This study explored the effect of extender supplementation with different concentrations of date palm pollen grain (DPPG) on post-thawed sperm motility, viability index, membrane and acrosome integrities in Arabian stallions. Five ejaculates from each of four Arabian stallions were subjected to cryopreservation with a modified INRA-82, without any supplementation (control) or supplemented with 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg DPPG. After thawing, all samples were maintained at 37 C, while analyses were performed at 0, 1, and 2 and 3 hours. Sperm motility percentage, viability index, membrane integrity percentage and acrosome integrity of each sample were determined by conventional laboratory methods. The addition of 100 mg DPPG resulted in improved maintenance of sperm motility after 0 and 60 min post-thawing, as compared to the control and other treatment groups. Nonsignificant effects on viability index were observed after enrichment of extender with 100 and 150 mg DPPG. The addition of 100 and 150 mg DPPG resulted in significant (P<0.0010) improvement in post-thawing membrane integrity (41.33±0.83%; 41.33±2.33%) compared to the controls (34.33±1.55%). These concentrations exerted also a beneficial effect in preserving sperm acrosome integrity (38.33±1.01%; 38.67±1.64%) as compared with the control one (33.33±1.12%). Supplementation of modified INRA-82 with 200 mg DPPG failed to maintain sperm motiliy while 250 mg PG has a negative impact on all studied post-thawing semen parameters. In conclusion, adding 100 and 150 mg date palm pollen grain extract to modified INRA-82 seemed useful in the chilling and freezing process of Arabian stallion sperm.


who needs additional information, further reading will be necessary. The book contains no discussion of sex that could make it unacceptable to any group in any community. The opening chapters deal with understanding one's self, making friends, and the problems of the dating years. Happily included here is a chapter on the use of alcohol. A discussion of mate selection, age for marriage, and engagement follows. The section on adjustments necessary in a happy marriage includes particularly good chapters on "You and Your In-laws" and "Consumer Economics and Family Security." The closing chapters deal with parenthood and "The Successful Home," with an interesting discussion of "Childless Homes and Homeless Children." The approach is, in general, more sociological than psychological. The book contains a great deal of factual information attractively presented in charts and pictographs. Full use is made of the Remmers studies of high-school youth and of the Purdue Opinion Poll. Classes not using any single textbook will find Personal Adjustment, Marriage, and Family Living a valuable reference in which students can locate information quickly and easily. Teachers will find especially helpful an excellent annotated, and rather comprehensive list of films, with the sources from which the films may be obtained.


Efforts to combat money laundering This has significance when seeing its impacts, among others, financial system instability, economic distortions and possible interference to control the amount of money in circulation, and the increased variety of criminal acts that make money (wealth) as it is known, various crime, whether committed by individuals or by corporations within the territory of a state and those carried across the borders of other countries increased.


Experiments with a monoxenic culture of Hoplolaimus columbuson excised roots were conducted to evaluate effects of temperature and initial population density (Pi) on final population numbers (Pf), evaluate host range, and compare virulence and host specificity to that in field populations. The nematodes fed and reproduced on excised root cultures, with average reproductive factors (Pf/Pi) of 254 on alfalfa and 121 on soybean after 90 days. Incubation at 30oC and an initial population of 10 nematodes per 9-cm petri dish were optimal for reproduction. Nematodes maintained in excised root culture for one year retained their virulence and host specificity in the greenhouse when compared to extracted field populations.


Aim To prospectively evaluate the role of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibody in detecting celiac disease (CD) in Indian children. Methods Over a period of 3 years, 333 children (≤14 y of age) with suspected CD were evaluated. CD was diagnosed on the basis of modified ESPGHAN criteria. Antibody to tTG (guinea-pig) was detected by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Children with a suspicion of CD but found to have normal villous architecture were taken as controls. Antiendomysial antibody (EMA) and IgA-antigliadin antibody were done in 80 cases and 40 controls. Results The mean age of 180 children with CD was 6.5±3 years with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. Their presenting complaints were diarrhea in 84% and failure to thrive in 87%. Wasting, stunting, and anemia were seen in 87%, 59%, and 83% of cases, respectively. The best sensitivity and specificity of tTG antibody we have got at a cut-off value of 10 U/mL and were 94% and 97%, respectively, with a positive predictive value of 98% and negative predictive value of 92.4%. The mean tTG antibody titer was 106±76 U/mL in cases and 2±1.6 U/mL in controls (P<0.001). The concordance of tTG antibody with EMA was 95% in cases and 97.5% in controls. Conclusions tTG antibody is a highly sensitive and specific serologic marker. Being technically simpler and due to its high concordance with EMA, it can be used as an alternative to EMA in developing countries like India.


• Validation – process of evaluating software at the end of its development to ensure that it is free from failure and complies with its requirements – Building the right product • Verification – process of determining whether or not the product fulfills the requirements established at a previous phase – Building the product right


The purpose of the study was to examine how teachers currently working with students who have a mother tongue other than Swedish. The investigation has been carried out using three qualitative research interviews. It has been shown that some educators believe that inclusion in the regular classroom instruction has been giving the best results for students' language development. It has provided great opportunities for discussion and group work. Teachers have given tips on how to work with these students so that they develop in the Swedish language. I have been through the literature revealed that multilingualism opens up many avenues for children, but it also puts obstacles. Barriers preventing students' language development but also social development. Syllabus for Swedish as a second language show that the students will develop the linguistic skills so they can communicate in different contexts.


Defined by the formula (I) with a value of 0.5 to 1.0 represented by phosphorus pentoxide and water, at least one compound and a phosphorus pentoxide to phosphoric acid agent and an organic hydroxyl compound comprising a formula selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acid (II) the value of the non-reacting under the conditions of the range of 2.8 to 3.2, or; Or alternatively a group of formula (II) for the organic hydroxyl compound with phosphorus pentoxide in a reaction, and then under a range of conditions of the ratio value is less than 3.2 more than 6.4 defined in the the phosphorylating reagent of formula (II) to the total amount of the starting material the value of the ratio is performed more of 2.8 to 3.2 the reaction was added to the reaction product in an amount in the range of defined. And According to this method the color and flavor and excellent, and the production of a phosphoric acid ester mixture containing a reduced amount of orthophosphoric acid formed as a by-product and increases the acid monoesters useful as a component of a detergent quantity can be performed.


All-solid-state Li batteries (ASSLiBs) that use solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) to replace liquid organic electrolytes are considered as promising next-generation energy storage devices because of their wide electrochemical potential windows, high safety, and high energy density. Therefore, ASSLiBs have attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In this review, we focus on the main challenges on the synthesis and the electrochemical properties of the SSEs including (i) crystal structures and modification of kinetics of Li-ion migration through doping technology, (ii) synthesis technologies and its effect on the electrochemical performances of the SSEs, and (iii) ambient condition stability and degration of SSEs. Finally, perspectives of future researches on the SSEs are presented.


The Y-Plex 6 kit is a Y-STR identification kit marketed by Reliagene Technologies that allows for the identification of the male component from evidentiary samples, and the identification of paternally related individuals. This kit utilizes primers designed to amplify the DYS393, DYS19, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS 385 loci located in the NRY region of the Y chromosome. The objective of the experiments and results described below was the validation of the Y-Plex 6 kit on the ABI PRISM377 DNA Sequencer for implementation into casework at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). The validation process included an intra-gel and inter gel precision study, sensitivity study, the successful typing of male DNA from; chelex extracted blood samples, organically extracted blood and tissue samples and Qiagen extracted blood samples, reproducibility, the ability to identify paternally related individuals, specificity, and the ability to distinguish between male: male and male: female mixtures. All experiments were performed according to the protocol set forth in the Y-Plex 6 Instruction Manual v3.0.


This note provides an overview of the state of play of the political process on non-tariff measure (NTM) policies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). We analyse the legal setup and respective challenges affecting the implementation of SADC agreements with respect to NTMs. On the one hand, we look at systematic and coherent policy design regarding sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT), harmonization and mutual recognition. On the other hand, we analyse commitments, institutional structures, mechanisms and support needed to eliminate policies and procedures that economic operators report as non-tariff barriers. We also present a non-technical summary of methodologies to assess the regulatory distance between members of a free trade agreement and the potential greater economic benefi ts from reducing NTMs. Our analysis indicates that "deep" regional integration regarding NTMs may bring about signifi cant increases in welfare and employment for all member States. Considering the member-driven nature of SADC, the note also contains a discussion of the potential way forward in promoting NTM-related integration in SADC in the shortto the long-term.


In this paper, we establish a truncated non-integrated defect relation for meromorphic mappings from a complete K\"ahler manifold into a projective variety intersecting a family of hypersurfaces located in subgeneral position, where the truncation level of the defect is explicitly estimated. Our result generalizes and improves previous ones. In particular, when the family of hypersurfaces located in general position, our theorem will implies the previous result of Min Ru-Sogome. In the last part of this paper we will apply ours to study the distribution of the Gauss map of minimal surfaces.


We perform an exploratory study of the allowed parameter range for the CKM-like mixing of hypothetical quarks of a fourth generation. As experimental constraints we use the tree-level determinations of the 3x3 Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) elements and flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) processes (K, D, B{sub d}, B{sub s} mixing and the decay b{yields}s{gamma}) under the assumption that the 4x4 CKM matrix is unitary. For the FCNCs we use some simplifying assumptions concerning the QCD corrections. Typically small mixing with the fourth family is favored; contrary to expectation, however, we find that also a quite large mixing with the fourth family is not yet excluded.


other domestic purposes. (b) However, this report finds that the cost of household air pollution is still substantially higher than the cost of ambient air pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa and nearly as high as the cost of ambient air pollution in South Asia in 2019.


International tourism up 4% in 2021 but still 72% below pre-pandemic levels Global tourism experienced a mild 4% upturn in 2021, with 15 million more international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) than in 2020 but remained 72% below the levels of pre-pandemic year 2019 according to preliminary estimates. This follows a 73% plunge in international travel in 2020, the worst year on record for tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic. International tourism rebounded moderately in the second half of 2021, with international arrivals down 62% in both the third and fourth quarters, compared to the same periods in 2019. Rising vaccination rates combined with softer travel restrictions due to increased cross-border coordination and protocols, have all helped release pent up demand in 2021. Europe and the Americas recorded the strongest results by region relative to 2020 with arrivals up 19% and 17% respectively, though they remained 62% and 63% below 2019 levels. Africa saw a 12% increase in 2021 compared to 2020, though remained 74% below 2019 levels. In the Middle East arrivals declined 24% compared to 2020 and 79% over 2019. In Asia and the Pacific, arrivals dropped 65% from 2020 levels and 94% when compared to pre-pandemic values. By subregion, the Caribbean saw the best performance in 2021, with international arrivals up 63% over 2020, though 37% below 2019, with some destinations coming close to, or exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The economic contribution of tourism (tourism direct gross domestic product) is estimated at US$1.9 trillion in 2021, above the US$1.6 trillion in 2020, but still well below the pre-pandemic value of US$ 3.5 trillion. The latest UNWTO Panel of Experts survey indicates that 61% of tourism professionals expect better performance in 2022 than in 2021. However, most experts (64%) also believe international tourism will not return to 2019 levels until 2024 or later. The recent surge in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant could disrupt the recovery of tourism in early 2022. UNWTO scenarios point to 30% to 78% growth in international tourist arrivals in 2022 depending on various factors. This would be 50% to 63% below pre-pandemic levels. While international tourism bounces back, domestic tourism will continue to drive the recovery of the sector in an increasing number of destinations. Domestic travel is fueled by demand for destinations which are closer to home and have low population density, as tourists look for open-air activities, nature-based products and rural tourism.


Cystic adenoid carcinoma (ACC) is the second most frequent tumor of the pathway. The diagnosis is generally late when the patient is taken to tomography studies; however, in retrospective analysis, the patient often presents findings on the chest radiograph, which were generally omitted. For the radiologist, the diagnostic approach to the airway from radiography to tomography continues to be a challenge, therefore, the objective of the article is to carry out a complete systematic approach to the disease with emphasis on important normal and abnormal imaging findings on radiography and thorax tomography


Developing countries have outskirts between existing power supply and electricity stipulate. With increasing electricity stipulate, new generation needs to be brought in renewable sources of electricity such as hydro, geothermal or wind provide electricity at a much lower cost. But their capital outlay is large, they are complex and take much longer to execute. Diesel based generation is usually brought in the short term to meet this demand for Buildings, which results in increased outlay of electricity. Investments in energy efficiency in a building can be compared with the cost of capital investments obligatory on the supply side of the energy system to generate a similar amount of crest capacity or annual energy production The Paper aims to provide an overview of energy efficiency in buildings, describe and analyze current approaches to prop up new buildings. Index Terms Energy, Conservation, Efficiency, building, heating, ventilation, policy.


Chronic pain is a major socio-economic burden , its mechanism remains unknown. Rescearchers have focused on searching new explanation of chronic pain and developing more efficacious therapies. With quick development of molecular biology and bioinformation in post-genome period, findings of some experiment assays such as RNA interference, antisense oligonucleotide technolo- gy and gene chip, we can generally analyze gene functions, which would break a new path for studying the mechanism of chronic pain,finding new regulating gene of pain and exploring new methods of pain therapy.


Experimental studies have yielded discrepant results regarding the relationship between anxiety and attention bias to threat. Cognitive factors modulating the presence of threat-related attention bias in anxiety have drawn growing attention. Previous research demonstrated that visual working memory (WM) representations can guide attention allocation in a top-down manner. Whether threat-related WM representations affected the presence of attention bias in anxiety awaits examination. Combining a memory task and a dot-probe task, this study investigated how WM representations of faces with neutral or negative expressions modulated the attention bias to threat among highly anxious individuals versus controls. Results showed that highly anxious individuals developed more pronounced attention bias to threat when maintaining WM representations of negative faces as compared to the control group. There were no significant between-group effects when the WM representations were neutral. These results suggested that highly anxious individuals were more susceptible to the influence of mental representations with negative valence on attention deployment.


Partial discharge (PD) measurement is a common non-destructive testing method to monitor the defects existing in an insulation system. Anti-jamming technique is one of the key techniques in PD on-line monitoring for power transformers. The characteristics of the field interference are analyzed, and the corresponding algorithms for the digital filter, polarity identification, etc are designed. Simulation and field tests show the validity of the method in restraining interference and reflecting PD signals.


Objective: The aims of the research were to evaluate the antioxidant effect of Sterculia quadrifida R.Br bark by in vitro 1,1-biphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity on diabetic Wistar rats model.
Methods: S. quadrifida bark powder was extracted in ethanol 70% by maceration method. The antioxidant activity of ethanol extract was tested by DPPH radical scavenging method. The activity of GPx was evaluated from the liver of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The antioxidant activity was determined by measuring the absorbance using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry method.
Results: The ethanol extract of S. quadrifida bark had a strong DPPH radical scavenging activity, with the IC50 value was 4.86±0.01 ug/ml, besides that the extract also showed significantly activity of GPx (p<0.05) at a dose of 65, 130, and 260 mg/kg bw.
Conclusion: The ethanol extract of S. quadrifida bark had a potent antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenging and GPx activity.


Isoniazid was administered over periods of three weeks to 20 patients who had been known to have angina pectoris for at least a year. The dosage was 300 mg. a day in three divided doses of 100 mg. each. The patients were instructed to continue taking nitroglycerin as needed, but all other coronary vasodilators were withdrawn. Ten patients completed the three-week course without decreased anginal pain or increased capacity for effort. Eight others did not complete the course, either because of disabling side-effects or because they saw no improvement. Only two patients felt better, and only one of these noted any return to his pretreatment state when he stopped taking the isoniazid. The dosage used in this series of patients, while sufficient to cause disturbing side-effects, appeared to have little value in the treatment of the anginal syndrome.


Simple Summary Animals with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are defined as neonates born at term but with low birth weight and a characteristic shape of the head. A number of structural and functional modifications in the IUGR intestine affecting its digestive and absorptive function and impairing intestinal barrier function have been reported in the past. Far less is known about the immune system in the gut of IUGR pigs. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the structures of the immune system of the gut mucosa in IUGR neonates. We found that the immune deficiency in the gut mucosa that results from restricted intrauterine development occurs at postnatal day (PD) 7, but it disappears thereafter within a week. However, all examined IUGR piglets had an increased number of intraepithelial leukocytes in the gut mucosa on PD 14. We have shown that the immune system of the gut of IUGR piglets is able to quickly compensate for the immunological deficiency postnatally and hardly shows any morphological disabilities in later life. Abstract Intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) piglets are born at term but have low birth mass and a characteristic shape of the head. Impaired general condition, especially in intestinal function, leads to an increase in the occurrence of diarrhoea and high mortality in the first days of life. So far, the mechanical and immunological gut barrier functions in IUGR are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to microscopically evaluate the early postnatal changes in the gut mucosa occurring in IUGR piglets. Whole-tissue small intestine samples were collected from littermate pairs (IUGR and normal) on postnatal day (PD) 7, 14 and 180 and analysed by light microscopy. We found that in the IUGR piglets, the percentage of intraepithelial leukocytes was reduced in the duodenum on PD 7, but it increased in the proximal and middle jejunum both on PD 7 and PD 14, which suggested the development of an inflammatory process. The number of goblet cells was also reduced on PD 14. The average size of the Peyer's patches in the distal jejunum and ileum showed significant reduction on PD 7 as compared to normal pigs; however, on PD 14, it returned to normal. On PD 180, we did not find any differences in the measured parameters between the IUGR and the normal pigs. In conclusion, we found that in one-week-old IUGR pig neonates, the gut barrier and the immune system structures display signs of retarded development but recover within the second postnatal week of life.


Th e present paperwork describes the current situation of the doctrinal and jurisprudential development and advancement of the Free Competition Law, on respect of the essential facilities institution


Objective To study P-glycoprotein(pgp) expression and the tendency with the progression growth in early stage of intractable epilepsy rats.Methods Amygdale-kindled rats screened by PB were divided into drug-effective and drug-resistance groups.Daily seizure attack was observed in two groups while intra-abdominal injection PB was performed.Then immunohistochemical method was used to determinate the expression of pgp in the brain of rats on 1,2,3,4 week respectively.Results Pgp expression in brain tissue of epileptic rats was significantly higher than control ones(P0.01,0.05).Pgp expression of each region in the brain tissue except the cerebellum of PB-resistant rats were significantly higher than PB-effective ones(P0.01,0.05).Pgp expression of PB-effective rats showed no difference in 1,2,3,4 week respectively.Pgp expression in regions except cerebellum of PB-resistant rats showed significantly difference(P0.01),and Pgp expression had tendency of growing in number with course growth.Conclusions Pgp expression of PB-resistant rats brain tissue was active.Except cerebellum in early stage of PB-resistant rats had relevance with course of disease,two of them had tendency of synchronous rise.


A testing apparatus includes a vector memory unit storing original test vector data in which an input signal to be inputted to a circuit subjected to inspection is described, a vector generator generating generated test vector data from the original test vector data, an output part outputting test vector data to be inputted to the inspected circuit, a fault occurrence rate memory unit storing a fault occurrence rate of the input signal, a random number generator generating random number data, and a comparison part comparing the fault occurrence rate of the input signal with the random number data. The vector output part outputs the generated test vector data when the random number data is smaller than the fault occurrence rate of the input signal, and outputs the original test vector data when the random number data is larger than the fault occurrence rate of the input signal.


A variant strain of HL-60, which is positive for HLA-DR antigen, was induced to express HLA-DQ antigen following treatment with phorbol esther. It was preceded by cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and was accompanied by augmented phagocytosis. This differential expression of HLA class II antigens on this subline may contribute to understanding the functional role of HLA class II antigens in the hematopoietic differentiation of macrophage cells.


The article justifies public-private partnership from the point of view of domestic and foreign theory and practice, since the state is the initiator of the vast majority of public-private partnership projects. Therefore, there is a specific partnership between the state and business, which depends on the goals, objectives, priorities of economic policy, legislative and the regulatory and legal framework, the administrative structure and functions of government bodies, the level of development of society and legal culture. It is determined that a public-private partnership should be viewed not as a simple combination of state and business resources, but as a technology for developing economic relations that combines state business and other government corrective actions with the ability to attract private investment and private business competencies to solve social and economic problems.


This paper introduces a design of the instrument system for a certain type of automatic pilot which could test and adjust performance. The whole system adopts distributed control system, PC accomplishes processing and preservation, fault diagnosis of the collection of data and so on, it also operates of the computer monitor. The machine adopts TMS320LF28335,realizing the acquisition of measured signaled and sending a signal to output test equipment, at the same time, acquisition signal compared with input signal. The data between the upper machine and the lower position machine is exchanged through RS485 serial communication bus. After tested, the system accomplishes the detection of a certain type of automatic pilot, and it has superior performance, improving the technical guarantee for the pilot level and work efficiency, shortening the maintenance time.


Credit sale and deliver on credit of commodity and labour service have become the basic characters of modern economy. Credit sale of commodity and labour service expands the market of corporate products,increases the sales income, and improves the enterprise's competitive edge and economic benefits,when it produces certain accounts receivable and increases corporate operation risks as well.With its popularization,many enterprises accounts receivable accounts for large percentage of their total assets and circulating real capitals,this seriously affects the turnover of capitals.In this case,enterprises must take effective measures to make out feasible and reasonable management methods and do a good job in management, such as preventative measures,supervision and reclaims,as part of the efforts to ensure the reasonable accounting percentage of accounts receivable and safety collection,reduce the loss of uncollectible debts and reduce corporate operation risks.The article gives its own opinions about the problems in the management of accounts receivable and the related countermeasures.


Many previous studies have investigated the relationship between foreign language abilities and learning styles. The present study aims to examine the relationship between learning styles and reading abilities, with respect to scanning and skimming abilities. The participants were 20 high-advanced level Korean EFL learners enrolled in a regular credit course at a university. The instrument used to measure left/ right-brain dominance, one of the domains of learning styles, was the formal self-check inventories revised by Brown (2002). The analyses of correlation coefficients showed that both the relationships between left/right-brain dominance and scanning and skimming abilities were not statistically significant. These results indicate that high-advanced level learners do not need any strategies- based instruction. (Kyungpook National University)


The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal protection of Roma minorities living in the member States of the European Union, with particular reference to the safeguard of the Romani language and the itinerant lifestyle. Roma are widespread in all Europe and their legal status may serve to test the degree of acceptance of the models of minority protection in a wide perspective. The investigation uses a so-called fuzzy approach at the comparative stage, which seems necessary to justify at methodological level the comparison of Roma groups. As this paper will try to show, the fuzzy logic is a relevant epistemological tool for comparative lawyers, in particular for taxonomic proposals.


An Operations Monitor/Control System (OMCS) was developed to support remote ground station equipment. The ground station controls a Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) relocated to provide coverage in the tracking system's zone of exclusion. The relocated satellite significantly improved data recovery for the Gamma Ray Observatory mission. The OMCS implementation, performed in less than 11 months, was mission critical to TDRS drift operations. Extensive use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardware and software products contributed to implementation success. The OMCS has been operational for over 9 months with no significant problems. This paper will share our experiences in OMCS development and integration.


Internet users in India have been increasing day by day. In 2014 there were about 243 million internet users. The main reasons for the high usage were affordable price of smart phones and internet tariff plans. Due to these reasons people started moving online for purchase of products and services. E-commerce is growing by 38 per cent per year. The total value of E-commerce was INR 90,000 crores during 2014. It was predicted that it will be about INR six lakh crores in next five years. It has been reported that about 70 per cent of internet users and the online shoppers were youth. Hence, a study was conducted to assess the internet usage behaviour of youth and factors that influenced them to shop online. The study was carried out with a sample size of 120 students from different colleges in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. About 80 per cent of them were using smart phones and all were using internet daily. Young female students were spent more money for online shopping than young male students. Main factors that influenced them to shop online were informed choice, loyalty, competitive pricing, accessibility, convenience, security issues, knowledge and window shopping.


Taking full advantage of virtual training environment,we build the "V-3" virtual training system of routers and switches course,which achieves the necessary ability training of learning this course in virtual environment,enable students to operate virtual devices like real devices,and propose the hierarchical training teaching model of "1432" three-stage for the system.


In this study, we extended our previous observations on the effects of altered gravity on the "lipoxygenase pathway", by ascertain the possible role of the force of gravity in modulating the activity and expression of PHS in human erythro-leukemia K562 cells.


Summary. The acute toxity of five anionic detergents towards fifteen marine organisms is related in this study : it shows up that fish are very susceptible while Crustacea are the most resistant animals. Phytoplancton and mollusc appear to have intermediate sensibility to those syndets. The lethal concentrations of the five anionic detergents used in this experiences thowards the most susceptible marine species are near one mgm/1.


A scheme is presented to recover the phase of a diffracted wave from the knowledge of its amplitude. The Helmholtz wave equation is utilized to relate the phase and amplitude of a diffracted wave; this relationship is the basis of a perturbation solution for the phase function. Signal processing issues associated with the implementation of the scheme are discussed. Applications of the method in certain phase reconstruction/unwrapping problems are shown. >


problems of translation from the English language with an educational, analytical and, to some extent, heuristic purpose, it is advisable to separately consider various aspects and problems of translation, in this case – lexical, terminological and genre-stylistic difficulties. The article highlights the following lexical difficulties in scientific and technical translation, in particular from English: the polysemy of words (terms) and the choice of an adequate dictionary match or variant of the translation of a word (term), the peculiarities of the use of popular words in scientific and technical texts, the correct use of one or another method of vocabulary translation, determination of the boundaries of the acceptability of the translation of lexical transformations, translation of neologism terms, abbreviations.


On the basis of plant growth curve study,which was conducted under soil and water culture,the distributive behavior,such as content,uptake,distribution,translocation of rare earth elements(REEs)in wheat plants was studied.REEs were determined by INAA.With the results gained,our previous knowledge about REEs distributive behavior is significantly replenished and intensified.


The utility model relates to a range hood capable of cleaning oil dirt, which relates to the structural improvement on a smoke exhausting part. A housing of the utility model forms a right triangle, a bellows and a motor are arranged in front of the right angle, and a hypotenuse position is a cellular smoke gathering plate. An electric hot plate which has the same outer shape as well as the same positions and shapes of smoke suction holes to the smoke gathering plate is arranged and clamped at the inner face of the smoke gathering plate. The electric hot plate can cause the smoke gathering plate, the bellows, the motor, blades to keep a certain temperature and cause the oil dirt not to condense but to discharge into an oil gathering cup to reduce the number of times of the range hood cleaning.


Many people provide their personal information for services via internet. Therefore, people would encounter potential danger of exposing personal information and difficulties of managing ID/PW. IDMS is a service helps a user manage ID and PW efficiently and maintain personal information securely. For the development of IDMS, interoperability between IDMS and providing anonymity are necessary. In this paper, we introduce and analysis IDMS and propose the method both authentication and anonymity are provided in IDMS.


The impacts of bilingualism upon the human brain, specifically in terms of the neuroplastic and neurofunctional changes upon general cognitive functions and on cognitive decline, are currently attracting much attention not only from the neuroscience and psycholinguistic communities but also from the general public. Researchers are especially focused on the putative protective effects of bilingualism upon cognitive decline.


A novel SPD process for manufacturing high strength tubes and cylinders titled as accumulative spin-bonding (ASB) is proposed. This process is applied to a commercially pure aluminum up to four cycles and its effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties are examined by optical microscopy, TEM, microhardness and tension tests. The results show that ultra-fine grains are developed during the process leading to a nanostructure with average grain size in order of 150 nm. Mechanical properties indicate that while the hardness of outer layers is more than inner ones, the hardness and its homogeneity is increased by increasing the ASB cycles. As a result of grain refinement and the scheme of hardness development, the yield and tensile strength of material are increased significantly up to the values of 194 and 235 MPa, respectively.


The lung of a stillborn female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) was disected for macroscopic anatomical study. It's tracheobronchial ramifications were studied by a contrast radiographic technique using barium sulphate infusion. The lung was thick and triangular in shape. The right lung was divided into 4 lobes: cranial, middle, caudal and accessory, while the left lung had 3 lobes: cranial, middle and caudal. The lobulation was obvious, but the tracheal bronchus was not found. The cranial lobe of the left and right lungs was divided into cranial and caudal parts. The right, middle and left tracheobronchial lymph nodes were denominated according to their positions.


The utility model relates to a side light type backlight module which comprises a framework, a light stripe and a backboard, wherein the frame is composed of a side stripe, a first extension portion and at least one positioning slot which is arranged on the first extension portion, the light stripe is composed of a base plate, a plurality of luminous assemblies and at least one positioning convexlug arranged on one side of the base plate, wherein the light stripe is embedded in the positioning slot through the positioning convex lug for being fixed in the side light type backlight module. Theutility model improves the light source utilization ratio of the side light type backlight module, and increases the reliability of the side light type backlight module.


Carp (Cyprinus carpio) fitted with arterial catheters were trained to swim in a swim tunnel. While constantly swimming at two body lengths per second, they were subjected to gradual water acidification (from pH 7–6 to 40 in 4 h), and monitored subsequently over 24 h. It was hypothesized that exercise would expose the gills to a larger extent and that conseq uently the effect of water acidification would be greater in exercising than in resting carp. In contrast to our earlier study with resting carp we found a constant dedine of plasma pH, and of plasma Na+ and Cl concentration, indicating ionoregulatory failure. While plasma catecholamincs remained at control levels, the plasma cortisol showed a three- to four-fold increase over the first 7 h. This was followed by a slow decline. We conclude that there is a synergistic effect between moderate exercise and gradual water acidification.


Introduction: The endorsement of the LRSAL** presents an environment of change for the social services systems in Spain, especially at the local level. A group of experts in the region of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana) have found in this situation a positive opportunity to bring about change. Material and Methods: Through documentary analysis and discussion of the reality of the sector carried out by this group of experts, the current model of the Valencian municipal social services has been divided into sections, and a reflection has been carried out taking into account models based on third-generation rights. From that perspective, the group of experts are in a position to propose the basis for the construction of a new model of the Valencian social services system. Results: The results have led us to suggest that the current model of the Valencian social services is characterized by having a centralized, disorganized and poor quality structure which is outside the territory. The comparison with the legislation indicates that it is not based on subjective rights, as resources are badly structured and above all, there is a lack of planning in all the stages of the system, which is especially serious in the scope of the functional and territorial organization. Discussions and conclusions: The new model should be based on strategic planning, proximity, prevention, quality, and collaboration between all participants, and especially in the primacy of the people over the system.


A product data exchange system 300 is used for exchanging technical product data between respective computer systems (310, 320, 340, 350, 360) of a plurality of collaborating companies. At least a computer system (310) of a first one of the collaborating companies includes a plurality of distinct data management systems (312, 314, 316), such as CAD, PLM, ERP, each for creating respective technical product data. The system (310) also includes an editing system (318) for importing technical product data relating to a userselectable project from a plurality of the data management systems, creating an exchange package representing user-selectable parts of the imported technical product data; and providing the exchange package to a computer system located at at least one of the other collaborating companies.


We neurointerventionalists have a tendency to see ourselves as master craftsmen, using only the finest tools to perform at the highest levels of excellence. However, the finest tools often come at a premium price. To control rising health care costs, we will ultimately need to become master


This study was to hypothetically determine yields for atomic weapons which can be safely and decisively employed against enemy troops located at distances of 500 to 4000 yards from friendly forces.


Staging of colorectal cancer has become increasingly important to select groups of patients for limited or more extensive surgery, and for adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The main treatment is still surgery, but subgroups may benefit from adjuvant therapy, even accepting additional side effects. Accurate staging is necessary to define different treatment groups. A critical review is #oven of the present methods of clinicopathological staging. E u r J Cancer, Vol. 29A, No. 4, pp. 575-583, 1993.


Two electrofusion couplers for connecting plastic pipes are disclosed along with methods for their construction. In one form, the body of the coupler (10, Fig. 1) is made from a blend of thermoplastic polymers, preferably including polyethylene and possibly also polyamide or polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF). Such a coupler is formed by moulding the polymer blend around a wound wire core (12, Fig. 1). In another form, the body of the coupler has a multi-layered construction including a layer of relatively permeable plastic 18 and a barrier layer 28 which is relatively impermeable e.g. nylon or metal foil. It preferably includes an innermost layer 16c of fusible plastic, the barrier layer 28 and an outermost layer 18. Tie layers 26, 30 may also be included to improve bonding between adjacent layers. A multi-layered coupler can be formed by forming an inner layer around a wound wire core (Fig. 2) and then sequentially forming the respective outer layers. Alternatively, the inner layer may be moulded without a wire core, the wire core being wound around the core once it has been removed from the mould and the outer layers then moulded sequentially over this core. As another alternative, the body may be extruded as a pipe comprising the required layers and then the wire is pressed into a helical slot cut in the pipe.


Some of the functionality of mobile devices, security, fast access to an application system that facilitates different levels operating system (OS) boot for providing a user is provided. OS is, policies, preferences, behavior, may be loaded in the aspects or stages corresponding such as in context. Like certain OS or OS group, it may be loaded so as to address specific scenarios or requirements. .FIELD 1


Mountains are sometimes referred to as 'sky islands' since their biodiversity may be geographically isolated at high altitudes in a sea of uninhabitable lowlands (first used by [1]). It is a nice expression because it gives an immediate picture of how mountain systems may behave like oceanic islands, especially when it comes to patterns of dispersal and colonization. Sky islands are also known for evolutionary radiations just like other island systems. New ecological opportunities in connection with mountain uplift are assumed to trigger accelerated diversification, and mountain radiations are generally both young and fast [2]. Ma et al. [3] study such a young mountain radiation in south-west China, an area which includes some of the most biologically diverse mountain ranges in the world. They show that hybridizationmay have been common throughout the radiation of Rhododendron subgenusHymenanthes, even though species are spread over isolated sky islands. Hybridization has fuelled some of the most iconic radiations in other island-like systems by increasing genetic diversity and morphological variation (e.g. Darwin's finches in the Galapagos Islands, and the Cichlid fishes in the African Great Lakes; [4,5]). However, in the case of Rhododendron it is still unclear whether hybridization has driven speciation, which is also pointed out by the authors. What is clear is that themembers ofHymenanthes have not been entirely isolated at their sky islands throughout the radiation, and that hybridization has been common. This indicates that speciation with gene flowmay have taken place. There are at least two different possibilities that could explain the lack of isolation and facilitate potential speciation with gene flow. First, theremight have been continuous gene flowbetween sky islands, but at such low levels that divergence could still occur (i.e. parapatric speciation). Rhododendron species are good seed dispersers and show large variation in pollinators including birds, so gene flow between sky islands could happen due to long-distance dispersal of seeds and pollen. In addition, one could imagine that the many diverse pollinators may have provided new avenues for non-random mating. Second, there may have been periods of both isolation and gene flow consistent with a mixing-isolation-mixing (MIM) model (as described by [6]). Since not all mountain species are equally good dispersers or even possess the same type of pollination biology, a MIM scenario is perhaps a more interesting possibility as it can represent a generalmodel for how radiations occur inmountains.The MIM model suggests that speciation is driven by alternating periods of isolation and gene flow. Periods of isolation may allow time for divergence, while periods of gene flow may fuel speciation by, for instance, increasing genetic diversity. According toHe et al. [6], such cyclesmay lead to higher diversification rates than allopatric models, which could help explain rapid radiations. Inmountain systems, it is assumed that climatic fluctuations may cause such MIM scenarios, and there even exists a mountain-specific equivalent called 'flickering connectivity system' (FCS; [7]). The FCS is a framework for understanding exactly how cyclical phases of connectivity and isolation, driven by Pleistocene climate change, may have led to increased diversification in combination with mountain topography. The logic behind FCS is that climate cooling may cause distribution areas to move downwards and create corridors of connectivity between previously isolated populations in the lowlands, while climate warming may cause distribution areas to move upwards and become fragmented. The main point of the FCS is that cycles of isolation and contact may promote speciation, but unlike MIM it also puts weight on mountain specific variables like topography and Pleistocene climate. Taken together, a MIM or FCS scenario is plausible in mountain radiations, but a challenge remains to link periods of gene flow to periods of connectivity by, for instance, including geological data on barriers. Further work on the role of hybridization in mountain radiations can help reveal the extent to which hybridizationmay have contributed to rapid speciation in this and other mountain radiations.


Thermomagnetic recording behavior was investigated in a bilayer which was composed of a TM-rich NdTbDyFeCo layer and a high-Tc RE-rich DyFeCo ultrathin layer. The magnetic field sensitivity of the bilayer was investigated by a magnetic field modulation method at a low field of 4 kA/m. Carrier-to-noise-ratio depends sensitively on the thickness of the ultrathin layer and reaches its maximum value at approximately 2.5 nm. Using a polarized light microscope it was observed that the domain formation process makes a transition from nucleation-dominated (ND) to wall-motion-dominated (WMD) as the thickness increases, and during the transition the highest magnetic field sensitivity was achieved. We explained those results with a model in which the domain formation started in WMD and ended in ND. >


Future high-energy accelerators will need very high magnetic fields in the range of 20 T. The EuCARD-2 WP10 Future Magnets collaboration is aiming at testing HTS-based Roebel cables in an accelerator magnet. The demonstrator should produce around 17 T, when inserted into the 100-mm aperture of Feather-M2 13-T outsert magnet. HTS Roebel cables are assembled from meander-shaped REBCO-coated conductor tapes. In comparison with fair level of uniformity of current distribution in cables made out of round Nb–Ti or Nb${}_{3}$ Sn strands, current distribution within the coils wound from Roebel cables is highly nonhomogeneous. It results in nonuniform electromagnetic force distribution over the cable that could damage the very thin REBCO superconducting layer. This paper focuses on the numerical models to describe the effect of the nonhomogeneous current distribution on stress distribution in the demonstrator magnet designed for the EuCARD-2 project. Preliminary results indicate that the impregnation bonding between the cable glass fiber insulation and layer-to-layer insulation plays a significant role in the pressure distribution at the cable edges. The stress levels are safe for Roebel cables. Assuming fully bonded connection at the interface, the stresses around the edges are reduced by a large factor.


The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS), a widely used dementia screening instrument, generates five subscale scores in the areas of Attention (ATT), Initiation-Perseveration (IP), Construction (CN). Conceptualization (CON), and Memo~ (MEM). The present study sought to determine the criterion validi~ of the DRS subscales in a sample of 50 patients with Alzheimer's disease (25 with mild and 25 with moderate dementia). Subject performance on the .five DRS subscales was correlated with performance on five well-validated neuropsychological criterion measures using Pearson r and stepwise regression. On a univariate level, each DRS subscale correlated most strongly with its assigned neuropsychological criterion measure. On a multivariate level, each DRS subscale emerged as the Step 1 predictor of its assigned criterion measure, with the exception of DRS CN, which was the Step 2 predictor. The results suggested that overall the DRS subscales are valid measures of their respective constructs and have value for both clinical and research purposes in mild and moderate dementia. © 1997 National Academy of Neuropsychology The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) (Mattis, 1976, 1988) is a well-known and widely used instrument for assessing dementia. The DRS samples a wide range of mental abilities commonly impaired in dementia, and yields a Total Score as well as subscale scores for the cognitive domains of Attention (ATT), Initiation-Perseveration (IP), Construction (CN), Conceptualization (CON), and Memory (MEM). The DRS is composed of simpler items than traditional cognitive tests, decreasing its susceptibility to floor effects, and increasing its discrimination of and sensitivity to individuals with substantial cognitive deficits. The DRS is relatively brief and easy to administer: it takes between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the level of patient impairment.


Research purposes: Urban rail transit OCS lightning overvoltage damage is increasingly prominent. Because the power supply OCS has no standby equipment,lightning stroke will damage the equipment and thus directly influence train operation safety. Tianjin- Binhai light rail engineering is one of the most seriously lightning damaged urban transit engineering. According to the detailed status of Tianjin- Binhai line OCS,mathematical model is build. The software is applied to analyze OCS lightning flash over characteristics so as to improve OCS existing lightning protection measures and increase its ability to resist lightning disaster. Meanwhile,special lightning arrester suitable to urban transit OCS is researched and manufactured.Research conclusions:(1)Urban rail transit power supply system which takes lightning overvoltage protection measures could reduce the breakage rate of OCS insulator after thorough flash- over in overvoltage,also reduce the tripping rate of substation in a lightning stroke,which could meet both the reliability requirement of tractive power supply system and safety requirement of operation.(2) Because the protection measures to the isolator are inadequate,lightning arrester could not prevent backward flashover tripping,severe accidents and damages occur.(3)OCS insulator has low lightning withstand level,it is a valid measure to install in parallel metal oxide arrester with gap to prevent insulator lightning stroke damage.(4)OCS steel mast shall be earthed and OCS shall be installed overhead earth wire and shall approach live conductor as possible as it can,but no need to lift.(5)The substation shall adopt corresponding measures to carry out overvoltage protection against lightning stroke.(6) The research result can be applied on urban mass transit rail aspect.


There has been a growing consensus about the importance of host country nationals (HCNs) to the effectiveness of expatriates. This study adds to the knowledge base in the literature by introducing HCNs' domestic cross-cultural work experiences (DCCWEs; i.e., experiences acquired in the home country, without leaving the country) as a construct worthy of attention and examining their relationships with HCN socializing behaviors toward expatriates. Based on two-wave survey data from 226 HCN participants who were working with at least one expatriate in his or her organization in Taiwan, this study finds that HCNs' work assistance to expatriates increases their social support to expatriates. HCNs' DCCWEs increase motivational cultural intelligence and work assistance to expatriates. Motivational cultural intelligence mediated the relationships between HCNs' DCCWEs and both work assistance and social support to expatriates. More specifically, an additional analysis found that HCNs' motivational cultural intelligence and work assistance to expatriates sequentially mediated the relationship between DCCWEs and social support to expatriates.


Family planning has been imported to Greece as a means of encouraging individuals to become modern adults by rationalizing their sexual relations and fertility-control efforts. But family-planning discourse neglects how such factors as emotion and so-alled traditional belief—including gender norms— guide people's reasonable actions. In this article, I examine how the purported gender neutrality of family-planning advocacy and its reliance on riskmanagement models fails to speak to women's experiences and undermines family planners' goals for women's autonomy, [family planning, abortion, gender, sexuality, modernity, risk, Greece]


ENES, or polygene complexes, which are deleterious in double dose occur in heterozygous condition in natural populations of every species of Drosophila in played


Laboratory aquaria experiments demonstrated that Vibrjo AK-1 caused rapid and extensive bleaching of Oculina patagonica at 29°C slower and less complete bleachmg at 25°C and 2OoC, and no bleaching at 16°C. The effects of temperature on the bacteria-induced bleaching experiments in aquaria were consistent with the natural bleaching of 0. patagonica in the Mediterranean Sea. In sjtu bleaching increased rapidly from late May to September, following the rise of surface seawater temperature, which reaches 29°C in August. During the winter, when the seawater temperature drops to 16'C, most of the bleached coral colonies recovered. Vibrio AK-1 was isolated from all bleached corals examined in the summer, but could not be isolated from healthy (unbleached) corals in the summer or from bleached and unbleached corals in the wlnter. The mechanism by which increased temperature causes the coral bleaching by V ~ b n o AK-l is at present not clear. The bacteria grow in the laboratory relatively rapidly at 16'C (doubling time 2 h), indicating that bacter~al growth is probably not the critical factor We suggest that temperature-regulated factors affecting bacterial virulence may play a role in the bleaching process.


We present a text-based approach for the automatic indexing and retrieval of digital photographs taken at crime scenes. Our research prototype, SOCIS, goes beyond keyword-based approaches and methods that extract syntactic relations from captions; it relies on advanced Natural Language Processing techniques in order to extract relational facts. These relational facts consist of a "pragmatic relation" and the entities this relation connects (triples of the form: ARG1-REL- ARG2). In SOCIS, the triples are used as complex image indexing terms; however, the extraction mechanism is used not only for indexing purposes but also for image retrieval using free text queries. The retrieval mechanism computes similarity scores between query-triples and indexing-triples making use of a domain-specific ontology.


The research was carried out in 2017 2019 in the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. The results of study, the effect of spraying by certain amino acids; salicylic(300 ppm), gibberellin (150 ppm) and ascorbic acids (200 ppm) on garlic (Allium sativum L.) plants are presented in the article. It was found that amino acid solutions improves the antioxidant state: the activities of SOD, CAT, POD, GR, GST in treated leaves tended to increase, the activity of SOD was higher than the control of 7.5 15.0%; CAT (27.4 45.9%); POD (7.0 83.0%); GR (5.4 49.9%); and GST (14.8 41.3%). It was noted that the content of chlorophyll a+b in the leaves significantly increased (2.6 10.8%), The use of amino acids increased the accumulation of dry matter by 1.4 4.0%. The yield increase was 1.14 2.27 t ha-1 (7.7 15.3% compared to control). The content of B vitamins in the garlic cloves was greatly influenced by gibberellic acid, where increasing the amount of B vitamins reached to 21.9% relative to control The use of salicylic and ascorbic acids increased the amount of B vitamins by 7.6 and 8.2%, respectively. The most significant increasing of C vitamin content was observed by spraying of plants with ascorbic acid (+12.5%), whereas by spraying with salicylic and gibberellic acids its content increased by 6.0 and 7.5%, respectively. In the future, the data obtained can be used to reduce the impact of abiotic factors on the physiological state and productivity of garlic plants. Also, the obtained data will serve as a theoretical basis for producers in view of the purposes for which the products are grown (for sale in fresh form, processing or storage).


Abstract : This qualification report, which is associated with the respective basic specification (S-133112-1-1, D2-6564) and qualification supplement (D2- 6564-1), covers the qualification testing of the Cable Assemblies, Intrasite, LCF, hereinafter termed ''Cable Assemblies''. Also covered is the certification of compliance with the qualification supplement.


Block-boundary value methods are considered and applied to solve initial value problems. Results on their convergence and stability properties are presented and their intermediate position between the class of multistep and Runge--Kutta methods is established.


De jure judicial independence (JI) is the single most important predictor of de facto JI. In this paper, we describe under what conditions countries are likely to include JI in their constitutions. We describe and analyze both their original choice in this regard as well as change over time using a newly constructed dataset comprised of 100 countries and covering the years between 1950 and 2005. Three results stand out. First, legal origins do have an impact on the likelihood of explicitly anchoring JI in the constitution: countries belonging to the common law tradition are less likely to implement JI in their constitutions (and those with a socialist tradition are more likely to do so). Correspondingly, former British colonies are less likely to address JI explicitly as are states in the Caribbean. Second, religion has a significant impact on whether JI is included in the constitution: societies experiencing a high level of religious fractionalization are not only less likely to anchor JI in their constitutions, but are also less likely to change their constitutions in that direction later on. Finally, Muslim countries are more likely to include mention of JI, whereas Protestant countries are less likely to do so. Third, the distribution of resources within societies has important—and largely unexpected—effects: a higher percentage of family farms, a wider distribution of education, and a higher percentage of urban dwellers are all connected with a lower likelihood of JI being mentioned in the constitution. Key Terms: Judicial Independence, Constitutional Choice, Constitutional Change. JEL classification: K10, N40. * Philipps University Marburg, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FB 02), Universitätsstr. 24, D-35032 Marburg, Germany, Phone: +49-6421-2823091, Fax: +49-6421-2823088, Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. **Institute of Law & Economics, University of Hamburg, Rothenbaumchaussee 36, 20148 Hamburg, Phone: +49-40-42838 5782, Fax: +494042838 6794, Email: email@example.com. The results presented in this paper are the outcome of a substantial effort in coding constitutions. An encompassing project was originally started by Elkins et al. (2009). Regarding the coding of the variables presented here, most of the coding was done by a team of research assistants: Marc Berendsen, Dante Castillo, Nora El Bialy, Nora Heil, Jens Merte, and Max Thesing. The team was coordinated by Jerg Gutmann who also estimated the bivariate correlations. Their help is gratefully acknowledged. The paper was presented at a workshop on Constitutional Design at the Law School of the University of Chicago. Many participants helped to improve the paper, in particular Lee Epstein, Tom Ginsburg, David Law and


The chemical industries in Malaysia is one of the biggest industry and being one of the sources of income for Malaysians contributing to the nations' wealth for continuous development. To work in such industries requires high self-efficacy and an endless commitment by employees as chemical industries always deal with highly risk and hazardous substances. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of self-efficacy on employees affective, continuance and normative commitment at a private chemical industry in Malaysia. This research employ survey method and a cross-sectional research design. A total of 80 respondents were recruited using simple random sampling method from a private chemical company in Johor. The data was collected using the general Self-efficacy Questionnaire and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. The results shows that self-efficacy is at the high level while moderate level was recorded for all three affective, continuance and normative commitments among employees in the chemical company. Data analysis using simple linear regressions showed that self-efficacy predicted affective commitment, while self-efficacy did not significantly predicted continuance and normative commitments.


The radial momentum-position uncertainty relation in equality form of hydrogen atom and hydrogen-like ion is deduced by using the operator theory.It is pointed out that the relation has something to do with the principal quantum number and the angular quantum number,but nothing to do with the nuclear electronic number and reduced mass.


There exists the dispute of Balance Sheet-Liability Method and Profit Statement-Liability Method in the income tax auditing method in our country. This article firstly detailed analyses various opinion and critics of Balance Sheet-Liability Method based on comparative research on two kinds of income tax auditing method, then demonstrates necessity and operation significance of adopting Balance Sheet-Liability Method currently in our country.


Established marinas act as gateways for human impact on the natural environment. One of the major ways this occurs is through the leaching of biocides from antifouling paints applied to marine vessels. These paints often contain copper, which can have an effect on non-target organisms, especially those in fouling communities within marinas. In this study, I hypothesized that the level of copper in Spud Point Marina in Bodega Bay, CA., would affect the local population of the native mussel Mytilus californianus at the larval stage. I tested this by measuring the level of copper in the marina using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGTs), and exposing larvae to different copper concentrations in the laboratory. I found that while increasing copper does decrease normal larval development, increased exposure time has the same effect on development. These factors interact with each other to produce a combined influence on larval development.


Interest in modeling traffic flow has been around since the appearance of traffic jams. Ideally, if you can correctly predict the behavior of vehicle flow given an initial set of data, then, in theory, adjusting the flow in crucial areas can maximize the overall throughput of traffic along a stretch of road. This is of particular interest in regions of high traffic density, which may be caused by high volume peak time traffic, accidents or closure of one or more lanes of the road. The development of the pedestrian evacuation dynamic systems follows from the traffic flow theory in 1-D space [2, 39, 51]. In many ways, the pedestrian evacuation system is similar to the vehicle traffic flow problem [73]. The main conservation equations used in modeling the vehicle traffic flow and the pedestrian evacuation flow are the same, with the exception that vehicle traffic is a 1-D space problem and the evacuation system is a 2-D space problem. Other similarities exist from having escape routes and escape times in both problems. In most of the situations a vehicle or a pedestrian has more than one route to a destination and each route has an associated cost, such as time. In this chapter we will give the necessary background on traffic flow theory and survey the existing macroscopic mathematical models for single-lane, 1-D space traffic flow. These models will be used


Various medicinal plants extensively used as an Ayu rvedic Medicine for over many years for various illnesses. They are extensively used as Indian traditional medicine to cure various human ailments. The World pandemic of AIDS has been with us for more than twenty five years and shows no signs of abatement. The incidence of fungal infe ctions is increasing because of raising number of immunocompromised patients widespread use of broad spectrum of antibiotics. Medicinal plants constitute a very important natural resource used b y indigenous medicinal systems for the last 300 years. Antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate, di ethyl ether and methanol extracts of Acalypha indica were investigated against HIV associated opportunis ic fungal pathogens. The plant extracts showed better inhibitory activity against the tested organ ism. Ethylacetate extracts produced much better activity when compared with methanolic and diethyle ther extracts. Phytochemical screening of the plant revealed the presence of various compounds. T hi study creates social awareness among the HIV patients who were infected by various fungal infect ions.


To reach strong levels of evidence in the knowledge regarding diseases is a prerequisite for the optimal management of patients. In the field of rare diseases, the scarcity of data can be a major limitation in the achievement of this goal, especially for some specific aspects involving even smaller groups of patients. This statement applies for thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (TTP) in the setting of pregnancy. As we increasingly reach an acceptable level of agreement in the general diagnosis and management of the disease through the efforts of international working groups (see the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemotology [ISTH] recommendations in this issue and Scully et al1), this area of the field still suffers from insufficient reported experience. Pregnant women with TTP, however, represent roughly 20% of all TTP cases in childbearing-age women.2 Moreover, emerging topics need to be urgently addressed in this specific population at a time when new therapeutic agents (including caplacizumab, immunomodulators, and soon the recombinant ADAMTS13) are enriching our therapeutic arsenal.1 Until more complete data are available, we summarize here the known and still unknown aspects of pregnancy-associated TTP that should be addressed in the near future.


The latest consensus " guidelines " outlining revised Classi fi cation Criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has just been published. 1 The aim of this publication was to develop new APS classi fi cation criteria with high speci fi city to be used in


This study compares broadcast network news coverage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to coverage of the same issue in the New York Times. It is hypothesized that the networks would provide more favorable coverage of the Act since they stood to benefit from its passage. Results indicate that broadcasters^ coverage of the Act_s passage was more favorable than coverage in the New York Times. Broadcasters covered their own issues less than the New York Times, and when they did cover issues relevant to them such coverage was more favorable than their coverage of other aspects of the Act. Based on these results, researchers and policymakers should be aware that broadcasters are indeed minding their own business -possibly at the expense of the common good. Introduction The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was credited with ushering in a new future of unprecedented prosperity in the telecommunications and related industries. ABC news reported on February 2, 1996, that according to Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey, this Act is "the blueprint for the information highway of the future." House speaker Newt Gingrich called this the biggest jobs bill in history. The new era ushered in by the Act was supposed to provide incredible service improvements to customers across the country. With the Acts passage, lawmakers completed a massive deregulation in all segments of the communications industries. Their hope is that with such competition, the market will benefit consumers more while at the same time the government can reduce its role as regulator. Yet the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was not granted such lofty accolades from all sides. Some predicted that the Act was likely to yield nothing more than a hyped-up, digital version of the past (Garcia, 1996: 43). For example, instead of fostering increased competition, the effect of deregulation in the local phone service market could be one of increased consolidation in an overall phone service market dominated by few, very large players. In the Communications 23 (1998) 2 175


Sustainability has dominated the policy discourse for at least five decades, with its most popular articulation to be found in the Brundtland report in 1987 (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Today, Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2015...


Bayesian methods face unprecedented challenges in the era of big data, as the evaluation of likelihood in each iteration is computationally intensive. To deal with this bottleneck, recent literature focus mostly on speeding up Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). Model selection, which is an important topic, has not received much attention. In the Bayesian context, deviance-based criteria, such as the deviance information criterion (DIC), are well-known for model selection purposes. In this article, we introduce the subsampled DIC and the subsampled information criterion IC in the big data context. Extensive simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the empirical performance of the proposed criterion. The usage of our proposed criterion is further illustrated with an analysis of the Covertype dataset.


The disastrous tsunami off Sumatra in December 2004 showed how vulnerable today's industrial infrastructure is, and that almost no risk management for populations living at the coastlines exists. Historically, most governments have continuously ignored the possible destruction caused by earthquakes and their consequences (fire, destruction of infrastructure). Today, only a few mega cities have a seismological network to monitor seismicity on the fault systems they lie on or near. Science has made little progress in the past in understanding the tectonic processes leading to earthquakes and earthquake predictions remain a distant hope. This is a direct consequence of the lack of onshore infrastructure capable of recording the changes in important physical parameters before, during and after an earthquake. The situation is even worse for the offshore parts of large transform fault systems, or even more important for subduction zones. These zones are the tectonically most active regions of the world, and represent an underestimated threat to coastal countries bordering the Pacific, the eastern Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. Few or no reasonable precautions have been taken to monitor the seismicity of these regions in real time, and thus the risk of them is very poorly understood. Modern marine fiber-optic cables are the best way of networking offshore monitoring arrays. Geophysical sensors can be directly integrated or placed in a special casing. Furthermore, the deployment of such cables even a few decimeters below the seafloor to lower the ambient noise is a standard procedure in industry. For seismicity studies, seismometers, geophones and hydrophones will be the preferred instrumentation. In order to locate the position of an earthquake, such sensors have to be arranged at the end or in extra junctions of the cable in a specific and known manner. Furthermore, miniaturized sensors can be integrated into the cable at certain locations. From recent studies, it is known that the seismicity along offshore tectonic structures is several magnitudes higher than can be detected with onshore instruments. Thus, given present knowledge, the relevance of and risk from marine fault/subduction systems is likely to be underestimated. Similar arguments count for active submarine volcanoes. Here, large landslides can produce local tsunamis. Depending on its layout, a cable system can also serve as a tsunami early warning system along subduction zones, submarine volcanoes or other geological structures with the advantage that all waveforms/sensor information are available to decision makers in real time. To sum up, the impact of such submarine observatories on science would be significant providing the capability to predict problems where -for example- offshore constructions are planned. These observatories might allow a more detailed insight into the dynamics of subduction zones. This insight might provide, after some time, a fresh look at the risk for some coastal areas. From a scientific point of view, it would be desirable, therefore, for marine fiber-optic cables (for example telecommunication cables) to be equipped with regularly spaced geophones/hydrophones. The extra costs for the telecommunication companies would not be significant, but the scientific benefit will be enormous, providing the distribution of the data can be organized.


Credit card is one of the modern payment methods widely spread all over the world. It provides excellent facilities in purchasing as well as selling operations. However, it suffers from fraud problems, causing considerable economic losses to banks, institutions, and individuals, amounting to billions of dollars annually. That has made great interest in finding systems and means with outstanding capabilities to confront fraud, whose patterns in addition to methods are increasing dramatically. One of the most prominent techniques used by researchers in this field is Machine Learning (ML) techniques. In this paper, we proposed some of the classification ML algorithms such as Logistic regression(LR), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Naïve Bayes(NB), additionally, the boosting algorithm XGBoost to create models capable of detecting fraud. The dataset from Kaggle. We used performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, f1, recall, AUC confusion matrix to evaluate the models' performance. The XGBoost model presented the best results compared to other models.


The absence of practical models for estimating the impact of air pollution on solar output presents a challenge for forecasting of solar electricity production and creates more uncertainty for financing and insuring solar plants. While the physics of irradiance attenuation due to aerosols are well understood, complex atmospheric conditions and lack of detailed atmospheric measurement make them impractical for industry or small-scale solar users to calculate its impact on PV power generation. Simple, empirical models to quantify the overall effect from real-world observations are scarce. In this study, we make use of both the experimental approach as well as large-scale real-world observational data from more than 15 sites to empirically evaluate the impact of air pollution on PV production using only common weather parameters. We show that the impact of PM2.5 on irradiance and, hence, PV output is approximately linear at low and moderate levels of PM2.5, with a 100 μg/m3 increase corresponding to a reduction of around 15 ± 5% relative under clear sky conditions, which is broadly consistent with previous preliminary results reported from literature. This effect saturates at higher PM2.5 concentrations beyond 300 μg/m3 and is reduced at high cloud coverage. The methodology developed in this study represents a viable path towards establishing a common ground for standards. The results obtained are the most comprehensive so far in terms of breadth and depth among similar empirical studies using ground-based observations. They provide a basis for establishing a functional model for industry practitioners in the PV community.


We report a case of carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm that caused a transient lower half visual field defect. A 41-year-old man experienced a transient lower half visual field defect in his left eye. Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) showed a left carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm 8 mm in diameter projecting superiorly. The position of the supra- clinoidal portion and the bifurcation of the left internal carotid artery (ICA) were lower than the other side. Neck clipping was performed with a right-angled clip after anterior clinoidectomy and optic canal unroofing. Intraoperative findings showed the aneurysm was located just under the left optic nerve and stretched it superiorly. The upper surface of the optic nerve was compressed at the edge of the falciform ligament. The postoperative course was uneventful. We think the aneurysm displaced the optic nerve superiorly against the falciform ligament and the compression of the upper surface of the optic nerve caused the lower half visual field defect. Direct surgery is adequate treatment in this case to avoid further damaging the visual function because coil embolization may enlarge the aneurysm. The low position of the supraclinoidal portion and the bifurcation of the ICA result in optic nerve compression. This radiographical findings of CTA and DSA are characteristic and may help understanding the symptom.


Titania doped YSZ ceramic samples were subjected to calorimetric, thermal and microstructural analyses to assess the value of titania as a dopant for use as thermal barrier coating in modern gas turbine engines. The primary objective of titania addition was to effectively stabilize the tetragonal phase at operating temperatures while lowering the thermal conductivity. Powder blends with 5, 10, and 15 wt% titania added to standard 7YSZ powder were sintered at 1200°C for 325hrs after plasma spraying. Basic physical properties related to the thermal conductivity of the material such as bulk densities and Young's modulus were determined. Phase analysis of all samples was performed using x-ray diffraction techniques so the percentage of monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic phases could be determined. For all titania samples, it was shown that the composition was predominantly tetragonal with slightly decreasing amounts of monoclinic phases present with increasing titania content. The results of calorimetric analysis showed a marginal decrease in the specific heat capacities of the sintered titania doped samples. Similarly, thermal diffusivities were lowered by the addition of titania, though only slightly, since it has been previously shown that diffusivity is more strongly linked to sample porosity. Using these results, the experimental thermal conductivities for all titania doped samples were determined and compared to theoretical conductivities based solely on the mechanical properties of the ceramic. The results showed a decrease in thermal conductivity with the addition of titania, though with higher values than that predicted from the theoretical model. Experimental thermal conductivities were also shown to decrease with temperature initially, while increasing slightly at higher temperatures, which is most probably due to the radiation effect.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


From the angle of students′ individual differences,the study adopts the methods of literature material,contrast and logical analysis to put forward that common university teaching should take the different sports teaching goal,diversity teaching model,and open teaching management as the basic aim of physical educational reform based on the social spirit of common but different,harmonious but not same which is the nature spirit of harmonious social.


The present study is proposed to analyse the interactivity in the forums of discussion in a proposal of gamification in the Higher Education. The Gamification is the use of games elements in sceneries non games like the form of getting involved the individuals in the educative process. In the Online Education it can be an educational strategy for the promotion of the interactivity. So, we try to analyze the possibilities of the Gamification for the interactivity in five forums of discussion in the Moodle environment , in the discipline educational theories, in the program of postgraduate in Mathematical and Technological Education of the UFPE, in 2015. Through the latent corpus about these interactions in the Moodle environment, trying to check the interactivity in the forums of discussion. For the analysis of data we carried out analysis of content through the software WEBQDA. The results show that the Gamification came true like an educational strategy of extremely relevance, as soon as it made possible making the interactivity in all the forums.


The nonlinear analysis have been performed on the experimental data of a beam vibration composed of a wooden material MDF (Medium‐Density Fiberboard). Firstly, the beam was subjected to the harmonic excitation on the clamp with its first eigenfrequency. After reaching the eigenfrequency, the excitation was switched of and the velocity amplitudes were measured. To identify the frequencies and the damping of vibrations, we applied nonlinear methods including Hilbert transform and wavelets. (© 2010 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The present work concerns the fluid mechanical study on the effects of the permeability of the wall through an artery with a composite stenosis. The expressions for the blood flow characteristics, the flow resistance, the wall shear stress, shearing stress at the stenosis throat have been derived. Results for the effect of permeability on these flow characteristics are shown graphically and discussed briefly.


This paper presents the advantages of using distributed arrays with the beamspace implementation of a wideband Capon algorithm. Distributed arrays have recently demonstrated a decreased sensitivity to environmental coherence loss and array mismatches. In an attempt to build upon this robustness, beamspace preprocessing is applied in this paper. Beamspace allows sector-focused beamforming and reduced computational complexity. A unique property of this implementation of beamspace, namely being indifferent to losses of entire channels of data, has been demonstrated. This implementation of beamspace to Capon beamforming does not require beam orthogonalization, thus saving computational time, especially in the whitening process.


With the highest hardness and excellent wear resistance. Diamond is the most suitable abrasive for the manufacture of hard materials processing tools. It has been widely used in the manufacture of tools for cutting, grinding, polishing and dressing. However, there is high interfacial energy between diamond and binder, which reduces the service life and processing efficiency of diamond tools. Metallization of diamond surface is an effective way to improve the performance and quality of diamond tools, and has become a hot spot in the research field of diamond tools. Based on the related literatures at home and abroad, this paper reviews the plating technology of single metal coating, alloy coating and composite coating on the diamond surface and its research progress in mechanical properties from the perspective of plating materials. The application scope and advantages of plating technology to plating materials are expounded. The design idea of metal coating on diamond surface with low interface stress, high bonding force and suitable strength by optimizing plating technology and cross-using plating technology is expounded. Then future research trend of diamond surface metallization is proposed.


Sedimentary cores from Zhushan Bay was analyzed for chemical speciation of heavy metals(incl.Cr,Ni,Cu,Zn,Cd and Pb) by BCR 3-stage sequential extraction method,and meanwhile their vertical distribution characteristics in the sediment were investigated.It was found the top sediment in particular,was typical of enrichment of heavy metals,and top sediment around the river inlets contained much higher heavy metals than in other places,in terms of both total and extractable contents.The human activity factor evaluation(AF) indicated that apart from Cr,heavy metals' enrichment in the sediment was notable,particularly Cd and Pb.Additionally,result of the ecological risk evaluation revealed that top sediment of 15 cm depth had very high level of Cd with greater RSP values;pollution of Zn within 10 cm depth was severe,while the pollution level of Ni,Cu and Pb within 5 cm-depth sediment were from moderate and severe,and in the depth from 5 to 10 cm pollution of heavy metals was at mild or moderate levels.


We investigate the composition of interstellar grains along the line of sight toward ζ Ophiuchi, a well-studied environment near the diffuse-dense cloud transition. A spectral decomposition analysis of the solid-state absorbers is performed using archival spectroscopic observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope and Infrared Space Observatory. We find strong evidence for the presence of sub-micron-sized amorphous silicate grains, principally comprised of olivine-like composition, with no convincing evidence of H2O ice mantles. However, tentative evidence for thick H2O ice mantles on large (a ≈ 2.8 μm) grains is presented. Solid-state abundances of elemental Mg, Si, Fe, and O are inferred from our analysis and compared to standard reference abundances. We find that nearly all of the Mg and Si atoms along the line of sight reside in amorphous silicate grains, while a substantial fraction of the elemental Fe resides in compounds other than silicates. Moreover, we find that the total abundance of elemental O is largely inconsistent with the adopted reference abundances, indicating that as much as ∼156 ppm of interstellar O is missing along the line of sight. After taking into account additional limits on the abundance of elemental O in other O-bearing solids, we conclude that any missing reservoir of elemental O must reside on large grains that are nearly opaque to infrared radiation.


Meningiomas are common intracranial tumors, and despite surgery or therapy with anti‐epileptic drugs (AEDs), many patients suffer from seizures. Epilepsy has a significant impact on quality of life (QoL) in non‐tumor populations, but the impact of epilepsy on QoL in patients with meningioma is unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of epilepsy on QoL in patients that have undergone resection of a benign meningioma.


Theories of low-energy Lorentz violation by a fixed-norm "aether" vector field with two-derivative kinetic terms have a globally bounded Hamiltonian and are perturbatively stable only if the vector is timelike and the kinetic term in the action takes the form of a sigma model. Here we investigate the phenomenological properties of this theory. We first consider the propagation of modes in the presence of gravity and show that there is a unique choice of curvature coupling that leads to a theory without superluminal modes. Experimental constraints on this theory come from a number of sources, and we examine bounds in a two-dimensional parameter space. We then consider the cosmological evolution of the aether, arguing that the vector will naturally evolve to be orthogonal to constant-density hypersurfaces in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology. Finally, we examine cosmological evolution in the presence of an extra compact dimension of space, concluding that a vector can maintain a constant projection along the extra dimension in an expanding universe only when the expansion is exponential.


The objective of the study is to determine the opinions of social studies teacher candidates about the definitions of democratic citizen. The study was conducted with 50 teacher candidates enrolled in a social studies teaching program in a state university in the province of Ankara. In the study, which is of a general scanning type, an open-ended data collection tool was used. According to results of the study in which qualitative research techniques were used, while the teacher candidates defined people respecting the rights of the others, knowing their rights and responsibilities and expressing their opinions in an open way as democratic citizens; they determined that democratic citizens should know their rights and responsibilities, have knowledge of the constitution and democracy, be respectful and tolerant, hold values such as being honest and responsible and being equalitarian, on the other hand, they should have the skill to express their opinions and able to use their rights and develop empathy.


The utility model discloses an annular seam welding device at the bottom of a storage box of a carrier rocket, which comprises two parts of a welding edge inner side resisting device and a welding edge outer side compaction device, wherein the welding edge outer side compaction device compacts welding edges of a circular ring and a section frame from the outer side of the bottom of a box; and the welding edge inner side resisting device compacts the welding edges of the circular ring and the section frame from the inner side of the bottom of the box. The annular seam welding device of the utility model is mainly used for reliably fixing the welding edge of a welding workpiece in the automatic welding process and can remarkably improve the welding efficiency under the premise of ensuring the welding quality.