetic algorithm(GA) shortcomings of long computation time and easily converging into local extreme value point, and has the optimization process is short and the advantages of global optimization. Moreover MCGA is a global optimization algorithm which is suitable for solving complex and mixed nonlinear optimization problems with dispersed variables. Through calculations of practical power system example show, that this method proposed in this paper has a stable, fast calculation, and ideal optimal results characteristics.


The Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) Survey is a massive observational project to trace the Milky Way's history of star formation, chemical enrichment, stellar migration and minor mergers. Using high-resolution (R$\simeq$28,000) spectra taken with the High Efficiency and Resolution Multi-Element Spectrograph (HERMES) instrument at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT), GALAH will determine stellar parameters and abundances of up to 29 elements for up to one million stars. Selecting targets from a colour-unbiased catalogue built from 2MASS, APASS and UCAC4 data, we expect to observe dwarfs at 0.3 to 3 kpc and giants at 1 to 10 kpc. This enables a thorough local chemical inventory of the Galactic thin and thick disks, and also captures smaller samples of the bulge and halo. In this paper we present the plan, process and progress as of early 2016 for GALAH survey observations. In our first two years of survey observing we have accumulated the largest high-quality spectroscopic data set at this resolution, over 200,000 stars. We also present the first public GALAH data catalogue: stellar parameters (Teff, log(g), [Fe/H], [alpha/Fe]), radial velocity, distance modulus and reddening for 10680 observations of 9860 Tycho-2 stars that may be included in the first Gaia data release.


The paper verifies navigation effect of GPS/GLONASS orientation system used in ballistic missile by simulation calculation.First,ground static deviation information of GPS/GLONASS orientation system is get and is regarded as modification error of shut down point parameters while real-timely navigating,then the impact deviation is gained by calculating trajectory,that is navigation error caused by ground static deviation is get.


An integral-equality approach is presented to study the stability of time-delay systems,which is an improved version of the integral inequality and is constructed with free weighting matrices.The free terms are chosen according to the derivative of the Lyapunov-Krasovskii employed.As a result,neither model transformation nor bounding technique is introduced during the stability analysis.Less conservative stability criteria can be obtained based on the proposed approach.Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


CD44,as a member of the single gene encoding glycoprotein,is widely distributed in the cell surface and mainly involved in the specific adhesion process between cell and cell,cell and matrix.Abnormal expression of CD44v6 gene may be used as a new indicator to predict metastatic potential and prognosis of gatric cancer.It has been a hot spot in study of the relationship between the expression of CD44v6 and the biology behaviors in gastric cancer.This article just reviewed the progress about their relationship.


The Case: A 29-year-old male who had previously been healthy discovered, upon awakening, swelling and pain over the left olecranon. Despite numerous complaints to his wife, this condition was ignored for several hours. The pain increased steadily over this period, during which the left elbow


This investigation shows that the electromagnetic launcher (EML) can be used for asteroid mining and deflection applications. The EMLs considered for these applications include the railgun and the reversible helical EML (R-HEML). The R-HEML has been demonstrated at the University of Missouri Center for Energy Conversion and Electromechanics and is currently being used as an industrial shock and vibration tester. The reversibility of the R-HEML along with its shuttle-armature makes it ideal for the applications proposed here. The R-HEML's shuttle-armature is fitted with a bucket and filled with asteroid material and launched from the asteroid surface at high velocity. The bucket is reloaded and the process repeated. The steady ejection of asteroid material can also be used a source of thrust to change an asteroid's Earth-crossing trajectory if needed. Estimates show that the EML "thruster" can deflect small to medium-sized asteroids with only minimal warning using 100 kW–1 MW electrical power. Larger asteroids can be deflected with similar warning times using a higher power 10-MW electrical supply. The analysis further shows that the EML thruster can be used to profitably mine the asteroid for valuable resources needed on Earth. A nuclear reactor-based supply is chosen as the primary power source for these EML-based applications because of its high power density and ruggedness. The operating parameters of the R-HEML and railgun launchers needed for a 1-MW EML thruster used as an asteroid mining and deflection system are given and discussed.


Today's audio in video-conference rooms do not in general have high quality audio standards.
Most of the set-ups are PC-Speakers mounted on the wall, with a microphone on the table. With this ...


Abstract : Liberia is of national security interest to the United States of America. Liberia's 14-year civil war ended in 2003, leaving the country with a collapsed government and failing economic, physical, and social infrastructures. To continue strengthening Liberia's democratic government and economy, Liberian youth must be integrated as full citizens before they become disenfranchised and form insurgent groups that can threaten the national security. This paper explores why Liberia is of national security interest to the United States, describes elements of adolescent personal development that were neglected while the nation was in conflict, and explores what youth need to become contributing members of a democratic nation. The author advocates skills training as a way for youth to complete their personal development. Skills training will help them gain the skills they need for functioning within a democracy and for economic empowerment. As development reinforces defense and diplomacy as elements of national security, the needs of youth ex-combatants must be addressed in U.S. international development assistance programs.


Agricultural production in China occurs via three distinct organizational units: the countryside farmer, state farms, and military farms. The countryside farmer in northeast China carries out most production operations with hand tools, some animal and tractor power, and little additional mechanization. Most weeds in row crops are controlled by hand, although a high percentage of the rice crop is treated with herbicides as is about 20% of the wheat. Countryside farmers independently manage small plots of land. State and military farms, the majority of which are located in China's northeastern-most province of Heilongjiang, are highly mechanized and accomplish most weed control with herbicides. Military farms range from ~500–2,500 ha, and state farms generally occupy 50,000–100,000 ha, with some much larger. Primary crops on the military farms are soybeans, oilseed rape, and wheat. State farms generally have more diversity in crops. The need for herbicide adjuvants to increase postemergence (POST) herbicide efficacy and for reduced tillage practices to combat soil erosion are recognized concerns, as is the threat of herbicide resistance.


View the sky through an x-ray telescope and our conception of the universe changes dramatically. Exploding stars are the most dramatic objects one sees. These are visible at many wavelengths, but the most dramatic images are in the x-ray band, where stars are typically extremely faint. Explosions generate hot plasma that glows in x-rays. We see the aftermath of explosions that occurred hundreds to thousands of years ago, and even further back in time.


A method for detection and description of rectilinear buildings from two or more aerial intensity images is described. The multiple images may be taken at different times under differing imaging conditions. Detection and description of buildings under these conditions is a difficult task. It is not possible to compute a dense 3-D map just by intensity correlation. Instead, we need to match features and organize the features into coherent structures. We describe a hierarchical perceptual grouping and matching technique for this. The grouping and matching are performed at several levels, each higher level having more information to make its decisions. The grouping process gives rise to 3D hypotheses for roofs of buildings which are then further examined for evidence of expected vertical walls, and shadows on the ground. The output of the system is model of 3D building hypotheses. Experimental results are presented.