This paper uses Vector Autoregressive(VAR)model to ecamine the dynamic relationship between nural residents'consumption and peasant incomes,which is based on the time series data of 1988-2011 year of per capital consumption and per capital income of rural residents in Hainan province.The results show that there are significant positive correlations between rural resident' s per capita consumption expenditure and per capita income,and per capita consumer spending has a lag effect effect.We should continue to increase rural residents'income and improve present rural consumer spending level.


In order to investigate bubble behavior before inclined solidified front, a numerical simulation model is developed, in which level set method and modified heat transfer equation is applied to simulate the dynamic evolution of gas-liquid interface and solidification process under a fixed grid frame. Meanwhile, an in-situ experiment of bubble behavior before inclined ice solidified front was exacted to validate the numerical model. The effects of bubble diameter, inclined angle of solidified front and cooling rate on its behavior are investigated both numerically and experimentally. The results show that as bubble diameter increasing, inclined angle increasing and cooling rate decreasing, the bubble entrapment possibility is decreasing. Each critical point for entrapment is also studied numerically.


Chili ( Capsicum annuum L.) is among the major vegetables of Punjab. Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi is responsible for significant reduction in its production. In the present study, incidence and prevalence of this disease on chili were determined and biovars were identified in  five major chili growing districts of Punjab, Pakistan namely Multan, Kasur, Pakpattan, Bahawalpur and Attock. The study revealed an overall 11% incidence and 85% prevalence of bacterial wilt in Punjab. The highest disease incidence of 16% was found in Pakpattan district followed by Kasur (12%) and Attock (12%). Disease incidence was found to be minimum in Multan and Bahawalpur districts (9% each). Prevalence of bacterial wilt was 90% in Pakpattan and Kasur and 80% in rest of the districts. Out of 42 R. solanacearum strains isolated from various localities, 82% were identified as Biovar 3, while the remaining 18% were recognized as Biovar 4. Biovar 3 was recorded from all the districts while Biovar 4 was present in all districts except Attock. As bacterial wilt is widely prevalent throughout the province with varying intensities; therefore, stringent surveillance and control measures are needed to preclude the spread and severity of the disease.


In this research project, I engage in the task of delineating the conditions of possibility of human action in the institutional structures of contemporary capitalism, in the age of the Anthropocene. In other words, I reflect on the circumstances required for people to relate appropriatively to the socio-ecological practices they deploy at the workplace, so that these resonate with their fundamental aspirations and thus positively contribute towards the collective search of the good life, with and for others, in just institutions. Once described as the 'blue planet' which sphericity could be admired from outer space, the Earth has become, with the advent of the Anthropocene, a thin, tiny, fragile pellicle – a critical zone with frail equilibriums in which human beings have to live, and that admits no outside. However, as most societies have embarked on an unprecedented spiral of acceleration, attempts to redefine sustainable ethical horizons and to articulate corresponding transformative practices stumble over the rigidity of existing social structures, which technological lock-ins inherited from the past significantly reinforce. This inertia is particularly critical in the case of the fossil fuel industry: it is indeed now widely recognized that the unchecked extraction of hydrocarbons is a key propelling force to the perturbation of the core biophysical processes that regulate the Earth system. The 'business-as-usual' activities of public-listed oil and gas multinational firms generate a non-negligible share of these material flows: as such, these significantly contribute towards re-shaping nature-society relationships by accentuating climate change. The doctoral work I have developed addresses this conundrum through the prism of an empirical case study, and draws for that matter on a fieldwork research conducted between 2015 and 2017 with the employees of the French corporation Total, both in France and in the Republic of Congo. In this dissertation, I develop an in-depth analysis of the empirical material gathered by interpreting it through the concept of alienation, which I argue can fruitfully be 'put to work' to assess the ethical experience of individuals at the workplace in the fossil fuel industry. More precisely, I demonstrate that the concept of alienation accommodates the resources required not only to outline fine-grained descriptions of the multi-layered social reality in which Total's employees evolve, but also to develop a normative critique of the generic form of life that gets articulated in the corporate realm. This leads me to introduce the concept of dwelling as a dialectical opposite to alienation, and to suggest that it can be used as a normative yardstick to describe constructive relationships with the self and the world. More particularly, I put this concept in tension with empirical reality in order to identify workable, context-sensitive institutional principles that would enable to re-embed human work and business firms in their background social-ecological framework. By undertaking such an intellectual project, I hope to formulate an argument that builds insightful bridges between social philosophy and political ecology by both honouring and offering a fresh view on a longstanding tradition of critical, humanist thought in the social sciences.


Computational systems are now distributed by default, and designed, owned and used by multiple self-interested parties. In the face of this growing system complexity, we need a unifying design paradigm, that supports continued innovation and competition while promoting easy deployment, operation, and use. Focusing on the central problem of resource allocation—the arbitration of shared resources among the competing demands of users—we introduce a paradigm of strategyproof computing, a vision in which individual users can treat other resources as their own. We layout the benefits of strategyproof computing, and identify five AI challenges in making this vision a reality.


This text deals with issues related to a child´s socialization in the kindergarten. Regarding the theoretical part, the general proces of socialization is described, including the stages ofpreschool period and the types of social learning. In the part, which analyses the role of the family, illuminated are various educational patterns and ways how facilitate the child´s entry into kindergarten. The final part of this text presents a concise characterization of contemporary preschool education, including the theory of adaptation process and the issue group coexistence of preschool children. The main subject of the practical part lies in interviewing kindergarten teachers as well as the parents, and evaluating their opinion about the adaptation process of children in kindergarten. Furthermore, the ways of making easier the transition from home to kindergarten are also elaborated in this part.


Shoulder pain is a common complaint of diabetic patients that causes motion limitations and functional disability. Adhesive capsulitis (AC) is the most common disabling shoulder disorder. There is no optimal non-surgical treatment for managing AC in patients with diabetes.we are not sure what is the best treatment to manage Frozen Shoulder in patients with diabetes. We donot know how diabetes can affect recovery after shoulder replacement surgery. Also, we arenot sure what factors can affect function after shoulder replacement surgery.Weakness of the shoulder rotator muscles is associated with shoulder pain. Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe and evaluate a physiotherapy program targeted to reduce pain intensity and improve the daily functioning of diabetics with shoulder problems. It was hypothesized that patients receiving specific physiotherapy treatment improved more frequently and rapidly than diabetic patients followed up without specific physiotherapeutic intervention. Method: A pre-post treatment design was completed for a group of 10 subjects. The treatment protocol, also applied during the daily activities of the subjects, was aiming at reducing pain intensity and shoulder stiffness and improving impaired functioning in daily activities by muscle relaxation, light-load exercise and enhancing the co-ordination. improving rotator cuff strength and restoring balance between the muscles that stabilize and rotate scapula are used in prevention and treatment of shoulder pain. This article elaborates on physical therapy exercises targeted at adhesive capsulitis, which can be used in combination with common analgesicsRegardless of management ultimately chosen, physiotherapy of the RCT, rotator cuff muscles and surrounding shoulder girdle plays an essential role in proper treatment. Length of treatment, types of therapy and timing.Treatment modalities for FS include medication, local steroid injection, physiotherapy, hydrodistension, manipulation under anesthesia, arthroscopic capsular release, and open capsular release. Conservative management leads to improvement in most cases.


We present a simple method based on the acquisition of a back-illuminated pinhole to estimate the point spread function (PSF) for CCD (or CMOS) sensor characterization. This method is used to measure the variations in sensitivity of the 2D-sensor array systems. The experimental results show that there is a variation in sensitivity for each position on the CCD of the calibrated camera and the pixel optical center error with respect to the geometrical center is in the range of 1/10th of a pixel. We claim that the pixel error comes most probably from the coherence of the laser light used, or eventually from possible defects in shape, surface quality, optical performance of micro-lenses, and the uniformity of the parameters across the wafer. This may have significant consequences for coherent light imaging using CCD (or CMOS) such as Particle Image Velocimetry.


The invention discloses an axillary choerospondias fruit cake processing method capable of inhibiting non-enzymatic browning. The axillary choerospondias fruit cake processing method comprises the following steps: selecting axillary choerospondias fruits which are ripen for about 80-90 percent, cleaning, blanching in hot water of 95-100 DEG C for 3-6 min, removing peels and cores, and pulping and refining axillary choerospondias fruit flesh; dissolving sodium ascorbate, phytic acid and kojic acid in a ratio of 1:1:0.5 in water to prepare into a 0.2-0.5 percent anti-browning agent compound solution; placing the compound solution accounting for 1/2 of weight of the axillary choerospondias fruit flesh in a pot, adding granulated sugar with the same weight as that of the axillary choerospondias fruit flesh, heating to enable the granulated sugar to be melted, and uniformly mixing the melted granulated sugar with the axillary choerospondias fruit flesh after the granulated sugar is heated to reach 95-100 DEG C; drying by adopting a roller dryer, adjusting the rotating speed, forming a coating with a thickness of 3-5 mm on the wall surface of a roller, and scraping a material reaching the drying requirement; and cutting axillary choerospondias fruit cakes into sheets, pasting with rice paper, and vacuum-packaging. The roller dryer adopted in the processing method is combined with a method of adding a novel anti-browning agent to compound and vacuum-packaging, so that the browning of the axillary choerospondias fruit cakes in processing and storing processes can be effectively inhibited, and the natural color and the better flavor of the axillary choerospondias fruit cakes are well kept.


In the practice of bilingual teaching in universities,the problem is how to guarantee the teaching quality.Bilingual teachers and bilingual textbooks,bilingual environment and system are what teachers and scholars give attention to.But systematic studies on the quality of bilingual teaching are few.Based on the field work and previous achievements of the author,the Five-step Theory will exert a positive effect on its development.


The effects of bio-diesel on exhaust emission characteristics of DI diesel engine with high pressure common rail system were studied.Fuels used in the experiment were prepared by an additional oxidation upgrading and their fuel properties were measured by GC/GS system.The Zeldovich NOx formation mechanism for biology oxygenated fuel was analyzed and a viewpoint was proposed that fuel structure was the most fundamental way to alter emission performance.The results showed that a number of double bonds of fatty acids were destroyed and replaced by epoxy group or double hydroxyl group.Larger weight proportion of oxygen and saturated carbon bonds were realized for bio-diesel improved by peroxidation upgrading.Anti-oxidation upgrading prevented oxidation of bio-diesel and kept it from getting rancid and viscose.After oxidation upgrading,NOx and smoke emission decreased and their"trade-off"tradition relationship was changed.


Frailty is associated with a higher rate of complications and mortality after kidney transplantation (KT). Physical frailty phenotype (PFP) is the most used frailty instrument among KT recipients, it comprises five criteria and classifies patients as frail if they have ≥3. We aimed to determine the impact of scoring 1 PFP criterion (mild frailty) on transplant outcomes.

 We have prospectively followed 449 KT candidates evaluated for frailty by PFP at the time of inclusion on the KT waiting list. Patients were classified as follows: 0, robust; 1, pre-frail-1; 2, pre-frail-2; and ≥3, frail. A prospective longitudinal study was performed in all patients in the cohort who underwent KT. Clinical outcomes and survival after transplantation according to frailty status at listing was assessed.

 About 71.3% of total listed cohort resulted to be pre-frail (one criterion 41%, two criteria 19.8%) or frail (10.5%). Disparities were observed between sexes, with 5.2% of men and 21.9% of women being frail (P  < 0.01). During the study period (median 26 months [IQR 16–39]), 296 patients got a KT and 153 remained listed. Patients who did not get transplanted were more frequently frail (16.3 versus 7.4%, P = 0.013). Frail patients had more hospital admissions during the first year after listing (43.4% if PFP ≥1 versus 20.8% if PFP = 0) and more cardiovascular events or major infectious events. In a multivariate model including only patients scoring 0 (robust) or prefail-1-criterion (n = 217), older age, previous cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease and mild pre-frailty were independent risk factors for mortality after KT (Figure 1).

 Frailty is frequent in KT candidates, more frequent in women than men. Frail patients have less chances to receive a KT. KT candidates are frequently listed with one (out of five) frailty criterion, and this has an independent impact on patient survival after KT. A pre-transplant clinical framework for multimodal prehabilitation interventions to mitigate the effects of frailty and poor fitness after KT may be justified even in mildly pre-frail candidates.


Background We present probabilistic and Bayesian techniques to correct for bias in categorical and numerical measures and empirically apply them to a recent survey of female sex workers (FSW) conducted in Iran. Methods We used bias parameters from a previous validation study to correct estimates of behaviours reported by FSW. Monte-Carlo Sensitivity Analysis and Bayesian bias analysis produced point and simulation intervals (SI). Results The apparent and corrected prevalence differed by a minimum of 1% for the number of 'non-condom use sexual acts' (36.8% vs 35.8%) to a maximum of 33% for 'ever associated with a venue to sell sex' (35.5% vs 68.0%). The negative predictive value of the questionnaire for 'history of STI' and 'ever associated with a venue to sell sex' was 36.3% (95% SI 4.2% to 69.1%) and 46.9% (95% SI 6.3% to 79.1%), respectively. Bias-adjusted numerical measures of behaviours increased by 0.1 year for 'age at first sex act for money' to 1.5 for 'number of sexual contacts in last 7 days'. Conclusions The 'true' estimates of most behaviours are considerably higher than those reported and the related SIs are wider than conventional CIs. Our analysis indicates the need for and applicability of bias analysis in surveys, particularly in stigmatised settings.


The thermal radiation and Fourier flux have drawn the attention of scientists and experts due to their extensive applications in the fields of medicine, manufacturing modern airplanes, water distillation, more efficient electronic devices, more efficient batteries, radiating treatment, and the textile industry. Through careful consideration of this, the mathematical investigation of natural convection and Fourier flux on the flow of energy and diffusion transmission of a body of cone and cylinder revolution, located in a saturated medium, has been described for the dual situations (flow over a cone and a cylinder). After then, the Runge–Kutta technique was used to explain the leading mechanism. Possessions of governing physical measures of local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers as well as velocity, thermal and diffusion figures are provided with support of tables and diagrams. It is motivating to declare that mass transfer rate is advanced in cone kind of revolution matched to cylinder kind of revolution with rising [Formula: see text]. Also, the heat transmission rate is upper in cylinder revolution equated to cone revolution.


From middle childhood through adolescence, a growing awareness of interpretive activities in the construction of knowledge and belief occurs. Children progressively realize that cognitive activities are highly inferential and, consequently, uncertain. The present study moves from the hypothesis that a developmental progression of the understanding of the relative certainty of mental processes across late childhood and preadolescence is reflected in the use of mental terms. In particular, the present study analyses the production of two cognitive verbs (think and know) and of markers of uncertainty in an autobiographical narrative. The results confirm an increase in the use of think and of markers of uncertainty in children aged 8 to 12, suggesting a major change in children's appreciation of subjectivity. The production of these mental terms was not associated with general verbal ability. Gender differences in their use were marginal and, when present, favored girls.


This wonderful paper is that rare type of family research in non-clinical settings that combines the voices of parent and child. Communication across the generations, about health risks, is not easy (Caan and Hillier, 2006), and it is unsurprising that mothers and daughters did not always share the same view of 'risk' in this study. There is a widespread concern in social policy circles that family relationships around the UK are splintering under pressures (Ashcroft and Barker, 2011) that include more and more alienation between the generations. Each family in this study of sexual health had its unique strategy for managing risks to the younger woman, but, if nurses take home just one lesson, it should be 'more important than the strategies themselves was that they were part of the ongoing relationship'. There are some minor problems with this report, starting with the limited number of participants (only seven adults and seven offspring still living at home) and no sense of the families' psychological 'ghosts' like fathers/stepfathers, grandparents and other absent influences on the negotiations between mother and daughter. I would be longing to ask what each mother's relationship had been with her own mother, during adolescence! The handling of the data is rather sketchy, and, without an account of the logical structure underpinning data analysis, I tend to be suspicious of bland statements like 'supported by specialist computer software'. The authors have also missed a unique opportunity to compare directly the interview answers of each daughter with her own mother, over the seven paired sets of data. However, the stories ring true. Large-scale surveys of young women confirm that more than three-quarters worry about these health issues: binge drinking, drug abuse, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy (Girlguiding UK, 2010). In practice, McMunn and Caan (2007) showed that early binge drinking was significantly associated with unsafe sex, chlamydia infection and exposure to sexual violence when drunk, just as the mothers feared here. Sadly, many parents also show counterproductive attitudes to underage drinking at night ('she normally gives me a drink') and none of the sexually active young


examples. Finally, the pre-straps in the Roman sandals are situated at the heel's edge, rather than at the waist as seen in the pharaonic two-dimensional image. A relatively large number of sandals referred to by Leguilloux as type 1c is housed in several collections. In all cases of which the context/date is known, a Nubian origin is indicated (e.g. e20176 and e20252a and b, from the X-group in Qustul, housed in the Oriental Institute Museum Chicago; QI 82.2.3/40 from early Christian Qasr Ibrim; cam-3091 [QI 78.2.8/92] from Qasr Ibrim's late Christian layers, housed in the British Museum). Moreover, the double front strap has been interpreted as a Nubian feature as well. They seem to be unknown from Roman europe, and hence the finds seem again to suggest local influence. Although in most cases construction drawings and cutting patterns of shoes are provided, this is not universal (see for example Cf-001, a type of calceus). This is very unfortunate as 'one way of following the technological (and stylistic) evolution of footwear is by looking at cutting patterns'. This, in its turn, can help in the identification of fragments of leather. It is notable that the shoes show features also seen in Christian and Ottoman footwear from Qasr Ibrim, but which interestingly are also present in the so-called Persian footwear from elephantine. what is clear from Les objets en cuir de Didymoi is that the Roman leatherwork is clearly distinct from pharaonic leatherwork. Romans brought their own leatherworking craft with them to egypt: current scholarly opinion holds that vegetable tanning was introduced to egypt in the Roman period (or possibly slightly earlier in the Ptolemaic period). However, the Didymoi finds also show local influence, apparent when comparing the finds with material from european sites and from, for example, Qasr Ibrim. Although I do not agree with the author on several points, the book is indispensible for the study of leather in egypt because of its detail, dating, and the way the author deals with the acquired information. The additional publication of material from other sites will only increase the importance of the book.


Read about Carlsbad at http://www.CarlsbadRealEstateNews.com. Carlsbad California has a significant presence of corporations, and thus has a large corporate office park with numerous and diverse businesses with offices and headquarters here, including...


The Qing-yin-shi-pan used to be the court music playing in the Qing Court,and it has existed about 300 years.By the end of Qing Dynasty,the music has been carried out by the Qing Court Music Association one generation after another.The thesis intends to expound about the historical source of the association,the preservation of its music and score,the musical instruments and the characteristics of the playing,the status quo and the assumption of its development in the future.It also gives some practical suggestions and opinions about its further protection


Previous research in Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) suggests that a main aim of explainability approaches is to satisfy specific interests, goals, expectations, needs, and demands regarding artificial systems (we call these 'stakeholders' desiderata') in a variety of contexts. However, the literature on XAI is vast, spreads out across multiple largely disconnected disciplines, and it often remains unclear how explainability approaches are supposed to achieve the goal of satisfying stakeholders' desiderata. This paper discusses the main classes of stakeholders calling for explainability of artificial systems and reviews their desiderata. ?Work on this paper was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation grants AZ 95143, 98509, 98510, 98511, 98512, 98513, and 98514 "Explainable Intelligent Systems" (EIS), by the DFG grant 389792660 as part of TRR 248, and by the ERC Advanced Grant 695614 (POWVER). The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for feedback on initial drafts of this paper. 1Markus Langer, Daniel Oster, and Timo Speith have contributed equally to this article and share the first authorship. Preprint submitted to Artificial Intelligence February 17, 2021 We provide a model that explicitly spells out the main concepts and relations necessary to consider and investigate when evaluating, adjusting, choosing, and developing explainability approaches that aim to satisfy stakeholders' desiderata. This model can serve researchers from the variety of different disciplines involved in XAI as a common ground. It emphasizes where there is interdisciplinary potential in the evaluation and the development of explainability approaches.


OX40, also known as CD134 or TNFRSF4, is a member of the TNFR superfamily of receptors. OX40 is a co-stimulatory receptor, and it interacts with its ligand to providepositive signal for T cell activation. OX40 is not expressed on resting naive T cells, however its expression goes up after 24 to 72 hours following activation. Disruption of OX40 pathway led to defective T cell responses and overexpression of OX40 caused massive immune activation. Due to its importance in keeping immune homeostasis, strategies modulating the OX40 pathway hold great promise in fighting against cancer and autoimmune diseases. We have interests in developing novel OX40 antibodies for boosting cancer patients9 own immunityinlight of other successful immune checkpoint modulators. We developed a cohort of OX40 specific antibodies using the classic hybridoma technology. In order to screen their efficacy to stimulate anti-tumor activity in live animals, we managed to rank these antibodies using Biocytogen9shumanized mouse platform of immune checkpoints. Specifically, we utilized humanized OX40 mice (h-OX40) and implanted syngeneic tumors subcutaneously, followed by treating mice with purified testing antibodies. Via this approach, we are able to discern several lead antibodies that effectively inhibited tumor growth without prior knowledge of their in vitro activities. Furthermore, we identified that one clone works in concert with Keytruda in the dual humanized model of h-OX40 and h-PD1. We are currently investigating the mechanisms of action underlying these potentially useful antibodies. Citation Format: Chaoshe Guo, Yanan Guo, Yuelei Shen, Benny Yang. Developing novel anti-OX40 antibodies on Biocytogen9s in vivo drug screening platform [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2733.


Unintentionally doped (100) InP wafers were ''cleaned'' with 12 different etching procedures, either found in the current literature or adapted from Si technology. We present the results of x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Rutherford backscattering experiments together with electrical properties of Au/InP contacts realized on the same samples. We can distinguish: first, the solutions which result in a rather clean InP surface and give metal‐semiconductor Au/InP diodes from those which lead to an approximately 20‐A‐thick oxide layer and give metal‐insulating‐semiconductor structures, and second, the solutions which give electrically stable structures from those which lead to very unstable ones. Detailed electrical measurements [J‐V; J(V,T); C(V,T)] have been performed on two kind of stable surfaces: on ''clean'' etched ones and on one oxidized with NH4OH‐H2O2‐H2O (5:1:100) solution. For the first ones, a quasi‐ideal metal‐semiconductor diode is found. For the oxidized surfaces, current flow is co...


Background: The aims and objectives behind the study are to study the clinical profile of pleural effusion and to study the effectiveness of pleuroscopy in undiagnosed pleural effusion. Subjects and Methods: The data taken during the study included demographic information like sex, age, and address. A thorough chronological detail was gained with prominence on major grievance, account of presenting disease, noteworthy previous cases including the history related to drugs. A meticulous physical assessment too was performed. In all the cases, examination like inclusive heamogram, renal function tests, serum albumin, chest-x-ray, random blood sugar; and pleural fluid analysis were performed. Results: The indication investigation of sixty patients exposed the fact that approximately all these patients were suffering from chest pain as leading indication resulting to the 96.2% of the total sample size pursued by dry cough and dyspnoea on physical exertion. The legitimate sign such as appetite loss was persistent in 85% of patients and loss of weight in 88.7% of patients. Conclusion: Undiagnosed pleural effusions can be finely established by thoracoscopic pleural biopsy and histopathologic analysis which is very safe and reliable.


The purpose of change management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change. Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organization's goals, processes or technologies. The National government Constituency development fund to counties has made a great impact, with numerous projects coming up throughout the country. The initiation of the development projects at grassroots level have led to significant rise in wellbeing of citizens in the constituency and county at large. The general objective of this study was to assess change management practices and how it relates to performance of national government CDF funded projects in Bomet County in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were; to determine the influence of leadership on performance of the national development funded projects in Bomet County, to establish how stakeholder's involvement influences the performance of the national development funded projects in Bomet County, to assess the influence of resources allocation on performance of the national development funded projects in County and to find out the extent to which monitoring and evaluation influences the performance of the national development funded projects in Bomet County. The study was anchored on Kotter's 8 step model and the theory of planned change. The study adopted a Census research design targeting all CDFC members and officials managing CDF projects in each of the five wards in Bomet County. The study utilized primary data. Primary data was collected using semi structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the study. Analyzed data was presented in percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviation. From the findings, the researcher can conclude that, change management practices through leadership, stakeholders' involvement, resources, and monitoring and evaluation has a significant and positive composite effect on performance of NG-CDF in County. Leadership aspects that contribute to this performance includes leaders' role model and championship capacity towards change management, ability to develop strategy, create mission, motivate people to achieve objectives, employees' empowerment, and organizational culture change. The researcher therefore recommends that, NG-CDF leadership should observe change management practices by ensuring there is frequent stakeholders' engagement, role model and championship capacity towards change management, ability to develop strategy, create mission, motivate people to achieve objectives, employees' empowerment, and sound organizational culture change.


Webster defines a dwarf as "a diminutive human being"; Dorland, as "an abnormally undersized person." Turning to a definition of infantilism, one finds that it is "a condition in which the characters of childhood persist in adult life. It is marked by mental retardation, underdevelopment of the sexual organs and often, but not always, by dwarfness of stature." There follows a formidable classification. In this article, we wish to discuss a type of arrested development presumably due to secretory deficiency of the anterior hypophysis. It is not mentioned by Dorland. With no claim to originality but because of the etiologic and descriptive significance of the term, we have chosen to call the condition hypophyseal infantilism. If one is to escape ambiguity, however, it had best be called dwarfism, since sufferers from this disorder are rarely mentally retarded. That they never become mentally mature, as regards the things which touch on


The invention discloses a manufacturing method of a single-core direct current component resisting mutual inductor iron core. The method sequentially includes: performing tension pre-crystallization annealing on a nanocrystalline magnetically soft alloy strip 18-28 micrometers in thickness, wherein the applied tension of the tension pre-crystallization annealing is 10-60Mpa, annealing temperature is 520-670 DEG C, and the moving speed of the strip is 0.01-0.2m/s; winding the nanocrystalline magnetically soft alloy strip subjected to tension pre-crystallization annealing to the mutual inductor iron core; annealing the wound iron core at the temperature of 400-550 DEG C for 30-120 minutes; By the method, the nanocrystalline magnetically soft iron core is allowed to have constant magnetic feature in a certain magnetic field range, quite low remanent magnetism feature, high direct current component resistance and saturation resistance, and the precision of the iron core is better than the existing composite direct current component resisting mutual inductor iron cores.


With apologies to David Herbert Donald,1 who opened a chapter on Lincoln's marriage with a stark, unqualified description of conjugal misery drawn from popular opinion, let me begin a review of Professor Randall Kennedy's new book with my "explanation" (in partial imitation of Donald's ironic description) of race in much of popular and even judicial understanding in today's America. Having moved past racial slavery, segregation, and other forms of legally sanctioned racism, the United States of America has long enjoyed the blessings of a pristine, scrupulously fair racial order. Happily, a color-blind Constitution safeguards the harmony of a color-blind American society. The constitutional shield protecting the American tradition is fortunate, because race is a toxic category that must not be used for government action. Yet even today, in 2015, in our color-blind society, the Supreme Court must occasionally discipline public universities for unaccountably predicating admissions on racial factors. Chief Justice Roberts has explained that a color-blind society that once legally discriminated against blacks must be vigilant to prevent relapse. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."2 In our color-blind nation, any granting of a state benefit on


The study compared the use of organic and inorganic manure among vegetable ( Telfairia occidentalis ) farmers in Owerri Municipal of Imo State. Random sampling technique was adopted to select six organic manure users as well as six inorganic manure users from each of the five randomly selected communities making a total of 60 vegetable farmers in the area. The sampling frame was obtained from the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) extension agent in the area. The analytical tools used were descriptive statistics and net return model. Results show that both organic and inorganic manure use were profitable but inorganic manure use among vegetable farmers was more profitable. It was recommended that farmers be enlightened and encouraged to use inorganic manure.


Mobile edge computing (MEC) is a promising edge technology to provide high bandwidth and low latency shared services and resources to mobile users. However, the MEC infrastructure raises major security concerns when the shared resources involve sensitive and private data of users. This paper proposes a novel blockchain-based key management scheme for MEC that is essential for ensuring secure group communication among the mobile devices as they dynamically move from one subnetwork to another. In the proposed scheme, when a mobile device joins a subnetwork, it first generates lightweight key pairs for digital signature and communication, and broadcasts its public key to neighbouring peer users in the subnetwork blockchain. The blockchain miner in the subnetwork packs all the public key of mobile devices into a block that will be sent to other users in the subnetwork. This enables the mobile device to communicate with its peers in the subnetwork by encrypting the data with the public key stored in the blockchain. When the mobile device moves to another subnetwork in the tree network, all the mobile devices of the new subnetwork can quickly verify its identity by checking its record in the local or higher hierarchy subnetwork blockchain. Furthermore, when the mobile device leaves the subnetwork, it does not need to do anything and its records will remain in the blockchain which is an append-only database. Theoretical security analysis shows that the proposed scheme can defend against the 51 percent attack and malicious entities in the blockchain network utilizing Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. Moreover, the backward and forward secrecy is also preserved. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms two baselines in terms of computation, communication and storage.


These cases are, according to Dr. Francis of the United States Public Health Service, the first to be reported from Pennsylvania. It is interesting that both were recognized within a few days of each other. Case 1. —A man, aged 49, a butcher, admitted to the Mercy Hospital, Dec. 8, 1925, complained of fever, weakness and coughing. His illness began, November 24, two days before Thanksgiving. He had been preparing rabbits for the market and had cut his right index finger about two days before he began to feel ill. His finger became infected and was very sore, and remained so until shortly before admission to the hospital. Since the onset he had been feverish and had had many chills. He felt very weak and ached generally over the body. There was a good deal of coughing, but little sputum. He never had any bloody sputum. There were no gastro-intestinal


Today an increasingly large and diverse audience spends more and more time and money on computer games; the actual player can now be anyone. Gameplay, whether it is raiding online in World of Warcraft, an evening of Guitar Hero in the living room with friends, or a quick round of Sudoku Master on the Nintendo DS while commuting home from work, has become part of the everyday life of millions of people regardless of age, sex and background. Play and everyday life combine in new exciting ways with new patterns of communication, interaction and behaviours emerging as a result.


In the post-information society, with the rapid development of science and technology, the increasingly fine social division of labor, the population movement circle becomes more extensive. In this process, the traditional family problem swelled, the group's dilemma gradually revealed, and thus, in order to solve a sudden series of family, community school and even social problems, the social demand for professional social work services surges. But in fact, the current lack of social work talents, specialized service level is low, it is difficult to solve a series of problems and dilemmas efficiently.Therefor, it is urgent for institutions and society to work together to establish a scientific and professional model of professional social work practice, breaking through the limitations and short board of training of social work personnel in the past, training the applied, timely and comprehensive talents of the profession, so as to realize the professionalization of social work and promote the healthy development of society.


A hybrid bumper beam and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to improve productivity and to reduce production cost by simplified manufacturing processes of forming multilayer fiber reinforced composite material on a steel outer channel with hot compression forming, and to improve function of a bumper by lessening impact energy transferred to a person hit by a vehicle. A hybrid bumper includes an inner channel(10) which is made of steel and has a front part and an extension part extended toward rear at each end of the front part, and an outer channel(20) which is made of multilayer composite material composed of non-woven fabric matrices and fiber reinforced mats(30) and which is adhered to the inner channel. The non-woven fabric matrices have plural polypropylene matrix fabric arranged in an irregular pattern. The fiber reinforced mats are composed of woven fiber reinforced fabric with polypropylene layer treated with glass fibers. A method of manufacturing the hybrid bumper includes a step of preparing an inner channel made of steel, a step of preparing multilayered fiber reinforced composite mats having plural non-woven fabric matrices and plural fiber reinforced mats, a step of placing the inner channel on a lower mold to direct the front part of the inner channel upward, a step of laying the multilayered fiber reinforced composite mats on the top of the inner channel, a step of performing hot compression molding after closing the lower mold with an upper mold to bind an outer channel to the inner channel, and a step of taking out a hybrid bumper from the mold by opening the mold.


Absorption of acoustic or mechanical waves is an important challenge for various applications such as noise insulation, stealth coating, seismic event mitigation and ultrasonic testing. In order to absorb sound, one needs to introduce a medium with sufficient dissipation but without significant reflection of the incoming wave. Ideally, the absorber should also be thin and light, a goal that may be realized through the use of a thin 2-D metamaterial, or metalayer. The conventional way of achieving strong absorption in a thin metamaterial is to exploit low-frequency resonant inclusions. However, most resonant structures have an intrinsically narrowband response, making it difficult to attain broadband absorption in a deeply subwavelength-thick meta-layer, and making it necessary to devise larger structures to increase the bandwidth. For waterborne acoustic waves, an exception to this common situation can be achieved through the fabrication of bubble metascreens, which consist of a single layer of bubble inclusions embedded in a soft solid. In this presentation, we re-visit the optimization of such bubble metascreens and show that, despite being resonance-based, near-perfect absorption is possible over a very wide frequency range even when the metalayer is ultrathin.Absorption of acoustic or mechanical waves is an important challenge for various applications such as noise insulation, stealth coating, seismic event mitigation and ultrasonic testing. In order to absorb sound, one needs to introduce a medium with sufficient dissipation but without significant reflection of the incoming wave. Ideally, the absorber should also be thin and light, a goal that may be realized through the use of a thin 2-D metamaterial, or metalayer. The conventional way of achieving strong absorption in a thin metamaterial is to exploit low-frequency resonant inclusions. However, most resonant structures have an intrinsically narrowband response, making it difficult to attain broadband absorption in a deeply subwavelength-thick meta-layer, and making it necessary to devise larger structures to increase the bandwidth. For waterborne acoustic waves, an exception to this common situation can be achieved through the fabrication of bubble metascreens, which consist of a single layer of bubble inc...


We report on development of smooth a-plane GaN without the use of lateral epitaxial overgrowth. Effects of GaN buffer growth conditions, namely V/III ratio and temperature, on the quality of high temperature a-plane GaN layers on r-plane sapphire substrates have been studied. Optimization of the buffer growth conditions resulted in surfaces of 2 µm thick overgrown a-plane GaN at high temperature with less pit defects, the presence of which is reported as a common occurrence for a-plane GaN grown on r-plane sapphire. The surfaces were smooth with RMS roughness of less than 2 nm for a 5 µm x 5 µm AFM scanning area. We will present the effect of V/III ratio in low temperature buffer growth and qualitative growth mechanism model that has been constructed based on the structural and morphological study of the layers grown at various stages. Layers were characterized using AFM, SEM, and HRXRD. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common procedure that has become the standard of treatment for severe cases of knee osteoarthritis. Biomechanics and quality of movement similar to healthy were found to improve patient-reported outcomes. In this study, an evaluated musculoskeletal model predicted ligament, contact and muscle forces together with secondary tibiofemoral kinematics. An artificial neural network applied to the musculoskeletal model searched for the optimal implant position in a given range that will minimize the root-mean-square-error (RMSE) between postTKA and native experimental tibiofemoral kinematics during a squat. We found that, using a cruciate-retaining implant, native kinematics could be accurately reproduced (average RMSE 1.47 mm (± 0.89 mm) for translations and 2.89° (± 2.83°) for rotations between native and optimal TKA alignment). The required implant positions changes maximally 2.96 mm and 2.40o. This suggests that when using preoperative planning, off-the-shelf CR implants allow for reproducing native knee kinematics post-operatively.


This paper critically examines the scope and limitations of state-of-the-art chromatographic techniques (GPC, GC, HPLC) for separating and analyzing the composition, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution of acrylate and styrene based polyether macromonomers. Of the three chromatrographic techniques investigated, HPLC is found to be the most useful technique for macromonomer analysis, being applicable over a wide molecular weight range and having favorable selectivities towards the many macromonomer components. Macromonomer purity, n-mer distribution, and molecular weight can be derived from a single chromatographic run. In addition, conformational information can be obtained.


We present a case of prolapsed posterior leaflet of tricuspid valve presenting as rapidly undulating serpentine mass in mid cavity of the right atrium during ventricle systole mimicking Chiari network. 3D echocardiography unveiled the mystery and confirmed prolapsed posterior leaflet of tricuspid valve. To the best of our knowledge such a large hypermobile artifactual echocardiographic manifestation of prolapsed posterior leaflet of tricuspid valve has not been reported in the literature.


In contemporary days due to the decrease of availability of limitation land with increase of land cost with the rapid increase of land cost along with the rapid growth of population density. To overcome from the above problem the architect and civil engineer are focused toward to the construction of tall building.This paper shows the comparison between diagrid and the conventional building behaviour recently diagrid structure system is adopted in tall building due to structural efficiency and flexibility compared to the conventional building system. The building area lies about 324m2 with the height of 48m, with the base area 16x16m, the simulation of diagrid and the conventional building analysis are done in Etabs v.17.0.1


This paper presents an analysis of the process of group
creativity during the Chindogu Scrapheap Challenge, an
event that was held as part of a LeonardoNet Workshop in
November 2005.
Workshop participants were divided in three groups and
given a challenge specific to HCI. Immersed in the
Scrapheap and Chindogu spirit, groups aimed at finding a
solution to the challenge, using materials and equipment
either provided by the organising committee or found by
the group.
Groups generated a remote wild animal interaction device,
a static mobile phone charger and an installation for
catching cats' memories and dreams.
During the experiments we observe different ways of
approaching the challenge: one structured and organised,
contrasted with another nearly chaotic. External objects
helped as sources of insight, but also limited potential ideas.
Constraints importance was evident, not only with respect
to themes, tenets and evaluation criteria, but also with
respect to maximum completion time.


Summary (1) The courses of hemolysis for gramicidin, tyrocidin, and mixtures of the two have been determined. Tyrocidin causes a rapid hemolysis, the extent being proportional to the concentration of the lysin. Gramicidin causes a slower initial rate of hemolysis but this initial lag is followed by rapid destruction of red blood cells at a rate at least equal to the initial rate due to tyrocidin. Mixtures of the two components gave hemolysis patterns characteristic of the proportions of gramicidin and tyrocidin. (2) An alcohol-soluble substance or substances present in the wall of the red blood cell of the rat, possibly phospholipid in nature, combines with tyrocidin, and to a lesser extent with gramicidin, causing them to lose their hemolytic activity.


This article presents a practical view of one artist's dealings with the social and political aspects of the concert, seen through a variety of works realized between 1999 and 2006. Couroux's work is centered around the reintegration of the listener-viewer into the social event, specifically the concert format, which has functioned as a control group, enabling him to test some ideas about viewer mobilization. Exploring the potential of art as a motor for social investigation, he exploits the perceptual and cultural prejudices of the viewer to create a productive, creative zone of inquiry. A brief history of anti-virtuosity begins the article (with examples from Xenakis, Barrett, Ferneyhough and Glenn Gould, all of whom have called into question in various ways the totalized persona of the performer), ushering in the feedback processes of his work American Dreaming and the anti-absorptive strategies which underlie le contrepoint academique (sic). Finally, the position of the listener is problematized in two works: Blowback at Breakfast, in which he/she is enmeshed in a panopticon-like voyeuristic bind with the performer, and Watergating, in which shifting modes of aurality force a deconstruction of the listening process itself.


The original research contribution of this article is in its advocacy of autoethnographic vignettes as a means of enhancing the representational richness and reflexivity of qualitative research. A personal story of career change is used to illustrate how research accounts enriched by the addition of autoethnographic detail can provide glimpses into what Van Maanen called "the ethnographer's own taken-for-granted understandings of the social world under scrutiny." Although the overall aim is to respond to Dyer and Wilkins's exhortation to scholars that they should "try to tell good stories," the article also has general methodological implications for qualitative researchers seeking to enhance the reflexivity of their work, particularly those pursuing autoethnographic or autobiographical studies.


1. Ecomusicologies Aaron S. Allen&Kevin Dawe Part 1: Ecological Directions 2. The Ecology of Musical Performance: Towards a Robust Methodology Alice Boyle & Ellen Waterman 3. Ecomusicology, Ethnomusicology, & Soundscape Ecology: Scientific & Musical Responses to Sound Study Margaret Q. Guyette & Jennifer C. Post 4. "No Tree—No Leaf": Applying Resilience Theory to Eucalypt-Derived Musical Traditions Robin Ryan 5. Why Thoreau? Jeff Todd Titon Part 2: Fieldwork Directions 6. Natural Species, Sounds, & Humans in Lowland South America: The Kïsêdjê/Suyá, Their World, & the Nature of Their Musical Experience Anthony Seeger 7. Of Human & Nonhuman Birds: Indigenous Music Making & Sentient Ecology in Northwestern Mexico Helena Simonett 8. Materials Matter: Towards a Political Ecology of Musical Instrument Making Kevin Dawe 9. "Keepin' It Real": Musicking & Solidarity, the Hornby Island Vibe Andrew Mark 10. Late Soviet Discourses of Nature & the Natural: Musical Avtentyka, Native Faith, & "Cultural Ecology" after Chornobyl Maria Sonevytsky & Adrian Ivakhiv Part 3: Critical Directions 11. Critical Theory in Ecomusicology James Rhys Edwards 12. Nature & Culture, Noise & Music: Perception & Action W. Luke Windsor 13. Aural Rights & Early Environmental Ethics: Negotiating the Post-War Soundscape Alexandra Hui 14. Music, Television Advertising, & the Green Positioning of the Global Energy Industry Travis Stimeling 15. Pop Ecology: Lessons from Mexico Mark Pedelty Part 4: Textual Directions 16. Ecocriticism & Traditional English Folk Music David Ingram 17. The Peasant's Voice and the Tourist's Gaze: Listening to Landscape in Luc Ferrari's Petite symphonie intuitive pour un paysage de printemps Eric Drott 18. Negotiating Nature and Music through Technology: Ecological Reflections in the Works of Maggi Payne and Laurie Spiegel Sabine Feisst 19. Musical Actions, Political Sounds: Libby Larsen and Composerly Consciousness Denise Von Glahn 20. New Directions: Ecological Imaginations, Soundscapes, and Italian Opera Aaron S. Allen This volume is the first sustained examination of the complex perspectives that comprise ecomusicology—the study of the intersections of music/sound, culture/society, and nature/ environment. Twenty-two authors provide a range of theoretical, methodological, and empirical chapters representing disciplines such as anthropology, biology, ecology, environmental studies, ethnomusicology, history, literature, musicology, performance studies, and psychology. They bring their specialized training to bear on interdisciplinary topics, both individually and in collaboration. Emerging from the whole is a view of ecomusicology as a field, a place where many disciplines come together. The topics addressed in this volume—contemporary composers and traditional musics, acoustic ecology and politicized soundscapes, material sustainability and environmental crisis, familiar and unfamiliar sounds, local places and global warming, birds and mice, hearing and listening, biomusic and soundscape ecology, and more—engage with conversations in the various realms of music study as well as in environmental studies and cultural studies. As with any healthy ecosystem, the field of ecomusicology is dynamic, but this edited collection provides a snapshot of it in a formative period. Each chapter is short, designed to be accessible to the nonspecialist, and includes extensive bibliographies; some chapters also provide further materials on a companion website. An introduction and interspersed editorial summaries help guide readers through four current directions—ecological, fieldwork, critical, and textual—in the field of ecomusicology.


The agronomic value of modern faba bean cultivars is higher than indicated by their current acreage. Hybrid breeding is not feasible, because the CSM systems are not applicable. Yet, breeding of synthetic cultivars turned out to be a successful concept. The seed protein content could be genetically increased, alas, economic incentives to do so are missing. Presently the path is going to be paved for a marker-assisted improvement of resistance against Ascochyta and Uromyces. Furthermore, DNA markers for absence of tannins and low levels of vicine were identified, and donors for further disease resistances and for an increased frost tolerance (winter beans) were identified.


Reentry is high risk time for overdose (OD) and fatal OD—individuals are 12 times more likely than others to OD post-release. Incarceration allows for a level of observation and supervision. Upon release from prison or jail, individuals require timely and appropriate services to reduce their risk of overdose and improve their likelihood of recovery. Reentry creates an opportunity to intervene in a way that will reduce crime and increase lives saved. This workshop will discuss activities that agencies working toward safe reentry should consider. The goal of the workshop is to provide attendees with an understanding of reentry activities that support opiate overdose prevention and encourage brainstorming around developing an effective opiate overdose prevention program in their communities. We will present several critical activities of opiate overdose prevention upon reentry (the "what"), describe the importance and relevance of each activity (the "so what), and have attendees discuss ongoing efforts to meet these needs and considerations moving forward (the "now what").We will also introduce the concept of a Safe Reentry Interventions Team (SRIT). A SRIT can work collaboratively (employing a collaborative decision-making model throughout their work) to focus on both the supervision and treatment of at-risk clients.


: Due to the characteristics of dietary structure, esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor of human digestive system with high incidence, while esophageal cancer is a heterogeneous malignant tumor with high mortality and can not be treated early. Although there are many diagnostic methods at present, the side effects are great and have a great impact on the body. Its development is mainly affected by factors such as immune dysfunction, antioxidant system damage and apoptosis. In recent years, clinical studies have shown that the study of lymph tissue infiltration, proliferation and differentiation has an important contribution to cancer. Heavy ion beam radiation is an important targeted therapy and has broad prospects. This paper mainly studied the expression and functional changes of hepatoma cells and lymphocytes induced by heavy ion radiation. Firstly, the concept, characteristics and characteristics of heavy ion beam radiation were introduced. Then, the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes of esophageal cancer were studied. Then, the expression and functional changes of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes of esophageal cancer induced by heavy ion radiation were observed. Finally, the experimental results show that heavy ion beam radiation has a strong ability to inhibit the proliferation of tumor infiltrating cells. The inhibitory effect of heavy ion beam irradiation on the proliferation of tumor infiltrating cells was positively correlated with dose time (P < 0.05). The invasion rate of cancerous cells was different between the two groups in different environments. Under the irradiation of heavy ion beam radiation, the invasion and metastasis rate of cancer cells in the experimental group was maintained at 0.1%. At the same time, the metastasis rate of the control group was the highest at 0.95% without the interference of heavy ion beam radiation.


A lactate biosensor based on lactate oxidase supported onto a hydrotalcite, electrochemically deposited on a platinum surface, was developed for the first time. For the best electrode configuration, a linear response up to 0.8 mM, with a limit of detection of 14 μM and a sensitivity of 91 mA M−1 cm−2, was obtained. The influence of some interferents due to the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide (at +0.35 V vs. SCE) was also studied. By controlling carefully the experimental conditions, the determination of lactate in a commercial serum sample in the presence of interferents was successfully accomplished.


The purpose of this thesis in Library and Information Science (LIS) is to examine how the book industry and the public libraries discuss the electronic books values in the Swedish journals Svensk B ...


Nile tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus) is one of the commercially important fish species in the southern China,but the lack of cold-resistant strains in tilapia results in a large number of deaths in winter and early spring.Some heat-shock proteins(Hsps) have been revealed to facilitate correct folding of other proteins under diverse forms of physiological stresses,such as extreme temperatures,chemical toxicity and oxidative stress.To understand the molecular mechanism of cold tolerance in fish,we cloned the full-length cDNAs of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta of the Hsp60 family in nile tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus),and studied their expression patterns under normal and low temperature treatments.The TCP-1-beta cDNA consisted of 1755 bp and encoded a peptide of 534 amino acids.The TCP-1-eta cDNA consisted of 1651 bp and encoded a peptide of 545 amino acids.Multiple alignment and homological analysis revealed their evolutionary conservation and functional significance of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta among eukaryotes.Significantly,the deduced amino acid sequences of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta contained highly conserved amino-acid motifs and three ATP-binding sites.The tilapia TCP-1-beta was highly homologous with TCP-1-beta in other species,sharing 92% identities with Salmo salar and Danio rerio,89% with Xenopus laevis,88% with Mus musculus,87% with Homo sapiens,and 73% with Drosophila melanogaster.Tilapia TCP-1-eta shared 92% identities with that of Danio rerio,89% with Xenopus laevis,88% with Mus musculus,89% with Homo sapiens,and 76% with Drosophila melanogaster.Phylogenetic trees were also constructed among amino acid sequences of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta in eukaryotes.The tilapia TCP-1-beta was clustered with Notothenia coriiceps TCP-1-beta,and tilapia TCP-1-eta was clustered with Danio rerio TCP-1-eta.Total RNAs were extracted from seven tissues including spleen,gut,kidney,heart,brain,muscle and hepatopancreas.Using beta-actin as internal control,their expression patterns were analyzed by real-time PCR,in which TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta mRNA existed in all seven tissues,and expressed mainly in muscle.To study the response of TCP-1 to low temperatures,the mRNA levels of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta were analyzed in response to cold induction treatments.The experimental fishes were divided into five groups and kept at different temperatures(22℃,18℃,16℃,14℃ and 12℃) for 48 hours.Total RNAs were extracted from hepatopancreas tissue at different temperature treatments(22℃,18℃,16℃,14℃ and 12℃).Real-time PCR analysis revealed that TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta mRNA increased at 18℃ and peaked at 12℃.TCP-1-beta mRNA was 2.8 fold up-regulated at 18℃ compared to normal temperature at 22℃,and then held stable until the induction temperature changed to 12℃ which induced 12.2 fold increase in mRNA levels of TCP-1-beta.The expression level of TCP-1-eta was 2 fold upregulated at 18℃ compared to normal temperature at 22℃,and then a gradual increase in the level of TCP-1-eta was observed,reaching a peak of 10.7 fold increase at 12℃.The cold-induced expression of TCP-1-beta and TCP-1-eta suggested that they might be cold tolerance-related genes in Nile tilapia.Therefore,this study established a basis for studying the molecular mechanism of cold tolerance in Nile tilapia.


Penetrating warheads have to both defeat thick and high strength targets and have high blast effects. Lattice structures could help to enhance blast effect and reduce the weight of the penetrators. Additive manufacture provides a method to produce this concept. This paper details a programme to evaluate the perforation performance of such a penetrator. This study implemented an approach based on the integration of virtual and physical tests. A mesoscale numerical approach based on explicit high order finite element (HOFEM) was first developed to optimize the lattice pattern. The dynamic behaviour of this material was then determined using the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) technique and this was then used to fit a constitutive model in Impetus Afea Solver®. The modelling of the concrete penetration of small scale warhead was based on the advanced meshless approach coupled with HOFEM. The models developed enabled the determination, simultaneously, of the homogenised behaviour of the lattice material and also the global behaviour of the penetrators during and after the penetration. Seven ballistic tests against concrete targets were performed at Thiot Ingenierie to investigate the penetration capabilities of the additively manufactured penetrating warhead concept and especially when using a lattice pattern.


The increasing knowledge of adverse biological effects of exposure to ionizing radiation and development of molecular techniques allowing deeper insights into the mechanisms of radiation induced damage, led to controversial scienti ic debates regarding the effects of very low doses of ionizing radiation. There is a similar situation for exposure to chemical genotoxic agents in daily life. Therefore, nowadays the public is confronted with contradictory announcements of newly discovered health risks every day. As such, we read with great interest an article by Dr. Robert Brent entitled "Pregnancy and Radiation Exposure" which can be found online on the web site of the US Health Physics Society (HPS) (URL: http://hps.org/hpspublications/articles/ pregnancyandradiationexposureinfosheet.html) (1). In this article Dr. Brent states that "Because of the theoretical risks, we advise men who have had even diagnostic exposures to radiation to wait for at least two spermatogenesis cycles, which is about four months. While these very low exposures that occur from diagnostic radiological procedures are so low that there probably is not even a measurable risk, we still make this recommendation of waiting following the radiation exposure." On the other hand, in the fact sheet published by HPS entitled "Radiation Exposure and Pregnancy" (online at URL: http://hps.org/documents/pregnancy_fact_sheet.pdf ) it is claimed that " There is no evidence that your future children will be at a greater risk for birth defects from X‐ rays or radionuclide medical tests that you receive before becoming pregnant (2). This conclusion is based on extensive studies of women exposed to atomic‐bomb radiation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and those pregnant women who received x‐ray studies, radionuclide medical tests, and other medical radiation procedures". In this light we can conclude that HPS experts believe that only men who have had even diagnostic exposures to radiation are advised to wait before conception. This concept is not in line with the report published by Signorello et al. who stated that "Our indings do not support concern about heritable genetic changes affecting the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death in the offspring of men exposed to gonadal irradiation. However, uterine and ovarian irradiation had serious adverse effects on the offspring that were probably related to uterine damage" (3). Interestingly, ICRP‐84 clearly states that "Prenatal exposure to ionizing radiation as used during most diagnostic procedures generally presents no increased risk of prenatal death, malformation or impairment of mental development (i.e. deterministic effects) compared to the background incidence of these entities (4)". Furthermore, according to ICRP "Pre‐conception irradiation of either parent's gonads has not been shown to result in increased cancer or malformations in the children" (4). In contrast with ICRP viewpoints, a report by Busby et al. indicates that "the current concept of dose thresholds‐as high as * Corresponding author:


J. Agusti, M. Anton. 2002. Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press, New York, 313 pp. ISBN 0-231-11640-3, price (hardcover), $39.50.

Mammoths, sabertooths, and hominids is intended for a wide range of readers who are interested in the last 65 million years of mammalian evolution in Europe, with Europe defined broadly to include the area from Iberia to the Urals and Georgia. The book is divided into 7 chapters, 1 each on the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene, and 2 on the Miocene, 1 covering the early to middle Miocene and the other the late Miocene. To cover this broad sweep of time, the authors limit their coverage of systematics and phylogeny (focusing the discussion primarily at the generic level and limiting their coverage of generic origins to those instances that shed light on matters of biogeography or paleoenvironmental conditions) and take a relatively broad chronological focus. Rather than describing the numerous climatic trends, glaciations, immigrations, emigrations, and extinctions that are known to have occurred in each period, the authors cover broader trends, emphasizing the climatic and ecological state of affairs at the beginning, middle, and end of each period. The study gives balanced attention to herbivores, carnivores, insectivores, and omnivores as well as to large and small species. Primates, including humans, receive coverage, but not at the expense of other groups. On those few occasions when it is relevant …


Elucidating the evolutionary history of diversifying lineages in space and time remains a major chal‐ lenge in biology. The value of islands and island‐ like systems for studying this question has been long recognized by professional and amateur bi‐ ologists alike. First, many islands are young and thus have relatively low species diversity; this natural simplicity makes them easier to study. Second, most islands are geographically isolated, which means that insular lineages are often on an evolutionary track independent of external influ‐ ences from other areas. Finally, if part of an archi‐ pelago, islands can be viewed as replicates or snapshots in time of a natural experiment occur‐ ring at a spatial scale and a temporal scale of which experimental biologists could only dream. The considerable scientific attention devoted to island biotas has resulted in an increasingly com‐ plete picture of the geographical distribution of insular species. In addition, with the more recent advances in genetics and phylogenetics, it is now possible to infer the evolutionary processes re‐ sponsible for generating these observed bio‐ geographical patterns. Indeed, by combining infor‐ mation about the current geographical location of populations or species with a description of their genetic or phylogenetic relationship, it becomes possible to reconstruct the evolutionary history of diversifying lineages in their specific geographical contexts, a key step in evaluating the relative im‐ portance of determinism and contingency in evo‐ lutionary diversification (Losos and Ricklefs 2009). However, despite the relative simplicity of island systems, the study of their diversifying line‐ ages poses its own set of challenges. First, al‐ though island biogeographical studies often as‐ sume that islands are fixed in time and space, they are rather dynamic entities that might change in size, location, elevation, etc. over time. Oceanic islands in particular go through a series of predict‐ able "life" stages that are likely to influence their carrying capacity via changes in island area, topog‐ raphy, etc. (Whittaker et al. 2008). Furthermore, over time, geological forces combined with sea‐ level changes might create or eliminate land con‐ nections between islands, which could facilitate or hinder the dispersal and colonization of the geo‐ graphical areas involved. Second, island biotas often are at greater risk of extinction. This greater risk stems from a combination of factors. Impor‐ tantly, island species have limited ranges and as‐ sociated smaller population sizes, and they also are more susceptible to changes in their environ‐ ment caused by introduced species or habitat de‐ struction by human activities. Extinction events are difficult to detect and, if ignored, might lead researchers to draw erroneous conclusions from the observed patterns of biodiversity. Finally, not necessarily specific to island systems, the evolu‐ tionary history of any diversifying lineage might be blurred by human‐mediated dispersal. This effect is exacerbated on islands where dispersal can be quite limited between islands, and where humans might artificially increase the rates and/or modify the trajectories of organisms' natural dispersal. These three sources of variation—island dynamics, extinction, and introduction—most of‐ ten are ignored, or in the best‐case scenario sim‐ ply assumed to add noise to the diversification patterns observed. However, in a recent study of giant Galápagos tortoises, Poulakakis et al. (2012) tackled these three challenges by incorporating information about the dynamic geography of Galápagos, genetic data from extinct species, and information regarding human‐based dispersal of individuals in this group of species – highlighting their influence on the diversification patterns ob‐ served and reaching a better understanding of the diversification process in this lineage. In their study, Poulakakis and colleagues integrated DNA data from all known extinct and extant species, past information about inter‐island dispersal of giant tortoises by humans, and newly available data on the dynamics of the islands themselves. Overall this results in an updated and more com‐ prehensive picture of the diversification patterns update The (often ignored) role of vicariance in evolutionary diversifica‐ tion on oceanic islands


. The minimal integral Mahler measure of a number field K , M ( O K ) , is the minimal Mahler measure of an integral generator of K . Upper and lower bounds, which depend on the discriminant and degree of K , are known. We show that for three natural families of cubics, the lower bounds are sharp with respect to its growth as a function of discriminant. We construct an algorithm to compute M ( O K ) for all cubics with absolute value of the discriminant bounded by N and show the resulting data for N = 10 , 000 .


Introduction: Cervical lymphangiomas are lymphatic malformations that occur rarely in adult patients, they are usually masses that have their diagnosis and resolution at early ages, their origin is produced by embryological defects during development, they are frequently located in the cervical region particularly in the posterior triangle. Computed tomography scan is the study of choice due to its great contribution to determine extension and relationship with neighboring structures. As for treatment, the indication is complete resection of the mass. The definitive diagnosis will be based on the histopathological study of the sample. Clinical case: We introduce the case of a 78-year-old patient, who comes to consultation due to a cervical mass of 1 year of evolution and progressive growth. A right cervical mass is evidenced on physical examination; complementary tests are performed. Therefore, a complete resection of the mass is decided, procedure that is carried out without complications. In the histopathology study, a mass compatible with lymphangioma of the cystic hygroma type was reported. Conclusions: Cervical lymphangiomas are masses frequently found in children and exceptionally rare in adult patients, however, they should be included in the differential diagnosis of cervical masses. The treatment of choice is complete resection of the mass to avoid recurrence. In our case, complete resection of the cervical mass was achieved, without any complication and in subsequent controls no signs suggesting recurrence were observed.


We examine the relation between establishment size and age in the formal sector using survey data from 120 developing countries. Existing research suggests that manufacturing establishments in developing countries do not grow over time, most likely due to market imperfections and regulations. To the contrary, we find that the average plant in developing countries that is over 40 years old employs almost five times as many workers as the average plant five years or younger. We find consistent evidence when we look within a large country, India, using detailed manufacturing census data over 23 years. We also find that differences in financial development across Indian states, while substantial, have a minor effect on firm growth, consistent with inefficiency of state-owned financial systems. These results hold controlling for differences in labor regulations across states, capital intensity, labor regulations, and for firms born before and after the major reforms.


Two well-known but puzzling facts from the life of Socrates bring into question either what we know about him or what we know about Athenian democracy—or perhaps both. These facts are (a) his term as member of the Council (Boule) in 406/5 and (b) his military service as a hoplite. The first puzzle can be solved only in the context of the extraordinary crisis of manpower in Athens in 406. The second can be solved only if we assume that, despite his poverty, Socrates retained his inherited membership in the third-census class of zeugitai.


This research project was born from the recognition of
and consumer buying trends in the Internet which allows Colombians
propose better communication and dissemination actions Colombian companies to improve their performance in electronic spaces by providing their customers (current and potential) alternative analysis to problems of consumption through electronic means. The starting point is based on insufficient knowledge of buying behavior and decision making of Colombian consumers to new business realities such as the growth of electronic commerce, while the purchasing decision of consumers is determined by the movements of the global economy, the cultural, the entry of new players in the domestic market and the constant change on the criteria of quality of life, among others, the consumer is increasingly influenced.


In this paper, we propose a new fuzzy clustering algorithm using uncertainty-based entropy for brain MR image segmentation. To overcome this problem, we introduce an uncertainty measure, which defines a degree of improbable of a pixel for becoming a member of a cluster. In addition, we use this uncertainty measure to calculate the entropy for a particular pixel. The pixels in the tissue boundaries have higher entropy as the region is blurred due to noise and intensity inhomogeneity. Finally, a similarity measure, which is characterized by a Gaussian density function, is integrated both with this uncertainty measure and the fuzzy membership function. We suitable formulate the objective function of the proposed algorithm by integrating the above parameters; thereby addressing the limitations of the standard fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm. The simulation results of the proposed algorithm suggest that it is suitable for segmentation of brain MR images, especially in the presence of high percentage of noise and intensity inhomogeneity and even superior to some of the state-of-the art methods.


P 1 virus isolate with rod particle was isolated from peach trees with red leaf disease symptom. The isolate was identical with TMV in host range,particle morphology,dsRNA and serological reaction,but induced different symptoms on Gomphrena globosa and Tetragonia expansa as compared with the common isolate of TMV. Antiserum of P 1 isolate was prepared and used to detect field samples by indirect ELISA.The back inoculated seedlings with P 1 developed vein banding symptom and showed positive reaction by ELISA test .This is the first report of TMV infection on peach in China.


Introduction:  Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is an established method to diagnose hilar/mediastinal lymphadenopathies and/or masses. Real‐time endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is a method that involves TBNA, and has been shown to increase the diagnostic yield in this context.


With the growing interest in technological solutions aimed at combating money laundering, several studies involving the application of technology have been carried out. However, there were no records of studies aimed at identifying, selecting, rigorously analyzing and synthesizing the literature on solutions that adopt technology to combat money laundering. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on the application of technological solutions in the fight against money laundering. Seventy-one papers were selected from the 795 studies initially retrieved for data extraction, analysis and synthesis based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results obtained with the data analysis made it possible to identify a general categorization of the domains of application of the approaches, as well as a mapping and classification of the support mechanisms adopted. The findings of this review showed that, among the application domain categories identified, the detection of suspicious transactions attracted greater attention from researchers. Regarding the support mechanisms adopted, the application of data mining techniques was used more extensively to detect money laundering. Topics for further research and refinement were also identified, such as the need for a better description of data analysis to provide more convincing evidence to support the benefits presented.


We report an alternative technique which utilizes fast-proton irradiation prior to electrochemical etching for three-dimensional microfabrication in bulk p-type silicon. The proton-induced damage increases the resistivity of the irradiated regions and acts as an etch stop for porous silicon formation. A raised structure of the scanned area is left behind after removal of the unirradiated regions with potassium hydroxide. By exposing the silicon to different proton energies, the implanted depth and hence structure height can be precisely varied. We demonstrate the versatility of this three-dimensional patterning process to create multilevel free-standing bridges in bulk silicon, as well as submicron pillars and high aspect-ratio nanotips.


The traditional historiography of movies is descriptive and little contributes to an understanding of the mutations of the process of production of films and of contents transmitted by them. The few studies of Marxist orientation on the movies suffer of methodological and theoretical problems due to the influence of Lenin's theory of reflex, and a realistic aesthetic derived of it. The historical materialism assumes, therefore, a fundamental role to surpass many the limits of the traditional historiography of the movies as the contributions supposedly Marxist in that area. Categories such as totality, fundamental determination and the concepts of capitalism, fight of classes, capital accumulation, ideology, among others, are the key for the production of a rebuilding history of movies, having as a base the historical materialism. KEYS WORDS: history of movies, historical materialism, film, totality, ideology.


In order to make more original creators can protect one's own development achievement and intellectual property right effectively,this paper introduced the encryption chip DM2016,including it's configuration,characteristic and application in the digital television.Also it gave the encryption implementation and application of the BlowFish algorithm in the embedded system.


In the paper the possibility of using Delphi programming language in the design of the tooth profile was presented. A developed numerical application was used to generate a tooth profile of involute cylindrical gears with modification and without modification. The size of modifications of the tooth root and the addendum was compared with the parameters obtained from the analytical calculations and machining simulation of gears.


It is well known that binary indexes are not generally suitable for making multiple comparisons of quantities and/or prices because they fail a transitivity test. A common solution to the problem involves a geometric averaging procedure attributed to Elteto and Koves (1964) and Szulc (1964). However, so-called EKS indexes fail an identity test. This paper constructs indexes for multiple comparisons within an aggregate quantity-price framework. Such indexes satisfy nine fundamentally important tests: weak monotonicity, identity, commensurability, proportionality, time-space reversal, transitivity, circularity, and two homogeneity tests. A numerical example is used to illustrate that indexes widely used by national statistical agencies are biased. For example, chained Tornqvist and EKS indexes indicate that two identical quantity vectors differ by more than 2%. Three alternative indexes (Lowe, geometric Young and Fare-Primont) plausibly take the value one.


The planet's biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human activities. We have heard this before, and the global mantra to stop the damage has forged numerous international panels and agreements over the past 15 years. Yet despite these efforts to ensure biodiversity conservation, we have


Medical image fusion strategy assumes an undeniably basic job in numerous clinical applications by getting the corresponding data from clinical pictures with various modalities. The combination of these pictures assists doctors with giving dependable and exact clinical finding to their patients, and explores in any case outlandish medical procedures. The segmentation by ANN for these sub-pictures are utilized to get the areas of each level. So as to lessen the computational multifaceted nature, the proposed calculation is utilized to accomplish image segmentation.


This paper deals with the electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation modeling in complex tunnel environments. We propose a novel segmented alternating direction implicit finite difference time domain (S-ADI-FDTD) method for modeling the electromagnetic wave propagation inside an electrically large tunnel. The proposed S-ADI-FDTD method reduces the computational redundancy by dividing the problem space into segments. It also allows use of larger cells in each segment. To validate this method, we simulate the propagation in real tunnels and compare the results with the published experimental data. The comparisons reveal that the proposed S-ADI-FDTD method can predict the fields most accurately in real, large tunnels at longer ranges.


Interface potential barrier heights for ultrathin silicon oxides (15– 44 A) on silicon and effective electron masses in some of these oxides are evaluated. Evaluation is performed using a new technique of analyzing the charging characteristics of metal‐nitride‐oxide‐semiconductor capacitors. Oxides thicker than 36 A have the same potential barrier heights as those for thick oxides, assuming the effective electron mass of the oxides is the same. However, for oxides thinner than 31 A, the potential barrier heights decrease and the effective electron masses increase as the oxide thickness decreases. These results suggest that oxides at least thicker than 36 A can be applied to metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors as gate oxides.


The invention relates to a brake system for motor vehicles, the operating mode both by the vehicle operator as well as independently of the vehicle driver is controllable in a 'brake-by-wire ", preferably operating mode is operated in the' brake-by-wire" and are operated in at least a fallback mode of operation may, in the only operation by the vehicle driver is possible. The brake system includes, inter alia, an electro-hydraulic pressure source (5), which emits a braking system pressure, and a pressure modulation unit (200) which each wheel brake (8, 9, 10, 11) an inlet valve (6a-6d) and an outlet (7a-7d ) for adjusting wheel-individual brake pressures, which are derived from the brake system pressure, wherein the intake and exhaust valves (6a-6d, 7a-7d) proposed for the brake system pressure in the non-driven state or forward. In order to perform a self-test at a abovementioned brake system without any communication with the pressure modulation unit (200) or without their involvement, the invention proposes that electrically controllable means (24a, 24b) are provided in driven state an outflow of pressure medium lock from the operation unit (2).


It is a hot topic of the higher education in China that how to construct the first-class university.Taking the pattern of first-class university,the Southwest United University for example,the author discusses about the ideas in running school,academic localization,true meaning of union.


This paper describes studies carried out to examine the influence_x000D_
on strength and chloride ingress when Portland cement is replaced_x000D_
with limestone filler. In the chloride ingress stud ...


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reliable and steady working conditions of train agent systems while connected to the internet. The train agents can provide more accurate assistant navigation service and more useful "live" information service to ensure traveling crane safety. However, all these services seriously rely on reliability and stability of communication quality of the train agents. To ensure the stable and continuous work of the train agents, the stochastic model of the train agent communication is investigated in this paper.Design/methodology/approach – According to Markov theory, the stochastic model of the train agent communication is established, the reliability of which is also investigated, the availability and mean‐link interruption times in steady state are then given out.Findings – In the end, the steady working condition and controllability of the train agents are discussed.Research limitations/implications – The correctness of the mathematic model in the main ...


Purpose: To assess the incidence of nephrotoxicity following i.v. injection of the iodinated low-osmolality contrast medium ioversol 300 (Optiray) in a geriatric population compared with a control group aged under 60 years, neither group presenting any associated risk factors. Material and Methods: CT with i.v. bolus injection of ioversol 300 mg I/ml was performed at a mean dose of 1.36±0.06 ml/kg (range 1–2 ml/kg b.w.) in 47 patients aged over 69 years. Serum creatinine level was measured and creatinine clearance was calculated at 24, 48 and 72 h after the examination, and compared to a reference serum creatinine value taken before CT. The findings were compared with a control group of 44 patients aged under 60 years. Results: No significant increase in serum creatinine (+0.6 mmol/l) or in creatinine clearance (+0.7 ml/min) was found during the course of 3 days after the injection. Only one patient (aged 82) presented an increase of 25% in serum creatinine (109 mmol/l). Conclusion: The trial did not demonstrate any significant difference between the 2 groups, although the elderly patients had a subclinical renal impairment revealed by the decrease of the initial creatinine clearance. The use of low-osmolality ioversol makes it possible to perform examination with an iodinated contrast agent without increasing the incidence of nephrotoxicity in elderly subjects.


Environment of multi-agent systems is often very complex. Therefore it is sometimes difficult, or even impossible, to specify and implement all system details a priori. Application of machine learning algorithms allows to overcome this problem. One can implement an agent that is not perfect, but improves its performance. There are many learning methods that can be used to generate knowledge or strategy in a multi-agent system. Choosing an appropriate one, which fits a given problem, can be a difficult task. The aim of the research presented here was to test applicability of reinforcement learning and supervised rule learning strategies in the same problem. Reinforcement learning is the most common technique in multi-agent systems. It allows to generate a strategy for an agent in a situation, when the environment provides some feedback after the agent has acted. Symbolic, supervised learning is not so widely used in multi-agent systems. There are many methods belonging to this class that generate knowledge from data. Here a rule induction algorithm is used. It generates a rule-based classifier, which assigns a class to a given example. As an input it needs examples, where the class is assigned by some teacher. We show how observation of other agents' actions can be used instead of the teacher. As an environment the Fish Banks game is used. It is a simulation, in which agents run fishing companies and its main task is to decide how many ships send for fishing, and where to send them. Four types of agents are created. Reinforcement learning agent and supervised learning agent improve their allocation performance using appropriate learning strategy. As a reference two additional types of agents are introduced: random agent, which chooses allocation action randomly, and predicting agent, which assumes that fishing results will be the same as in previous round, and allocates ships using this simple prediction. In the next section related research on learning in multi-agent systems is briefly presented. The third section explains details of the environment, architecture and behaviours of the agents. Next, results of several experiments, which were performed to compare mentioned learning methods, are presented and discussed. Results show that both of them give good results. However; both of them have some advantages and disadvantages. In the last two sections conclusions and further research are presented. O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w .in te ch w eb .o rg


The invention belongs to the field of glass manufacturing and discloses a clarifying agent for TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) glass. The clarifying agent is strontium chloride of which the weight percent is 0.12-0.36% of the weight of the TFT-LCD glass raw materials. Due to the adoption of the clarifying agent, the weight percent of the strontium oxide correspondingly generated in the TFT-LCD glass is 0.5-1.5%. The invention also discloses a use method of the clarifying agent. The use method comprises the steps of mixing, founding and annealing. The invention also discloses an application of the strontium chloride which is used as the clarifying agent for the TFT-LCD glass. The invention provides a new application of the strontium chloride, which is the clarifying agent for manufacturing a TFT-LCD glass substrate; the content of hydroxyl in liquid glass is reduced; a clarifying effect is achieved; the air bubbles are reduced; and according to the use method, the optimal effect of the clarifying agent is achieved and the optimal classifying effect is achieved.


We have developed a new method for nondestructive instrument method to monitor the health of a bridge. This new method is based on a transient test load and simple data collection. The nuclear of the method is the new invented nonstationary and nonlinear time series analysis method, the Empirical Mode Decomposition and Hilbert Spectral Analysis. The final decision on the health of the bridge structure is based on the nonlinear characteristic of the data, and on the comparison between the free and the forced vibration frequencies. Thus this alternative method enjoys many advantages: (1) no a priori data required, (2) simple data collection, and (3) minimum traffic disruption. Results from a case study of the Shing-Nan Bridge in Hou-Wei will be reported.


This paper proposes a pre-processing model for character recognition by neural networks. In character recognition, it is important to extract a character from a given input pattern. If this input character is different from the training patterns in position and/or scale, the recognition rate will decrease. Hence, where the character size is far larger or smaller than those in the training patterns, it is necessary to extract the character. The proposed model uses a large input layer from which it can extract a character. This model will be useful in the realization of optical character reader system by neural networks.


In 1929 B.N. Delaunay obtained the complete classification of all possible combinatorial coincidence types of parallelohedra at their faces of codimension 3. It appeared that every such coincidence is dual to one of the following five three-dimensional polytopes: a tetrahedron, a quadrangular pyramid, an octahedron, a triangular prism, or a parallelepiped. The present paper contains a new combinatorial proof of this result based on Euler formula. Using the classification, we have obtained several further properties of faces of codimension 3 in parallelohedral tilings. For instance, we showed that the Dimension Conjecture holds for faces of codimension 3, i.e. if we take the affine hull of centers of all parallelohedra containing a particular face of codimension 3, this affine hull is three-dimensional. Finally, we proved that the set of centers of all parallelohedra sharing a face of codimension 3 spans a three-dimensional sublattice of index one.


Recently, remote phosphors have been reported for application to white LEDs to provide enhanced phosphor efficiency compared with conventional phosphor-based white LEDs. In this study, a remote phosphor was produced by coating via screen printing on a glass substrate with different numbers of phosphor coating. The paste consists of phosphor, lowest softening glass frits, and organic binders. The remote phosphor could be well controlled by varying the phosphor content rated paste. After mounting the remote phosphor on top of a blue LED chip, CCT, CRI, and luminance efficiency were measured and values of 5300 K, 62, and 117 lm/W were respectively obtained in the 80 wt% phosphor with 3 coating layers sintered at 800℃.