The European Union uses an emissions certificate trading system (the EU ETS) with coverage of both industry and the energy sector CO2 emissions which is based on an EU-wide emissions cap that declines over time. Firms that have an excess stock of CO2 emission permits can sell surplus certificates at the current market price and have to record the value of the excess emission permits as an asset on the balance sheet of the respective company so that the stock market price of companies with an excess supply of certificates should increase while that of firms which have to purchase a considerable amount of additional emissions permits – beyond any initial free allocation by the EU emission trading system – could face a decline in the value of their respective stock market price. An AR-GARCH approach shows the behaviour of the EU stock market oil and gas subindex (STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas Producers (SEOG) index) and of the overall stock market index – with somewhat lower empirical impact findings – with regard to positive and negative shocks in terms of the allowance price dynamics. Results indicate that the oil and gas stock index responds asymmetrically to positive and negative price shocks from the CO2 allowance market: The coefficient of the shock dummy is negative and significant, while that of a positive shock dummy is not significant. There is no Granger causality in the direction from CO2 allowance price dynamics to stock market price dynamics, there is, however, a significant Granger causality running from stock markets to CO2 allowance markets in the EU – with a negative sign. The analysis has wide-ranging implications for climate policy and financial market dynamics in the EU, the US and Asia in the long run.


Objective The study was performed to understand the situation of HCV infection among drug abusers,syphilis carriers,HBV carriers,people from services trade for check-up,and epidemic prevention workers.Methods ELISA was applied for the detection of HCV antibody.Results The anti-HCV positive rates of drug abusers,syphilis carriers,HBV carriers,people from services trade for check-up,and epidemic prevention workers were respectively 60.58%,0,0,1.00% and 0.71%.Conclusion The drug abusers are the high risk group for HCV infection,and strengthening health education and behavior interference for this group is very important for controlling transmission of infectious diseases as hepatitis C,etc.


The relevance of this article is due to the need for the formation of environmental knowledge of younger schoolchildren in modern conditions. One of the interesting and promising areas is the study of succession in the wild. The article reflects the essence of the concept of "succession", describes the work on the formation of environmental knowledge in primary school children through the study of succession in the wild, presents the results of the experiment, clearly demonstrating positive changes in indicators in the field of environmental knowledge.As is known, succession is a natural sequential change in the ecosystem, in which one biocenosis in a given area of the lithosphere is gradually replaced by another. If the conditions for the change of biocenoses are not violated by external factors, the succession is directed, predictable. Although physical factors determine the nature of succession, it is controlled by the biological community. The conducted pedagogical experiment speaks about the effectiveness of the use of visual. Elementary school children were able to learn about the concept of "succession," despite the fact that this topic is not usually taught in elementary school.


Sociological understanding of how business travellers make use of travel time is somewhat lacking. This paper addresses this gap in knowledge via presenting the analysis of survey-based data collected from business people travelling by plane, train and car. Through disaggregating the data by travel mode, journey stage, technology use and task type the paper provides a level of granular detail into the general patterns of business traveller's travel-time behaviours not previously provided by other surveys. Utilizing the concept of 'affordances', the paper shows how the type of work activities undertaken are shaped by the dynamic interaction between the characteristics in the travel environment, the type of work tasks undertaken and work technologies utilized in carrying out these tasks and the active choices of business travellers.


This paper proposes a novel protection method for single line-to-ground (SLG) faults in ungrounded low-inertia microgrids. The proposed method includes microgrid interface protection and unit protection. The microgrid interface protection is based on the difference between the zero-sequence voltage angle and the zero-sequence current angle at the microgrid interconnection transformer for fast selection of the faulty feeder. The microgrid unit protection is based on a comparison of the three zero-sequence current phase directions at each junction point of load or distributed energy resources. Methods are also included to locate the minimum fault section. The fault section location technology operates according to the coordination of microgrid unit protection. The proposed method responds to SLG faults that may occur in both the grid and the microgrid. Simulations of an ungrounded low-inertia microgrid with a relay model were carried out using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD)/Electromagnetic Transients including DC (EMTDC).


These lecture notes are aimed at someone who has read Chapter III of Macdonald's book [M2] and wants to know how it generalizes to finite root systems. Or at least, how the parts most relevant to the Kostka-Foulkes story generalize. One should keep in mind that Macdonald's Chapter III is effectively about A∞ (or GL(∞)), whereas we will be talking about finite-dimensional root systems and groups, and this finite-vs.-infinite discrepancy (as well as the SL vs. GL issue) means that this won't be an exact generalization. Our plan is to discuss four definitions of (or contexts for) the Kostka-Foulkes polynomials, and why they are equivalent.


The Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) process has been suggested to enhance oil recovery by placing vertical injectors for CO2 at the top of the reservoir with a series of horizontal producers located at the bottom. The injected gas accumulates to form a gas cap while oil and water drain down to the bottom due to their heavier densities. The GAGD process has limitations with regards to the high levels of water cut and high tendency of water coning. This paper delivers an integration of downhole water sink (DWS) and the GAGD processes to overcome these limitations and further enhance oil recovery. The hybrid process, of Gas and Downhole Water Sink-Assisted Gravity Drainage (G&DWS-AGD) was developed and verified to minimize water cut in oil production wells from reservoirs with edge and/or bottom water drive and strong water coning tendencies. In the process, two 7 inch production casings are installed bi-laterally and completed using two 2-3/8 inch horizontal tubings: one above the oil-water contact (OWC) for oil production and another one underneath OWC for water sink drainage. The two completions are hydraulically isolated inside the well by a packer. The bottom (water sink) completion is produced with a submersible pump that drains the formation water from around the well and prevents the water from breaking through the oil column and getting into the horizontal oil-producing perforations. The G&DWS-AGD was evaluated for improvement of oil recovery from the upper sandstone member/South Rumaila Oilfield, located in Iraq. (The Rumaila field has an infinite active aquifer with very strong edge water drive.) The evaluation study involved a series of simulation runs to determine the best design of the combined processes. Operational variants of the process included oil and water production only, oil and water production with constant, progressive (by 50psi) and reduced (by 200 psi) gas injection pressure. In the G&DWS-AGD, the water sink operation not only eliminated (or reduced) water cut and coning tendency, but it also significantly reduced reservoir pressure, resulting in improved gas injectivity and increased oil recovery. More specifically, the 10-year production forecast showed that oil production increased by 55.1 million barrels larger than the GAGD process alone and water cut decreased from 98% to less than 5% in all the horizontal oil producers. The advantage of G&DWS-AGD process comes from its potential effectiveness to improve oil recovery while reducing water coning, water cut, and improving gas injectivity. This leads to more economic implementation, especially with respect to the operational surface facilities. Introduction The Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) process has been suggested for improved oil recovery in secondary and tertiary processes for both immiscible and miscible injection modes. The GAGD involved injecting gas through vertical wells in a gravity-stable mode to build a gas cap resulting in oil drainage downwards to the bottom of reservoir comprising several horizontal producers (Rao et al. , 2004). The mechanisms of fluid segregation and gravity oil drainage give better sweep efficiency and higher oil recovery.


The conjugated models of convection and conduction are applied,at the same time the methods of finite volume and the SIMPLE arithmetic are used to investigate the transient heat transfer of porous bricks when the environment temperature is varied.The variable characteristic of wall temperature and delay traits of porous bricks is got.The distinguishing features of heat transfer flux of porous bricks are investigated.The process of heat transfer of porous bricks is compared with solid bricks'.It shows that the difference of delay time of inside wall temperature is small.At one time,the mean heat flux of both bricks is notable,and the mean flux of solid bricks is more than 63 percent of porous bricks.All of above illustrates porous bricks have much effect of energy conservation.


A signifi cant and increasing proportion of the Earth's land area is covered by crop and range lands. Agricultural landscapes hold a large proportion of the world's biodiversity but the relative contribution of each land management type to conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystem service delivery is poorly understood ( Jackson et al. 2005 ). Ecosystem services can be classifi ed into those associated with the provision of goods (e.g. food, fi bers, and fresh water), those that support and regulate ecosystem function (e.g. climate regulation, disease control, soil formation, and nutrient cycling), and those cultural services that are not associated with material benefi ts (e.g. recreation, spiritual, and aesthetic value) ( MEA 2005 ). Agricultural ecosystems both require and generate ecosystem services and may enhance or degrade natural capital through time depending on how they are managed. Soil health is a key indicator of the state of natural capital, and is considered here as an integrative property that refl ects the capacity of soil to respond to agricultural management by maintaining both the agricultural production and the provision of other ecosystem services ( Kibblewhite et al. 2008 ). Soil organisms contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services that are essential to the functioning of natural and managed ecosystems ( Wall 2004 ). Evidence has shown that there is a strong link between organisms aboveand belowground ( Wardle et al. 2004 ), highlighting the impact that land use and management can have on the provision of soilbased ecosystem services. Little research has been conducted on the role of soil biota in high input agriculture because natural processes regulating soil structure, nutrient supply, and pests and diseases have been largely replaced by soil tillage, artifi cial fertilizers, and biocides ( Barrios 2007 ). Recent concern about sustaining soil function in intensive agriculture has created a new demand for agricultural practices that are less dependent on external inputs, tighten nutrient cycles, and are productive while enhancing rather than degrading natural capital ( Swift et al. 2004 ). Agroforestry is now broadly defi ned, in scaleneutral terms, as the interaction of agriculture and trees ( Sinclair 2004 ). The fi eld and landscape scales that are a focus here, involve land use practices that combine trees with crops and/or animals in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence that results in signifi cant ecological and economic interactions among trees and agricultural components ( Sinclair 1999 ; Fig. 5.2.1 ). Recent global estimates indicate that nearly half of all agricultural land has >10% tree cover, an area of about 1 billion ha that is home to more than 500 million people ( Zomer et al. 2009 ). The perennial nature of most trees has a profound impact on soil properties, and hence on the abundance, diversity, and function of the soil biota, underpinning soil health.


This chapter presents an overview of current knowledge management practices in upstream oil and gas exploration and production, specifically for multidisciplinary project teams working with spatial modeling techniques. A process-based knowledge management methodology is defined that allows for continuous work on complex multiscenario models in a consistent, flexible, and shared manner under conditions where data are less than optimal, modeling techniques are poorly understood, and staffing assignments change before project completion.


Based on applications in different open-pit mine and analysis of economic benefits, the paper describes the mixed emulsion explosive productive technology and the mechanism of air-space blasting, which has great value in reducing the production costs and bringing huge blasting economic benefits.


Abstract Male and female subjects read a description of a task situation in which two persons (allocator and recipient of unknown sex) worked together, one person obtaining a high score, the other a low score, and in which the allocator then distributed a $10 payment either equally (that is irrespective of performance) or equitably (that is, in accordance with performance input). The results showed that subjects were more positive in various ways to a high-input, equal allocator and to a low-input, equitable allocator than to a high-input, equitable allocator or to a low-input, equitable allocator than to a high-input, equitable allocator or to a low-input, equal allocator. Subjects' reactions to the allocation and to the allocator were mainly unrelated to Protestant Ethic Values assessed by the Mirels and Garrett scale. There was some evidence that female subjects were more in favour of equal allocations when compared with male subjects but, in general, individual difference variables had limited effects...


The level of consumers' satisfaction with the quality of edible chicken eggs is determined, in particular, by the attractive appearance of the yolks and their content of biologically active substances that have functional properties. Such compounds include carotenoids astaxanthin and lycopene, which can be deposited in the yolks, provide their pigmentation, and as powerful antioxidants, affect the stability of the fatty acid composition of lipids during egg storage. The aim This study aimed mine the effect of supplements of oil extracts of astaxanthin (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg of feed) or lycopene (20, 40, and 60 mg/kg of feed) on the Dion of young hens on the fatty acid composition of the yolks during eggs storage in temperature conditions 4 ±0.5 ℃ and 12 ±0.5 ℃ for 30 days. The experiment used 45 High-Line W36 crossbred laying hens at 24 weeks of age. It was found that the storage temperature of eggs (4 ±0.5 ℃ and 12 ±0.5 ℃) equally affected the fatty acid composition of lipids of egg yolks obtained from laying hens fed lycopene supplements in doses of 20, 40, and 60 mg/kg or astaxanthin in doses of 10, 20 and 30 mg/kg of feed for 30 days. Doses of lycopene from 20 to 60 mg/kg or astaxanthin from 10 to 30 mg/kg in the diet of laying hens contributed to a decrease in egg yolks at both storage temperatures of ω6 PUFA particles: Eicosatetraenoic and 6.9, 12-okadekatrienic acids until their complete disappearance. The addition of astaxanthin to the diet of laying hens reduced and stabilized the ratio of ω3/ω6 PUFA in yolks during egg storage to a greater extent than the addition of lycopene. Storage of lycopene or astaxanthin-enriched edible chicken eggs at 4 ±0.5 °C and 12 ±0.5 °C for 30 days can be used to correct the fatty acid profile of yolk lipids.


Biological systems in ocean environment provide all the desired features required for design of unmanned undersea vehicles. We noticed the uniqueness and simplicity in the design of rowing medusa and have successfully demonstrated working prototypes of Aurelia Aurita. In this study, we demonstrate the effect of bell joints in reducing the contraction force required for deformation. The study is based on observations made for the sub-umbrella features of jellyfish. Artificial jellyfish unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) was fabricated consisting of silicone as the matrix material and shape memory alloy (SMA) as the actuation material. UUV was characterized for its performance and tailored to achieve vertical motion. SMAs were selected for actuation material because they are simple current-driven device providing large strain and blocking force. However, electrical power requirements were found to be quite high in the underwater conditions. It was identified that by including "joints" in the structural material forming the bell, the overall power requirement can be reduced as it lowers the resistance to compression. An analytical model was developed that correlates the deformation achieved with the morphology of the joints. Experiments were conducted to characterize the effect of both joint shapes and structural materials on the motion. Results are compared with that of natural medusa gastrodermal lamella and analyzed using the theoretical model. By including the features inherently present in natural jellyfish, the required compression force was found to be decreased.


Most research on aboriginal mind and mental health has sought to apply or confirm preexisting European-derived theories among aboriginal people. Culture has been underappreciate. An understanding of uniquely aboriginal models for mind and mental health might lead to more effective and robust interventions. To address this issue, a core group of elders from five separate regions of North America was developed to help determine how aboriginal people conceived of mind, self, and identity before European contact. The process utilized for this study is iterative and involves discussions of teachings, traditional stories, and elder's comments on conclusions drawn. The elders endorsed a relational theory of mind in which mind exists between people as a product of the stories told and created within and by that relationship. Mind is distinguished from consciousness which is without language and exists within the individual as awareness. Language immediately results in an "out there" orientation in which two or more individuals generate stories about their experiences. The community is the basic unit of study for mind and mental health, and mental "illness" is not distinguished from physical "illness," but rather all are seen as a continuum of suffering and pain. What emerged from this research is that North American theories of mind are more closely related to Daoist and Shinto theories than to the logical positivism which drives most of North America's conventional psychology and psychiatry. Within European traditions, however, the philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin with his emphasis on a dialogical self coupled with system theory comes closest to resembling North American aboriginal theories. This model explains why ceremony and ritual, community interventions, talking circles (including AA and the Wellbriety Movement), and family therapy are more compatible with aboriginal thought than conventional North American biomedicine and psychology.


This paper presents a new image edge detection method based on the Bspline wavelet transformation by the multiscale thresholds according to the detection requirement of the sealing′s diameter.This method applying multiscale analysis of wavelet,firstly it calculates maximum of wavelet transform modular,and then,removes noise based on the multiscale thresholds,detects the strange dot position of the signal,finally attains the goal of detecting the seal image.The simulation proves that the algorithm can obtain more precise edge pixels and tolerate some noise.The technique is an effective method of edge detection.


The creation or transfer of a service always has a series of territorial repercussions. However, if, in addition, the service is a chemist's that, to do business, must meet a series of conditions (the number of inhabitants and distances among others,) the territorial consequences may be several. The purpose of this work is to show how the voluntary transfer of a chemist's would affect the municipality of A Estrada (Pontevedra). The territorial repercussion would influence the demographic, social, economic and mobility characteristics of the population in this area in the interior of Galicia. The basic service of distributing medicine to the population would also be affected. To achieve this objective, exhaustive fieldwork was carried out along with an analysis of all available territorial information on the actions to be carried out, considering planning and territorial development in the municipality. One of the conclusions reached was to verify how the boundaries or borders that are sometimes created by the administration are not always the most efficient in relation to the characteristics of the territory, nor do they provide the best service to the population (educational, health or pharmaceutical).


Background  Lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET) is a rare form of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus that characteristically presents as a succulent, erythematous plaques on sun‐exposed areas. The histopathological change that primarily distinguishes LET from other variants of cutaneous lupus erythematosus is the lack of alterations of the dermo–epidermal junction and epidermis. Our purpose was to describe 15 cases of LET from Thailand.


A particle collecting method and a particle collecting unit, and a substrate treatment apparatus including the same are provided to prevent particles from being attached at an inner wall of an exhaust line, and to prevent corrosion and pressure drop of the exhaust line. An exhaust line(280) is connected to a process chamber(100a) to exhaust gas. A collecting unit is connected to the exhaust line, and collects particles contained in the gas. A collector is installed within the exhaust line, and comprises an incoming hole for particles. A collecting line is connected to the collector, and extended to the outside of the exhaust line by penetrating the exhaust line.


It introduced the PLC automatic control system of the working principle and function,and then mainly introduced the PLC control system in coal assembly coal in the wide hair negotiable application,the final analysis how to use PLC automatic control technology and underground transportation equipment complete coal mine drainage system.


Whereas some scholars have shown that urban contexts are the best place for mobilization, some others have argued that the contemporary complex governance transforms the city into a "post-political" space. Focusing on urban residents' reactions to slum clearance in Nouakchott, the capital city of Mauritania, this paper seeks to explore these two opposite theses about politics in the Southern urban contexts – the quiet encroachment paradigm versus the post-political thought. Both dynamics are useful and complementary according to the scale of analysis: depoliticization on the level of urban governance and politicization on the level of popular politics.


Fourier-Motzkin elimination is a classical method for solving linear inequalities in which one variable is eliminated in each iteration. This method is considered here as a matrix operation and properties of this operation are established. In particular, the focus is on situations where this matrix operation preserves combinatorial matrices (defined here as (0,1,�1)-matrices).


A solid lubricant can be applied to the components of a tribological pair in the form of Þ lms, deposited or generated in layer form on the surface, or incorporated into the volume of the matrix as dispersed particles, producing a dry self lubricating composite material. Although there are many examples of technology developed with solid lubricants as Þ lms, that kind of processing has a high production cost. Further, the use of solid lubricants in the form of Þ lms often leads to durability problems as a result of their thickness which provides only a limited reserve of lubricant. The lubrication effect may cease abruptly by removing the lubricant Þ lm as a consequence of the action of mechanical stresses, especially in cases of poor adhesiveness or even as a result of wear. Considering these problems, self lubricating materials may be more appropriate for solving lubrication needs in many practical applications, where an external lubricant supply is impossible or not recommended. Self-lubricating materials are used in applications like bearings, bushings, plates, and other wear surfaces. Two distinct groups of self lubricating materials are in use: porous materials whose pores are Þ lled with lubricant à uid and composite materials in which solid lubricant particles are dispersed in the bulk of the materials. While porous materials impregnated with à uid lubricants are the most used materials for self-lubricating bearings, the dry self-lubricating materials (solid Journal of Materials Research and Technology


BACKGROUND
Cancer screening guidelines acknowledge the need for physician-patient discussions on appropriate tests. This study examined expert clinician communication practices associated with prostate and colorectal cancer screening and testicular cancer early detection for male patients.

METHODS
Recorded observation and qualitative analysis of transcripts from 38 standardized patient interactions.

RESULTS
Most effective communication practices were elicited from the data and incorporated into a model for male cancer screening discussions.

CONCLUSIONS
Qualitative analysis of expert clinician interactions can identify best communication practices leading to the development of a communication model used in medical student teaching.


The discovery of the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon about two decades ago has ever since changed our mutual understanding of the aggregation of organic luminogens which always quenches their fluorescence. Not only have limitations imposed by aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) on conventional luminogens been overcome, but applications including bioimaging and biosensing, optoelectronics, stimuli-responsive materials and chemical sensing have been extended as well. Amongst these, chemical sensing plays an important role in the areas of biomedical imaging and environmental monitoring. A large number of AIE-based chemosensors have been developed for detecting numerous chemical species, ranging from small molecules to cations and anions. Given the important biological roles that cations may play and the harmful effects that cations may bring about, cation sensing has emerged as a fascinating topic. In this paper, recent advances in the development of AIE-based chemosensors for a full spectrum of cations including s, p, d and f-block cations are reviewed. The strategies to design the chemical structures of cation chemosensors, sensing mechanisms and sensing performances including sensing sensitivity and selectivity are summarized and compared. Further challenges and opportunities in the field of AIE-based chemosensors for cations are also commented.


The invention provides a wet-method transfer printing process of natural fiber and nylon, which mainly comprises the following steps: (1) selecting acidic printing ink or active printing ink; (2) printing: printing the surface of PET or BOPP film with the selected printing ink to obtain a transfer printed film; (3) transfer printing: treating natural fiber and nylon with a soaking liquid, subjecting the transfer printed film and printed fabric simultaneously to the compression by a rolling machine; and (4) oven-drying: oven-drying the fabric after the transfer printing is completed and baking to allow color fixation. The invention has the advantages of high transfer printing rate, high color yield of fabric, bright color, good color fastness, less pollution, reduced water consumption, simple process, high production efficiency, low cost, and success in non-paper transfer printing.


The aim of this study was to investigate unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents' social networks in Sweden, and what they believe aggravate or facilitate the forging of social networks. In the study a qualitative method was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with five unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents in the ages of 17-18. During the interviews we used visual elicitation in the form of a network map. The empirical material was analysed with social network theory, anthropological network theory, Robert Putnam's distinction in bonding capital and bridging capital, and racialization theory. The result suggests that all of the adolescents, in this study, have a social network in Sweden to which they can turn for both emotional and practical support. Their social networks consist primarily of professional adults and adolescents of the same ethnicity as themselves, alternatively other ethnicity than Swedish. All of the interviewees described what might facilitate or aggravate the forging of social networks. The interviewees stressed for instance the significance of language, common interests and activities, culture and background. Swedish adolescents are, according to the interviewees, the most difficult people to get to know in Sweden. The reason for this was primarily stated to be the Swedish adolescents' restraint against the interviewees.


The effect of vertical vibration on the long-wave instability of a Marangoni system is studied. The vibration augments the stabilizing effect of surface tension in bounded systems. In laterally unbounded systems nonlinear terms can stabilize non-flat states and prevent the appearance of dry spots. The effect of a slight inclination of the system is also considered.


The genus Pandalus Leach, 1814, is revised based upon the abundant material from collections in various museums or institutions in the world. Altogether 20 species are recognized which appear to form five groups. Nineteen species are recognized in Pandalus, three of which are described as new: P. curvatus from southern Japan, and P. chani and P. formosanus from Taiwan. Four informal species groups are also recognized within the genus: P. montagui group (P. montagui Leach, 1814; P. borealis Kroyer, 1838; P. goniuruStimpson, 1860; P. jordani Rathbun, 1902; P. tridens Rathbun, 1902; and P. eous Makarov, 1935); P. stenolepis group (P. stenolepis Rathbun, 1902; P. curvatus sp. nov.); P. hypsinotus group (P. hypsinotus Brandt, 1851; P. danae Stimpson, 1857; P. prensor Stimpson, 1860; P. gracilis Stimpson, 1860; P. gurneyi Stimpson, 1871; P. nipponensis Yokoya, 1933; P. teraoi Kubo, 1937; P. chani sp. nov.; and P. formosanus sp. nov.); and P. platyceros group (P. platyceros Brandt, 1851; and P. latirostris Rathb...


In view of the situation that novice drivers are easily out of control in an emergency, this paper proposes an emergency parking instruction recognition system based on speech recognition and speech emotion recognition. The system first extracts the feature vector of the speech signal, and then uses the support vector machine (SVM) to recognize the emotion of the speech. When the emotion is abnormal, the dynamic time warping (DWT) algorithm is used to match the parking instruction template. The test results show that the system can realize the speech recognition of parking instructions very well.


Objective To observe the effectiveness and safety of alfentanil combined to propofol anesthesia for abortion.Methods Ninety ASAⅠorⅡpatients scheduled for elective abortion under total intravenous anesthesia were randomly assigned into three groups with 30 cases each.Group F1 received fentanyl 1μg/kg intravenously i.v,group F2 received alfentanil 5μg/kg i.v,and group F3 received alfentanil 10μg/kg i.v.Three groups were given 2.0 mg·kg~(-1)·min~(-1) of propofol until the responsiveness MOAA/S scale was zero.MAP,HR,SpO_2 and SI were recorded before injection of test drug(T_1),loss of the eyelash reflex(T_2),at the beginning of the operation (T_3),1 min after the operation(T_4),at the end of the operation(T_5) and awakening(T_6).The total usage of propofol,onset time,time duration of surgery,recovery time and awakening time along with side effects were determined.Postoperative abdominal pain intensity was assessed at 10 and 30 min with VAS scale.Results Compared with group F1,SI increased at T_2 in groups F2 and F3(P 0.05).At T_3,MAP,HR and SI were higher in group F2 than those in groups F1 and F3(P0.05). SpO_2 was lower in group F3 than that in group F1 at T_2 and T_3(P0.05).The total dose of propofol was less in the group F3 compared with the other two groups(P0.05).The onset time of propofol and recovery time in the groups F2 and F3 and the time to awakening in group F3 were shorter than those in group Fl(P0.05).Patients moving in response to surgical stimulation in the group F2 were far more than those in groups Fl and F3(P0.05).Conclusion 10μg/kg alfentanil combined to propofol is an effective and safe anesthesia for abortioa


In this paper, we consider Hom-(co)modules associated to a Hom-(co)associative algebra and define the notion of Hom-triple. We introduce the definitions of cleft extension and Galois extension with normal basis in this setting and we show that, as in the classical case, these notions are equivalent in the Hom setting.


Objective To study the association of serum level of stromal cell-derived factor-] (SDF- 1) and its receptor CXCR4 of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)from peripheral blood with macrovascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Methods The study subjects included simple diabetics (n = 25), macrovascular complication group (n) = 30) and healthy control (n = 26). The level of serum SDF-1, the positive rate of CXCR4 on EPCs and the number of EPCs were determined. Results SDF-1 level and EPCs number were decreased one by one from control group to simple diabetic group and to the macrovascular complications group ( P 0. 05 or 0. 01). CXCR4 expression rate were significantly decreased one by one from the simple diabetic group to the control group and to the macrovascular complications group (F0. 05 or 0. 01). SDF-1 level was positively correlated with EPCs number, (r = 0. 327 ,P0. 05), carotid intima-media thickness were negatively correlated with SDF-1 and EPCs (r = — 0. 342,-0. 298, P0. 05) in T2DM. Conclusion SDF-1/CXCR4 may be related to macrovascular complications in patients with T2DM.


As a result of considering the meeting at discharge or discharging session an element closing the emission of the patient's diagnosis, and also reviewing his/her treatment, where the follow-up in external consultation or in the primary health care level is oriented, and arrives the time of knowing the satisfaction level of the patient and his/her relatives (an indicator of the medical care quality), we decided to emit recommendations about the necessity of carrying out the discharging session, on the bases of  the analysis of the reviewed literature and the accumulated empiric experience. We thought that it is necessary to take into account this skill, knowing for the students that it depends on education at work, in the area of the practice, and shows problems in our surroundings.


The deficit of alpha-1-antitrypsin (AATD) is the most common potentially fatal hereditary disease in adulthood, causing the onset of emphysema, various liver diseases and favouring the development and progression of tumours and systemic vasculitis. Treatment is replacement rate. The dosing schedule alpha1-antitrypsin (α-1AT) has been modified over time by infraestrutura centers dedicated to it. In the beginning, a weekly administration agreed, but given the saturation of the hospitals and the deterioration of the quality of life of patients having to go to hospital every week, it was decided to increase the interval to every 15-21 days.


OBJECTIVE
To establish the protein expression map of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and provide a basis for proteomic study of NPC.

METHODS
Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to isolate cancer cells from NPC tissues. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis(2-DE) was used to separate the total proteins of LCM purified NPC cells. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was performed to identify the proteins, and bioinformatics was used to construct the 2-DE database of NPC proteome.

RESULTS
A 2-DE reference map of NPC was established. On the 2-DE map, a total of (1 312+/-30) protein spots were detected, and 427 protein spots representing 241 non-redundant proteins were identified. The 2-DE database of NPC proteome was constructed. These data could be accessed at our website (http://www.xyproteomics.org).

CONCLUSION
A protein expression profile of LCM purified NPC tissues has been established for the first time, which provides useful information and source for proteomic study of NPC.


In recent years more and more complex software packages and more specialized are used to model and to explain economic process. In this paper we present a study on Romanian's capital market volatility in ARCH and GARCH models using programming environment "R" as new statistical software. We consider the BET and BETC indexes as representative elements of capital market developments. With this study we want to highlight the advantages of using the package "rugarch" that can implement a set of GARCH models and allows the inclusion of external regressors in the variance equation.


A method is outlined which allows to analyse survival and response data from a clinical trial on the treatment of cancer when the question of interest is whether the somehow defined response to the treatment has an influence on patients' survival times. This can be done by making use of Cox's proportional hazards model for survival data together with time-dependent covariates. This allows an appropriate classification of non-respondors and responders by considering the time of diagnosis of response during follow-up. The resulting test can be viewed as a time-dependent logrank test. An example from a clinical trial on gastrointestinal cancer is considered.


Health supplements, vitamins and herbal extracts are gaining popularity as they have been found beneficial in preventing/treating various ailments. Also, combination of such supplements has been found to work synergistically. Therefore, in the present research, we designed and evaluated a novel formula designated as VDDS, consisting of water-soluble vitamins (B complex, vitamin C), coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10) and herbal extracts (green tea and ginkgo leaf), in treating Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In vitro, we investigated neuroprotective effect using amyloid beta (Aβ)-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells. Further, VDDS effect on learning and memory In vivo was scrutinized against scopolamineinduced mice model. Memory enhancing effects were evaluated using rectangular maze test and hot plate test. At the end of the study, brain homogenate was estimated for Aβ1-40, Aβ1-42, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and chemokine (IFN-γ, MCP-1 and RANTES) contents. In vitro, VDDS showed synergistic neuroprotective effect. In addition, it noticeably inhibited the development of AD In vivo (induced by scopolamine). The inhibitory effect of VDDS on AD might be associated with its Aβ and AChE inhibition, scavenging of free radicals and its ability to modulate pro-inflammatory chemokines. Thus, VDDS holds a significant therapeutic value in alleviating AD and its related complications.


Abstract Women managers in the United States are often confronted with conflicting expectations of compliance and assertiveness. The present study focused on one aspect of this double-bind—men's and women's perceptions of the assertive woman. To investigate this question, source credibility scales were employed with open-end questions. In a laboratory setting, 93 mixed-sex subjects observed a target assertive woman and responded on a paper and pencil survey. Men reported positive perceptions of assertive communication in women. Women, however, reported negative perceptions of assertive women.


Effective advantages gaining profitable use for customers and process advantages have led to the common acceptance of the Low Pressure Carburizing process (LPC) with High Pressure Gas Quenching. Despite of reproducible heat treatment results, the mechanism of the carburizing reaction at the parts'surface is not yet fully investigated. Mass spectroscopy and waste gas analysis should help to clearify the reaction mechanism of the most commonly used process gases. Continued development based upon practical experiences and new applications of the LPC process have been documented. By developing a Low Pressure Carbonitriding process, the benefits of LPC can be extended to non-alloyed or low-alloyed case hardening steels and tempering steels. By use of ammonia addition in the low pressure range the desired increase of surface hardness of low alloyed steels can be achieved. A further application within the LPC reserach includes the treatment of powder metallurgical sintered material. The main advantage of the LPC process is realized by the ability to process materials with open pores. In contrast to conventional gas carburizing, a through carburizing ofthe entire workpiece can be avoided by using the LPC process. The process parameters can be optimized to the material specification. Finally, different furnace designs are presented. Special emphasis on the design of a contiunous LPC plant was considered. Due to optimization of the gas quenching chamber by means of FE-simulation the quenching capability of the quench chamber was significantly increased and the application limits of gas quenching were expanded. The high quenching rate enables increased core hardness despite of bigger parts dimension.


The article discusses, from a pedagogical point of view, the film productions addressed to children. What children learn when they watch a film? What motivates filmmakers to produce films for children? Every child film is educational? What characterizes an educational film? Based on Virginia Kastrup's ideas on a "cognitive invention policy", the text advocates the need to establish a new cognitive policy for education, for learning and for children relationship with cinema. In dialogue with film critic Alain Bergala and philosopher Walter Benjamin, among others, the article discusses parameters that can facilitate the construction of a filmic language for children in line with this proposed cognitive policy.


Dabigatran and rivaroxaban are new oral inhibitors of the thrombin (F2a) and F10a, respectively. Both inhibitors decrease the extrinsic or intrinsic generation of F10a/F2a in plasma. An innovative test for extrinsic F10a/F2a generation is the extrinsic coagulation activity assay (EXCA). With the EXCA the action of all F10a/F2a generation inhibitors can be quantified. The present work aimed to establish the mean therapeutic ranges of these two new drugs, as determined in the EXCA. Forty microlitres reconstituted lyophilized commercial pooled normal plasma, that had been supplemented with 0–0.48 mg/l dabigatran or rivaroxaban, in high-quality polystyrene U-wells (Brand781600), were incubated with 4 &mgr;l 1 ng/ml human placental tissue factor in 5% human albumin, 250 mmol/l CaCl2 (EXCA-trigger) for 1 min (EXCA-1) or 2 min (EXCA-2) at 37°C. 80 &mgr;l 2.5 mol/l arginine, 0.16% Triton X 100, pH 8.6, were added. After 3 min, 20 &mgr;l 1 mmol/l CHG-Ala-Arg-pNA in 1.25 mol/l arginine was added and &Dgr;A/t was determined (37°C). The mean therapeutic range (10–20% EXCA) of dabigatran is approximately 0.05–0.1 mg/l. The mean therapeutic range (10–20% EXCA) of rivaroxaban is approximately 0.13–0.22 mg/l. Mean prophylactic concentrations (20–40% EXCA) are approximately 0.02–0.05 mg/l dabigatran and approximately 0.05–0.13 mg/l rivaroxaban. These are the mean ranges. Individual plasma might well behave differently: either an individual patient could be more sensible or more resistant towards one or both of these drugs. It is suggested to perform EXCA tests for each individual patient to determine the real drug dosage he needs to reach 10–20% of normal EXCA for therapy or 20–40% of normal EXCA for prophylaxis.


Research in the field of blood glucose monitoring systems has led to incredible advancements over the past several decades. The blood glucose level of a diabetic patient is vital to monitor since large swings in blood sugar can cause life threatening damage to the individual. The importance of blood glucose monitoring increases when a patient experiences hypoglycemia, which can be very dangerous. The objective of this project is to create a low cost portable device that utilizes the modular bio-signal sensor kit BITalino and Arduino Uno microcontroller to measure and process the electrodermal activity (EDA) and electrocardiography (ECG) signals that can be associated with a drop in the subject's blood glucose level to detect hypoglycemia in diabetics.


Ultrasound has been used to trigger release of encapsulated material from polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules. Sonication was found to destroy both plain and nanoparticle-modified capsules. Cavitation occurs through the collapse of generated microbubbles and the resulting shear forces should cause the destruction of the polyelectrolyte capsules. Application in catalysis is demonstrated in this paper, while further potential usage of ultrasound triggered release is anticipated in bio-medical applications.


Audio acquisition and recording can benefit from directional reception of the acoustic signals. Current acoustic designs of highly-directional microphones are bandwidth limited and physically large. A microphone array used in conjunction with a beamforming algorithm can acquire and spatially filter the signal, but traditionally this has suffered from limitations similar to those of the purely acoustic designs. The work presented in this paper attempts to overcome these limitations by producing and analyzing three atypical techniques for broadband beamforming. The last and most successful technique employs an algorithm which calculates the difference in group delay of the acquired signals and uses that information to determine the direction of the incoming signals as a function of frequency.


In 1775, Nicolas Desmarest (1725-1815) presented an interpretation of geological evidence he had been examining for over a decade, among the extinct volcanoes of Auvergne in south-central France. He interpreted the volcanic remnants in that region in terms of three successive epochs, distinguished from one another by their degree of erosive alteration and the different topographic positions they held following extensive denudation. He insisted on the utility, for the establishment of sequential stages in the region's history, of what he called his 'analytical method' of working backward in time , from recognition of the most recent and therefore least altered products, to reconstruct in the imagination those more thoroughly disturbed and confusing remnants of earlier periods. In addition to being a landmark effort in historical geology based on local observation, Desmarest's paper was also notable as an expression of what would come later to be called uniformitarian thinking: he argued that the erosive processes responsible for wearing down the lavas must have operated gradually and constantly . While Desmarest seems never to have wavered in his view of volcanic action as a subordinate agent in the overall dynamics and history of the globe, he showed awareness that his analysis of the Auvergne lavas pointed toward a considerable role for volcanism during long portions of the province's geological history. The nearest thing to a contemporary publication of Desmarest's 1775 presentation came more than three years later, in the form of an 'excerpt' in the February 1779 issue of the journal Observations sur la physique. An English translation of that excerpt is presented in the present paper for the first time.


Surfaces of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene (PE) polymer materials are modified by a single capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) plasma discharge. These polymers are commonly used in many areas such as textile, food packaging, and biomedical1–3. To enhance the properties of adhesion and printability, or to improve the biocompatibility, the surface energies of the polymers are increased using the plasma technology. Utilizing the RF plasma discharge can modify the surface chemistry of polymers without changing their bulk properties. The effect of plasma is only up to the first few nanometers (1–10 nm) of the surface and leads to form new functionalized groups having high crosslinking and branched structures1, 4.


Growth and respiration rates of the three larval instars of Sericesthis nigrolineata Boisd. were measured under conditions of five constant temperatures (7.5-27.50C) and two soil moistures (10 and 20%). In all three larval instars temperature was found to affect both growth and respiration, while soil moisture only affected growth at the mid-range temperatures (12.5-22.5'C). The growth and respiration rates were used to calculate the rates of production (P), respiratory energy loss (R) and assimilation (A = P + R). Examination of the partial energy budgets and the net production efficiencies (P/A) showed that for S. nigrolineata the optimum temperature for the conversion of assimilated energy into production was 12.50C. Soil moisture was thought to influence assimilation and production through its effect upon the supply of available food.


own experience Dr. Grunbaum has not seen any other form of treatment produce results approaching those following the use of tuberculin. He employs the neu-tuberculin (bacilli emulsion) of Koch, and avoids the production of violent reaction. During the earlier part of the treatment the patient is kept in hospital, but when the dose has reached 075 cubic centimetre (beyond which it is rarely necessary to go)


I find myself in the unfamiliar position of being in agreement with Campbell Newman. Of the larger political parties, only the Greens still oppose the nuclear industry. We don't support uranium mining, nuclear power, or nuclear weapons.


This is a project report from the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC). PSERC is a multi-university Center conducting research on challenges facing a restructuring electric power industry and educating the next generation of power engineers. More information about the center can be found at the Center's website: Notice Concerning Copyright Material PSERC members are given permission to copy without fee all or part of this publication for internal use if appropriate attribution is given to this document as the source material. This report is available for downloading from the PSERC website. We wish to thank all the vendor companies who participated in the survey of available on-line stability assessment tools and the PSERC member companies who provided invaluable support in terms of a user needs survey for on-line transient stability assessment i Executive Summary With the increase in transactions on the bulk power system, there is a critical need to determine transient security in an on-line setting, and to perform preventive or corrective control if the analysis indicates that the system is insecure. In recent years the industry has seen the development of large generation projects near locations of fuel supplies. As a result, the stability properties of the system have been altered. Unfortunately, the developers of the new " non-utility " plants are not cognizant of the impact of the plants on system stability. In this environment, new stability conditions may actually reduce available transfer capability. Stability problems may not occur frequently, but when they occur, their impact can be enormous. Most of the time, off-line studies are performed to determine conservative estimates of stability limits. In today's bulk power market, the responsibility for monitoring system stability may be vested with an independent system operator. On-line stability monitoring may be even more necessary than in the past as power system operators try to facilitate as many economic transactions as possible. This project's objectives were to review the state of art in on-line transient stability assessment; evaluate promising new technologies; and identify technical and computational requirements for calculating transient stability limits and corrective and preventive control strategies for operating situations that are transiently insecure. Six on-line transient stability package vendors were identified by conducting a literature survey. A detailed questionnaire which addressed several pertinent issues relating to on-line transient stability assessment was prepared. All six vendors responded to the questionnaire. The responses received were carefully analyzed. This analysis provided …


This text deals with the highly topical issue of
interdisciplinary intervention for children with deficits in
development of communication skills. The current task is to
detect children at risk, detect delays in speech development
and establish appropriate stimulation. The paper presents
survey findings analyzing the attitudes of preschool teachers
for children with deficits in development of communication
skills.


Decision making problem is the process of finding the best option from all of the feasible alternatives. In this paper, from among multicriteria models in making complex decisions and multiple attribute models for the most preferable choice, Technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach has been dealt with. TOPSIS method is based on an aggregating function representing "closeness to the ideal", which originated in the compromise programming method. To eliminate the units of criterion functions in TOPSIS, vector normalization is used. The TOPSIS method determines a solution with the shortest distance to the ideal solution and the greatest distance from the negative-ideal solution, but it does not consider the relative importance of these distances. The aim of this paper is to select the best location of a geothermal well by using the multiple criteria decision making – TOPSIS. The paper also discuses some of the numerous advantages of renewable energy sources as compared to those non-renewable ones, and explores the ways of promoting geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources to the public.


Patients are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) because their illness or injury may be life-threatening, requiring intense support and monitoring that cannot be given in the general wards. Critical illness is often sudden, unexpected and can change the lives of both the patient and family members in a matter of minutes. The everyday lives of family and close friends may come to an abrupt halt or be disrupted as they live in the uncertainty of not knowing whether the patient will survive. The ICU, a stressful, unfamiliar, alien and intimidating environment, often becomes the centre of people's lives as they wait desperately for any signs of alterations or progress in the lives of their loved ones. The lives of the patients admitted to ICU are often in danger, which can lead to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in their family members.


Background and objectives: Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity accompanies increased oxidative stress, leading eventually to kidney dysfunction. On the other hand, Pistacia vera nuts (pistachio) display multiple pharmacological effects such as antioxidant property. The present study investigated the effects of pistachio hydroalcoholic extract on nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin in mice. Methods: Pistachios (100 g) were powdered and macerated in 1 L of ethanol (80%) for 72 h Then, dried with rotary evaporator apparatus. Forty male mice were divided into five groups: normal, cisplatin, cisplatin+DMSO, cisplatin+ pistachio hydroalcoholic extract 10, and cisplatin+ pistachio hydroalcoholic extract 100. Nephrotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg/day) on the first day of the experiment. Pistachio hydroalcoholic extract (10 and 100 mg/kg/p.o) was administered for four consecutive days. The body weight and kidney function indices such as serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urine nitrogen (BUN) were measured. Also, the renal tissues were assessed for levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Results: Cisplatin reduced animals' body weight. Also, cisplatin increased levels of Cr, BUN, and MDA, and decreased the activities of SOD, CAT, and GPx. Treatment with pistachio hydroalcoholic extract (100 mg/kg) reduced the levels of serum Cr, BUN, as well as renal MDA. Moreover, administration of 100 mg/kg pistachio hydroalcoholic extract to cisplatin-treated mice increased the body weight as well as CAT, GPx, and SOD activities. Conclusion: These results imply that pistachio hydroalcoholic extract treatment may diminish cisplatin-induced renal dysfunction through reduction of oxidative stress in the kidney tissue.


The present research is focused on establishing the bad use of criminal conciliation established in the new Criminal Procedure code that it will eventually bring a violation of human rights which one of them is the presumption of innocence, making in great majority of cases the defendant to confess against him, bringing them criminal responsibility. The investigation starts with legal analysis doctrinaire such as the International Laws, Constitution of Ecuador and the new Criminal Procedure code. Another source was bibliographic text relating where it talks about presumption of innocence, pretrial detention and conciliation. In order to have agility and impartiality in judicial procedures and a better understanding of the new alternative mechanism of conflicts solutions known as criminal conciliation.


Twenty five yearling male Arsi-Bale sheep breed with mean initial body weight of 19.8 ±1.29kg were used to evaluate the effect barley bran (BB), linseed meal (LSM) and their mixes supplementation on carcass, edible and non-edible offal components.  A complete randomized block design consisting of five treatments and five blocks was employed. The treatments were T 1 : ad libitum feeding of faba bean haulms, T 2 : ad libitum faba bean haulms + sole supplementation of BB, T 3 : ad libitum faba bean haulms + supplementation of 2BB:1LSM, T 4 : ad libitum faba bean haulms + supplementation of 1BB:2LSM and T 5 : ad libitum faba bean haulms + sole supplementation of LSM. To increase intake, haulms were chopped 2-5cm prior to offering. The supplement feeds were offered at 300 g/head per day in DM basis at 08:00 and at 16:00 hours by dividing the daily offer into two equal portions.  The feeding trial was conducted for 90 days. At the end of the feeding trail, sheep were fasted for 12 hours (with free access to water), weighed and slaughtered for carcass and non-carcass components analysis. Unsupplemented sheep resulted significantly lowest carcass (P 0.001) observed among supplemented groups. In conclusion, different proportion of concentrate supplements could affect the weight of both the carcass and non-carcass components. Keywords : Barley bran, carcass, faba bean haulms, linseed meal, offal


Methemoglobin does not accumulate in significant quantities in the blood of dogs after intravenous injection of clinically recommended quantities of methylene blue. This fact, however, should not bring into question the proposed methemoglobin explanation of the dye9s action in cyanide poisoning. The failure of methemoglobin to accumulate is explicable on the basis of the known behavior of the reactions involved, namely, the reduction of the formed methemoglobin by leuco-methylene blue and the enzyme systems present in the erythrocytes, and the rapid disappearance of the injected dye from the blood. In vivo formation of methemoglobin is readily demonstrable after administration of both cyanide and methylene blue because of the stability of the cyanmethemoglobin which is formed. Considerably more than half of 2 m.l.d. of subcutaneously administered cyanide is demonstrably bound in the circulating erythrocytes of dogs injected with methylene blue immediately before administration of the cyanide. When the dye is injected continuously throughout the period of cyanide absorption a still greater fraction of the cyanide is bound in the blood. The principal action of methylene blue in counteracting the toxic effects of cyanide appears to depend, therefore, upon methemoglobin formation. In the absence of experimental demonstration that methylene blue can replace the cyanide sensitive catalysts which are concerned with vital processes the methemoglobin explanation appears to be all that is required.


In order to study the eccentric compressive behavior of the CFST column-beam joint with the column tube discontinuous in joint zone,eccentric compressive experiments,including tests of the failure mode,ultimate capacity and the deformation of the specimens were done. DIANA software was used to carry out the parametric nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) on the joint. The results indicated that the joint had good ductility and the type of joint was feasible. The FEA simula- ted well the deformation,ultimate bearing capacity,crack development,and the strain distribution of hoop reinforcement of the eccentric compressive specimens. With the increase of the eccentricity, the bearing capacity of the eccentric specimen decreased; with the increase of reinforcement ratio, the bearing capacity of the eccentric specimen increased. It was found that the hoop reinforcement strain of the eccentric specimens decreased from compression side to the tension side to cause the asymmetrical confinement.


The sites of the Sintashta and Petrovka archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia) have been traditionally considered as part of the realm of chariot cultures of early Indo-European communities. The analysis of the finds demonstrates that the phenomenon of charioteering carried an important symbolic role in the paradigm of the steppe communities of the Bronze Age. Numerous finds of chariot fragments, elk antler cheekpieces, paired horse sacrifices, remote combat weapons in cemeteries of Stepnoye I, Stepnoye VII, and Krivoe Ozero have been repeatedly subjected to scientific investigation. Collective burials have been discov-ered, in which even women and young children are accompanied by weapons, cheekpieces, fragments of chari-ots and sacrificial horses. Based on this, we have concluded that the community of "charioteers" included mem-bers of a certain clan, possibly related to the production and use of chariots, horse training, etc. At the same time, however, individual burials of adult men with elements of a chariot complex have also been found, which occupied central positions in kurgans; those men could have been actual chariot warriors. Recent findings provide a vivid evidence for this. In the field season of 2021, the Sintashta burial complex (kurgan 33) was investigated in the Stepnoye I cemetery, the central burial of which contained a skeleton of a 35–50 year old man who had a round healed hole in his skull. Theoretically, such an injury could have been caused by a battle axe, similar to ones found at the sites of the Sintashta and Petrovka Cultures. Furthermore, abnormal osteophytosis growths have been recorded on all areas of the man's spine, which could have resulted from both injury and high pressure on spine caused by driving a chariot. One elk antler cheekpiece (an element of horse bridle) was found in the burial, along with numerous bones of sacrificial animals. All details of the burial rite indicate that the buried man was a sig-nificant person for the community, probably a charioteer warrior. Previously obtained AMS dates attribute the Sin-tashta complexes of the Stepnoye I cemetery to the range of about 1950–1850 BC. Thus, the newly investigated kurgan 33 of the Stepnoye I cemetery respresents another piece of evidence indicating the existence of chariot cul-ture among the steppe communities of the Bronze Age in the Southern Trans-Urals.


The index to the first Italian edition of the architectural works of Vitruvius, printed in 1521, contains several notable features. The running heads alternate between the words Tabula and Index. Within the index there are rubrics for the first two letters of each alphabetic section (e.g. AL, AM). The locators point to the initial words of a section, as well as the leaf number. These section incipits are positioned after the main index headings; that is, as subheadings, preceded by paragraph markers. The index includes entries in the Greek alphabet, interfiled with Roman-alphabet entries as if they were transliterated. The index also functions as a glossary. Photographs illustrate these points.


Sound source localization plays a crucial role in many microphone arrays application, ranging from speech enhancement to human-computer interface in a reverberant noisy environment. The steered response power (SRP) using the phase transform (SRP-PHAT) method is one of the most popular modern localization algorithms. The SRP-based source localizers have been proved robust, however, the methods may fail to locate the sound source in adverse noise and reverberation conditions, especially when the direct paths to the microphones are unavailable. This paper proposes a localization algorithm based on classification of cross-correlation functions. Simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed algorithm provides higher localization accuracy than the SRP-PHAT algorithm in reverberant noisy environment.


In this study, a computer program to design tunnel blasting pattern has been developed. The program consists of two parts; one is for tunnel blasting pattern design and the other is for blasting modeling to estimate the peak particle velocity, the distribution of fragmentation and the excavation damage zone. We modified the design method of tunnel blasting pattern suggested by Langefors because it provided undesirable pattern in blasting practices such as considerably large center cut and too large burden for Vcut as drilling length increased. As a result, the burden and spacing were reduced to practically appropriate amounts. In addition, the correlation between rock mass rate, RMR, and rock constant in blasting, c, was analyzed based on the data collected from twenty three tests of tunnel blasting. It was concluded that the correlation between them was fairly good enough to be applied in cut design. In order to check the validity of the modified methods and their practical applicability, test blasting was carried out at two different tunnel construction sites in Korea. The results were satisfactory in that the average rate of advance was 90% and the overbreak did not cause additional support. Futhermore, the developed program is capable of estimating peak particle velocity by using (a) the existing vibration equations, (b) the vibration equation obtained by test blasting to check out the practical applicability of the designed blasting pattern. Feedback is implemented into the program to adjust the designed blasting pattern and control the vibration.


Introduction: the issues of the division of the jointly acquired property of spouses do not lose their relevance. As a general rule, in the absence of an agreement between the spouses, the division is carried out in court based on the legally established presumption of equality of shares, regardless of the method of participation in the formation of joint property. However, this principle is not absolute and the court has the right to deviate from the principle of equality by increasing the share of one of the spouses. Meanwhile, the possibility of increasing the share in the marital property is interpreted ambiguously in law enforcement, and the incorrect interpretation of the norm is revealed. In this regard, the author sets the goal: to summarize the approaches developed by the judicial practice on this issue, to identify and analyze the grounds for deviation from the principle of equality of shares in the division of property of spouses. Results: the reasons for the increase in the marital share are investigated, the problems of determining the criteria are identified, and the inconsistency of court decisions in similar cases when considering the categories "child's interest" and "spouse's interest" is established. Conclusions: based on the analysis of the legislation and materials of judicial practice, the problems of applying the grounds for derogating from the equality of the shares of spouses in the division of jointly acquired property and the ambiguity of the law enforcement are highlighted. Based on the results of the work, the author has developed some practical proposals and recommendations for improving the legislation.


Since a long time back allopurinol has been constantly use to subsidize uric acid level in blood by competitive and suicidal inhibition of xanthine oxidase. Barring a few side few tolerable effects there was never felt any emergency for invention of an alternative. But a dire research was going on to bring into light an alternative which is better than allopurinol in some aspects. Now a non-purine xanthine oxidase Febuxostat is a new non-purine xanthine oxidase inhibitor that is more potent than allopurinol 300 mg daily. Febuxostat was more effective than allopurinol in the subset with impaired renal function. Long-term extension studies at different levels confirmed the efficacy and tolerability of Febuxostat. In patients who achieved the Serum uric acid level of 6 mg/dl (360 μmol/l), the incidence of gout flares fell steadily and tophi resolved in many patients. The incidence of adverse events such as dizziness, diarrhoea, headache and nausea with Febuxostat was similar to allopurinol. The incidence of cardiovascular side-effects was numerically higher with Febuxostat than with allopurinol, but this was not statistically significant. Co-administration of Febuxostat with AZA or 6mercaptopurine is not recommended. Prophylaxis (colchicines and/or NSAIDs) against acute attacks should be used for at least the first 6 months, since early mobilization flares were observed in the clinical trials. In conclusion, Febuxostat is more effective than allopurinol 300 mg daily in reducing uric acid level 6 mg/dl (360 μmol/l), the target recommended long term option for treatment of gout.


The invention discloses a method for brewing rice-flavor baijiu, and relates to the field of technologies for brewing liquor. The method includes steps of A, soaking rice in water; B, steaming the rice by the aid of a rice steaming machine to obtain cooked rice, and mixing distiller's yeast into the cooked rice; C, filling a saccharifying tank with the cooked rice with the mixed distiller's yeast and saccharifying the cooked rice with the distiller's yeast; D, adding water into grains after the cooked rice is completely saccharified; E, pumping saccharified mash into a fermentation tank, adding water into the fermentation tank and fermenting the saccharified mash; F, preheating fermented mature mash, then distilling the fermented mature mash and extracting liquor to obtain base liquor; G, storing the base liquor and then obtaining the rice-flavor baijiu by means of blending. Compared with the prior art, the method has the advantages that the rice yield temperature and the quantity of the mixed distiller's yeast are controlled, so that microorganisms in the distiller's yeast can be prevented from being damaged due to excessively high temperatures, and the quantity of the added distiller's yeast is within an appropriate range; the saccharifying temperature and the fermentation temperature are controlled, so that saccharifying and fermentation procedures are carried out at the most appropriate temperatures, the saccharified mash can be stably fermented, the method is favorable for generating flavor substances such as acid and ester, the fermentation cycle can be shortened, the acidity of fermented grains are within certain ranges, and the baijiu is stable in quality.


In every aspect of everyday teaching process, the teacher is called to make decisions which determine the achievement of predetermined objectives. Every such decisions shall be taken considering a number of preconditions, as a part of a rational approach. Since teaching is a dynamic process in which every action can alter the expected outcome, any decision involves small or large "risk" rate. The current survey firstly tries to give a theoretical context of "didactic risk" based both on data from other scientific fields and on assumptions about planning the teaching procedure. Secondly, it examines the views of Greek teachers about what they think to be "risk in teaching process'.


We study mathematical programs with sparsity constraint (MPSC) from a topological point of view. Special focus will be on M-stationary points from Burdakov et al. (2016). We introduce nondegenerate M-stationary points and define their M-index. We show that all M-stationary points are generically nondegenerate. In particular, the sparsity constraint is active at all local minimizers of a generic MPSC. Some relations to other stationarity concepts, such as S-stationarity, basic feasibility, and CW-minimality, are discussed in detail. By doing so, the issues of instability and degeneracy of points due to different stationarity concepts are highlighted. The concept of M-stationarity allows to adequately describe the global structure of MPSC along the lines of Morse theory. In particular, we derive a Morse relation for MPSC, which relates the numbers of local minimizers and M-stationary points of M-index equal to one. The appearance of such saddle points cannot be thus neglected from the perspective of global optimization. As novelty for MPSC, a saddle point may lead to more than two different local minimizers. This is in strong contrast with other nonsmooth optimization problems studied before, where a saddle point leads to at most two of them. We conclude that the relatively involved structure of saddle points is the source of well-known difficulty if solving MPSC to global optimality.


The NASA KSC VAB was built to process Apollo launchers in the 1960's, and later adapted to process Space Shuttles. The VAB has served as a place to assemble solid rocket motors (5RM) and mate them to the vehicle's external fuel tank and Orbiter before rollout to the launch pad. As Space Shuttle is phased out, and new launchers are developed, the VAB may again be adapted to process these new launchers. Current launch vehicle designs call for continued and perhaps increased use of SRM segments; hence, the safe separation distances are in the process of being re-calculated. Cognizant NASA personnel and the solid rocket contractor have revisited the above VAB QD considerations and suggest that it may be revised to allow a greater number of motor segments within the VAB. This revision assumes that an inadvertent ignition of one SRM stack in its High Bay need not cause immediate and complete involvement of boosters that are part of a vehicle in adjacent High Bay. To support this assumption, NASA and contractor personnel proposed a strawman test approach for obtaining subscale data that may be used to develop phenomenological insight and to develop confidence in an analysis model for later use on full-scale situations. A team of subject matter experts in safety and siting of propellants and explosives were assembled to review the subscale test approach and provide options to NASA. Upon deliberations regarding the various options, the team arrived at some preliminary recommendations for NASA.


The authors compared the nature and level of HIV/AIDS awareness among Indian students living in India and those who have migrated to the US. A questionnaire was distributed to 38 college students living in India and 34 college students who had migrated to the US, all aged 18-26 years. 30% of sampled students in India were male compared to 65% in the US. 3% of the students in India and 12% of the students in the US knew someone infected with HIV. 74% of the Indian group and 53% of the US group felt that their knowledge of AIDS was inadequate. 3% of both groups believed that AIDS is completely curable. 13% of the students in India and 23% of the students in the US believe that tuberculosis is linked to HIV infection, both groups consider newspapers and magazines to be good sources of information, 71% of students in India and 50% of students in the US believe that HIV/AIDS education should begin in high school, and 90% of students in India and 79% of students in the US feel that people in India do not know enough about AIDS. The majority felt that high-risk populations should be screened and that there should be more governmental support for HIV/AIDS prevention and control.


We study the problem of computing the capacity of channels with feedback for the class of Gaussian channels with linear state-space models (possibly with hidden states) under the presence of quadratic input constraints. We first show that the input-output directed information is maximized by a Gaussian feedback policy. A few special cases are considered where such an optimization can be performed in a computationally tractable manner. In such cases, we show that the supremum of directed information admits a single-letter expression involving the convex log-determinant program as the block length tends to infinity.


In this work, Ti-pillared bentonites were evaluated to remove ciprofloxacin (CIP) from the aqueous solution. Pillared sodium bentonite (BSP) and pillared calcium bentonite (BCP) were prepared by means of the sol–gel method using titanium tetraisopropoxide with calcination for 3 h at 500 °C. They were characterized using the BET method for N2 adsorption, and subjected to X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the surface area of the pillared bentonites increased after the process, more than the natural ones. Pillared sodium bentonite has a more porous structure, larger surface areas, and higher adsorption capacity than pillared calcium bentonite. The kinetic adsorption of ciprofloxacin (CIP) onto pillared bentonites is well described by the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The BSP isotherm well fitted the Freundlich model, while the BCP isotherm fits the BET model better, suggesting multilayer adsorption. DR model shows mostly physical adsorption for CIP on the two adsorbents. The pH influence study indicated that CIP is adsorbed at pH between 6 and 8, which facilitates the use of BCP and BSP in wastewater treatment, whose pH generally oscillates between these ranges.


We evaluated the size distribution of defects in three types of PAN-based carbon fibres with the different Young's modulus using the lifetime measurement of positron annihilation. It was found that the average lifetimes of positron were around 400 ps in all cases corresponding to the defect size composed by nine or more atoms. In our previous research, we proposed the PAN-based carbon fibre model whose basic physical properties, such as orientation parameter, crystallinity, Young's modulus, and thermal conductivity were nearly identical to those of real carbon fibres using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In the present work, we constructed the more precise structure model for a PAN-based carbon fibre considering the results of lifetime measurement of positron annihilation. We finally determined that the intrinsic strength was 16 GPa using MD simulation on the tensile loading of PAN-based carbon fibre model.


This study aimed to identify the effect of a proposed training program using medicine balls on some physical variables and the digital achievement of throwing events in athletics for students of physical education at Palestine Technical University "Kadoorie". The study was conducted on an intentional sample of 28 students, who were randomly divided equally into Two groups (experimental and controlling) by 14 students. The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences in the effect of the proposed training program among the members of the experimental group and in favor of post-measurement, while the results of the study did not show any change among the control group members between the pre and post measurements. The researcher recommends the need to include medicine balls with educational exercises during teaching throwing activities in athletics, especially the actual shot put, disc-throwing, spear-throwing, discus throw and hammer throw.


The present invention provides an electro-active polymer ( "EAP") transducer with improved properties. These improvements reduce the film thickness, or because it formed without the use of high dielectric constant or high electric field, such an approach does not adversely affect the reliability and physical properties of the resulting dielectric film. By the addition of mobility-electroactive additives in the electrode formulation significantly improves the performance of the electroactive polymer transducer. Such additives are not necessary ion holy. Electroactive additives may implement than a high performance device, the active area is narrower than the small device, a lower voltage / power up and a combination of both increased performance.


Producing of a collagen preparation for determining platelet functions requires the testing of the activity of each single batch to make possible a standardization. For this purpose methods using PRP (platelet rich plasma) to measure the platelet aggregation are not very appropriate. Since four years a collagen centrifugation test proves to be suitable for determining the activity of various batches of Collagenreagent "Horm". In this test the platelets of citrated whole blood are mixed with graduated doses of collagen directly by the withdrawal of blood. The turbidimetrical evaluation of the PRP obtained from the collagen treated whole blood samples shows 15% (SD ± 3. 5 %) of the O.D. (optical density) of the PFP (platelet free plasma) after a dose of 1 meg and 80% (SD ± 2 %) after a dose of 2 meg collagen per ml whole blood. The aggregation of platelets in citrated whole blood simultaneously with graduated doses of collagen allows to standardize different batches of platelet specific collagen preparations.


According to the specialty laboratory characteristic of information management and information system and concrete situation,this paper analysed deficiencies existing in the experimental teaching of computer networks,put forward some measures of experimental teaching reform in experimental environment,experimental methods,experimental teaching content,and so on.


We theoretically analyzed the geometrical isotope effect and kinetic isotope effect for R-H(D)···R type proton (deuteron) transfer on the intramolecular hydrogen bond of (Z)-1,3-pentadiene (R = CH 2 ), 3-imino-l-propen-l-amine (R = NH), and malonaldehyde (R = O) by using Hartree-Fock (HF) and second-order Moller-Plesset (MP2) levels of a multi-component molecular orbital (MC-MO) method to treat the quantum effects of nuclei. As the protonic and deuteronic basis functions, our proposed exponent values of 24.1725 and 35.6214 for the single protonic and deuteronic Gaussian-type functions were employed, respectively. In the case of R = NH and O, the calculated R 5 -D 6 and R 1 ···D 6 bond lengths are shorter and longer than those of the R 5 -H 6 and R 1 ···H 6 bonds due to the anharmonicity of the potential. The charge densities around the deuteron for all R = CH 2 , NH, and O cases are larger than those around the proton because the deuteron is more localized than the proton. The ratio of rate constant (k a H /k a D ) obtained by MP2 level theory of the MC-MO method is estimated as 10.16, which is in reasonable agreement with the experimental result (12.2). For the systematic analysis of the intramolecular proton (deuteron)-transfer reaction, we also estimated the k a H /k a D of R = NH and O.


The ongoing COVID-19 shocked financial markets globally, including China's crude oil future market, which is the third-most traded crude oil futures after WTI and Brent. As China's first crude oil futures are accessible to foreign investors, the Shanghai crude oil futures (SC) have attracted significant interest since launch at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange. The impact of COVID-19 on the new crude oil futures is an important issue for investors and policy makers. Therefore, this paper studies the short-term influence of COVID-19 pandemic on SC via multifractal analysis. We compare the market efficiency of SC before and during the pandemic with the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and other commonly used random walk tests. Then, we generate shuffled and surrogate data to investigate the components of multifractal nature in SC. And we examine cross-correlations between SC returns and other financial assets returns as well as SC trading volume changes by the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis. The results show that market efficiency of SC and its cross-correlations with other assets increase significantly after the outbreak of COVID-19. Besides that, the sources of its multifractal nature have changed since the pandemic. The findings provide evidence for the short-term impacts of COVID-19 on SC. The results may have important implications for assets allocation, investment strategies and risk monitoring. [ FROM AUTHOR]


Eighteen strains of similar silicate bacteria were isolated from different soil samples taken from Poyang lake area in Jiangxi Province in China by using selective medium based on aluminosilicate minerals as energy source.Two strains of P04 and P17,which have higher abilities of producing acids,polysaccharides,and desilicon than those of other strains,were picked out by measuring pHs,viscosities,and observing morphologies of bacteria-mineral complexes.Physiological and biochemical characters and silicon releasing capacity of the two strains were tested by settingBacillus circullans CGMCC1.0153(strain code:P19) from China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center as the modal strain.The results show that the strains P04 and P17 can secrete more acids and polysaccharides,and release more silicon from minerals than other strains in the culture media,and can form obviously bacteria-mineral complexes.Strains P04 and P17 belonged to Bacillus circullans in comparison of their characteristics with those of the modal strain.Strains P04,P17 and P19 can decompose silicate minerals in bauxite and release silicon from them.The maximum concentrations of SiO2 of supernatants in the media are 49.69,32.78,37.98 mg/L,respectively after bioleaching for 12 days,and the ratios of Al2O3 to SiO2(A/S) of bauxite increased from 5.17 to 10.99,7.61,8.90 respectively.It is concluded that the silicate bacterium with higher abilities of producing acids and polysaccharides and forming obviously bacteria-mineral complexes has higher desilicon abilitiy.


ion and the Formulation of Rules As we have just seen, the hypothesis that responses can be conditioned only to ele14 Dattman and Israel (19.il) have proposed a principle to account for Heidbreder's results that is very similar to the notion that the cue corresponding to each possible classification has a certain weight (or "salience"). According to them: "the relative ease with which concepts arc attained is directly dependent upon the degree of perceptual effectiveness with which the instances serve to present the features to be conceptualized." This principle evidently suffers from the same lack of predictive force as the weighted-cue idea, since no objective method is proposed whereby the "perceptual effectiveness" can be measured independently of the results of the concept task itself. mentary properties (i.e., to the properties that define Type I classifications) seems to be disconfirmed by the fact that Ss can learn Type V I classifications. On the other hand, the hypothesis that responses can be conditioned to arbitrary combinations of elementary properties (such as that defining a Type V I classification) removes the predictive force of the conditioning models. Moreover, the notion that such a combination of elementary properties can itself serve directly as a cue seems implausible in view of the kinds of verbalizations actually produced by 5s. In describing a single stimulus, our 5s used words like "large," "black," etc. (in Experiment I I ) or like "candle," "trumpet," etc. (in Experiment I ) . These clearly referred to the elementary properties. For the statement that a stimulus is "black," for example, is essentially equivalent to the statement that it belongs within the group of black stimuli that are set apart by the Type I classification based upon color. In no instance was an individual stimulus described by referring to a property that would correspond in this way to the particular group of stimuli set apart by, say, a Type V I classification. Indeed, even when the stimuli are sorted out according to a Type V I classification, 5 s are unable to see the four stimuli in either class as having" any one property in common. And when (as in Experiment I) some 5s eventually do discover a way of characterizing the stimuli that go together in such a classification, they invariably do this by formulating an elaborate rule in terms of the elementary properties. As an example of a relatively simple rule, they might finally say: "The figures on the left must be black and small and triangular or else have just one of these three [Type I ] properties." But even after discovering a rule of this kind, .9s do not then regard it as a unitary property of a stimulus and, surely, they would not subsequently invoke it in describing a single stimulus—however completely. Outline of an alternative to the conditioning models. In view of the preceding considerations, we are led to consider that only the properties defining Type I classifications act directly as cues, and that classifications other than Type I can be learned only by conLEARNING AND MEMORIZATION OF CLASSIFICATIONS 33 structing appropriate rules for them in terms of Type I classifications. Accordingly, 6"s are no longer regarded as passively confronting one population of cues after another while a certain crucial subset becomes gradually connected to the correct response. Rather, they are regarded as actively abstracting (or attending to) dimensions, and then formulating and testing rules about how the values on those dimensions combine and interact to determine which classificatory response will be correct. The development of an explicitly detailed model for this kind of process will not be undertaken here. The present study, together with others, might serve as a useful basis for such an undertaking. But the development itself would require a further investigation implemented, perhaps, by the new tool of computer simulation (Hovland & Hunt, 1960; Newell, Shaw, & Simon, 1957; Newell & Simon, 1959). Nevertheless the tentative description of the learning process, given here only in general outline, is sufficient to lead to certain expectations about the relative difficulties of our six types of classifications as well as about how these difficulties are influenced by certain of the conditions imposed in the present experiments. The initial difficulties of the six types. I f the foregoing description of the learning process is correct, the difficulty of any given classification should be directly related to the complexity of the rules required to build it up out of Type I classifications. That these rules may be largely formulated and used at the verbal level is suggested by the high correlations, found in both Experiments I and I I , between accuracy of performance (in sorting or responding to stimuli) for each type of classification and the simplicity of the rules that could be stated by Ss for the same type of classification. Of course the rules verbalized by the ^s varied in detail from one S or occasion to another. Still, since the number of possible combinations of values increases very rapidly with the number of dimensions considered, the difficulty of a classification should increase with the number of dimensions (or Type I classifications) that are required for the specification of that classification. Thus we should at least expect the ranking I < I I < V I . Furthermore, the other types ( I I I , IV, and V) are presumably intermediate between I I and V I . For, although all three dimensions are relevant for each of these classifications, some (but not all eight) of the stimuli can be properly classified by knowing the values on just two of the three dimensions. Actually there are many different measures that could be used to express the difficulty of building up a classification out of Type I classifications. We could, for example, use the minimum length of a logic expression that defines the classification by means of conjunctions and disjunctions of the elementary properties. (We already noted in the introduction that such an expression is much longer for a Type V I than for a Type I classification.) We could also base it upon the number of relay contacts required for the physical realization of the Boolean function corresponding to the given classification (Higonnet & Grea, 1958). Or we could base it upon the average number of single-dimensional binary decisions required to place a randomly selected stimulus in the appropriate class when the sequence of decisions is made in the optimum order. But these (and many other) measures all agree with the ranking derived above in a more informal manner. In particular, they arc all consistent with the ranking I < I I — I I I ^ IV — V < V I . The only disagreements concern the predictions of ties among the intermediate types ( I I through V) . The one quantitatively defined measure that has seemed most satisfactory to us reflects the extent to which the information about the classification is distributed over the three dimensions (rather than confined to a single dimension—as in a Type I classification). In the appendix this measure is shown to lead to the ranking that corresponds most precisely with that found empirically; namely, I < I I < ( I I I , IV, V) < V I . Transfer of classificationlearning. The tentative description of the learning process in terms of abstraction and the formulation of rules also has some implications for the transfer of classification learning. In particular, if S is faced with a new classification problem that, however, he has reason to 34 R. N. SHEPARD, C. I. HOVLAND, and H, M. JENKINS believe is of the same type as several preceding problems, there is the possibility of a certain amount of positive transfer. If, for example, the problems have all been of Type I I , S might learn to proceed directly to testing rules about the interaction of values on pairs of dimensions without wasting any time in testing useless one-dimensional rules. Actually the most pronounced positive transfer was observed in the case of Type V I , and the unique degree of transfer in this case probably comes from the intervention of a somewhat different process. In particular, when S has formulated the oddeven rule, he has apparently performed an abstraction on a higher level than in the case of the simple abstraction of relevant dimensions. Indeed this higher level abstraction is most effective precisely when the abstraction of individual dimensions would preclude solution of the problem—i.e., for Type V I . The effectiveness of the odd-even rule can be appreciated by considering that >Ss who apply it with maximum efficiency need only learn the response to the first stimulus; each following stimulus then calls for that same response if and only if it has an odd number of properties in common with the first stimulus. Indeed, the one 6" in Experiment I who most completely mastered this odd-even rule (viz., Si) made altogether only one error on the last four Type V I problems. This is to be compared with the 50 errors she made during the first Type V I problem (before discovering this powerful reductive rule). This kind of consideration can be used to predict the ranking of the asymptotic difficulties of the six types: i.e., the ranking that presumably would be achieved if a sufficient number of problems of the same type were consecutively supplied. For, if S has really abstracted a rule that uniquely defines a given type of classification, the difficulty of learning a new classification of that type should be directly determined by the fraction of the 70 possible classifications that corresponds to that type. Thus Type V I should become even easier than Type I (as it did for Si) because, whereas six of the 70 possible classifications are Type I, only two are Type V I . I f S knows that he is going to have a Type I problem, he knows that only one dimension will be relevant, but he does not know which of