Dr. Priyadarshan Manohar is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, Pa. He has a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering (1998) and master's degree in Computer Science (1999) from University of Wollongong, Australia and holds a bachelor of Engineering (Metallurgical Engineering) degree from College of Engineering, Pune India (1985). He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (2001 – 2003) and BHP Institute for Steel Processing and Products, Australia (1998 – 2001). Dr. Manohar held the position of Chief Materials Scientist at Modern Industries, Pittsburgh (2003 – 2004) and Assistant Manager (Metallurgy Group), Engineering Research Center, Telco, India (1985 – 1993). He has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences including a 2007 Best Paper Award by the Manufacturing Division of American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), three review papers and three book chapters. He has participated in numerous national and international conferences. He is a member of ASM International, TMS, ACerS, AIST, ASEE, IMEA, and a registered Chartered Professional Engineer. Dr. Manohar's research interests include mathematical and computer modeling of materials behavior, thermomechanical processing of steels and other metallic materials, microstructural characterization, advanced manufacturing and structure – property relationships. He has conducted a number of technical failure investigations, consulted on various materials-related problems, and acted as an expert witness in the Court of Law.


The paper goes over systematically the international supply chain safety regulations proposed in recent years and subjects them to comparison,on the basis of which it puts forth the safety mechanism of the international supply chain,specifying the duties and obligations of each chain member in this regard.


At the end of the 19th century, the Turkestan Region became the scene of disputes in the field of school education. The imperial administration created a whole network of Russian schools in the Turkestan Region (gymnasium, progymnasium, military school, Russian-native schools), but the local population continued to use their system of old-method schools. It can be said that during this period, only under the influence of the ideas of the Tatar intelligentsia leader Isma'il Gasprinsky, the local population also turned to the creation of new-method schools. These educational institutions, which were called "al-jadidiya", along with the preservation of Muslim elements, were supposed to combine the components of the new ways of modern education. It provided the application of a new methodology, the study of foreign languages, the Russian language and secular sciences. The educational approach of these schools paid special attention to the integration of the peculiar national and religious traditions of the people. As a result, a whole group of Turkestan educators embarked on an educational reform, where one of the focal points was providing literacy in the native language.The paper examines the formation of the first new method schools and the use of modern teaching methods in Turkestan in the late 19th − early 20th centuries. Besides, the article highlights the school reform supported by the so-called national "progressists", analyses the textbooks used in Jadid schools, and the problems associated with education at the beginning of the 20th century.


The attractiveness and durability of stone claddings make them a common exterior finish. However, comparative research of the performance of long-lasting "dry fixed" stone claddings and those made using the "wet fixed" method has not yet been carried out. The objectives of this study are to (1) characterize the deterioration patterns of exterior dry- and wet-fixed stone claddings exposed to normal and marine environments; (2) evaluate the life expectancy limiting coefficient (modifying factors), and (3) quantify the influence of a marine environment on both cladding methods. The research methods integrate laboratory tests with the field survey and probabilistic service life prediction methods. The results of laboratory tests indicate that the compliance of the stone with the requirements of the standard does not assure the durability of the stone when used as an exterior cladding material in a marine environment. The findings of the probabilistic methods show that, in both normal and marine environment service conditions, the fixing method has a significant impact on the rate of the stone deterioration process and the long-term durability of dry-fixed stone claddings.


On the occasion of silver jubilee celebration of the Raja Ramdeo Anandilal Podar Ayurveda Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai (RRAPACRI), a unit of Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), a one day consultative workshop on 'Integrative Approach to Cancer' was organized on April 28, 2012 at Mumbai. The objective was to initiate a dialogue between the experts from modern and Ayurveda, Yoga-Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) systems of medicine and to identify probable integrative models for cancer research and health care. The patronage was from CCRAS and Dept. of AYUSH, New Delhi. Nearly 350 delegates attended the workshop.


Many insects are associated with heritable symbionts that mediate ecological interactions, including host protection against natural enemies. The cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora , is a polyphagous pest that harbors Hamiltonella defensa , which defends against parasitic wasps. Despite this protective benefit, this symbiont occurs only at intermediate frequencies in field populations. To identify factors constraining H. defensa invasion in Ap. craccivora , we estimated symbiont transmission rates, performed fitness assays, and measured infection dynamics in population cages to evaluate effects of infection. Similar to results with the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum , we found no consistent costs to infection using component fitness assays, but we did identify clear costs to infection in population cages when no enemies were present. Maternal transmission rates of H. defensa in Ap. craccivora were high (ca. 99%) but not perfect. Transmission failures and infection costs likely limit the spread of protective H. defensa in Ap. craccivora . We also characterized several parameters of H. defensa infection potentially relevant to the protective phenotype. We confirmed the presence of H. defensa in aphid hemolymph, where it potentially interacts with endoparasites, and performed real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) to estimate symbiont and phage abundance during aphid development. We also examined strain variation of H. defensa and its bacteriophage platform (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Development times, estimated by TFR, were nonnormally distributed, so a nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum analysis was performed. Both fresh-weight (FW) and cumulative fecundity (per cup cage) data had log normal distributions, so all were log transformed prior to analyses of variance (ANOVA). Bonferroni corrections were applied to fecundity assays to control for familywise error rate. Our population cage experiment resulted in nonnormally dis-tributed data, so all ratios were logit transformed, and a linear regression was performed to estimate selection for each infection type against time combined with a t test to evaluate whether the regression slopes significantly differed from zero. A likelihood ratio (cid:10) 2 test was then used to evaluate differences between the start and the final time points in the population cages. We used logistic regression to analyze survivorship.


Foreword by Klaus Brinkmann Acknowledgements Introduction Part I Chapter One: Aristotle On The Platonic Two-Principles Doctrine: The One and The Indefinite Dyad Chapter Two: Speusippus and Aristotle Chapter Three: Aristotelian Henology Chapter Four: The Anatomy of Aristotle's Metaphysics Chapter Five: The Unmoved Mover and The Simplicity and Priority of nou:V: Metaphysics L 7, De Anima III.4-5, and Metaphysics L 9 Part II Chapter Six: The =Epistrofhv of the One and The Derivation of nou:V Chapter Seven: Plotinus On Phantasia: Phantasia As The Home Of Self-Consciousness Within The Soul Chapter Eight: Alcinous and Alexander On The Intelligibles Within nou:V Chapter Nine: Plotinus On The Simplicity of nou:V: An Appropriation And Critique Of Aristotle's Noetic Doctrine Conclusion


BACKGROUND
The characteristics of corn kernels are strongly connected with the content of three statuses of water including bound water, immobilized water and free water. Monitoring different water content is very important to optimize drying process, improve corn quality and reduce the energy consumption. The feasibility of nondestructive detection of water status and distribution in corn kernels during hot air drying process using multispectral imaging was investigated.

RESULTS
Chemometric methods including back propagation neural network (BPNN), least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) and partial least squares (PLS) were used to develop prediction models. The BPNN achieved the best prediction performance for total and free water contents, with Rp of 0.9717 and 0.9782, RMSEP of 4.48% and 2.54%, RPD of 4.87 and 4.29, respectively. And PLS was better for the prediction of immobilized and bound water contents with RP of 0.9612 and 0.9798, RMSEP of 0.57% and 0.06%, RPD of 4.78 and 4.42, respectively.

CONCLUSION
It could be concluded that multispectral imaging combined with chemometric methods would be a promising technique for rapid and nondestructive detection of water status and distribution in corn kernels. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Multiple regression techniques were used to correlate ERTS-1 data with measured values of suspended sediment. The resultant equation was applied to a different ERTS scene using a deepwater area for atmospheric calibration. This approach provides greater accuracy than previously reported methods. Suspended sediment contours are plotted for the Potomac River, Virginia, using Chesapeake Bay deep water for atmospheric calibration.


The invention provides a method for avoiding ANR (Application Not Responding) occurring on a smart television starter. The method comprises the following steps of: monitoring a starter package name in an application program in a system; judging whether the starter is started in the system or not according to the starter package name existing in the system, and if the starter is started, discarding key events of a bottom layer by the system; judging whether the starter is started completely in the system or not according to the starter package name existing in the system, and if the starter is started completely, recovering to receive the key events of the bottom layer by the system. According to the method, a startup state of the starter is identified through setting system attributes, and when the starter is at the startup state, all the key events transmitted from the bottom layer are discarded, and cannot be transmitted to upper layer application, so that the application program cannot identify the key events of the bottom layer and cannot respond to a pop-up dialog box during a use process; after the starter is started completely, the system attributes are modified, so that the normal transmission of the key events of the bottom layer is recovered, the occurrence of an ANR event during a startup process of the starter is effectively solved, and the use experience of a user is improved.


We perform experiments using dynamic data reduction on datasets of moderate complexity, with focus on classification of a Micro-PCB image dataset. As deep learning models increase in complexity, the data that they use increases at a rate we can't keep up with. The result of this is often slight improvements to the model's accuracy, at the improportional cost of computational runtime, which increases the electricity used, and ultimately carbon emissions. By using data reduction techniques, we attempt to identify the least critical data to be excluded from training, which in turn cuts the environmental cost. We show the effect of data reduction techniques on moderately complex image data, including PCB images, to reduce runtime by 2% and improve the accuracy by 0.013%.


The high capacitance requirement becomes a significant problem when modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are applied to medium or low-voltage systems. This paper proposes a capacitor voltage control scheme for a three-phase modular multilevel converter (MMC) with optimized capacitor sizing. Unlike the existing circulating current control, the proposed controller uses the middle capacitor voltage to control the second-order harmonic component of the circulating current. Therefore, it is unnecessary to measure the two arm currents; only one voltage sensor is required, which reduces the number of current sensors. The proposed controller can effectively control the circulating current to be constant or inject second-order harmonics to reduce the capacitor sizing. The detailed analysis, controller design, and performance of the proposed scheme are presented in this paper. The effectiveness of this study is confirmed by simulation and experimental results.


On a substrate, having at least a semiconductor layer, and a protective layer of a semiconductor layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode, a gate insulating film, a gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode, it is connected via a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode and there is a gate insulating film between the semiconductor layer and has a protective layer on at least one surface side of the semiconductor layer, the semiconductor layer, to an in (indium) elements, Zn (zinc) element and Ga (gallium), the element (1) to ( field-effect transistor made of a composite oxide containing, in atomic ratio of 3). In / (In + Zn) = 0.2 to 0.8 (1) In / (In + Ga) = 0.59 to 0.99 (2) Zn / (Zn + Ga) = 0.29 to 0.99 (3)


Abstract If ω ≡ 1 is a group law implying virtual nilpotence in every finitely generated metabelian group satisfying it, then it implies virtual nilpotence for the finitely generated groups of a large class of groups including all residually or locally soluble-or-finite groups. In fact the groups of satisfying such a law are all nilpotent-by-finite exponent where the nilpotency class and exponent in question are both bounded above in terms of the length of ω alone. This yields a dichotomy for words. Finally, if the law ω ≡ 1 satisfies a certain additional condition—obtaining in particular for any monoidal or Engel law—then the conclusion extends to the much larger class consisting of all 'locally graded' groups.


A B ackground on V itamin A: B S J H ave you got what it takes ? Sushrita Neogi Vitamins. We have all heard of them. Men's, women's, 50+, once daily. Vitamins are ubiquitous in clinical nutrition literature, in grocery stores, and on the news, but what exactly are they? Originally called vital- amines, vitamins are compounds (as opposed to trace elements) found in food that the body requires in small quantities to function properly. Vitamin deficiencies can cause a wide range of maladies that can be cured simply by replenishing the body with the lacking vitamin. The discovery that small amounts of vitamins can be used to cure certain diseases led to the Casimir Funk's proposal of the Vital-amine Theory of Disease. However, even though many diseases are caused by a vitamin deficiency, the opposite can also be true, in which case an overdose of a vitamin can cause disease and deformities. Vitamins are either fat-soluble or water-soluble, which determines how they are transported through the body. Over-consumption is only a problem concerning fat-soluble vitamins, the category to which Vitamin A belongs. For the vitamin to be properly absorbed into the body from food, it must be absorbed alongside fat. Fat is absorbed through various organs: a properly functioning liver/gallbladder secretes bile acids to emulsify fat globules, the pancreas secretes lipase (a fat digesting enzyme), and the small intestine absorbs the nutrients. The process is complex and has high energy consumption, but is essential. Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body's adipose tissue and liver for time periods up to months or years. Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamins B or C, on the other hand, are easier to absorb, but are "Vitamins are ubiquitous in clinical nutrition literature, in grocery stores, and on the news, but what exactly are they?" easily excreted in urine. Thus, water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body for any significant amount of time. The potential for long-term storage of fat-soluble vitamins can be useful, but also increases the risk of overdosing. We have traced the entry of vitamin A into the body, but where does it come from in the first place? As a fully formed vitamin, it is only found in foods of animal origin, especially liver, milk, and eggs. However, vegetables such as carrots and leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, and collard greens, have compounds called carotenoids, Figure 2. Disproportionate limb regeneration in newts with increasing doses of retinoic acid. also referred to as pro-vitamin A because they can be converted to vitamin A in the body after ingestion. Once inside the body, vitamin A, also called retinol, has many functions. First it is converted into one of two products: either retinal or retinoic acid. Retinal is produced in large quantities and is used by the body for vision-related purposes. Retinoic acid has a wider array of functions. It plays an integral part in maintaining growth and development, reproduction, the epithelial system, the immune system, and the nervous system. Vitamin A deficiencies and overdoses both wreak havoc on these essential body functions. One of the reasons why vitamin A overdose can cause issues is because it is a teratogen, a compound that, when consumed in excess, can cause developmental disorders. A striking example of the teratogenic capabilities of vitamin A is shown in an experiment that examined newt limb regeneration (Dmetrichuk, Spencer, & Carlone, 2005). When a newt with an amputated limb is given one dose of vitamin A, it is able to properly regenerate the 1 • B erkeley S cientific J ournal • S cience of F ood • V olume 16 • I ssue 1


For the estimation of chatter lobe boundary It is very Important to calculate the natural mode of cutting process There are many time series algorithms for getting the natural mode of structural endmilling dynamics considering the cutting process In this study, we have compared sevelal time series methods such as AR algorithm, ARX, ARMAX, ARMA, Box Jenkins, Output Error, Recursive ARX, Recursive ARMAX consIdermg the samplmg frequency. As a results, the ARX, ARMAX and IV 4 are more desirable algorithms fot the calculation of modal parameters such as natural frequency and dampmg ratio In endinilling operation
Also these algonthms may be adopted for the natural mode estimation of endmilling operation for chatter lobe prediction


While studies on the influence of European integration, and more generally on that of inter- and transnational processes at the beginning of the 1990s regularly started with the hypothesis of system and policy convergence, data presented by Heritier et al. (2001), or more recently Schmidt (2008), as well as the research by Radaelli (2001) have questioned the empirical validity of this assumption. Policy transfers from national systems to other systems do not lead to a convergence of ideas, instruments or policies. On the contrary, the majority of empirical studies show today a differentiated impact on political systems. Amongst the filters or mediators identified, veto players and institutional veto points as well as cognitive and normative frames existing in divers policy sectors are the most prominent factors explaining the differential impact. However, only a small number of public policy studies go further and analyse what happens when no change occurs due to European pressure. These studies concentrate on the non-compliance with European legal rules (Falkner et al 2005; Borzel et al. 2007). While these studies are extremely rich in many respects (conceptual frameworks, empirical research), they concentrate exclusively on non-compliance with fixed legal norms. With regard to Radaelli's definition of Europeanization as well as the objects of this process identified (Featherstone & Radaelli, 2003), we would like to call for a wider range of research, beyond legal norms. The objective of this contribution is to deepen our understanding of non-compliance with European pressures, or as we call it, resistance processes which can be found in a number of case studies, in identifying the central factors responsible for resistance to institutional and policy transfer. We aim at putting into perspective the tools and instruments used by actors to either oppose EU decision frontally or to circumvent their implementation. The article should allow for developing a new research dynamic to understand the mechanisms and instruments of refusal at the national, regional but also supranational level of EU policies.


Aiming at the drill burying accident in the construction process of bored piles,this paper analyzes the causes of the drill burying from such factors as engineering geology,soil mechanics and hole formation,and introduces the remedial measures of treating with the accident.


In order to master technical status of live fish land- transportation,the published researches on aquatic environmental regulation technologies were reviewed. The principles of environmental parameters such as water temperature,dissolved oxygen,ammonia,carbon dioxide and pH were systematically analyzed. The current research status of regulation technologies was emphasized on and discussed.On the basis of land-transportation requirement of live fish,especially the developing state of domestic agriculture,the prospects of aquatic environmental regulation technologies were discussed while the opportunities for future research were explored.It was useful to develop live fish land-transportation in China.


"Iron Man" will hold your attention for a couple of hours (if it's lucky), while "GTA IV" could keep you up for nights on end. This has got Holliwood shit scared


This thesis examines interfaith work from a general perspective and through the Swedish interfaith project "Tillsammans for Sverige". They are based in a famous youth center in Stockholm. The exami ...


Marie-Odile ATTANASSO This study investigates the impact of the gender of household's head on the determinants of monetary poverty in Benin Republic, using data collected during the 1999 living standard measurement survey in rural and in urban areas. The results show that there no feminisation of poverty as compared with the situation of 1995. In 1999, the incidence of poverty among female household's heads was lower than that of their male counterpart, but in some cities the poverty depth is higher. Based on these results, some suggestions are made in order to reduce the incidence of poverty in Benin.


The fundamental reason for the poor performance of recycled aggregate (RA) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is the attached mortar, which severely restricts the application of RA and RAC. This research proposes an innovative method for the modification of RA: using the freeze–thaw cycle (FTC) to remove the attached mortar. In addition, to improve the spalling efficiency, high temperature drying is introduced before and during FTCs. The results show that as the lowest temperature of FTC decreases, the spalling rate increases. Besides, the attached mortar that suffered from high temperature drying is more likely to be peeled off during the following FTCs, and more times of high temperature drying treatments can provide higher efficiency. At the same time, vibrating process can introduce mechanical damage, which is also beneficial for the removal of mortar. Finally, after proper combination of FTC, high temperature drying and vibrating, all attached mortar can be peeled off quickly, and the physical/mechanical properties of modified RA can be very close to the natural aggregates.


The region of neutron-rich nuclei beyond 208Pb has been very difficult to explore due to its high mass and exoticity. However, recent experimental improvements allowed one to perform a quite extended isomer decay spectroscopy of these nuclei.


The quotations from both Sutras and shastra made it possible to get a clear picture of the principal sources from which Bu-Ton has compiled his history.


The antihypertensive properties of single doses of furosemide were evaluated in 113 patients. Doses over 120 mg consistently produced a fall in arterial pressure whereas smaller doses did not. Thus 20 of 22 patients (90%) who received more than 120 mg had a 26 ± 6% average reduction in mean arterial pressure. The hypotensive action began in 30 to 45 minutes, the nadir of the decrease occurred between 2 and 2½ hours, and the hypotension usually lasted 10 to 12 hours. Repeated weekly doses of furosemide over a 2-month period in six patients were not associated with development of drug resistance. The antihypertensive properties of doses of furosemide of more than 120 mg seemed to be of about the same potency as ethacrynic acid. The antihypertensive effect of high doses of furosemide did not seem to be related to the diuretic effect or to the decrease in plasma volume.These studies have demonstrated that doses of furosemide of more than 120 mg consistently decreased arterial pressure. The usefulness of this agent in the long-term management of hypertension remains to be determined.


Abstract Sport fishing for striped marlin (Tetrapturus audax) began off southern California in 1903. Catches of this species have fluctuated widely. Some of the annual variation in catch (15% to 25%) may be attributable to variations in water temperatures. When the marlin season ends in southern California, usually in November, some fishermen who own yachts begin fishing for billfish in Mexican waters, particularly near Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, Baja California. This fishing is restricted to winter and spring because of severe tropical storms which occur in the summer, and lack of protective harbors except at La Paz. Access by land or air to good billfishing in Mexico became available in 1936 at Guaymas, in 1949 at Acapulco and La Paz, in 1958 at Mazatlan, and at several locations between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas shortly thereafter. Fishing for billfish in Mexico now accounts for an estimated expenditure annually of about $10 million by United States citizens, and is the major business in lower Baja Cal...


To facilitate the adoption of the circular economy (CE) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector, some authors have demonstrated the potential of recent designs that take into account the sustainable management of an asset's end-of-life (EOL), providing an alternative to the dominant designs that end with demolition. However, there is no review of the literature that encompasses a large range of sustainable designs in the current CE context. This paper provides a critical review of journal papers that deal with the barriers to implementing sustainable designs and approaches to the EOL management of assets that have the potential to fulfil the principles of the CE. Eighteen approaches related to prefabrication, design for change, design for deconstruction, reverse logistics, waste management and closed-loop systems were found. Through an analysis of the barriers that are common among these 18 approaches, we classified them into six different categories (organisational, economical, technical, social, political and environmental). Two Sankey diagrams illustrate the interrelation between the barriers, their categories and the 18 approaches. The diagrams clearly show that most of the barriers are common to multiple approaches and that most of the barriers relate to organisational concerns. The study gives a detailed map of the barriers that would help stakeholders from the AEC sector develop strategies to overcome the current obstacles in the shift to a CE.


Summary Background: Since the first description 30 years ago the Kaposi-Stemmer-sign is used consistently in the diagnostics of lymphoedema. Since then the original definition was extended or changed several times by other authors. Additionally, the underlying morphology of this clinical sign was not investigated. Material, methods: The second toes of both a patient with lymphoedema (stage III; iL5VxF5) and a healthy subject were compared sonographically, macroscopically and microscopically. Results: In lymphoedema both cutis and subcutis of the second toe were thickened, the structure of the dermal layers destroyed. An accumulation of oedematous fluid in free spaces within the subcutaneous tissue as well as lymphatic vessels could not be found. Discussion: The different definitions and graduations of the Kaposi-Stemmer-sign make the diagnosis of lymphoedema more difficult and concomitantly the clinical and scientific comparability. Morphologically, an accumulation of oedematous fluid could not be proven due to weak or missing streaks of fibrous tissue within the subcutis of the toe.


An Implantable BioFuel Cell (IBFC) is a device that produces power only from the chemicals that are naturally occurring inside the body. We have been working on two approaches to creating an IBFC. The first approach is to use chemicals such as glucose and oxygen to provide the fuel for an enzymatic IBFC. The second approach is to use electrolytes such as sodium to provide the fuel for a biomimetic IBFC.


Abstract : Captive chimpanzees living in a 30-acre desert environment were observed for 2-1/2 months during the summer of 1967. Postures, gestures, facial expressions, and to some degree vocalizations, as related to threat, attack, submission, and appeasement were identified and are described in this paper. The occurrence of protection and the use of sticks and rocks is also discussed. A preliminary study was conducted to determine the frequency of aggression and which animals were most often aggressors and/or victims of attack. It was found that threatening and attacking animals generally have a closed, tight-lipped mouth or open mouth with teeth but not gums showing. Brows are down, eyes are wide open, the body is stiff and straight, and vocalizations are frequently absent. In contrast, victims usually have the corners of the mouth drawn back exposing teeth and gums, have brows up, vocalize frequently, and assume a body posture which is crouched and low to the ground. The preliminary study revealed that aggression appears to be much more common in this captive situation than in the natural habitat. (Author)


Technologies generated for fertilizer use, crop yield for two seasons and sheep health programme were assessed in field under the institution village linkage programme. Field-testing of high yielding crop resulted an increase of yield to the tune of 25% (14.13 to 53.09%) over local variety in all the crops during Rabi and Kharif season. Whereas, balanced use of fertilizer in wheat and pearl millet resulted an increase of yield by 20% (16.80 to 24.36%) against the farmer's practices. In sheep health management, 1/3rd of sheep were found positive with respect to endoparasitic load and for control of parasites they were drenched with suitable anthelmintics. The average mortality was down to nearly 3.0% at the end of the project. The adoption level of improved farming practices after the implementation of the project was significantly increased over the years.


I am hoping that you might have noticed a difference when you opened your copy of the Journal of Orthodontics today. I am sure that you have picked up on the fact that we are into a new academic year in our publishing history and a new volume number, and that we have a new cover design and layout. However, you might not have noticed that we also have a new publisher – SAGE Publishing, who were appointed to replace our previous publisher Taylor and Francis, following a tendering process that was carried out by the British Orthodontic Society last year. I am very grateful to Taylor and Francis for all their help over the last few years in publishing the Journal following their takeover of our previous publisher Maney. However, I am also excited to be moving the Journal forward with a new, enthusiastic and innovative publishing team. SAGE Publishing was founded by Sara Miller McCune in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and promote the education of a global community. SAGE are a leading international provider of innovative, highquality publishing content with over 1,000 academic journals within their portfolio, which span a wide range of disciplines. Importantly, SAGE remains majority owned by their founder to this day and after her lifetime, the company will become owned by a charitable trust, that will secure continued independence. The British Orthodontic Society and editorial team at the Journal of Orthodontics look forward to a long, innovative and fruitful partnership with SAGE, as we continue to publish the highest quality original articles that we can. There are many current challenges in academic publishing, brought on by the increasing levels of digitisation in our lives, the need for more open dissemination of knowledge and the increasing spotlight on academic quality. I hope that under the guidance of SAGE we will be able to meet these challenges as we move forward with the Journal. It is with some sadness that our first issue with SAGE contains the obituaries of two individuals who made immeasurable contributions to orthodontics in this country. Jeffery Rose was the first President of the British Orthodontic Society who played a significant role in the unification of our Society through his vision and leadership. William Proffit was a giant of academic orthodontics, whose research and teaching undoubtedly influenced us all at some point in our careers. These two great gentlemen will be sadly missed. I hope that you find something of interest in this latest issue and I look forward to our continued publication of articles that will help further knowledge in contemporary orthodontics.


. 2014 We have studied by small angle scattering of neutrons, intermicellar correlations in aqueous solutions of a ionic tensioactive substance. If we suppose that the size and the shape of the micelles do not strongly change with the concentration, the Zernicke and Prins formula allows us to calculate radial distribution functions which show that the direct ionic micellar solutions are strongly correlated.


Hydraulic jack was used as an example.First model a component which has standard hydraulic cylinder with ideal end stop mass based on AMEsim,then build hydraulic cylinder and loading model using the AMEsim HCD library module unit which based on geometry and physical characteristics.The time-varying of volume,dynamic characteristics in pipeline,hydraulic cylinder piston leakage,viscous friction and other factors are taken into account in simulation process.In end,the two simulation results are almost consistent.Simulation results show that as long as analysis carefully and find variety of reasons which influence outcome,the HCD library can be used to simulate complex system and taken simulation results as an important reference.


Neutron powder diffraction is recognized as a powerful technique to clarify the relationship between the crystal structure and the properties of functional materials. Its application fields have been expanding in materials science, and prominant results obtained across a large number of diverse disciplines. New neutron powder diffractometers (NPD's), in various stages of construction at new facilities in Europe, Australia, the US and Asia, will exceed the present limits of application, and stimulate the existing 60 NPD's in the world. Some of these new diffractometer projects including the ones in Japan will be presented and the prospects for new scientific impact will be discussed.


We study the Bak-Sneppen model on locally finite transitive graphs $G$, in particular on Z^d and on T_Delta, the regular tree with common degree Delta. We show that the avalanches of the Bak-Sneppen model dominate independent site percolation, in a sense to be made precise. Since avalanches of the Bak-Sneppen model are dominated by a simple branching process, this yields upper and lower bounds for the so-called avalanche critical value $p_c^{BS}(G)$. Our main results imply that 1/(Delta+1) <= \leq p_c^{BS}(T_Delta) \leq 1/(Delta -1)$, and that $1/(2d+1)\leq p_c^{BS}(Z^d)\leq 1/(2d)+ 1/(2d)^2+O(d^{-3}), as d\to\infty.


In the following research we will try to establish how the SME financial profile in the manufacturing section has changed in the last years, which is based in getting the ratios of financial and operational management applied to 18 categories according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). The data used comes from Manufacturing Surveys done annually by the National Institute of Statistics and Census. One of the biggest difficulties was to find the 2011 surveys due to NISC data web site is updated up to the year 2009. The Assistant Department was consulted and they replied by e-mail in which they confirmed to have information only up to 2009 but they did not explain the cause why there is not current data.
Cluster Methodology will be used with the objective of simplifying the analysis and make a group of analysis given the quantity and available data on manufacturing establishment. It has been found that manufacturing enterprises in general have a good financial profile, however, when cluster technique is applied, it is possible to identify that industries hava a better profile comparing to the average or group.
In addition it was constructed model instruments of ANCOVA Analysis to determine if stability exists or it has been introduced changes in the way the enterprises take decisions about variable with immediately liquidity. Thus, it was determined that at level of Gross Profit, Cost of Sales, Coefficient costs, Rotation, and Days of Inventory, it is found changes related specifically in the way of planning the purchase and management of human resources related closely to the production.


The essential oil of the aerial parts of Centaurea sempervirens L. (Asteraceae), synonym : Cheirolophus sempervirens (L.) Pomel, was obtained by steam distillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. 30 components were identified corresponding to 78.5% of the total oil. Among the identified constituents, oxygenated compounds represented 33.4%, from which 21.2% were hydrocarbons, 10.7% were sesquiterpenes. The non oxygenated compounds were hydrocarbons (9.8%). Phthalates represented 35.3% of the total oil. The major components were 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one (12.4%) and epi-torilenol (5.1%). This is the first report on the chemical composition of the essential oil of this species.


BACKGROUND The term Hodgkin's lymphoma includes classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) and the less common nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL). NLPHL is a B cell neoplasm usually characterised by nodular or follicular and diffuse proliferation of small lymphocytes with single scattered large neoplastic cells (LP/L&H/Popcorn cells). NLPHL accounts for 10 % of all Hodgkin lymphoma. This is a retrospective study. Histopathology slides and blocks of 24 cases of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma were collected from the archives of histopathology from 2011 to 2015. The immunohistochemistry slides of the corresponding histopathology cases were also assembled. Both the slides were reviewed by three expert onco-pathologists and IHC markers were studied and compared. cases (95.8 %), which was statistically significant. CD3 and CD5 IHC staining on T cell rosettes and background reactive T cells were examined, and it was seen that CD3 expression was far more consistent than CD5 expression in T cell rosettes and reactive T cells. Also, it was seen that, those cases which were double positive for CD3 and CD5 constitutes only eight cases (8 / 24, 33.3 %). CD3 is a more consistent marker than CD5 in demonstrating surrounding reactive T cells in NLPHL. CD45, PAX5, CD20, BOB - 1 and OCT - 2 are consistent immunohistochemical markers of LP cells.


We wish to comment on Matricciani et al's1 interesting historical survey of recommended and reported sleep durations and the spirited rejoinder it elicited from Dr Owens and coauthors. We believe that both groups make important points, and we add perspective from our recent experimental findings.

Matricciani et al1 found that, over the last century, age-specific recommended sleep durations decreased by 0.71 minute/year, almost the same as the reported sleep duration decline of 0.73 minute/year. Importantly, recommended sleep was consistently ∼30 minutes greater than actual (estimated) sleep. Matricciani et al note that these recommendations, although surely well-meaning, were not evidence based.

The …


. This paper argues against the merely metaphorical use of concepts such as 'network'in the analysis of policy processes that involve relationships between government and interests. It juxtaposes some contributions from anthropology and sociology with the more familiar literature of political science and policy studies. It considers the question of norms, upon which an analysis of networks has some bearing. Next, it focuses upon the understanding of human agency and trust as a micro-analytic strategy for research on meso-level interactions, or 'networking'. In the light of this, it then looks at the education policy process in Britain, with particular reference to Scotland, as seen in recent literature. It ends by discussing the changing education 'partnership'in Britain, construing this concept as one that serves both actors as well as observers, and which has affinities with other analyses of policy networks.


This paper models backward integration by processing cooperatives into raw product production. Our analysis demonstrates that a cooperative's incentive to acquire raw product production capacity depends on its ability to restrict member production to optimal levels and the relationship between members and nonmembers in the raw product market.


"Unconcealed is a detailed account of the emergence of Conceptual art in Europe in the decade 1967-77. Through valuable previously unpublished archival material, Sophie Richard Examines the network of artists, dealers, museum curators, collectors and critics who brought about the wide acceptance of this key movement." -- p. [4] of cover.


This paper talks about the main qualitative factors of mathematics education facing in normal colleges and universities in the 21st century and discusses four main abilities.


The colorful redbeds of Permian age are exposed only on the major uplifts surrounding the San Juan Basin, but are present throughout the basin in deep wells. It seems that each area of exposure is unique and much controversy prevails regarding the stratigraphic relationships. Baars (1962) summarized the problems, and using subsurface data available at that time proposed regional correlations throughout the Colorado Plateau province. Numerous deep wells have been drilled in the meantime, confirming regional correlations and at the same time extending some formations beyond their previously known geographic limits. This study is an update of the 1962 publication and utilizes all well control penetrating Permian strata in the San Juan Basin as of early 1977.


Persistent‐luminescence phosphors (PLPs) have a wide variety of applications in the fields of photonics and biophotonics due to their ultralong afterglow lifetime. However, the existing PLPs are charged and recharged with short‐wavelength high‐energy photons or inconvenient and potentially risky X‐ray beams. To date, deep tissue penetrable NIR light has mainly been used for photostimulated afterglow emission, which continues to decay and weaken after each cycle, Herein, a new paradigm of trap energy upconversion‐like near‐infrared (NIR) to near‐infrared light rejuvenateable persistent luminescence in bismuth‐doped calcium stannate phosphors and nanoparticles is reported. In contrast to the existing PLPs and persistent‐luminescence nanoparticles, the materials enable the occurrence of a reversed transition of the carriers from a deep‐level energy trap to a shallow‐level trap upon excitation by low‐energy NIR photons. Thus these new materials can be charged circularly via deep‐tissue penetrable NIR photons, which is unable to be done for existing PLPs, and emit afterglow signals. This conceptual work will lay the foundation to design new categories of NIR‐absorptive–NIR‐emissive PLPs and nanoparticles featuring physically harmless and deep tissue penetrable NIR light renewability and sets the stage for numerous biological applications, which have been limited by current materials.


Abstract A simple, efficient two-step synthesis of hexahelicenes 1 and 2 is described. The preparation of the new diene 3 and its Diels-Alder cycloaddition with 2-inden-1-one is discussed.


This paper reviews research on preservice teachers' need for a multicultural education program, finding that preservice teachers who have not developed their awareness, knowledge, and skills for working with diverse populations will be inadequately prepared to meet the classrooms of a diverse society. A survey was conducted concerning students' perceived beliefs about their cultural sensitivity, biases/prejudices, and multicultural education. The respondents were 45 students from methods classes at California State University, Northridge, and Pacific Lutheran University; both groups of students had experienced multicultural concepts in various components of their educational program. Respondents indicated a high degree of cultural sensitivity in both preand post-administration of the survey. Respondents attributed their perception of being seldom biased/prejudiced on the belief that all people have value and worth as individuals; they viewed multiculturll education as a vehicle to learn about, respect, and accept all cultures. They conceptualized multicultural education partly as a reformative and partly as an additive process. They perceived an effective multicultural teacher as one who recognizes the individualities of students and meets their unique/diverse needs. Four out of five respondents were concerned more with teacher control than student needs. (Contains 31 references.) (JDD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


As environmental pollution has been serious, there is increasing stricter standards for automotive emissions. NOx and HC emissions regulation will be enforced when EURO-V emission standards go into effect. To meet those standards, we are developing oil separator for module gasoline in EURO-V. To develop the ventilation system, we should test the oil circulation test whether the oil can flow through the drain hole or not. Thus, in this research, the development of the ventilation system with cyclones, ensures the operating of the drain hole.


The organizers of this symposium suggested that I am in a unique position to comment on the future of Computer Performance Evaluation. "Why," I asked. "Any one of us can predict the future. The problem is to discover who is right." To avoid the risk of failure , I decided to concentrate my message on a constructive approach to the future: I decided to suggest things that you can do to make the future come out well. Because we Performance Evaluators are artisans of models, whose primary applications are primarily for prediction, I will concentrate on the issue of getting closer agreement between performance models and real computer sys terns. My message is this: Think not of building a good model of the world, but of building the world more like a good model. And then experiment with the result!ng system.-2-The first part of this message is of course hyperbole. Much of the world is not of our making; we must be content to find models that aid our understanding of nature. But the worid of compute rs is manmede. We have a real oppor tun-ity to guide its course. Rather than passively accept the often-futile assignment to model each new ope rating system that we do not understand, we can actively push for operating systems tha t con fo rm closely to models we do unde rstand. Such operating systems would be less mysterious and more predictable. The second part of this massage is even more serious. Many excellent ideas have failed to make the passage from the world of research to the world of practice. This is because no one bothered to carry out the final experiment-comparing the proposed system with existing systems. There is, sadly, a lack of experimentation with large software systems. Experimentation builds physical intuition, which, in many of us, is not well developed. Experimentation greases the channel of technology transfer. PRECEDENTS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING The idea of tuning a system to a model, rather than a model to a system, at first seems strange. It has not been popul ar among oper a t i ng sys terns d es ig no trs , many of whom believe the resulting system would be less flexible, or that it would not utilize resources efficiently, or that it would be a bad system. Yet many operating systems have so much flexibility that we do not know …


Emerging evidence has shown that resting quiescent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) prefer to utilize anaerobic glycolysis rather than mitochondrial respiration for energy production. Compelling evidence has also revealed that altered metabolic energetics in HSCs underlies the onset of certain blood diseases; however, the mechanisms responsible for energetic reprogramming remain elusive. We recently found that Fanconi anemia (FA) HSCs in their resting state are more dependent on mitochondrial respiration for energy metabolism than on glycolysis. In the present study, we investigated the role of deficient glycolysis in FA HSC maintenance. We observed significantly reduced glucose consumption, lactate production, and ATP production in HSCs but not in the less primitive multipotent progenitors or restricted hematopoietic progenitors of Fanca−/− and Fancc−/− mice compared with that of wild‐type mice, which was associated with an overactivated p53 and TP53‐induced glycolysis regulator, the TIGAR‐mediated metabolic axis. We utilized Fanca−/− HSCs deficient for p53 to show that the p53‐TIGAR axis suppressed glycolysis in FA HSCs, leading to enhanced pentose phosphate pathway and cellular antioxidant function and, consequently, reduced DNA damage and attenuated HSC exhaustion. Furthermore, by using Fanca−/− HSCs carrying the separation‐of‐function mutant p53R172P transgene that selectively impairs the p53 function in apoptosis but not cell‐cycle control, we demonstrated that the cell‐cycle function of p53 was not required for glycolytic suppression in FA HSCs. Finally, ectopic expression of the glycolytic rate‐limiting enzyme PFKFB3 specifically antagonized p53‐TIGAR‐mediated metabolic reprogramming in FA HSCs. Together, our results suggest that p53‐TIGAR metabolic axis‐mediated glycolytic suppression may play a compensatory role in attenuating DNA damage and proliferative exhaustion in FA HSCs. Stem Cells 2019;37:937–947


We study the effects of the preparation of input states in a quantum tomography experiment. We show that maps arising from a quantum process tomography experiment (called process maps) differ from the well-known dynamical maps. The difference between the two is due to the preparation procedure that is necessary for any quantum experiment. We study two preparation procedures: stochastic preparation and preparation by measurements. The stochastic preparation procedure yields process maps that are linear, while the preparations using von Neumann measurements lead to nonlinear processes and can only be consistently described by a bilinear process map. A process tomography recipe is derived for preparation by measurement for qubits. The difference between the two methods is analyzed in terms of a quantum process tomography experiment. A verification protocol is proposed to differentiate between linear processes and bilinear processes. We also emphasize that the preparation procedure will have a nontrivial effect for any quantum experiment in which the system of interest interacts with its environment.


Reducing the weight of a vehicle, which helps to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by a large extent, has become a research focus in the automotive industry. Application of magnesium alloy lightweight materials is one of the most lightweight methods. This paper introduces the characteristics of magnesium alloys and reviews the application of magnesium alloys in automotive industry at present.


ABSTRACT The 23 December 1919 ushered in a new dawn for women: the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 (SDRA) received Royal Assent, thus finally enabling women to join the professions, and in particular the legal profession. This legislation was not a benign gift from the establishment in recognition of women's war effort, but rather the result of a successful feminist campaign vociferously fought for by women and supportive men. Newspapers, both local and national, greeted women's admission to the professions with both celebration and hope, and so did some women. However other women were ambivalent about the SDRA, and welcomed it because it was better than nothing. These women predicted a harder and more prolonged struggle for substantive equality lay ahead. Their foreshadowing was proved correct, as inequality is still rife in the legal profession today. This article will explore some contemporaneous newspaper commentary on the passing of the SDRA, and compare and contrast it with what is known of the legal careers of the first cohort of women lawyers. These reports provide us with an invaluable insight and understanding of the passing of the Act, the hopes and expectations, as well as the doubts and disbeliefs.


Herein, a novel self-assembled supramolecular sensor (S1) based on thiophene-functionalized imidazophenazine for Ag+ was designed and synthesized. It showed dual-channel detection properties for Ag+ based on the competitive mechanism of supramolecular self-assembly with high sensitivity and selectivity even in the presence of other metal ions. Its detection limit for Ag+ is 8.18 × 10−9 M. Upon the addition of Ag+, the solution changes from yellow to light purple and the fluorescence is quenched. Furthermore, the sensing mechanism between Ag+ and S1 is investigated via IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and density functional theory calculations.


We consider a shock and wear model in which the inter-shock arrival process is a phase-type (PH) renewal process, and the system's lifetime is generally distributed. The system has two competing failure modes. One failure mode is due to random shocks, which cause failure by overloading the system. The other failure mode is owning to wear-out failures, which usually happen after the system has run for many cycles. System failure is not self-announcing and remains undiscovered unless an inspection is performed. The intervals between successive inspections are identical and equal to T time units. If a system failure is detected, the corrective repair or replacement is conducted immediately. If the system is found working at inspection, preventive maintenance will be carried out to prolong its useful life. Furthermore, to model the occurrence of events with an underlying monotonic trend, the extended geometric process (EGP) is employed to account for the impact of different types of failures on the system's degradation. Moreover, for establishing the cost rate function in our model, the counting process generated from a PH renewal shock process is studied in detail using the roots method and formula for calculating residues. Based on these results, the survival function and other characteristics of the system are further investigated. Finally, numerical examples that determine the optimal inspection period T[Formula: see text] and the optimal replacement policy N[Formula: see text], which minimizes the long-run average cost rate, are presented.


Purpose: To quantify magnetic moment and susceptibility of any small object to monitor the progression of neurodegenerate diseases and measure the amount of nanoparticlesin vivo in MRI.Methods and Materials: We have been developing the CISSCO(Complex Image Summation around a Spherical or Cylindrical Object) method in the past [1,2]. This method involves summing up complex signals from voxels within a defined circle or sphere, whose center coincides with the center of the object. The effective magnetic moment of a spherical object can be numerically solved from complex signals within three concentric spheres [2]. The phantom study is presented here. Two different diameter sizes of glass beads, 3mm and 5mm, were imbedded in the gel. The gel phantom was scanned by a 1.5T MRI system with a 3D multi‐echo gradient echo sequence and a spin echosequence. The gradient echo sequence was used to determine the effective magnetic moment. The volume measurements of glass beads were analyzed from the spin echosequence. To confirm the accuracy of the measurements from the CISSCO method, the magnetic moments of glass beads were also measured by SQUID(Superconducting Quantum Interference Device). The magnetic susceptibilities of glass beads were properly calculated and compared between SQUID and MRI.Results: The measuredmagnetic moments and their uncertainties at different echo times agree with each other. The uncertainties of volume measurements from the spin echosequence are less than 5% of the actual volumes of glass beads. In addition, the calculated magnetic susceptibilities from MRI agree well with those from SQUID. Conclusions: Our phantom study demonstrates the feasibility of the CISSCO method that can be used to accurately quantify the magnetic moment and susceptibility of a small object such as microbleeds or implanted nanoparticles. Ref:[1]Cheng et. al, MRI, 2007, pp.1171–1180.[2]Hsieh et.al, Med. Phys., 2008, p. 2906.


This article described experiments which evaluated an integrated global positioning system (gps)/dead reckoning system navstar, and provided suggestions for further improving the system. A small truck was equipped with a Texas instruments t1 4100 multiplexed gps receiver, a siemens land vehicle dead reckoning system, including a magnetic azimuth sensor and an odometer, a data collection unit, a power supply unit and an atomic clock. Measurements were based on different operational modes: (a) stationary measurements, where the vehicle was placed on a reference way point of known co-ordinates for collecting gps position data and for comparing them with the reference position; and (b) dynamic measurements, which were carried out on rectilinear streets, of which the beginning and end were marked by 2 reference way points. The test results obtained suffered from the relatively high gpod values of greater than 10 due to the bad configuration of the satellites. In cities, the blockage of satellite visibility by buildings was an important factor. The geometric conditions for future gps operation in urban areas was discussed, as were the constraints and requirements for an integrated gps/dead reckoning system. A concept for an improved system were suggested, including details about the gps receiver, the dead reckoning module and the integrated navigation module. (TRRL)


Objective:The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the inhabition to orthodontic tooth movement in rats between diclofenac [a nonspecific cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor,or a conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ] . Method:42 male wistar rats in 6 experimental groups:(1)(2)(3)50 g coil spring and injections of rofecoxib,diclofenac or saline-solution,respectively;and(4)(5)(6)100 g coil spring and the same pharmacological treatment as(1)(2)(3),respectively. Result:After 7 days,both rofecoxib and diclofenac significantly inhibited tooth movement,but not reached statistically significant differences. Conclusion:Both rofecoxib and diclofenac have side effect to inhibit tooth movement . When they are used for treating inflammation and pain,there are no substantial differences . [


OBJECTIVE
To compare three different urine metering systems for their ability to prevent retrograde contamination in an in vitro model of a closed urinary drainage system and for qualities important to their practical handling in a clinical setting.

PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS
Using three urine-meters (the Braun Ureofix 511, the Kendall Curity 4000 and the Unoplast Unometer 500) the in vitro model was constantly flushed with a solution of Mueller-Hinton broth diluted with saline. On the first day, the urine collecting bag was inoculated with 10(8) cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The system was operated for 12 days with daily sampling of the model bladder to detect any contamination. After 12 days the experiment was stopped and sampling performed at various locations, including the urine-meter and the tubing. Nine of each type of urine-meter were tested, i.e. three in three different experiments. In the clinical study, 45 patients were randomized to each of the three urine-meters and the nurses attending them were asked to complete a questionnaire on the practical handling of the urine-meters.

RESULTS
When the urine-meters was omitted from the model system, the 'bladder' became contaminated with the test bacteria within 3 days. None of the nine Unometer 500 systems became contaminated, compared with four of each of the other two systems (P < 0.05). In clinical use, the Unometer 500 and Ureofix 511 were easier to suspend and empty than was the Curity 4000. The Unometer 500 was significantly easier to handle when the collecting bag was emptied.

CONCLUSION
Urine-meters can prevent retrograde contamination in a closed bladder-drainage model, but the degree of prevention depends upon the type of urine-meter. In daily practice, there were differences in the ease of suspension of the systems and in the emptying of the urine-meter and collecting bag.


ABSTRACT In this paper, the TiOx and PbO seeding layers have been used to study the influence of Pb1.08(Ta0.005Zr0.3Ti0.695)O3 (PTZT) thin films on a stabilized Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si bottom electrode. The PTZT and PbO/PTZT/PbO XRD measurements show that the major perovskite orientations (100), (110) and (111) have been found together with pyrochlore and the TiOx/PTZT/TiOx XRD measurement displays strong (111)-preferred orientation. The best ferroelectrics values and fatigue properties have been measured for the sample TiOx/PTZT/TiOx film. And strongly asymmetric polarization hysteresis loops are observed in the sample PbO/PTZT/PbO. We take the view that the origin of the hysteresis loop offsets and asymmetry is caused by a strong electric field within a thin surface layer in which the ferroelectric polarization is smaller or even absent compared to the bulk of the film. The fatigue characteristic of PTZT thin films suggests that the TiOx and PbO seeding layers alleviate the accumulation of oxygen vacancies near the interface which has been proposed as a primary cause of fatigue in lead base perovskite thin films.


The finite element-spherical harmonics method is being developed for realistic multi-dimensional transport modelling. This paper describes research aimed at reducing, through parallelization, some of the storage and CPU difficulties associated with solving large 3D problems. Parallelization is achieved through a spatial partitioning of the problem coupled with a multi-block-explicit domain decomposition method for the solution of the system of linear equations. The algorithm presented here is suitable for a large range of parallel computers, from massively parallel to workstation clusters and future multi-processor workstations.


: This paper presents a discourse on the utilization of folktales as a means to enhance writing skills and preserve cultural heritage. Built on the premise that writing is a skill that students need to be equipped with, the paper has highlighted the contextual needs that calls for writing instructions to be in close alignment with students' cultural backgrounds. It has explored the integration of Naga folktales into undergraduate writing instruction in Nagaland, uncovering a range of benefits that resonate with both creative and cultural dimensions.


In Sri Lanka, the traditional and the modern, the old and the new in theatre can be seen in striking conjunction. Based in Colombo, the capital city, there is a burgeoning, cosmopolitan, modern theatre, which presents original works and translations (of Beckett, Gogol, Gorky, et.al.) in a wide range of forms and styles. In the rural areas, age-old ritualistic theatres are performed to promote the welfare of the community and to heal the sick. In between are various folk theatres – the entertainments springing from a predominantly agricultural way of life. And, as in all modernizing societies, many of the older forms are waning away while the new theatre is flowering.


In order to achieve process intensification for adsorption chillers and heat pumps, a new composite material was developed based on sintered aluminum fibers from a melt-extraction process and a dense layer of silico-aluminophosphate (SAPO-34) on the fiber surfaces. The SAPO-34 layer was obtained through a partial support transformation (PST) process. Preparation of a composite sample is described and its characteristic pore size distribution and heat conductivity are presented. Water adsorption data obtained under conditions of a large pressure jump are given. In the next step, preparation of the composite was scaled up to larger samples which were fixed on a small adsorption heat exchanger. Adsorption measurements on this heat exchanger element that confirm the achieved process intensification are presented. The specific cooling power for the adsorption step per volume of composite is found to exceed 500 kW/m 3 under specified conditions.


A high voltage-gain resonant DC-DC converter is proposed in this brief, where a coupled-inductor with multiple windings is adopted. The proposed converter is composed of a boost unit with input-output in series connection and $z(z > 1)$ expandable units. Each expandable unit includes two secondary windings of the coupled-inductor and two leakage-inductor-resonant-capacitor cells. The secondary windings are helpful to get a high voltage-gain, while the resonant cells are helpful to realize zero-current-switching for all diodes. Moreover, all the semiconductors can be thought as in series connection, leading the voltage stresses much lower than the output voltage, especially that of the switches. A laboratory prototype with two expandable units is built to verify the proposed converter.


Employing the crossed-beam technique, we have measured absolute cross sections for neutralization of H[sup --] ions in collisions with multiply charged ions Ne[sup [ital q]+]([ital q][le]4) and Ar[sup [ital q]+], Xe[sup [ital q]+]([ital q][le]8) at center-of-mass energies ranging from 20 to 200 keV. . . It is found that th cross sections are independent of the target ion species. The data are in excellent agreement with quantum calculations. A universal scaling law for the neutralization cross section is given.


Language learners are required to be able to use the language they learn in an appropriate context. By mastering pragmatic competence, it is expected that language learners comprehend how to use the language and how to interpret the meaning of the language in a particular setting. This study attempts to explore the realization of the speech act of requesting in a movie entitled Freedom Writers. To be specific, this study aims to figure out strategy types and modification devices of requesting used by the characters in the movie as well as its pedagogical implication for English language learning. By employing a case study design, this study analyzed the script of the movie and classified the request under the framework of A Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP). The findings reveal that mood derivable and scope stating are the most frequent strategies used and regarding the modification devices, the characters tend to use internal modifiers such as syntactic downgraders and upgraders. The results of the study suggest teacher to provide some authentic materials to introduce students to the real use of language. Further studies about speech acts focusing on the pedagogical implication are encouraged to be conducted.
Keywords: speech act of requesting, CCSARP, pragmatic competence


A STUDY OF OPEN-ACCESS PUBlishing released last week shows mixed results for the enterprise. Meanwhile, Wellcome Trust—the U.K.'s largest nongovernmental funder of biomedical research—has now committed to open access. Sixty percent of surveyed open-access journals are either making a profit or breaking even, says the study, which is billed as the first substantial effort of its kind. The study's sponsors are the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and High-Wire Press. The remaining 40% of open-access journals are not yet covering their costs and face an uncertain future, the study says. The report can be found at www. alpsp.org. The study revealed that most open-access journals do peer review and some copyediting. They average five or six years old—an age when subscription journals are "well on the way to being financially stable," says ALPSP Chief Executive Sally Morris. One surprising finding is that author fees ...


In this paper, two new three-point eighth-order iterative methods for solving nonlinear equations are constructed.� It is proved that these methods have the convergence order of eight requiring only four function evaluations per iteration.� In fact, we have obtained the optimal order of convergence which supports the Kung and Traub conjecture. Kung and Traub conjectured that the multipoint iteration methods, without memory based on \(n\) evaluations, could achieve optimal convergence order \(2^{n-1}\).� Thus, we present new iterative methods which agree with the Kung and Traub conjecture for \(n=4\) Numerical comparisons are included to demonstrate exceptional convergence speed of the proposed methods using only a few function evaluations.


This paper examines the impact of oil price uncertainty on South Africa's stock returns using weekly data that covers the period 1995:07:01 to 2014:08:30. The measure of oil price uncertainty is the conditional standard deviation of the one-step-ahead forecast error for the change in the price of oil. A bivariate GARCH-in-mean vector autoregressive model was used for analysis. The results show that oil price uncertainty had negative but marginally significant effect on stock returns. The study also finds that accounting for oil price uncertainty in an oil price-stock returns equation tends to amplify the negative dynamic response of stock returns to a positive oil shock, while diminishing the response of stock returns to a negative oil price shock compared to a model which excludes oil price uncertainty from entering the oil price-stock returns equation. Furthermore, the response of stock returns to negative and positive oil price uncertainty shocks is asymmetric.


. We investigate general braneworld models, with a non-minimally coupled phantom bulk field and arbitrary brane and bulk matter contents. We show that the effective dark energy of the brane-universe acquires a dynamical nature, as a result of the non-minimal coupling which provides a mechanism for an indirect "bulk-brane interaction" through gravity. For late-time cosmological evolution and without resorting to special ansatzes or to specific areas of the parameter space, we show that the − 1-crossing of its equation-of-state parameter is general and can be easily achieved. As an example we provide a simple, but sufficiently general, approximate analytical solution, that presents the crossing behavior.


The aim of this paper is to develop an efficient breast cancer Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system allowing the analysis of different breast tissues in mammograms and performing textural classification (normal, mass or microcalcification). Although several feature extraction algorithms for breast tissues analysis have been used, the findings concerning tissue characterization show no consensus in the literature. Specifically, the challenge may be great for mass and microcalcification detection on dense breasts. The proposed system is based on the development of a new feature extraction approach, the latter is called Multi-threshold Modified Local Ternary Pattern (MtMLTP), it allows the discrimination between various tissues in mammographic images allowing significant improvements in breast cancer diagnosis. In this paper, we have used 1000 ROIs obtained from Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM) database and 100 ROIs from a local Tunisian database named Tunisian Digital Database for Screening Mammography (TDDSM). The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) shows good performance in the classification of abnormalities since the Area Under the Curve (AUC) of the proposed system has been found to be 0.97 for the DDSM database and 0.99 for the TDDSM Database.


The establishment of mixed forest stands can be seen as an option to improve soil organic carbon and N storages and to protect forest ecosystems from various impacts of climate change. We analyzed groups of pure mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands as well as mixtures of beech with either Douglas fir or spruce along Northern Germany. To understand the potential effects of species mixtures on carbon and nitrogen storage, we examined the content and stocks of organic carbon and nitrogen in the O-horizon (organic layer) and mineral soil. The C stock of the organic layer was largely depending on tree species, whereas the C stock of the mineral soil varied among soil types. Total soil organic C (SOCt) stocks (Organic horizon + 0-30 cm soil depth) showed significant species identities and mixing effects were most obvious due to the high contribution of the SOC stocks in the organic layer (SOCo) to total SOCt. These contribution was site-dependent. Overall, under sandy soil conditions, conifers and mixed forests allocated 10% more SOC and N at the organic layer compared to loamy soils, whereas the SOC and N stocks under beech maintained the same proportion, independent of the site condition. The interaction between species and sites was significant only for Douglas Fir and mixed Douglas Fir/beech stands, indicating that the effect of species on carbon and nitrogen varied across sites, being significantly high at sandy soils. In summary, the higher potential for carbon storage in mixed-species forests compared to pure stands, along with the shift of carbon into more stable pools (such as from the Ol layer to the Oh layer), emphasizes the capacity of mixed forest to provide valuable ecosystem services while reducing the risk of unintended carbon losses.


A new wavefront measurement is presented,which is based on incoherent imaging and phase shift.The ray deflection of imaging caused by phase object tested could be measured accurately with the phase shift technique,and then the wavefront distribution will be calculated.Both of two displays connect to same PC display card;one displays sine intensity-modulated patterns generated by PC.When a phase object is located between the monitor and CCD camera,the intensity patterns will be distorted.Recording the distorted patterns and using phase shift technique,the measurement for wavefront of transparent phase object tested can be finished.The use of a computer display generation leads the flexible adjustment of period and direction of the patterns and accurate phase shift.Experiment measurement and computer simulation confirm its feasibility.Compared with other techniques,this technique is simpler,cheaper and more flexible.


Halophiles are organisms, and their viruses, adapted to thriving and reproducing in high salt concentrations, representatives of which can be found in all domains of life. To flourish in these environments, an individual must overcome many obstacles including high osmotic pressure, low water availability, high and low pH conditions, high temperatures, and high cell densities that enforce stiff competition for limited resources due to the low solubility of gasses and other nutrients. Therefore, all halophiles can be considered poly-extremophiles.

These interesting life forms do not cause infectious diseases or cancer, impact human lifestyles or infect our food supply. So why study them? Often halophiles are studied because the salty environment is a model system for uncovering basic principles of microbial life. This extreme environment selects against any organism not able to cope with high salt, which reduces the overall community structure and function. The expectation is that this decrease in complexity allows for more easily achieved insights into fundamental microbial adaptations, and ecological, biogeochemical and evolutionary processes. Because the extreme hypersaline environments are limited to only microbial life, the habitat is analogous to that which existed on Earth before the Cambrian Explosion. Thus investigations of hypersaline habitats can deliver insight into the longest epoch of life. Modern microbial mats growing in hypersaline habitats are similar in structure to ancient stromatolites found in the Precambrian fossil record. Related to this is the search for life in the cosmos: the long period of dominant microbial life on Earth suggests a higher likelihood of finding microbial life on another world than finding advanced life, sentient beings, or even trees. Additionally, the adaptations required for life in high salt can produce enzymes that are interesting for biotechnology, industrial processes, and bioremediation.

Every 3 years since the late 1970s halophile researchers who focus on microbial life in hypersaline environments have gathered to present their latest exciting research to like-minded souls. This eBook is a compendium of research written by many of the presenters at Halophiles 2013, the international congress held at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT (to view all of the conference oral and poster presentation abstracts, please visit https://www.regonline.com/custImages/250000/250066/Halophiles2013Program_final.pdf). Its range of subject matter is extensive reflecting the 4-day event, and the breadth of research interests. To address this diversity of topics, the chapters are arranged into slightly narrower areas of research interests, but even within these defined partitions the reader will find a wide range of interesting research. Here, we explore the world of halophiles.


1 Nationalism and International Comparison 2 Background: The "Egg Aging" Propaganda in 2010s Japan 3 The IFDMS 3.1 Outline of the IFDMS 3.2 Information sources 3.3 The process of making and translating the questionnaire 4 Defects of the IFDMS 4.1 Mistranslations 4.2 Social context ignored 4.3 Men's pregnancy 4.4 Comparability among samples 5 Key Actors in Disseminating the IFDMS Results 5.1 The researchers 5.2 Media 5.3 Medical authorities 5.4 Government 6 Rhetoric to Arouse Public Attention 7 Border Segmentation to Avoid Scrutiny 8 Translations to Conceal the Defects 8.1 Concealed problems of the IFDMS 8.2 Questionnaire unavailable 8.3 Barrier of linguistic differences 9 Lessons from the Case of the Misuse of the IFDMS Results References Acknowledgement Figures


Affifi M and Sharaf M-Ain Shams University Introduction : Gastritis and peptic ulcer are common in children with nephrotic syndrome (NS). This is because of immunospressive medications like steroids with proteinuria and subsequent hypoga mmeglobulinemia Aim of the work: Is to study the prevalence of H.pylori infection among different groups of children suffering from NS Subject and methods: This study was cross sectional-case controlled study conducted at pediatric nephrology clinic – Ain Shams University It was done between July 2019 till November 2020. It included 86 children with different types of N.S and 36 healthy age and sex matched children as control group. All N.S children had stool analysis for parasites and H.pylori antigen with renel functions. N.S children were divided into three groups according to the response to steroids Results :H.pylori infection is common in children with nephrotic than controls with a statistical signification difference (p<0.05) H.pylori infection is statistically signification correlated with GI symptoms as vomity,and infection with parasites besides duration of NS infection Conclusion: Stool antigen test is reliable test for detection of H.pylori infection .H.pylori infection is common in children with NS and related to GI complaints and parasitic infestations


It is obvious to us that David Hemenway (H) had no intention of producing a balanced, intellectually serious assessment of our estimates of defensive gun use (DGU). Instead, his critique serves the narrow political purpose of "getting the estimate down," for the sake of advancing the gun control cause. An honest, scientifically based critique would have given balanced consideration to flaws that tend to make the estimate too low (e.g., people concealing DGUs because they involved unlawful behavior, and our failure to count any DGUs by adolescents), as well as those that contribute to making them too high. Equally important, it would have given greatest weight to relevant empirical evidence, and little or no weight to idle speculation about possible flaws. H's approach is precisely the opposite--one-sided and almost entirely speculative. Readers who have any doubts about the degree to which H's paper is imbalanced might carry out a simple exercise to assess our claim: count the number of lines H devotes to flaws tending to make the estimate too high and the number devoted to flaws making the estimate too low. We submit that the ratio is over 100-to-1, i.e., almost entirely devoted to speculations about why the estimate is too high.


This "Bahus beverage" represents the most marketed product among all those which are preferred to be labeled as ecologic. Therefore, Zenobije, the Athenian, (sixth century before Christ), the best expert of wine soul, made a famous statement – En oino eleteia- which was later translated by the Romans into- In vino veritas- which we then literally embedded it in our everyday life-Truth is in the wine. So, the wine has no definition. All those experiences, which had been gathered during many millenniums and passed from generation to generation through myths and legends, enable the human beings to enjoy in many different pleasures. They also raise the wine to the level of divine drink, assigning even new meanings to it- victory of life and prudence of senses.
So, considering the geographical and climatic position of the country, Serbia has all necessary conditions for solid growing table and wine varieties and wine production. Precisely because of these conditions, thise products get their medical recognition, which means that for example wine, as cultural taste of modern human being, can be in function of preserving and preventing the humane health. And this is the main factor, which can bring million foreign in come to the country and employ 250 to 300 thousand people. It is even desirable to create small and medium enterprises, or business inside the family household with all preconditions, which this kind of activity demands.


Th e increased importance of integrating concepts of natural disturbance regimes into forest management, as well as the need to manage for complex forest structures, requires an understanding of how forest stands develop following natural disturbances. One of the primary natural disturbance types occurring in beech-maple ecosystems of the Central Hardwood Forest is canopy gaps. We characterized canopy gaps of an old-growth beech- maple stand in north-central Ohio and compared these characteristics with an adjacent mature second-growth stand. Using a line-intercept approach, we found that 9.3 percent of the forest area of the old-growth stand was in canopy gaps while 3.7 percent of the second-growth stand was in canopy gaps. Mean canopy gap size was not diff erent between the old-growth and second-growth stands (145.6 m 2 and 126.8 m 2 , respectively). Mean gap-maker size was larger in the old-growth stand than in the second-growth stand, and the species compositions of gapmakers were similar to the surrounding canopy trees. However, the modes of canopy gap formation were not diff erent despite the diff erences in gapmaker species. Sugar maple and American beech are the dominant tree species regenerating in canopy gaps in both stands. Based on our results, forest managers may be able to emulate canopy gap dynamics in similar forest ecosystems using the selection method.


The research in the field of interaction between inorganic binder (sodium silicate) and organic hardeners (dicarboxylic acid esters) has been conducted. The kinetics of saponification of several dicarboxylic acid esters in a sodium silicate medium has been studied. In this case, the kinetics of saponification is described by the pseudo-first order equation. The results of kinetic researches allow predicting the selection of dicarboxylic acid esters aimed at decreasing or increasing the prolonged action of esters depending on their structure and nature during organic-silicate composites structurization. Interrelation of structural properties of organic-inorganic composites components and physicochemical properties of coatings based on them has been shown. The hardeners effect on the properties of paint and adhesive composites has been verified. The improvement of operation properties when using the hardeners in organic-inorganic composites has been shown, namely increased paint coating water resistance and adhesive joint strength in adhesive composites. It is shown that the compounds containing ester groups can be used as hardeners of organic-inorganic composites.


Smart sensors are currently demanded in various kinds of applications to pave a way for better life. To reach this goal, it is necessary to provide energy-efficient solutions with analysis capability. Though state-of-the-art SoC's can meet μW-level processing requirements, front-end sensors remain a bottleneck to be solved. In this paper, a few sensors based on event-driven techniques to improve energy-efficiency and accuracy will be first addressed. Then an ECG-SoC for mobile health-care applications will be described and illustrated.


Use of a lead–tin mixed perovskite is generally considered an effective method to broaden the absorption wavelength of perovskite thin films. However, the preparation of lead–tin mixed perovskites is a major challenge due to the multivalent state of tin and stability in the atmosphere. This study attempted to replace the organic cation and metal elements of perovskites with a relatively thermal stable formamidinium (FA+) and a more environmentally friendly tin element. MA0.5FA0.5Pb0.8Sn0.2I3 lead–tin mixed perovskite thin films were prepared with the one-step spin-coating method. By adjusting the dimethylformamide (DMF):dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) concentration ratio of the lead–tin mixed perovskite precursor solution, the surface morphologies, crystallinity, and light-absorbing properties of the films were changed during synthesis to optimize the lead–tin mixed perovskite films as a light-absorbing layer of the inverted perovskite solar cells. The quality of the prepared lead–tin mixed perovskite film was the highest when the ratio of DMF:DMSO = 1:4. The power-conversion efficiency of the perovskite solar cell prepared with the film was 8.05%.


Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), nitrite and interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) production were investigated at different times during treatment in 10 patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide (O2−) and IFN‐γ production by cultured monocytes from patients with active VL were significantly lower compared with the healthy controls. In contrast, nitrite levels in the supernatants from monocyte cultures of VL patients were comparable to healthy controls and increased significantly during antileishmanial therapy. On day 20 of treatment, a significant increase in the release of H2O2, O2− and IFN‐γ was observed. However, at follow‐up, 4 months after the end of treatment, the production of H2O2, O2−, IFN‐γ and nitrite had declined significantly. Thus, the impairment in hydrogen peroxide and superoxide production suggests that down‐regulation of these mediators may be involved in the reduced killing of parasites by monocytes of active VL patients. Furthermore, the monocytes regained respiratory burst activity as the antileishmanial therapy progressed, suggesting that an immune‐based mechanism is involved in successful drug therapy.


Abstract : Ten 5-substituted 2-PAM's were synthesized in 0.5- to 5.0-gm amounts for evaluation in therapy against anticholinesterase poisoning. Some preliminary studies of the protective effects of the benzyl, ethyl, methyl, and p-chlorobenzyloxy 2-PAM's (pyridino-2-adloxime methoiodides) conducted in vivo showed that the first three are approximately as effective as 2-PAMCl (pyridine-2-aldoxime methochloride) in promoting the survival of rabbits poisoned with GB. In in vitro experiments, however, all four were less effective than 2-PAMCl in reactivating the GB-inhibited red-blood-cell (RBC) cholinesterase of dogs. A more detailed evaluation of all compounds in this series will be made with the maximum dose that causes no symptoms. Additional compounds must be prepared to evaluate the premise that lipoid solubility may be important in the treatment or prophylaxis of anticholinesterase poisoning. (Author)


We analyze the behaviour of a generalised TD(λ) algorithm with constant step size. We first consider linear estimation of the optimal cost. By using realisation-wise averaging analysis we prove for the first time, boundedness under a positive real condition. We also provide for the first time, a detailed analysis of second order fluctuations of a TD(λ) type algorithm. We then consider nonlinear estimation of the optimal cost.


Abstract Recently, we have successfully synthesized new type of high- Tc superconductors of (HgX2)0.5Bi2Sr2Cam-1CumOy(X˭Br, I, and m = 1, 2) by means of intercalation technique. From the X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy(XAS) analyses, we found that the intercalated mercuric halides are stabilized as the isolated gaseous molecules in the interlayer space of superconducting lattice, leading to an increase of basal spacing. A small amount of charge transfer between guest molecule and host lattice could be observed upon intercalation with a slight depression of Tc . For the extension of metal halide intercalation into high-Tc , superconductor, we have developed new type of hybridized superconducting nanohybrid with periodic stacking of organic and superconducting layer by stepwise synthetic approach, where organic compounds are stabilized in the form of organic-inorganic complex salt in-between Bi-O double layers of Bi-based high- Tc cuprates. The synthetic strategy proposed here can b...


This contribution discusses the formulation of a two-scale computational framework for flexural failure in masonry shells. The heterogeneous nature of masonry coupled to its periodic stacking of quasi-brittle constituents leads to preferential damage patterns. Their influence can be incorporated in structural computations using computational homogenisation concepts. The ingredients needed to couple the structural and constituents scales are introduced for the case of damaging materials, and a coupled two-scale framework for masonry shells is outlined. This procedure allows incorporating naturally the anisotropic damaging effects of the masonry material degradation. The contribution will illustrate the two-scale results by comparing them to full fine scale models for in-plane failure and out-of-plane failure.


The design of great infrastructures is often complicated by the presence of complex, or sometimes uncertain, geological settings, which require a detailed study of the Geological Reference Model (GRM) reconstruction.For this purpose, however, site investigation, mainly represented by drillholes completed with field and laboratory tests, being punctual and not continuous along the project, could reveal themselves insufficient, especially without sufficient information, from surface geology, useful for the reconstruction of the Geological Reference Model.In such cases, they may be accompanied by geophysical surveys linear (seismic refraction and seismic tomography bases), for which surveys will act as trimming elements of the geophysical results.As said occurred during the design, operated by Design and Construction Management of ANAS, of a road axis in Sardinia, characterized by the presence of a 150 m long viaduct, the Serra viaduct, falling in a rather complex geological-structural situation.


The presented work employs the multiple random feature kernel mean p-power algorithm (MRFKMP) for the voltage source converter (VSC) control of a three-phase four-wire grid-tied dual-stage photovoltaic-hybrid energy storage system (HESS) to achieve multiple objectives during various induced dynamic conditions. The proposed control enables the VSC to accomplish manifold goals, i.e., reactive power compensation, power quality enhancement, load, power balancing at common coupling point and grid voltage balancing during unity power factor mode of operation. The proposed system is scrutinized under steady-state and numerous dynamic states such as irradiation variation, specified power mode, abnormal grid voltage, load, and grid voltage unbalancing. The seamless control facilitates the swift resynchronization of the grid as well as maintaining stability during islanding and re-synchronization operations while satisfying the necessary load requirements. The associated HESS consisting of battery and ultra-capacitor is competent enough in managing the interruptions occurring on the grid, load and photovoltaic side. The DC bus voltage is controlled by the PI controller, which is tuned by the generalized normal distribution algorithm and kept at the desired level during diverse operating conditions. The optimized DC bus generates an accurate loss component of current and further enhances the VSC performance. The proposed system is investigated by simulation and found acceptable as per IEEE 519 standards.


Chronic rhinosinusitis(CRS) is a kind of common frequently-occurring disease in otorhinolaryngological department,it will cause a series of complications in which case if not treated quickly or completely enough,and that seriously affected patients ' quality of life,so the research about it has become increasingly interesting in recent years.This article is a brief review of the current situation of clinical research on those treatments.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse and optimize the wear parameters of magnesium metal-metal composite. Materials with lesser weight attract both the researcher and industrialists, as it exhibits the performance improvement in the automotive and aerospace industries. The enrichment of mechanical and tribological properties of the existing magnesium focussed the development of new metal–metal composite.

Design/methodology/approach
Metal–metal composite with magnesium matrix was synthesized through the disintegrated melt deposition technique with the addition of titanium, aluminium and boron carbide particles. The wear performance of the composite was experimented with the dry sliding wear test by considering load, sliding velocity and sliding distance.

Findings
The wear rate of the composite is analysed statistically, and the significance of wear parameters on the wear performance of metal–metal composite is observed. The worn pin surface and the wear debris collected during the wear experiments were exposed to the microscopy analysis to seize the dominating wear mechanisms.

Originality/value
The wear performance of the developed magnesium composite was analysed and discussed in detail with the support of scientific evidence, i.e. worn surface and debris analysis express the wear mechanisms.

Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2019-0326/


Objective To analyze the prevalence of non-communicable diseases( NCDs) and the average annual economic burden of patients of top 10 NCDs. Methods Data were collected through household survey in 2011 in 8 cities including Hangzhou,Hefei,Wuhan,Chengdu,Wuxi,Tongling,Baoji,and Shihezi. Two-step model and human capital approach was used to measure the direct and indirect economic cost of NCDs. Results The prevalence of NCDs was325. 2‰,and the top ten NCDs were hypertension( 161. 7‰),diabetes( 49. 3‰),coronary heart disease( 49. 3‰),cerebrovascular diseases( 10. 8‰),chronic gastroenteritis( 7. 3‰),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease( 6. 3‰),rheumatoid arthritis( 6. 1‰),lumbar disc disease( 4. 8‰),malignant tumor( 3. 6‰),and gallstone cholecystitis( 3. 6‰). The total average annual economic burden of the patients with the diseases were 2 677,4 726,7 825,21 688,6 341,8 843,8 871,15448,60 401,and 7 443 RMB Yuan. The major part of the disease burden was direct medical expenditure. The structures of the disease burdens varied. The self-treatment drug expenditure accounted for 55. 0% and 57. 9%,respectively,of direct economic cost of hypertension and diabetes,and for coronary heart disease,cerebrovascular disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,malignant tumor and gallstone cholecystitis,the main expenses were inpatient services,accounting for over50% of direct economic cost. Conclusion NCDs,especially cerebrovascular diseases and cancer,caused serious negative influences on the patients and their families. To reduce the heavy economic burden of NCDs needs involvement of all citizens and the implementation of health policies.