It has been known for a long time that placebo effects play an important role in the manifestation of analgesia, and, in addition, that the particular circumstances contribute much to the intensity of this placebo analgesia. Thus, it has been found that in the treatment of postoperative pain, placebos are more effective when the patients are in a pronounced stress situation; surprisingly, morphine, too, has proved to be more effective under such circumstances (Beecher. 1955.1957; Lasagna et al., 1954). The placebo problem reached a new dimension after the detection of endogenous ligands of the opioid receptors, the opioid peptides or endorphins. The present paper discusses some aspects of the involvement of opioid peptides in placebo phenomena.


High leakage currents and short channel effects become significant enough to be the major concerns for circuit designers as semiconductor devices are miniaturized. Tunnel field effect transistor(TFET) show good scalability and have very low leakage current .These transistors have very low leakage current, good sub-threshold swing, improved short channel characteristics and lesser temperature sensitivity. In this paper a dual material gate (DMG) in a tunnel field effect transistor is proposed in order to optimize ON current and nature of output characteristics. Significant improvement is shown by a TFET if appropriate work functions are chosen for gate material on the source side and drain side. A dual material gate in double gate TFET is applied to show an overall improvement in performance. In comparison with conventional TFET, the proposed model provides a higher ON state current.


NADH is a strongly reducing agent and has been suggested to act – possibly by indirect means – as important antioxidant. Only recently direct antioxidative effects of NADH were demonstrated, and NADH was suggested as major antioxidant in mitochondria [1]. We investigated antioxidant effects of NADH both in vitro and in vivo. We employed various techniques because data on antioxidative effects of diverse compounds depend strongly on the methods used.


Each TV program has its lifecycle,all composed of four main phases: startup,development,maturity and decline.The expansion strategy is obligatory for the "longevity" of TV program brand.This article attempts to summarize and analyze the basic principles,the elements and strategies of brand expansion of Lecture Room,aiming at providing suggestions and experiences for brand expansion of TV programs.


Various dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma sources were used to reduce the NOx content of diesel engine exhaust. Discharge frequencies were varyied from 400 Hz to 28.5 kHz. Soot lters were used to control the e ect of the discharge on the particle content in the engine emissions. A 95 % decrease in NO and a 70 % reduction in NOx were obtained. We found that the application of a discharge increased the e ciency of carbon-particle removal by 1.4 times.


Design is a knowledge intensive activity, which depends on information to be undertaken. Previous designs, recent innovations, new techniques and materials must be taken into account when working on a new project, whatever its nature. Therefore, retrieving appropriate information is of paramount importance to the design process. Information retrieval is an established field, which has seen great progress in recent years. However, as the amount of unstructured information available increases, it becomes harder to retrieve the most relevant information using standard techniques and, frequently, users end up with results that don't fulfill their information needs. In this paper, we present an approach to improve retrieval using query expansion through ontologies allied to faceted navigation. We constructed the Ontoogle tool, which uses an ontology describing a domain to expand the query and define result ranking and presentation using Faceted Navigation. This proposal was evaluated in a case study and the results indicate that this approach contributes to increased satisfaction and confidence of users during their search process.


Objective: To observe the curative joint semiconductor laser and rehabilitation training on the curative effect of patients with hemiplegia after stroke shoulder pain. Methods: 136 cases of cerebral apoplexy hemiplegia shoulder pain patients were randomly divided into control group and observation group, 68 cases each. Treatment with the control group only simple rehabilitation training, observation group was treated with acusector joint semiconductor laser and rehabilitation training. In before and after 2 courses of treatment using Fugl- Meyer scale(FMA) and pain score(NRS), respectively, to assess two groups of patients with lateral limb motor function and the degree of pain. Results: After 2 courses of treatment, two groups of patients before the treatment can significantly improve, NRS score group is lower than the control group, the FMA score observation group is higher than the control group(P 0.05). Conclusion: Acusector joint semiconductor laser and rehabilitation treatment for hemiplegia after stroke shoulder pain curative effect is satisfied.


The presence of unobserved heterogeneity in crash data can result in estimation of biased model parameters and incorrect inferences. The research presented in this paper investigated severity of crashes reported at highway–rail grade crossings by appropriately clustering the data, accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. A combination of data mining and statistical regression methods was used to cluster crash data into subsets and then to identify factors associated with crash injury severity levels. This research relied on highway–rail accident, incident, and crossing inventory databases for 2011 to 2015 obtained from FRA. Three clustering methods—K-means, traditional latent class cluster, and variational Bayesian latent class cluster—were considered, and the variational Bayesian latent class cluster method was chosen for partitioning the data set for model estimation. Unclustered data as well as the clustered subsets were used to estimate ordered logit models for crash injury severity. A comparison revealed that the cluster-based approach provided more relevant model parameters and identified factors relevant only to certain clusters of the data.


Pseudoaneurysm may be defined as a tear through the arterial wall with persistent flow outside the vessel into a space contained by the surrounding tissue. Aortic pseudoaneurysm may occur after surgery for acute aortic dissection and commonly occurs at sites of aortic wall disruption. The arterial site cannulation and anastomosis lines are the main locations. It could develop subclinically, leading to chronic and complex pathological patterns, which make surgical management challenging. Therefore, accurate postsurgical imaging is essential in order to avoid later complications, often associated with fatal consequences. Surgical treatment is complex and often associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the therapeutic strategy


TAEDS (Theatre Arts, Education and Deaf Studies) was a unique B.A. degree at the University of Reading, U.K., established in 1996, with the last students graduating in 2018. Originally designed to train deaf people in drama teaching and leadership, deaf and hearing students followed the programme, which featured Sign Theatre, using British Sign Language within theatre. Over the years, TAEDS' low entry tariff and diverse and inclusive curriculum attracted many non-traditional students,
while the proportion of deaf students declined in comparison to hearing. In this study, TAEDS' development and demise is considered in the context of drama in education in Britain; widening participation; employability and gendered choices in arts higher education. Identity development and issues within deafness and deaf education are also explored. This qualitative case study focuses on the perceptions of TAEDS alumni, from within a socially constructivist perspective. It investigates how alumni experiences before and during TAEDS impacted on their personal and professional identity development and high employability, in particular how drama within this context facilitated
academic self-confidence and success. Both the structure of the study and the methodology are framed within the conceptual metaphor of a tree. Methods consist of an online survey; a paper questionnaire; a sample of interviews and a participant 'TAEDS tree' visual image. Findings are analysed using the constant comparative method and reveal a distinctive TAEDS graduate identity,
within a strong alumni community. This analysis reveals the transformative effects of drama on marginalised students and identifies features of TAEDS which could be replicated in future nontraditional widening participation programmes. Although the outcomes are not generalisable, they contribute to educational knowledge through the particular methodological framework: by showing how the mainly female alumni can transcend gendered habitus; in advancing understanding of the
importance of drama within twenty-first century education; in questioning concepts of employability
and in raising awareness of TAEDS' value in contributing to a more democratic society, where the
arts and social justice are valued.


The aim of this study is to investigate the informal ideas that secondary school pupils hold in the domain of electrical circuits. The research was based on a written questionnaire given to 1037 Greek pupils attending Gymnasium and Lyceum (ages 13-17). For the statistical treatment of results, the confidence interval method was used. Among the findings were that some ideas are conserved even after the formal teaching of electrical circuits. Thus, several pupils when interpreting and/or predicting electrical phenomena, they do not differentiate the concepts of electric current and electric energy, and use causal relationships involving only the actual number of batteries and bulbs included in a given circuit. Also, after the teaching, a considerable number of pupils appeared to treat changes occurring in parts of circuits in a local and sequential way. Finally, implications of these pupils' alternative ideas for the teaching are analyzed, and suggestions are made for its improvement.


This paper attempts to develop a formal economic framework to analyze the influences of domestic political considerations by democratic governments in shaping the WTO enforcement outcomes in the wake of a violation ruling against the defendant. Since a different mix of import and export sectors in the defendant and complainant country will benefit from the various potential enforcement outcomes, they become competing forces which steer the strategic interactions between the disputing governments. The results of the paper illustrate the complainant's strategy in selecting the retaliation list, and the likelihood of the defendant's compliance or compensation in response to the proposed or foreseeable retaliation, given the political and economic environments on both sides of the disputing parties. This paper also captures the possibility of enforcement failures under the current WTO dispute settlement procedure, where the complainant does not have enough retaliation capacity to induce compliance or some form of compensation from the defendant.


The results of a comparative study of the morphology of the eyes in two orders of birds are presented in this paper. The species studied each belong to a different family, possess different modes of life, obtain their food differently, nest in different situations, and spend most of their lives in different layers of separate ecological associations. Six species were examined for this study. The Passeriform birds are: the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, of the family Ploceidae; the mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, representing the family Mimidae; the meadowlark, Sturnella magna, of the family Icteridae. The Falconiformes are: the turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, of the family Cathartidae; the sparrow hawk, Falco sparverius, representing the family Falconidae; and the red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis (_ B. borealis), of the family Accipitridae. A major difference in the life habits between the two orders might be pointed out. The species belonging to the order Falconiformes usually spot their food from a distance considerably greater than that of the passeriform species, and only the sparrow hawk need fear an attack from raptorial predators. Those species belonging to the order Passeriformes, however, have two primary uses for their eyes; first, searching for food usually from relatively much closer distances and second, keeping a constant lookout for predators.


Despite many available patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) for laryngeal movement disorders, there is a lack of patient input regarding which PROM most accurately and conveniently captures aspects related to their vocal disease. This study aimed to assess patients' preferences among a selection of voice‐related PROMs (Voice Handicap Index‐10 [VHI‐10], OMNI‐Vocal Effort Scale [OMNI‐VES], Communicative Participation Item Bank‐General Short Form [CPIB‐10], and Visual Analog Scales [VAS]) within the laryngeal movement disorder population and investigate associations between selected instruments.


Measurements of streamflow, ground-water levels, and meterological data obtained in a 4.1-mile reach of the flood plain of Cottonwood Wash, Mohave County, Ariz., define the use of water by riparian vegetation in that part of the stream valley. The computed evapotranspiration loss during the growing season of 1959 was 175 acre-feet, which represented about 33 percent of the water that entered the reach. The maximum rate of loss during the season was slightly more than 8 acre-feet per week, or about 60 percent of the inflow. The project reach is divided into two parts: An upstream subreachof 2.6 miles and a downstream subreach of 1.5 miles. Seasonal losses in the upstream and downstream subreaches were 75 and 100 acre-feet respectively. Losses in the shorter downstream subreach were larger because of the greater plant population. During the summer of 1960 the vegetation in the lower subreach will be chemically defoliated as a part of the experiment to determine the savings in water losses that can be effected by modifying riparian vegetation. Tests on chemical defoliants indicate that a single spraying eliminates the leaves on Cottonwood trees for 7 or 8 days and that no permanent damage results.


A study was conducted to evaluate the use of the General Atomic Company (GA) high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to generate intermediate load and peak power by using heat-transfer salt (HTS) thermal storage. The study investigated the technical and economic aspects of the conceptual design to confirm the system's viability for this application. Using a reference thermal power level of 2000 MW(t), preliminary system analysis was performed and a selection of the system configuration was completed. The approach to the study consisted of establishing a reference point by selecting a peaking capacity, duty cycle, and the thermal power split between the base load and peaking plant. The reference point design served as a basis for evaluating the technical and economic aspects of the system. Using the same salt storage loop and conversion system, the evaluation was extended to larger and smaller reactor sizes to assess economic attractiveness. Conceptual design data are provided for the major plant components. Preliminary cost estimates for the plant design and power costs were performed for the selected reference design.


Published guidelines mandate complete device removal in cases of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infection. Clinical predictors of successful salvage of infected CIEDs have not been defined.


SUMMARY Prolonged terrestrial fasting is a key element in the life history of elephant seals. While on land seals typically fast without access to fresh water, and thus must maintain positive water balance by reductions in water loss such that they can subsist primarily on metabolic water production (MWP). The terrestrial apnea demonstrated by seals may reduce respiratory evaporative water loss (REWL) to levels that allow seals to make a net gain of water from MWP. We empirically measured REWL in 13 fasting northern elephant seal pups and determined the effects on water conservation of a breathing mode that incorporates a regular pattern of apneas, of ≥1 min in duration, followed by eupneic recovery, compared with a breathing mode with no apneas longer than 20 s and resembling typical breathing patterns in other mammals (normative breathing). Overall REWL fell 41% from 0.075±0.013 g min-1 (mean ± s.d.) during normative breathing to 0.044±0.006 g min-1 during apneic breathing. The decline in REWL is attributed to a decrease in overall ventilation rate, made possible by a decline in metabolic rate along with an increase in oxygen extraction that would occur during apneic breathing. Data on the range of ambient humidity conditions at the local breeding site were collected and used to bound the range of environmental conditions used in laboratory measurements. Our data showed that the observed variations in ambient humidity had no significant effect on REWL. A combination of apneic breathing and the complex nasal turbinates allows fasting elephant seals to reduce REWL well below the rate of MWP so that they can maintain water balance during the fast.


AbstractThe present study explores the synthesis of impregnated resin and its adsorption efficiency for the removal of carbofuran and methylparathion from aqueous media through static and dynamic adsorption methods. Different factors that affect the adsorption process were optimized as pH 5, adsorbent dosage 30 mg and agitation time 45 min for carbofuran and 60 min for methylparathion. The adsorption data were found to be best fitted with Freundlich isotherm and follow pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition to this, it was found from intraparticle diffusion model which explores that the adsorption of both pesticides may involve the film diffusion process as the rate limiting step. Thomas model rate constant (kTH) was found to be 0.0015 cm3 mg−1 min−1 for both pesticides, whereas maximum solid-phase concentration (q0) was found to be 22.58 and 34.05 mg g−1 for carbofuran and methylparathion, respectively, through dynamic adsorption study. The resin can be regenerated and reused effectively for real...


We study the impacts of practical pulse-shaping on the performance of orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) systems with a matched filter based analog receiver. Unlike most existing OTFS works that use a sampling and DFT-based digital receiver, we investigate the OTFS waveform in a precise manner by strictly following the continuous-time Heisenberg and Wigner transforms as in the original OTFS architecture. Closed-form expressions of the cross-ambiguity functions of several practical pulses are developed to facilitate the modeling and analysis of the analog architecture. In particular, we derive a matrix representation of the input-output relationship of the OTFS system with the help of an equivalent discrete delay-Doppler channel spread function, which incorporates the combined effects of the physical propagation channel, the bandwidth and duration restrictions imposed on the OTFS signals, and the transmit and receive pulses. Numerical results demonstrated that under the analog OTFS architecture, practical rectangular pulse-shaping waveforms can achieve similar performance as the ideal bi-orthogonal robust waveforms in high mobility scenarios.


Base on information retrieval system's search function (such as the retrieval rule, searchable fields), user retrieval interface, result output (such as output content, sorting way), system revelation (help system) and so on, the paper analyzes the necessity of the IRS standardization and puts forward some proposals on the standardization.


(57) Abstract: continuous operation type can decorator, has a plurality of mandrel subassemblies (40). Mandrel subassemblies (40) is spaced equidistantly between and what mandrel subassemblies (40) close to each other, is attached to this carrier (18) rotating. Subassembly (40) reciprocates in a radial direction relative thereto about a carrier axis (80). Each mandrel subassembly (40) includes a monorail support arm extending radially attaching the (51) (41) extending radially, monorail (51), the guide bearing unit on the carrier (18) (90 ) extends through the. Mounting structure of the mandrel rotation axis of the arm (41) for reciprocating is eccentric type, so providing an individually operable means for adjusting the distance between the axis of rotation and the mandrel rotation axis of the carrier ing. Its through fact flexible hose having a single loop which is formed by bending it over the entire length (83), selectively supplying vacuum and compressed air to each mandrel subassembly (40).


To improve the accuracy of boundary locations and region homogeneity in texture image segmentation, novel adaptive texture segmentation is proposed. In this model, a texture is considered containing both structural and stochastic feature components. These two components are represented by gaussian markov random field (GMRF) model and Gabor wavelet filters. Experimental results are presented and demonstrated that the new adaptive model can better represent a wide variety of textures and hence can lead to better texture segmentation results.


The electricity consumption patterns of food vendors within the University of Lagos 2001 Cafeteria complex on daily and seasonal bases as function of users' behavioral and load demands are characterized. This paper investigates the capability of using multivariable linear regression (MLR) and condition demand analysis (CDA) as methodologies to determine the consumption patterns of unmetered food vendors in a deregulated power system. These approaches can help in developing a unique sustainability model, based on food vendor's behaviour from the use of appliances in the cafeteria. It is anticipated that this model would enable automatic allocation of electricity consumption to unmetered food vendors. The profiles for individual food vendors, which contribute towards the aggregate load profile for the cafeteria complex, are characterized. The integration of this load-shape allocation model with the ongoing development of an alternative renewable power generation from food waste is capable of reducing peak-demand from the local grid.


Thesis. M.Sc. American University of Beirut. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. Faculty of Health Science 2015. W 4 B624ab 2015


Hines has shown opportunity of using "dynamic surface modes" to realize non reciprocal devices in microwave range. At low frequencies the lowfield losses of the ferrite limit the working of these devices. The authors show that the "magnetostatic surface mode" allows the realization of non reciprocal devices working at frequencies lower than that of ferrite resonance. An isolator in the range 200 to 425 Mc/s is presented.


In 2009, the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought (EJHET) and the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) launched the initiative to publish a special annual issue of EJHET with a selection of papers presented at the ESHET conference of the year before. In the thirteenth year of this collaboration, the result is one more time a special issue that testifies to the shared commitment of the society and the journal in disseminating a panel of original research in the History of Economic Thought. The 24th annual ESHET conference took place at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) at Sofia, Bulgaria, from 8 to 10 October 2021. It had originally been scheduled to happen there from 28 to 30 May 2020. At that time, however, the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, and the conference had to be postponed. Since a large number of papers had been submitted and selected for presentation, it was decided to produce a "virtual" conference issue nevertheless. A selection of papers was published after the usual procedures of evaluation in the December 2021 issue of EJHET (see volume 28, issue 6 of this journal). During the editorial process that issue carried the project name "virtual Sofia", or "Sofia I". The present issue (of December 2022) has accordingly been dubbed "real Sofia" or "Sofia II". It contains a number of papers that were presented when the ESHET conference finally materialised at the UNWE in 2021. The general conference theme was "Development and Underdevelopment in the History of Economic Thought", but the sessions covered a much wider range of topics. Many of them were organised in a hybrid set-up – partly on the ground, partly online – since the ongoing pandemic hindered many participants from travelling to Sofia. The organisers faced considerable logistic challenges in these arrangements, but they met them well. Most of the participants felt that such mixed interaction was an important step in the return to normality. The first contribution to the present issue is the presidential address, given by Richard van den Berg under the title "'Esclave n e de quiconque l'ach ete' The multiple histories of economic texts". In his function as ESHET president (in the period 2020–2022), van den Berg points out that doing history of economic thought can mean many different things which he groups under the questions how a text was made, what it was made for, what it was used for, and what use is the text to us still. He gives numerous "classical" examples for the relevance and variety of implications in these questions which he deems to be greater than the diversity of methods employed in answering them. Van den Berg's conclusion is that "for the history of economic thought to retain its vitality and remain a field of study that is intellectually serious, and open and pluriform, we need all these perspectives addressed".


Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder where its prevalence has steadily been on the increase all over the world. It is characterized by increased generation of free oxygen radicals leading to oxidative stress. Hence supplementation of dietary antioxidants especially in the hypoglycemic therapy presents good prospects in its management.
 Aim: To evaluate the synergistic effect of ascorbic acid supplementation of a hypoglycemic agent on blood glucose, lipid profile and inflammatory response in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients.
 Methods: A total of 160 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study. Patients were divided into 4 groups of 40 patients each. Anthropometric characteristics of all patients were measured at baseline. Control group received randomly glibenclamide 5mg daily, the first experimental groups received 5mg of glibenclamide with 600mg (0.6g) of ascorbic acid orally daily, the second group received 5mg of glibenclamide with 1,200mg (1.2g) of ascorbic acid orally while the third group received 5mg of glibenclamide with 1,800mg (1.8g) of ascorbic acid. The treatment lasted for nine weeks after which serum biochemical parameters of all patients were determined and recorded.
 Results: Our results showed that ascorbic acid supplementation caused a significant decrease (p 0.05) in between the groups. However, the HDL recorded a significant increase (p<0.05) in the treatment group supplemented with 1,800mg (1.8g) of ascorbic acid at the end of the 9th week compared to the control and the other ascorbic acid supplemented groups. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the 1.2g and 1.8g ascorbic acid supplemented groups at the end of the sixth week. Further progressive reduction at the end of the ninth week in all ascorbic acid supplemented group was also observed. Similar results were obtained for the other inflammatory biomarkers; leptin and adiponectin.
 Conclusion: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in a dose of between 1.2g and 1.8g per day as add on therapy to oral hypoglycemic agent synergistically causes an improvement in blood glucose, lipid profile and inflammatory response to the desirable levels hence mitigating the risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus complications.


There is no doubt that capitalism is one of the dominant economic systems today, has been transformed into a new ideology. If the beginning only revolved around free markets, unlimited private ownership, then now it is more of a new culture, lifestyle and even civilization. That dictates all aspects of human life. As a civilization, Capitalism has faced resistance from Islam. Islam, which is usually seen as only a religion, is actually more than just a religion, but includes the basic elements of a civilization. If Capitalism builds a civilization with its distinctive points regarding the theory of socio-economic growth, then Islam does not see it as a basic foundation. Today in Islam, the life of the world is always closely related to the concept of the afterlife. Meanwhile, capitalism separates morality from theology. Furthermore, Islam does not deny the need for rationality to solve the problems of world life, but the rational concept in Islam is not only limited to mathematical logic, it also involves a spiritual dimension. By using the descriptive analytical method, this study produces several important conclusions, namely: First, to overcome scientific problems that have been penetrated by secular Western civilization, Second, the development of the ideology of Capitalism has changed the human perspective in thinking resulting in a lack of moral values and secular ideology. Third, the existence of Al-Faruqi's thought which is based on Tawheed which contributes to a solution to the lack of scientific values which also affects the people's mindset. So from the research results it can be concluded that if a science is successful it will destroy all aspects of life both in terms of ideology or morals.


Tattvasamgraha written by Santaraksita opens with a salutation to the (1) Buddha who taught the doctrine of pratityasamutpada. Fundamentally this work, therefore, explains the doctrine of pratityasamutpada from different. views. According to Kamalasila, an excellent commentater on the subject, ' the Bahirarthapariksa' of the Tattvasamgraha is set forth in order to prove that the origination of the world depends upon only 'consciousness' or vijnana. In this chapter named 'the examination of the external object', the author quotes many views insisting upon the existence of the external object, and points out their absurdity. Kamalasila explains the most basic standpoint, the vijn"anavada of Santaraksita at the beginning of his commentary on this, chapter. He says that the Vijnanavadins think; the triple world is beingonly-consciousness (vijnaptimatrata), and this vijn"ana, though the diversity of chains of each individual, is endless and impure for persons who have not (2) realised the truth, but it is pure for those who have cut off all obstacles; it is one on which all beings depend and which is destroyed at every moment; the triple world is not one and also unmodifiable as held by the followers (3) of the Upanishads. According to kim, that the triple world is mere vijnana is proved by the following reasons: (1) Since the external objects in the form of earth etc. to be recognised do not exist, there can be no recogniser; (2) although it exists in another chain, there can be no 'recognised' (grahya) and 'recogniser' (grahaka). He further summarizes it into the following


Transient temperature response of the crossflow heat exchangers with finite wall capacitance and both fluids unmixed is investigated numerically for step, ramp and exponential perturbations provided in hot fluid inlet temperature. Effect of two-dimensional longitudinal conduction in separating sheet and axial dispersion in fluids on the transient response has been investigated. Conductive heat transport due to presence of axial dispersion in fluids have been analyzed in detail


Freshwater snail Lymnaea luteola was used for the hematological study. Hemolymph was collected from the body parts by using nonlethal technique in in-situ condition. Cells in the heamolymph were observed morphologically and quantitatively to discuss its role in the mechanism of circulation, transportation and also by means of defense mechanism in the body of both species.


"Work on this thesis has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement no. 675415." -- Funding


BACKGROUND: Well defined and focused objectives are essential for effective learning. Paediatric residents are expected to meet the educational objectives as set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). For rotation in paediatric gastroenterology, it is unclear how the objectives and list of key clinical conditions was originally developed and which of them are most important for general practice. With increasing educational commitments, residents have limited time to acquire all the essential skills needed for clinical practice.
 OBJECTIVES: To identify topics in gastroenterology which are of most importance in general pediatric practice. This would enable development of a concise and focused curriculum for pediatric residents doing rotation in gastroenterology.
 DESIGN/METHODS: All paediatricians in the four Canadian Atlantic provinces were surveyed with a mailed questionnaire. The list consisted of 14 clinical conditions from the current RCPSC objectives with additional 6 generated after input from regional paediatric gastroenterologists. Information was collected on demographics including type and duration of pediatric practice. The participants ranked the conditions on a 4 point Likert scale (from Not Important to Very Important).
 RESULTS: Of the 234 subjects, 132 (56%) responded. Of these, 57.5% were female, 48.8% were academic and 48% were general pediatricians. The majority (73.2%) were in practice >10 years and 75.6% felt that a rotation in gastroenterology should be mandatory in pediatric residency training. Celiac disease, gastroesophageal reflux and obesity were identified as Very Important conditions by 94.4%, 96.1% and 96.0% of the participants respectively. These are currently not in RCPSC list of clinical problems. Clinical situations encountered in long-term follow-up of survivors of liver transplantation (RCPSC objective) and chronic pancreatitis were considered Not Important by 61.3% and 58.3% of respondents respectively. Academic pediatricians placed significantly more importance on abdominal pain than non-academic pediatricians (p=0.029). Pediatricians in practice for <10 years identified issues encountered in long-term follow-up of liver transplantation (p=0.039) and celiac disease (p=0.015) as significantly more important than those in practice longer. There were no significant differences between general paediatricians and specialists in cross analysis of all other variables studied.
 CONCLUSION: Needs assessment for paediatric residency curriculum development is important as it can identify gaps in RCPSC objectives. Input from general pediatricians should be sought systematically and on an ongoing basis in order to keep the curriculum current and focused.


A procedure for propagating and merging uncertain experts' opinions provided as intervals and subjective beliefs is presented in this paper. The proposed approach can be applied to hierarchical multilevel models with functional relations linking the characteristics of the multilevel model nodes. When experts' opinions are provided at the leaf nodes, it is necessary to propagate intervals towards the top level to determine belief and plausibility curves that capture the overall uncertainties in experts' opinions using the Evidence theory. The propagation of intervals can result in a possibly overwhelming number of intervals to be handled. Hence, a propagation and merging procedure is proposed to reduce the number of intervals. A test case example is used to illustrate the eciency of the procedure.


Laboratory animals are important and necessary in life science research and development.Along with entrance of WTO,national standard of laboratory animal is grading up to international level in all ways.How laboratory animal barrier environment should be constructed and administrated according to modern life science requirements and resource availability is explored in this article.


As an attempt to envision a new way of applying theory or theories to reading literary works, this paper fragmentizes William Shakespeare`s comedy A Midsummer Night`s Dream, in the form of an alphabetical glossary. While defying the format of traditional scholarly writing and brushing against the fossilized academism, this experiment of alphabetized, fragmented, and sometimes aphoristic writing is designed to make a new interpretive spark which would help us experience creative clashes between theory and criticism, reading and writing, and even education and learning. This kind of experimental reading and writing is first of all expected to incur explosion and implosion of the text in the face of academic erudition. The friction and fraction that this piece would produce, I hope, will provide for the students of English literature in Korea a pedagogical signpost, based upon which to develop their own ways of reading and writing in this electronic, cinematic age. Following the critical possibilities opened up by the writings of Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes, I have tried to suggest many different entrances and exits for getting to Shakespeare`s oeuvre through which readers may discover heuristic and pedagogical insights for teaching literature and theory in classroom.


Reliable cropland parcel data are vital for agricultural monitoring, yield estimation, and agricultural intensification assessments. However, the inherently high landscape fragmentation and irregularly shaped cropland associated with smallholder farming systems restrict the accuracy of cropland parcels extraction. In this study, we proposed an adaptive image segmentation method with the automated selection of optimal scale (MSAOS) to extract cropland parcels in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. The MSAOS method includes three major components: (1) coarse segmentation to divide the whole images into homogenous and heterogeneous regions, (2) fine segmentation to determine the optimal segmentation scale based on average local variance function, and (3) region merging to merge and dissolve the over-segmented objects with small area. The potential cropland objects derived from MSAOS were combined with random forest to generate the final cropland parcels. The MSAOS method was evaluated over different agricultural regions in China, and derived results were assessed by benchmark cropland parcels interpreted from high-spatial resolution images. Results showed the texture features of Homogeneity and Entropy are the most important features for MSAOS to extract potential cropland parcels, with the highest separability index of 0.28 and 0.26, respectively. MSAOS-derived cropland parcels had high agreement with the reference dataset over eight tiles in Qichun county, with average F1 scores of 0.839 and 0.779 for the area-based classification evaluation (Fab) and object-based segmentation evaluation (Fob), respectively. The further evaluation of MSAOS on different tiles of four provinces exhibited the similar results (Fab = 0.857 and Fob = 0.775) with that on eight test tiles, suggesting the good transferability of the MSAOS over different agricultural regions. Furthermore, MSAOS outperformed other widely-used approaches in terms of the accuracy and integrity of the extracted cropland parcels. These results indicate the great potential of using MSAOS for image segmentation in conjunction with random forest classification to effectively extract cropland parcels in smallholder farming systems.


Abstract A population of 304 consecutive fire-setting offenders who had undergone a pre-trial forensic psychiatric evaluation in 1978–91 was traced in 1993 and asked to respond to a questionnaire concerning psychosocial outcome and receiving help. Of these, 264 were alive and a sample of 127 (48.1%) was reached. Of the 127 responders, 57 (44.9%) underwent an interview based on the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) and 76 (59.8%) completed the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP). The criminal registry of Finland was searched for lifetime criminal offences at the end of 1993. Death certificates were examined to determine causes of death (N = 40). The distribution of psychiatric diagnoses among the responders, the deceased and the whole sample was similar. Recidivist fire-setters and violent offenders more often reported disappointment over not receiving psychosocial and medical help than once-only fire-setters. Recidivist offenders had lower socialization on the KSP than non-recidivist fire-setters....


A microchannel-based hemodialyzer offers a novel approach to hemodialysis practice and holds many promises for improving dialysis treatment efficiency and life quality for kidney patients. The hollow fiber hemodialyzer, a conventional dialysis device, has certain limitations including non-uniformity of the dialysate flow path which necessitates the use of a high dialysate flow rate. In the microchannel-based design, successive stacked layers alternate between blood flow and dialysate flow. A flat porous membrane between these layers allows for the transport of toxins from the blood side to the dialysis fluid side. This design improves mass transfer characteristics and enables the use of lower dialysate to blood flow rate ratios suitable for a home hemodialysis system. One of the current issues in dialyzers is the emergence of bubbles through blood-outgassing and air ingress. This dissertation provides an in depth study of the bubble pinning phenomenon and the impact of the geometrical design of a single lamina of the microchannel dialyzer on bubble removal. The effects of contact angle hysteresis and contact line (pinning) forces as well as the dewetting velocity on bubble stagnation have been studied. A theoretical model that estimates the required pressure drop along the length of a stagnant bubble to overcome pinning forces to stimulate motion has been developed. The model has been validated by experimental results. A single lamina of a microchannel dialyzer is comprised of an inlet manifold, an outlet manifold and parallel microchannels; the manifolds feature a micropost arrangement that supports the membrane. The overall manifold geometry was designed for uniform flow distribution while the suggested arrangement of microposts inside the manifolds was aimed at exhibiting low bubble retention. Thursday, June 12, 2014 9:30 am, Rogers 226 School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering


The article discusses a tool that helps improve image, such as collaboration. More detailed links of scientific communities and large corporations are presented. Using the collaboration tool enhances the image of the business entity and provides sufficient advantages in the market and in its industry.


Various vanadium compounds demonstrated decreasing blood sugar levels in different diabetes animal models, and are considered to be promising antidiabetic agents. Oxovanadium(IV) complexes with flavonoid ligands, with beneficial effects in diabetic pathology, like the complex di-μ-hydroxobis(quercetinatooxovanadium)(IV), proved to decrease the elevated blood sugar levels and the total cholesterol, without impact on the insulin levels in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of quercetin and vanadyl sulphate on rats exposed to alloxan, as diabetogenic agent. The rats' treatment consisted in daily oral administered doses of 0.01 mmol/kg b.w. of vanadyl sulphate, 0.02 mmol/kg b.w. of quercetin and respectively 0.01/0.02 mmol/kg b.w. of vanadyl sulphate quercetin mixture, over a 4 weeks period. The experimental results pointed out protective effects of quercetin and vanadyl sulphate in alloxan exposed rats on the induced diabetic onset, rats' glycaemia and impaired lipid metabolism.


The application of the S-N discrete ordinates method is compared for r-z and x-y problems with similar boundary conditions. The complexities of the r-z solution come from the additional angular derivative, which makes this into a virtual three-dimensional problem. Effects of spatial differencing schemes, phase functions, and grid spacing are considered and compared for these x-y and r-z problems.


Abstract Glasshouse grown clonal material from the Australian endemic Olearia phlogopappa Labill. D.C. was studied under various nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and potassium (K) conditions ranging from 0.5N Hoagland nutrient solution to a four‐fold dilution of N, P, and Ca and a three‐fold dilution of K. Low N produced the slowest growth rates, but the greatest yield of essential oil/g dry matter. Low P decreased the ratio of monoterpenes to sesquiterpenes, mostly through an increase in the major odour components, kessane and liguloxide. Levels of the nutrients, N, P, K, Ca, and magnesium (Mg), required for optimum dry matter production were 2.3, 0.25, 0.4, 0.6, and up to 0.7%, respectively.


In this thesis we suggest a technique for detecting pulses by signal processing of a raw ECG signal registered from 4 electrodes located on the left upper arm. The signal processing is performed in ...


Along with the development of economy and the progress of society,people's living standard has improved greatly.Many cities of the whole nation has raised physical fitness upsurge.We may see many kinds of sporting facilities in many convenient and spacious places of the blocks that are called "fitness route".In order to push forward national fitness engineering,let people take great advantage of the fitness route and manage it scientifically and reasonably,this paper makes detailed research and analysis on the social effects of "fitness route" of some countries and cities of Shanxi province and state-class poor countries.It can drive the spread of nationwide fitness campaign and the build of suitable system exercise of "fitness route" of underdeveloped area.


Notes that gun ownership is common in America, and that gun-related suicide in America accounts for most of the violent death occurrences. The authors also report that guns are the most frequently used means involved in deaths by domestic violence, increasing the rate of killing an intimate partner. Moreover, hospitals, trauma centers, and rehabilitation or nursing home facilities are flooded with victims of shootings. Acute healthcare expenditures for injured individuals are enormous and most of these patients are uninsured. Based on available evidence, the authors ask whether we should accept our current status or whether a reassessment of our gun-regulation system is a potential legal alternative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)


Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)is a highly efficient and low pollution technique.Metallic monolithic catalyst was used for eliminating VOCs because of its low pressure drop,high activity,good mechanical strength and high thermal stability.The recent developments in metallic monolithic catalyst with regard to selection of metallic substrate structure,pretreatment of metallic surface,preparation of coating and catalytic combustion of VOCs are reviewed.More efforts should be devoted not only to the preparation of high performance transition coating,but also to the use of multi-component doped precious metals and non-precious metals,such as transition metal oxide,perovskite oxide or spinel oxide as active components on the monolithic catalysts.


Coarctation of aorta is a discrete narrowness of the aorta and most commonly occurs in the isthmus.It is a common congenital cardiovascular malformation with morbidity of 5%~8% among all congenital heart defects.Coarctation can result in the increase of upper limb blood pressure, the decrease of limb blood pressure, and a decline in cardiac function.Treatments include surgical repair and percutaneous interventions with different complications.Long-term complications and heart functions are important indices for evaluating prognosis and should be closely evaluated postoperatively.This review focuses on progresses of therapy methods, postoperative complications and cardiac function.

Key words:
Coarctation of aorta; Surgical repair; Percutaneous intervention; Complication; Cardiac function


MIRANDA, SIM6N B., and FANTz, ROBERT L. Recognition Memory in Down's Syndrome and Normal Infants. CmLH DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 651-660, 3 tasks believed to represent different levels of difficulty were used to compare the novelty preferences of Down's Syndrome and normal infants at 3 age levels. In every problem the normal controls showed a preference for the novel stimuli several weeks earlier than the Down's Syndrome Ss, indicative of normal superiority in the development of recognition memory.


This paper proposes a model for the estimation of time series returns of illiquid asset portfolios. The model has four major advantages. First, the estimators are arithmetic averages of individual asset returns (or their proxies), so they strictly correspond to the portfolio returns. Second, the model is able to estimate returns of arbitrary-weighted portfolios, including equalweighted, price-weighted, and value-weighted portfolios. Third, the model is very general and accommodates methods proposed in previous research. Fourth, the model is able to use both price data and data of asset characteristics to improve efficiency of estimators. It is also able to correct for the sample bias problem that transactions may take place more likely on over-valued assets. Simulations with actual data of Dow Jones Industrials show that this model supplies superior estimators than a simple benchmark method. ∗ Department of Economics, and International Center for Finance, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8281 (email@example.com). 2 Measuring values of illiquid asset portfolios is important because many important assets transact infrequently. For example, the real estate, art, and bond markets are generally illiquid. In real estate and art markets, assets tend to be held for years or even decades between sales. In United States bond markets, less than 10% of bonds transact daily. The equity markets also have infrequent trading problem to researchers who work with high frequency transaction data. The global equity market, if considered as an integrated market, is actually illiquid. While the global equity market is considered open, equities in a regional market may not be tradable at all because this regional market is close. Not only many existing asset markets are illiquid; many to-beestablished markets might be so. For example, for the new macro markets originally proposed by Shiller (1993a), such as national income and labor income markets, the underlying cash market prices may be observable only infrequently. Repeat sales regression (RSR) is a broadly used method for estimating the returns of illiquid asset portfolios. It estimates the time series returns using the observed transaction prices for a subset of assets. First suggested by Bailey, Muth, and Nourse (1963), RSR has had a lot of modifications and variants since then. For example, Case and Shiller (1987, 1989), Goetzmann (1989, 1992), Goetzmann and Peng (2000), Goetzmann and Spiegel (1995, 1997), Shiller (1991, 1993b), Webb (1988). The original RSR model has two serious limitations. First, its estimators are geometric averages of cross-section individual asset returns, while the true returns for a portfolio, no matter an equal-weighted or a value-weighted one, are always arithmetic averages of individual asset returns. Goetzmann (1992) proposes a correction method that approximates the arithmetic average given the geometric average, under the assumption that the asset returns in each period are identically lognormally distributed. This method works well in 3 simulations. However, this method needs to estimate unobserved cross-sectional variances, which may not be easy in some cases such as when time series data are heteroskedastic. As an alternative, Goetzmann and Peng (2000) propose a method that directly estimates the arithmetic equal-weighted portfolio returns. The second limitation of the original RSR method is that it actually supplies estimators for equal-weighted portfolio returns only. In many situations, researchers may be more interested in price-weighted, value-weighted, or other special-weighted portfolios. Shiller (1991) proposes estimators, either price-weighted or equal-weighted, that are analogous to the original RSR estimators but are arithmetic averages. However, more flexible method that could estimate returns of arbitrary-weighted portfolios would be desirable. Researchers have proposed methods using both transaction data and data of asset characteristic to estimate returns of infrequent-traded asset portfolios. For example, Case and Quigley (1991), Case et al (1992), Clapp and Giaccotto (1992), "hedonic repeated measures" method (HRM) by Shiller (1993b), and "distance-weighted repeat-sales" procedure (DWRS) by Goetzmann and Spiegel (1997). The primary methodological advantage of using both transaction and characteristic data lies in its ability to explore stronger correlation between price paths of assets with more similar characteristics. Limitations of these methods are that they may not supply return estimators for arbitrary-weighted portfolios, and their estimators may not have natural interpretations, such as being arithmetic means of individual asset returns. In this paper I propose a model for the estimation of time series returns of illiquid asset portfolios. My model has four major advantages. First, it is very powerful: it supplies


Provided is a semiconductor manufacturing system having an increased process window for stably and flexibly performing a deposition process. The semiconductor manufacturing system includes a gas supply device functioning as a first electrode and including a plurality of injection holes, a reactor wall connected to the gas supply device, and a substrate accommodating device functioning as a second electrode, the substrate accommodating device and the reactor wall being configured to be sealed together via face sealing. A reaction gas supplied from the gas supply device toward the substrate accommodating device is discharged to the outside through a gas discharge path between the gas supply device and the reactor wall. The first electrode includes a protruded electrode adjacent to an edge of the gas supply device.


Background. Single incisions laparoscopic surgery (SILS) applied for cholecystectomy can ensure a good cosmetic effect expecting without no visible scarring cosmetic effect after surgical procedures, but needrequires implementation of special ports, as well as articulating and banked instruments to be more comfortable for the surgeon. The aim of this paper is to present three three-ports cholecystectomy through two well hidden incisions – umbilical and suprapubic, – performed by with typical laparoscopic instruments. Methods. Ten consecutive elective patients with typical, symptomatic cholelithiasis were qualified for DILS cholecystectomy. All acute cases were excluded from intervention. Typical CO2 pneumoperitoneum was done after umbilical skin incision. Two ports, 5 mm and 11 mm, were inserted in the maximum external edges of this incision. The second incision for 11 mm optical trocar for optic was performed in the suprapubic median line, just in the hairy zonewithin the hair line, to hidden conceal himit. Results. DILCH were performed without any conversions to classical LCH or open cholecystectomy. Each procedure was different according to technical improvement of access and manipulation of instruments manipulations. Time of interventions ranged between from 2 hours for the first patients to 1 hour for the last according to the learning curve. No complications were observed and all patients were discharged as after conventional LCH. Conclusions. DILCH as a three three-port laparoscopic intervention, performed with typical laparoscopic instruments, is more convenient for the surgeon than single incision LCH. Transfer of the optic from the umbilical port site to hidden the concealed suprapubic hairy region gives thereprovides more space for instruments but didn't did not spoil theed good cosmetic effect of intervention. This procedure is easy to learn and in case of technical problems we can always apply additional ports like foras in typical LCH.


Three distinctive and yet mutually related concepts of development have evolved since the founding of New China: the concept of development oriented towards economic growth from1949 to 1978, the concept oriented towards economic development from 1979 to 1994, and the concept oriented towards economic and social progress from 1995 up to now. The new concept of development put forward at the Third Plenary Session of the Sixteenth Central Committee of the CPC is more scientific as it was formulated in the course of historical interactions between concepts of development and development modes, a product of scientific considerations of the various models of economic development and a result of dialectical sublation of successive developmental concepts put forward by the central leaderships in China.


Within by the electronic money definition, the plastics have a significant place, both the debit cards and the new option, even in the experimental stage known as the electronic purse or prepayment. The advanced technological changes, especially the incor


Butyl cyanoacrylate has been polymerised by dispersion in acidified water to yield nanoparticles. Reactions have been carried out at various temperatures and the molecular weight of the growing polymer measured. In all cases polymerisation proceeds by generation of discrete populations of oligomers, which are then re-initiated and undergo further growth. The peak molecular weight is around 1300 g/mol and it is considered that a stepwise initiation, termination and re-initiation process continues until diffusionally limited by the internal viscosity within the nanoparticle.


Teachers personality plays a significant role in accomplishing students educational achievement. Teaching and learning have a major part in creating a friendly and encouraging learning environment for students. In this context, the current research was conducted to explore the influence of tutors character on pupils learning and accomplishment. It was a descriptive correlative research approach. The sample comprised of 1,152 teachers and 2,304 students of 10th grade of public and private secondary schools who were chosen through a cluster sampling technique. The respondents were taken from 12 districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Two questionnaires; one for teachers and one for students were used to collect data. Teachers questionnaires were based on an adapted personality measure scale of John and Srivastavas Big Five Inventory (1999). The statistical analysis displayed no significant rapport among teachers personality and pupils academic success. The regression analysis and correlation coefficient showed that the dimension of agreeableness, extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness has no correlation with students performance. However, openness has a significant correlation between students performance.


The construction of spatial vitality in urban school districts is one of the important goals of contemporary Beijing urban design and can be clearly and deconstructed analysed with quantitative methods. This paper presents a technique aimed to assist in planning and evaluating spatial morphology of urban school district in a metropolitan area by applying space syntax configurational approach. This cognition is of great significance to promote the urban design of the school districts from experience integration to scientific analysis, so as to more efficiently achieve the improvement of urban school district environment quality.


Various data-sharing platforms have emerged with the growing public demand for open data and legislation mandating certain data to remain open. Most of these platforms remain opaque, leading to many questions about data accuracy, provenance and lineage, privacy implications, consent management, and the lack of fair incentives for data providers. With their transparency, immutability, non-repudiation, and decentralization properties, blockchains could not be more apt to answer these questions and enhance trust in a data-sharing platform. However, blockchains are not good at handling the four Vs of big data (i.e., volume, variety, velocity, and veracity) due to their limited performance, scalability, and high cost. Given many related works proposes blockchain-based trustworthy data-sharing solutions, there is increasing confusion and difficulties in understanding and selecting these technologies and platforms in terms of their sharing mechanisms, sharing services, quality of services, and applications. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive survey on blockchain-based data-sharing architectures and applications to fill the gap. First, we present the foundations of blockchains and discuss the challenges of current data-sharing techniques. Second, we focus on the convergence of blockchain and data sharing to give a clear picture of this landscape and propose a reference architecture for blockchain-based data sharing. Third, we discuss the industrial applications of blockchain-based data sharing, ranging from healthcare and smart grid to transportation and decarbonization. For each application, we provide lessons learned for the deployment of Blockchain-based data sharing. Finally, we discuss research challenges and open research directions.


Clear channel assessment (CCA) is an essential ingredient in wireless networks employing channel sensing as part of their medium access mechanism. While CCA itself is implemented at the PHY layer, the primary impact of its performance/complexity is on MAC metrics like throughput and energy efficiency; this cross-layer dependency makes it necessary to enhance MAC protocol performance evaluation by considering the specifics of CCA implementation that are naturally link-dependant. We perform such a cross-layer evaluation of the impact of CCA on MAC performance for the specific case of IEEE 802.15.4 standard for WPANs and derive some heuristics to choose the type of CCA and its parameters based on traffic and channel conditions to realize improved MAC performance.


In his book Dr. Elliott-Binns is concerned to emphasize the distinctive character of the Evangelical movement; he stresses the fact that it was separate from the contemporary Methodist revival. T o be sure, it started under the same inspiration as did Methodism, and some of its early leaders were well acquainted with Whitefield and the two Wesleys. But Dr. Elliott-Binns is at pains to make it clear that Anglican Evangelicalism developed along quite different lines from Methodism. For one thing, those Anglican Evangelicals would countenance no thought of separation from the Church of their fathers; but Methodism adopted certain practices-principally the ordination of ministers by Wesley, who was not a bishop-which violated constitutional Anglican procedure, and which made its ultimate separation from the Church of England inevitable. Again, whereas Methodism-perhaps by force of circumstances-gave lay preachers a prominent place in its program, the Anglican Evangelical movement was clerically controlled throughout, especially in its preaching. Once more, while Methodists tended to "itinerate," that is, to go around preaching in different places, the Evangelicals of the Anglican Church preferred to preach week by week in their own parish pulpits. Furthermore, these Anglicans were Calvinist rather than Arminian in their theology. In this respect they had more in common with Whitefield than with the Wesleys and they rejected John Wesley's famous doctrine of Christian perfection as unscriptural. All in all, they differed quite markedly from their Methodist contemporaries. In tracing the early history of this Evangelical movement in the Church of England Dr. Elliott-Binns has gone to considerable trouble to dig out the facts concerning its growth and development in the different areas of England during the hal€-century preceding the outbreak of the French Revolution. In so doing he has shown how the foundation was laid for that outstanding contribution which this movement made to the revitalizing of the Anglican Church between 1790 and 1830, and-through its successful campaign to abolish slavery-to the British Empire as a whole.


The rate of safety belt use for drivers and front-seat passengers was examined by direct behavioral observation during the warning and enforcement phases of a mandatory use law in North Carolina. A substantial increase was noted in belt use for both groups once enforcement was initiated but has slowly eroded over time. Both drivers and passengers exhibited much higher rates of use when the other front seat occupant was also using a safety belt, suggesting the importance of behavior modeling.


A followup of Loa loa and A4ansonella perstans microfilaremia was camed out in an adult population living in a highly endemic area of the Congo. Infection rates and parasite loads were found to be stable in the general population, both in the short- term (two months) and long-term (3-4 years) followup. The microfilarial status of most of the subjects examined did not change between tests. At the individual level, the microfilarial densities of L. loa and M. perstans also remained remarkably constant over time. This results in a qualitative and quantitative stability of the parasitic material available for the vectors. Epidemiologic studies on filariasis cases with microfilaremia are most often cross-sectional, and the microfilarial status of an individual is deter- mined from a single parasitologic examination camed out during the period of maximum dis- tribution of microfilariae in the peripheral blood. However, to make a diagnosis of filarial infec- tion, repeated blood sampling is recommended, given the variable degree of detection of micro- 'filariae in low-density camers. Indeed, the de- tection of microfilariae is inconsistent from one day to another in approximately I 5% of the pop- ulation infected with Mansonella perstans and Loa loa.' In regions endemic for these parasites, all subjects may be camers of M. perstans mi- crofilariae, whereas the prevalence rate of L. loa camers does not exceed 40%.2-4 It has been sug- gested that the absence of L. loa microfilariae in a high proportion of the population may be due to genetically controlled re~istance.~ However, it has not been possible to clearly demonstrate this supposition since the dynamics of production of microfilariae in human hosts harboring several female worms is unkn~wn.~ To confirm the short- and long-term durability of microfilarial status and to study the variability of the parasitic load in humans over time, we undertook a qualitative and quantitative followup of microfilaremias in a stable population living in a region highly en- demic for L. loa and M. perstans. MATERIALS AND METHODS The survey was conducted on an adult Bantu


Sports injury has many years been a perplexing problem for track and field players' training and competition,so that scientific training and normal competitions can not under a smooth way.And in consequence,it has seriouly prevented the rtack and field level from constant improving.Based on the analysis of statistical data of the common sports injuries,this essay delves fruther into the possible causes and offers counter measures to decrease sports injuries.


Water volume and quality of throughfall and stemflow were examined for their spatial distribution and temporal change by observations under a single conifer tree on rainy days and by simulations using "tree crown water migration model". Observation results showed that throughfall decreased on an average as the distance from stem decreased but some spots had more throughfall than rainfall, that reaching rate increased as the total of throughfall and stemflow increased, that acid rainfall was neutralized by tree crown, that stemflow had more solute than rainfall but stemflow was both less or more acid than rainfall, that throughfall was enriched with Cl-, N03-N, S04-S and NH4-N than rainfall, that the concentration of throughfall was higher near the stem than near the tree crown edge, and that the concentration of throughfall became low as time passed. Spatial distribution of throughfall was examined using the tree crown water migration model which represents the interception and migration within tree crown as those in and between boxes covering the profile of tree crown. Simulations using this model showed that both interception and migration to the direction of the tree crown edge accounted for the spatial distribution of throughfall.


The present study analyzed the Bucaramanga Municipal Development Plan (MDP) for the 2020-2023 period, under the theory of the new forces of development proposed by Vázquez (2005): flexible production organization (FPO), the spread of innovation and knowledge (SIK), the urban development of the territory (UDT) and change and adaptation of institutions (CAI). Starting from a conceptualization of the term "development", the relationship between the strategic lines and projects of the MDP and the four forces of development was analyzed. Among the four forces of development, UDT stood out as the most relevant one, being a central component of most strategic lines and projects in the plan. The other three forces of development received at least one mention from the strategic lines in the plan, whereas the projects only include FPO and SIK, leaving CAI aside. The strategic line that aims towards social welfare in the PDM does not relate to any of the forces of development proposed by Vázquez (2005). This can be associated with an economic bias in the theory, which seems to omit factors that enable human development.


Abstract : The research performed with the support of this grant has focused on the graph theoretical issues of colorings of various forms, connectivity issues of a traditional form and as applied to network vulnerability, and some work on extremal and worst-case scenarios. Coloring problems considered included the development of the method of amalgamations, which takes an 'outline' version of a structure of interest and shows how to develop it into the completed version. This produced, for example, a constructive proof that there exist hamilton decompositions of complete multipartite graphs that are fair in the sense that the edges between pairs of parts are shared out evenly among the hamilton cycles. The method was also improved to the point where notable results concerning connected kappa-factorizations were obtained. Several results were obtained on list-colorings, fractional colorings and greedy colorings of graphs. For example, a study of extensions of the classic theorem of Hall on systems of district representatives was applied to list colorings. Algorithmic methods were also developed for considering proper list-(multi) colorings. Network vulnerability was an issue studied in connection with the Shields-Harary number of a graph. This involves enemies removing weighted vertices at a certain cost, trying to break the graph into components of small weight, while defenders arrange the weights on the vertices to exact the greatest payment possible by the enemy.


We examine the hydrodynamic phonon spectrum of a monolayer film adsorbed on the wall of a spherical pore. Due to the boundary conditions, the monolayer film exhibits a discrete phonon spectrum. The corresponding density of states per unit frequency is thus a set of delta functions and the heat capacity exhibits Arrhenius behavior at low temperatures. At high temperatures, the heat capacity approaches the C ∼ T 2 behavior of a two-dimensional monolayer film. Our results for the spherical surface film are compared to previous calculations for films confined to a cylindrical surface.


The basis of this work is to add alloying materials to stainless steel-310, and other alloys, with the idea of promoting the formation of protective, non-spalling surface layers in the oxidizing or sulfidizing atmospheres to which they will be exposed at high temperatures and pressures in coal gasification plants. Modified alloys, vacuum melted in 15 kg heats, contained 20-22 Ni, 23-25 Cr, 2-3 Ti, and small amounts of Mn, Si and C. They were exposed to a simulated gasification plant atmosphere at temperatures up to 1800/sup 0/F and 500 psi to oxidation or sulfidation conditions. The results of various experiments are reported, including microprobe and x-ray diffraction analysis of the surface layers. Further tests of the more promising alloys are in progress. (LTN)


This Community Service (PKM) is to educate about the science of digital-based entrepreneurial management, the creative economy of MSME actors. In the post-pandemic period, many problems are faced by the micro-scale community, especially business actors, it is still difficult to market their products and capital, seeing these problems it is necessary to have this PKM activity, with steps that entrepreneurship can take to empower business actors in the pattern of development. Creative Economy based on digital marketing. The method used is a qualitative data analysis method and a data collection tool with training and interviews. This community service is an effort to manage entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship) for micro-scale businesses based on digital creative economy. Digitization by means of independence and registration of business entities, while economic digitization can be achieved by participating in offline training, doing online marketing on digital applications, obtaining online business success tips through digital marketing media.In this community service by conducting comprehensive training and socialization to the wider community to all corners of the village or sub-district about the ease of online business for MSME Creative Economy business actors, business actors are always active in programs from both the government and the private sector to support increased income for the community. the community, especially MSME Creative Economy business actors, to immediately switch to social media or digitization consistently to optimize facilities in the pattern of creative economy development. Thus, the Social Piety Index will be realized from community entrepreneurship in the Mekarjaya Village, Sukmajaya, Depok City


This paper investigates the necessary conditions of optimality for uniformly overtaking optimal control on infinite horizon with free right endpoint. Clarke's form of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle is proved without the assumption on boundedness of total variation of adjoint variable. The transversality condition for adjoint variable is shown to become necessary if the adjoint variable is partially Lyapunov stable. The modifications of this condition are proposed for the case of unbounded adjoint variable. The Cauchy-type formula for the adjoint variable proposed by S.M. Aseev and A.V. Kryazhimskii in [1],[2] is shown to complement relations of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle up to the complete set of necessary conditions of optimality if the improper integral in the formula converges conditionally and continuously depends on the original position. The results are extended to an unbounded objective functional (described by a nonconvergent improper integral), unbounded constraint on the control, and uniformly sporadically catching up optimal control.


A method to supply acoustic positioning and communication service simultaneously for underwater multiple users is provided in this paper. It has three modes: integrated positioning and communication mode, independent positioning mode and independent communication mode. All three modes share the same hardware circuit and transducer to realize the interoperability of underwater acoustic positioning service and underwater acoustic communication service. The method could provide positioning and communication service at the same time for HOV, AUV, ROV and underwater glider to achieve cooperative networking tasks. This method is achieved based on spread spectrum communication technology. Pseudo random noise codes are mainly applied as the identification of different equipment and can be used as the ranging code to achieve high-precision ranging. Based on the same hardware circuits and time synchronization, the integrated underwater acoustic positioning and communication are realized to save energy and space. Meanwhile, it also serve independent underwater acoustic positioning and communication to ensure the positioning and communication performance.


Translated into English for the first time by Madeline Whittle, Emmanuel Siety's article draws extensively on Jean Louis Schefer's The Ordinary Man of Cinema to explore the connection between the films we encounter in childhood and a lifelong relationship with cinema. Siety asks what is the role of film education in the moving-image saturated contemporary era for preserving something of the special bond formed by our first encounters with films in cinemas, and our self-development. The article further considers the limits of an analytical approach to film, as opposed to a phenomenological approach which privileges the direct experiences of cinema, going beyond the 'scholarly' interpretation of films.


The present invention discloses an isolated type interleaving DC/DC converter with a switching capacitor, comprising two power switching tubes, two output diodes, two clamping diodes, two auxiliary power switching tubes, two clamping capacitors, two switching capacitors, one output capacitor and two flyback transformers. The converter uses the second windings and two switching capacitors of two flyback transformers to realize the improvement of the output power level of the converter. Two auxiliary switching tubes and two clamping capacitors are respectively used for absorbing the leakage inductance energy of the two flyback converters. The parallel capacitors existed in the two power switching tubes and the gate pole arrangement of the two power switching tubes and the two auxiliary switching tubes are used for realizing the zero voltage cutover and the zero voltage shutoff of the two power switching tubes and the two auxiliary switching tubes. The leakage inductance of the two flyback converters is used for realizing the soft shutoff of the two output diodes and the two clamping diodes. The circuit has no dissipative elements, and the power class and the circuit efficiency of the converter can be improved.


A two dimensional position sensitive CsI(Tl) scintillation detector readout with PSPMT was introduced. The performance of detector was simulated by using Monte Carlo code GEANT4. The position spectrum of RIB 17N and the detector's position resolution were obtained, and the simulation results accorded with the experimental ones. The main factors, which can affect performance of the detector, and some planned detector improvements were presented.


This paper proposes a binary classifier to evaluate the rank condition (RC) that is required for consistency of the Common Correlated Effects (CCE) estimator. The RC postulates that the number of unobserved factors, m , is not larger than the rank of the unobserved matrix of average factor loadings, ̺ . The key insight in this paper is that ̺ can be consistently estimated with existing techniques through the matrix of cross-sectional averages of the data. Similarly, m can be estimated consistently from the data using existing methods. A binary classifier, constructed by comparing estimates of m and ̺ , correctly determines whether the RC is satisfied or not as ( N, T ) → ∞ . We illustrate the practical relevance of testing the RC by studying the effect of the Dodd-Frank Act on bank profitability.


The principle of genetic algorithms is introduced in the paper. The microwave tomography can be carried out by the genetic algorithm which can display the internal medium distribution without destructing its structure under detection. The finite element method is used to calculate the electromagnetic scattering value, and the inverse electromagnetic scattering imaging method is based on the idea of local shape function by which the imaging region is coded. Three genetic operators of selection, crossover and mutation are used during the genetic algorithm process to realize evolution process. An optimal result is sought finally by several iterates. The effectiveness and the superiority of this method are proved by simulation experiments, and the result is validating applicability.


One of important problem, in large space structure, is to overcome the self weight of roof construction.
This problem can be solved with using tension members effectively. Thus the rapid progress of Hybrid structure, that makes effective use of the means of settling, has a good effect on realizing the large space.
In this study, the shape finding problem by applying initial stresses is investigated and using this we examined the unstable phenomena of the perfectly shaped and the models have initial imperfection under axisymmetric load to grasp the unstable behaviour of the Geiger and Flower type in the cable domes.


PURPOSE: A failure diagnostic method of a control surface driver of a drone aircraft using an observation plane is provided to sense the location of the control surface where a malfunction has occurred. CONSTITUTION: A failure diagnostic method of a control surface driver of a drone aircraft using an observation plane comprises: a step of estimating the direction and speed of wind which affects the flying of an aircraft(S2); a step of detecting trouble on a control surface by comparing an estimation output vector and a pre-input model output vector(S4); a step of classifying the control surface with a malfunction by comparing the estimation output vector and the model output vector(S5); a step of estimating the fixed angle of the control surface when the malfunction occurs(S6); and a step of re-forming an algorithm in order to detect new malfunctions by reflecting the malfunction detected from a fault detection step(S7).


Synchronous phase and frequency must be ensured when the distributed power generation system connects to the main power grid.Based on instantaneous reactive power theory,a software phase-locked loop can keep track of the voltage phase of the main grid.When the three-phase voltage of the grid is asymmetric or with harmonic components,however,the tracked phase could be erroneous.Based on the analysis,a second-order low-pass filter is added to the software phase-locked loop.The improved software phase-locked loop is both implemented and tested in the photovoltaic power generation platform.The experimental result shows that the software phase-locked loop with the added second-order low-pass filter performs better than original one.


CONCERNING THE BALTIC SUBSTRATUM IN POLISH IN THE REGION OF BIAŁYSTOK Summary The article presents an analysis of the list of supposed Balticisms found by Czeslaw Kudzinowski (Acta Baltico-Slavica, I, Bialystok, 1964, p. 223 — 225) in the environs of Knyszyn (the region of Bialystok). The author of the article is of the opinion that an overwhelming majority of the words in Kudzinowski's list have entered the Polish dialects not from Yatvingian but from Lithuanian. Resp. an assumption is adopted that after the wars against the Teutonic Order this devastated land has been inhabited not only by Polish colonists from the West, by Belorussians and Ukrainians from the East and South-east, but also by Lithuanians from the North-east.


The varietal screening studies of ten maize genotypes were carried out under field conditions with artificial infestation of Sesamia inferens and the classification of the maize genotypes was done based on the dead hearts and leaf injury rating. Among the ten maize genotypes, Madhuri (5.03) was classified as highly resistant genotype, while BML 7 (5.33) was placed under resistant category. The genotype, HKI 163 (5.87) was classified as moderately resistant genotype. The remaining five genotypes viz ., HQPM 1 (6.50), MP 717 (6.93), BML 6 (7.03), BH 40625 and BH 1576 (7.90) were grouped as highly susceptible.


The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has established the Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program (PPTP) for testing drugs against in vitro and in vivo childhood cancer models to aid in the prioritization of drugs considered for early phase pediatric clinical trials.


Background/aim: Diffuse antral gastritis (DAG) is a duodenal ulcer phenotype of chronic Helicobacter pylori gastritis, while multifocal atrophic gastritis (MAG) is a gastric cancer phenotype. The aim of this study was to investigate ascorbic acid (vitamin C) levels in the gastric juice in patients with DAG and MAG, to compare the gastric epithelial cell proliferation rates between the groups and also to examine any correlation between ascorbic acid levels in gastric juice and the cell proliferation rates. Materials and methods: Thirty-seven patients with chronic H. pylori gastritis (27 MAG, 10 DAG) were included in the study (male/female: 15/22, range: 19-74, mean age: 43.6 yrs). Ascorbic acid concentrations in fasting plasma and gastric juice samples of the patients were measured. Loss of maturation in foveolar epithelium due to cell proliferation was shown immunohistochemically using cytokeratin-20 antibody in antral and corporal regions of both patient groups. Results: There was no significant difference in plasma ascorbic acid levels between the two groups. No statistically significant difference could be demonstrated in gastric juice ascorbic acid concentrations between patients with DAG and MAG (0.93±0.97 mg/dl and 0.96±1.12 mg/dl, respectively; p>0.05). Immunohistochemical examination revealed that staining for cytokeratin- 20 was significantly less in MAG patients than in those with DAG (74.7% vs 90.9%, respectively; p


Examination is a process carried out to measure the achievement of student competencies on an ongoing basis in the learning process, to monitor progress, make learning improvements, and determine student learning success. In 2019, SMK Negeri 6 Bekasi City began to use the E-Exam Application for the implementation of exams, both the Mid-Semester Examination or better known as UTS, Semester Final Examination or better known as UAS and School Examination or better known as US. Approaching 2 years of use, the E-Exam Application of SMK Negeri 6 Bekasi City has not been analyzed for software. The results of the evaluation of the quality of the E-Exam software at SMK Negeri 6 Bekasi City are expected to be a reference for developing and fulfilling the wishes of every citizen of SMK Negeri 6 Bekasi City, to be able to carry out online exams well. ISO 25010 testing is a standard that is widely used to evaluate, measure and test the quality of software. The ISO used for this research is version 25010, this version is a continuation of ISO/IEC 9126 with the addition of several structures and parts of the quality model standard. In this study, we will discuss the analysis of application quality using the ISO 25010 standard.


Samples of various concentrations were made by coevaporation of Cu and Ni. The coevaporation was carried out by simultaneous controlled electron bombardment heating of independent evaporation sources. The Auger‐electron spectroscopy (AES) measurements were made by using a CMA and could be done following coevaporation or ion sputtering without moving the sample in the UHV system. The absolute composition of the sample was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). A linear relation was found between the AES measurements (700–1000 eV) and the results of AAS when the coevaporation was made onto the substrate at almost liquid nitrogen temperature. It should be mentioned that samples of homogeneous concentration from the surface to the bulk could be obtained, making quantitative AES possible. On the other hand, coevaporation onto substrates at room temperature resulted in Cu‐rich surfaces being obtained. Quantitative AES analysis using lower‐energy Auger peaks (80–120 eV) was also made using the same sa...


The cluster 1RXS J0603.3+4214 is a merging galaxy cluster that hosts three radio relics and a giant radio halo. The northern relic, the Toothbrush, is 1.9-Mpc long and has an unusual linear morphology. According to simple diffusive shock acceleration theory, its radio spectral index indicates a Mach number of 3.3 4.6. Here, we present results from a deep XMM-Newton observation of the cluster. We observe two distinct cluster cores that have survived the merger. The presence of three shocks at or near the locations of the radio relics is confirmed by density and temperature discontinuities. However, the observation poses several puzzles that challenge our understanding of radio relics: (i) at the Toothbrush, the shock Mach number is not larger than 2, in apparent conflict with the shock strength predicted from the radio spectrum; (ii) at the Toothbrush, the shock front is, in part, spatially offset from the radio emission; (iii) at the eastern relic, we detect a temperature jump corresponding to a Mach number of approximately 2.5, but there is no associated surface brightness discontinuity. We discuss possible explanations for these findings.


In this paper, we present an overview of the project on Autonomous Learning Design Agents which began recently. An agent that addresses the task of Design by Autonomous Learning (DAL) builds an abstract model the environment from the sensory data with the goal to modify the environment to meet a new set of functionalities. Any agent hat addresses the DAL task is confronted with a task of transforming the underlying causes that produce the continuous data of the environment to produce another set of continuous data. In our work, we explore the possibility of such a transformation through a hierarchical order of discretizations each of which allows the agent to act differently, and yet allows the agent o draw some global conclusions. The machine learning research has identified formulation of environment models through multiple levels of abstractions (Pierce and Kuipers 1997). Such formulation brings to focus some issues that need to be addressed for DAL task. 1. How does an agent recognize satisfaction of a global and abstract goal from continuous data? 2. How can an agent maintain the grounding of discretized model at different levels, in continuous data? 3. How can an agent decide upon local actions based upon global models? 4. How can an agent generate discretized models and yet open to new continuous data? 5. How does an agent decide upon environmental transformations that result in new continuous data? In a theory driven hybrid system, the relationship between the discrete model and the continuous data is supplied by the theory (Zhao 1997). The data driven approaches are able to cope with continuous data in a large number of situations. They are limited to consider abstract global goals at different levels which is often required in design (Chapman 1991). Our approach integrates the strengths of a data-driven and theory-driven approaches and has the major contributing points (Prabhakar 1999). 1. The models, at each level, are built by incorporating the interaction mechanisms of the agent into the continuous data. The interaction mechanisms allow the discretized data to be grounded in continuous data. These models are predictive. 2. Due to such an incorporation, the models can incorporate new continuous data into them. 3. The models are based on the composition of data elements, rather than the concepts of the agent. This adds flexibility to the model to building. 4. The abstraction processes, at different levels, transform the continuous data for prediction about different aspects of the environment topology, structure, behavior and function. 5. The agent recognizes the goals at a level by identifying a set of patterns in interaction outputs of the agent. 6. The models at each level allow the agent o explore the compositional modeling at that level. A design robot interacts with its environment, learn models of the environment and reorganises the environment such that it delivers a new functionality. An example design robot can design a new drilling rig for its needs in mines, or design a bridge on the surface of Mars. The Mars designer changes its environment on Mars to have the functionality of transporting a vehicle by building a bridge. Design by autonomous learning is closely related to the functionality of the environment as perceived by the agent. An environment is said to have a functionality if the agent receives a set of percepts for a sequence of actions. An example is the functionality of the environment to produce light where the agent applies pressure on a switch and the agent receives light. In design, the environment initially fails to deliver this functionality. The agent makes changes to the environment s ructure such that the modified environment delivers the new functionality. The agent also needs to make changes to the environment such that some of its functions are not disturbed. A design problem is specified to the agent as (Fm, Fa), where Fm is the set of functions of environment that need to be maintained, and Fa is the set of functionalities that need to be modified. The set of actions or action sequences Af, along with the resultant set of percepts Pn, specifies the design goal. All the functions F of the environment may not be known to the agent. Knowing such a complete F may require a very large number of interactions to be performed by the agent. Instead, the agent limits its design goal to the functionalities of the environment it has encountered. The design goal is suggested to the agent, when it encounters these functions in the environment. A simple example of autonomous learning design task can be illustrated by using the scenario of figure 1. In statel, the agent cannot perceive the environment as having the function of pushing the ball. The agent performs the action specified in the goal push the stopper. This does not result in the percept that the ball is


Introduction: The Richards equation or a simplification, such as the Green and Ampt equation, is mainly used to describe the flow of water in the soil. The Richards equation produces accurate results, but lacks general analytical solutions, so the Green and Ampt equation is used as an intermediate way of modeling the phenomenon by maintaining physical-mathematical bases in the representation.Objective: To optimize the parameters of saturated hydraulic conductivity and wetting front suction of the Green and Ampt equation by means of a nonlinear optimization algorithm, and to validate the solution to optimize the parameters as a function of soil textures.Methodology: The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was used to estimate the infiltration parameters of the Green and Ampt equation, and the initial pair of values was taken according to soil texture.Results: This model was used to calculate the hydraulic conductivity parameters at saturation and wetting front suction.Study limitations: A homogeneous soil column and a constant initial moisture content were considered for the whole column.Originality: The optimization algorithm was oriented to keep the parameter values within the range established in the textural classes.Conclusions: An optimization algorithm was implemented to estimate the parameters Ksand hfby solving the Green and Ampt equation, which included code performance review and experimental validation with infiltration tests.


The osmotic blistering behavior of polymeric coating film which is in contact with an aqueous environment has been investigated. In this study, the coating film has been assumed to be linearly viscoelastic. Interfacial stresses induced in a laminate model consisting of the viscoelastic film and the elastic substrate as the film absorbs moisture from the ambient environment have been investigated using the time-domain boundary element method. The overall stress intensity factor for interfacial cracks subjected to a uniform osmotic pressure has been computed using the tractions at the crack tip node. The magnitude of stress intensity factors decreases with time due to viscoelastic relaxation, but remains constant at large times. The numerical procedure does not permit calculation of the limiting case for which the crack length vanishes.


This paper describes the experiences of a Forensic Autism Spectrum Disorder Assessment and Liaison team. We reflect upon the processes and complexities of assessment, formulation and care pathway planning for this population within forensic contexts.


Coupled-resonator optical waveguides hold potential for slow-light propagation of optical pulses. The dispersion properties may adequately be analyzed within the framework of coupled-mode theory. We extend the standard coupled-mode theory for such structures to also include complex-valued parameters which allows us to analyze the dispersion properties also in presence of finite Q factors for the coupled resonator states. Near the band-edge the group velocity saturates at a finite value v_g/c \propto \sqrt{1/Q} while in the band center, the group velocity is unaffected by a finite Q factor as compared to ideal resonators without any damping. However, the maximal group delay that can be envisioned is a balance between having a low group velocity while not jeopardizing the propagation length. We find that the maximal group delay remains roughly constant over the entire bandwidth, being given by the photon life time of the individual resonators.