One of the most efficient methods for parallel beam projection and backprojection is based on the rotation of the emission matrix to match the acquisition angles. For such implementations of iterative reconstruction techniques, it has previously been shown that a rotator based on Gaussian interpolation is superior to standard methods. The Gaussian rotator is responsible for a substantial amount of computing time of the total reconstruction process, although the computational cost is only slightly, higher titan for methods based on rotation using bilinear interpolation. Recent advances in programmable graphics hardware make it possible to efficiently accelerate algorithms that can be molded into a streaming model as it is used on low cost graphics processing units (GPU's). For the Gaussian rotator it is possible to achieve an over 10-fold speed increase whet compared to art optimised software implementation.


The changes in Na and K excretion which accompanied induced changes in Cl excretion were studied in K-depleted and K-fed dogs. Diuretic agents and infusions of isotonic sodium chloride solution wer...


Problems exist in the management mec hanism of university teachers in Shanxi province,so creative study of these problems is necessary.The biggest obstacles in the reform of present university management me cha-nism are emotion is more important th an law and seeking good relations wit h all at the expense of principle is mo re important than running school by law.Therefore only the mechanism of man agement and development of creative talents can ensure the introduction of talents and the fostering of unive rsity faculty.


We measured the ultraviolet and visible spectra of polyurethane films while a high electric field (2 MV/m) was applied to the films in order to investigate the detailed mechanism of the bending electrostriction. The polyurethane films were composed of segmented polyester polyurethane to which a small amount of sodium acetate (∼10−4 mol/kg) was added. The films had ∼9-nm-thick gold electrodes on both surfaces. The obtained spectra showed reversible absorption that appeared during the application of the electric field and disappeared with its removal. The response of the absorption to the field application was very similar to that of the film's bending due to the bending electrostriction. This suggests that the reversible absorption is directly related to the mechanism of the bending electrostriction. We also demonstrated that the absorption was attributed to the moiety "Ph–NH–COO" on the polyurethane, suggesting that this moiety is a trap site of injected charges that can be considered the cause of the ben...


To raise the speed of characterizing wafer-level LEDs, simultaneous measurement for both electrical and optical properties in parallel is a necessity. A non-imaging concentrator array is designed to concentrate as much light as possible from LEDs for optical characterization of multiple points on the wafer. For the sake of meeting the requirements between the numerical aperture of the sensing fiber and the emitting half-cone angle from a Lambertian source, a reversed angle transformer (RAT) is used in this study. The simulation is conducted using the commercial software LightTools® , based on the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method. According to the simulation, the entrance port can collect approximately 94% of radiance from a Lambertian source, and the concentration ratio of RAT is approximately 99%. Finally a design prototype is demonstrated in this paper to validate our design.


The motivation for this design study has been to identify magnet designs for useful magnetic fusion experiments which minimize capital cost. Some possibly useful novel design features have been identified. 5 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.


Critical Decision Method (CDM), a popular cognitive task analysis (CTA) method, is an in-depth retrospective interview that uses a historical non-routine incident to identify experts' decision-making factors in complex socio-technical settings with high consequences for failure. However, it is challenging to use CDM to make comparisons, including those between experts and trainees. We describe an alternative CTA method used to study physicians' decision making for ordering diagnostic imaging. After being primed with 11 simulated patient scenarios, nine attending and 11 resident physicians were asked to map out and present their decision-making process with a bullseye participatory design toolkit. Interviews were analyzed qualitatively, revealing four common decision factors: diagnostic efficacy, patient safety, organizational constraints, and patient comfort. The bullseye maps were used to quantitatively measure priority differences between these decision factors. Attending and resident physicians both prioritized diagnostic efficacy over the other factors (2.38 vs. 3.71, p <.01, and 2.59 vs. 3.52, p<.01, respectively), but attending physicians' decisions had a higher proportion of non-diagnostic items (65% vs. 50%, p = .008). Our results demonstrate the usefulness of this method in eliciting decision factors for a complex, face-valid task and for identifying differences due to levels of expertise and training.


In rabbits given cholecystokinin-pancreozymin intravenously a statistically significant increase in bile volume and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity was observed. There was also an increase in the total amount of protein, cholesterol, bicarbonates Na, K, Ca, Mg, and the total activity of alkaline phosphatase and leucineaminopeptidase (LAP) secreted in bile within 90 minutes after pancreozymin injection. Pancreozymin had no effect on the concentration and output of taurocholates and the activity of gammaglutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) and alanineaminotransferase (ALAT) in bile. Secretin neither changes the volume nor the concentration of any of the investigated components in rabbit bile.


Abstract : This project investigates the interplay among typhoon-strength winds, ocean surface waves, and upper-ocean circulation during and after typhoon passages over the western Pacific Ocean and around the island of Taiwan. We use three numerical models and calibrate them against continuous measurements of ocean currents, temperature, wave heights, and turbulence intensities from several open ocean moorings in the western Pacific. Through these calibrations, we will learn how to better represent winds, ocean currents, and waves under typhoon-strength wind conditions in the western Pacific Ocean.


Abandoned object detection has been an important and hard problem in computer vision and image processing application. The system provides a powerful technique for unattended object detection called "I-surveillance: Intelligent surveillance system using background subtraction technique". CCTV cameras or surveillance systems are available to almost everywhere nowadays. CCTV cameras act as a third eye for surveillance systems. The system uses background subtraction technique to find abandoned objects left by someone else deliberately or by mistake. The system is divided into two different phases- Abandoned object detection, Human blob detection. So that it provides an effective way to find most rejected objects to the user. It is a real time abandoned object detection system. At last by generating the alarm this system helps in increasing the efficiency of security system. So that this system provides user friendly mechanism to the users by providing video sequence as input to the system to find left over baggage or object. General Terms: RGB to LAB, AOD


Wheat is the main food crop grown and consumed in Sichuan province,but the poor quality and inadaptability of the food processing industry has become a bottleneck for development of the Sichuan wheat industry.Uniconazole [(E)-(p-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol] belongs to a group of triazoles,which were developed as a high efficiency,low toxic and residual plant growth retardant,Uniconazole plant growth regulators have a strong influence on seedling cultivation and markedly increase yields.Dry seed dressing is a safe and environmentally friendly method of chemical application compared with foliar application.However,its effect on wheat protein quality is rarely reported,so the relevant theoretical basis for increased wheat protein quality in response to uniconazole treatment is unclear.Therefore,the objectives of this study were,firstly,to study the effects on protein content,gluten content and quality,and dough rheological properties of different uniconazole concentrations(0,20,40,and 60 mg/kg) in three different gluten wheat cultivars(medium-weak gluten wheat Chuanmai 32 and Chuanmai 107,and medium-strong gluten wheat Chuanmai 36) in four representative wheat-growing regions in Sichuan(Qionglai in the West Sichuan Plain wheat area,Jingyan in the central Sichuan shallow-hills wheat area,Hanyuan in the southwest Sichuan mountains wheat area,and Yaan in the montane wheat area around the Sichuan Basin).Secondly,we studied the effects of uniconazole dry seed dressing on nitrogen accumulation in vegetative organs and its transportation to grains,dynamics of the soluble protein content of the flag leaf,and dynamics of grain protein and non-protein nitrogen content.Thirdly,we explored the effect and mechanism of uniconazole dry seed dressing on nitrogen accumulation and translocation as well as the protein quality of the wheat kernel.The results showed that genotype,environment and uniconazole highly influenced wheat grain quality,and their effects decreased significantly in turn,but the interaction effects were much weaker.Under different ecological conditions,the kernel protein content and yield,wet gluten content,sedimentation value,and dough development and stability time were improved significantly by uniconazole treatment.Uniconazole dry seed dressing increased the nitrogen content in vegetative organs and improved nitrogen accumulation per plant at the flowering stage;the total nitrogen translocation amount and rate after anthesis,together with its contribution to kernel nitrogen content,was enhanced significantly.Uniconazole treatment increased the soluble protein content in the flag leaf during the 15-day period after anthesis.Regarding the protein content in kernels,the non-protein nitrogen contents at the onset of anthesis and in the period 5—20 days after anthesis,as well as protein nitrogen content during grain filling,were higher with uniconazole treatment than in the control.Accordingly,the crude protein content was high at the bottom and climbing back rapidly.In summary,uniconazole treatment affected wheat kernel quality independently of genotype and environment.Uniconazole dry seed dressing increased the soluble protein content in the flag leaf at the early flowering stage,promoted nitrogen accumulation in vegetative organs before anthesis,improved nitrogen translocation from vegetative organs to kernels after anthesis,and enhanced the non-protein nitrogen content of kernels,all of which may be major reasons for the promotive effect of uniconazole on grain protein content and quality.The latter effects of uniconazole are of broad applicability.


This paper expounded the establishment of a framework to expose the disorder factors through the implementation process of the basic public health services by applying the RE-AIM framework(reach,effectiveness,adoption,implementation,and maintenance),combining with the basis of resolving and concluding the project activities. As a case study of Guangzhou community health service institutions,the implementation disorder factors of basic public health services were quantitatively described. It is expected that the case study could make some policy advices about the future improvement direction of the project and the promotion of the sustainable development of the project and the scientific process.


Using energetic ion data obtained by the EPAS experiment on the ICE spacecraft we investigate the three dimensional ion bulk flow in the mass loading region around the comet P/Giacobini-Zinner. We find relatively abrupt changes in flow speed (∼ 100 km s−1) at the boundaries between the pickup and mass loading regions. Flow deflections away from the comet tail of ∼15° are observed at the boundaries with peaks upto ∼30° inside the mass loading region. Ion energies of ∼300 keV are found inside the mass loading region which suggest the need to consider other ion acceleration mechanisms in addition to solar wind pickup.


The utility of lysine‐based aldehyde‐ruthenium red fixatives for the preservation and/or staining of the fibrous staphylococcal glycocalyx was improved by substitution of alternative forms of lysine for the free amino form. Paraformaldehyde‐glutaraldehyde fixatives containing alternative lysines, with or without ruthenium red, were compared at short 20‐minute prefixation times and at extended overnight fixation times. Although inclusion of paraformaldehyde made longer fixation times possible, the length of time for "safe" fixation varied per sample and could not be predicted. All alternative lysine forms permitted fixation of at least 24 hours without sample loss. The L‐lysine monohydrochloride or L‐lysine acetate forms permitted longer fixation times than the L‐lysine free amino form, and they had comparable or better preservation of the staphylococcal glycocalyx. Thus, the usefulness of aldehyde‐lysine‐based fixatives with minor changes has been enhanced. Microsc. Res. Tech. 41:291–297, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Abstract : Thesis: In order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's), the United States Marine Corps must strive to keep its current Short Range (SR) UAV system and must also promote the consolidation of Close Range (CR) and SR UAV systems at the Remote Pilot Vehicle (RPV) Company of the Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Intelligence (SRI) Group. This paper covers the development, use and future of the Marine Corps UAV program.


The properties of type EE and ES double galaxies are studied, using A. N. Tomov's U, B, V photoelectric photometry. Paired early-type galaxies have different color--absolute magnitude diagrams from those belonging to groups. Since the (U-V)/sub t/ /sup 0/ colors of paired E, S0 galaxies are wholly uncorrelated with their absolute magnitude M/sub V/, pair members evolve differently from group and cluster members. The same conclusion is drawn from comparison of the integrated photometric properties of the E, S0 galaxies in EE and in ES pairs: their color dispersion is greater than for group and cluster members, while the Holmberg color-match and the M/sub V/ correlation between pair components depend on morphological type, dynamical and kinematic behavior, and whether interaction is present. Thus the evolution of paired galaxies is controlled less by their intrinsic properties than by external factors. Star-formation bursts may alternate in the two pair components, accompanying active mass-exchange processes, but the evolution of the pairs in the sample studied will not be significantly affected by dynamical friction.


A colony of rabbits free from coccidia was established in 1974 by weaning young at 25 days of age from dams infected with coccidia. Until now Bordetella, Pasteurella and Psoroptes cuniculi have not been detected either, and neither diarrhea nor death has occurred in weanlings of the colony. However, the mortality of sucklings was significantly high owing to cannibalism and tread by their dams. The weaning rate was effectively improved by use of a large nursing cage (3,100 cm2) and sterilized hay on a stainless steel mesh floor of the nursing cage.


Studying surface texture and morphology is essential to developing Additive Manufacturing (AM). Assessing the quality of part layer compounds in the process will assist with adjusting process parameters for optimal part quality in the manufacturing process. For this purpose, Material Jetting (MJT) system has been used to manufacture objects at various platform locations (swathes) to examine the surface morphology, including surface roughness and texture. Due to the rotating disc used as the build platform, the studied parts showed a different surface morphology from parts printed using other material jetting machines. To study the surface texture, we generated high-resolution surface mesh grids after scanning the surface using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and a 3D scanner. The surface topography was decomposed into scan lines using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The power spectral density (PSD) of a surface was calculated and compared to roughness to discuss the surface topography. Signal processing demonstrated that different textures can be fabricated by tuning the printing position conditions. As a result of determining the surface texture and roughness characteristics in conjunction with 3D printing parameters in the design process, it was possible to categorize the build platform regions based on their surface textures.


Abstract The shovelnose guitarfish Pseudobatos productus is a major species in batoid catch on the north-western coasts of Mexico. Our goal was to describe the reproductive biology of this species, including morphometric and histological analysis of the gonads. Sampling was carried out on artisanal fishing camps near Bahía Tortugas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. A total of 147 organisms were collected, with a size of 58.9 to 162 cm of total length (TL). The size of first maturity (L50%) was 111.3 cm TL for females, and 102.2 cm TL for males. The sex ratio was 1.42 females per male, but 1:1 for embryos. Positive correlations were found between TL and the number of oocytes, the diameter of oocytes, the uterus height, the oviducal gland height, the oviducal gland width, and the clasper length. We describe four histological zones in the oviducal gland of females, with no sperm storage. Mature testicle lobes showed distinct spermatogenesis stages, ranging from spermatogonia to mature sperm cells.


Christians are a small minority group in India. There are previous studies on the group, but mainly focused on regions where Christianity is well represented, like for example Tamil Nadu in South I ...


Habermas' critical theory stands or falls on the unity of procedural reason. When Stephen Toulmin raised the problem of reason being differentiated by functions and purposes within each field of argumentation, whether law, medicine, science, or politics, Habermas' response was both weak and vague. This paper proposes how Habermas may concede Toulmin's point, and yet demonstrate that it does not ultimately challenge the unity of procedural reason that grounds his critical theory.


Almighty God has said, "You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: God knows, and you do not," (Koran, The Cow: 2: 216). These days we mark the anniversary of a painful calamity, the anniversary of the occupation of Iraq and the fall of (Abbasid Caliph Harun) Al-Rashid's Baghdad a captive to the Crusaders and the Magian Persians. Five years have lapsed since the occupation of the Land of the Two Rivers: what has our enemy reaped and what have we reaped? In short, after that period our enemy has reaped disappointment, disgrace, and defeat. He declared submissively and he is lying that the number of his dead has exceeded 4,000, ignoring his dead from among the mercenaries working for security companies.


The difference of the creep curves of P92 steel was comparatively analyzed by theta projection method and composite model.The results show that both the creep-time curves of P92 steel with two methods have a higher accuracy.However,when describing the creep rate-time curves,the theta projection method exhibits big error,while,the composite model can show more accurate results;When extrapolating creep rate,the theta projection method has large deflection,while,the composite model can predict more near the actual trend.When extrapolating creep rupture life based on creep curves,the results show that the fracture strain between 5% and 50% has little effect on the life prediction.The values of endurance life extrapolated by the two models are approximately the same.


Abstract : For all the ink spilled over remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) technology, knowledge of RPA culture remains in its infancy. Continuing the debate about culture, we argue first for the urgency of achieving manned-remote fusion in air warfare. Second, we maintain that the limiting factor in realizing that future is not technological but cultural. That is, until the RPA community finds its voice and place in the larger service, this evolution of airpower remains unlikely. The task at hand does not call for reinventing airpower but rediscovering it. Many of our Air Force greats have much to say about building a culture of technical warriors. We simply need to apply the ideas of Gen Henry Hap Arnold and those like him to the enterprise of remote aviation.


This paper is concerned with a class of Nicholson's blowflies model with a linear harvesting term. By applying the method of coincidence degree, some criteria are established for the existence and uniqueness of positive periodic solutions of the model. Moreover, an example is employed to illustrate the main results.


We developed a space infrared cryogenic system (PSICS) for ground observation. The system is cooled down to below 80K by a stirling cryocooler in order to increase sensitivity and decrease background noise of IR sensor. From the previous thermal numerical analyses, we knew that the major heat leak is thermal radiation and the minimizing heat leak by radiation is the core technique in this system. The thermal design of the PSICS have been performed and presented at 2005 KSME conferences. In this paper, the results of the cooling test and thermal insulation effects of multi-layer insulation are discussed.


Objective: The study's goal was to determine the effects of hip abductors strengthening and piriformis stretching on pain, hip abductors strength, and lower extremity functional status in piriformis syndrome patients. Methodology: A total of 60 patients were diagnosed with piriformis syndrome and referred to the Physiotherapy department from the NILD Assessment Clinic. Then, using simple random sampling, 60 patients were divided into two groups: Group-A (Hip abductor and Sciatic nerve mobilisation) and Group-B (no hip abductor and sciatic nerve mobilisation) (Sciatic nerve mobilisation and piriformis stretching). Each subject's demographic data was collected prior to the intervention. Data on pain severity, muscle strength (hip extensor and abductor), and lower extremity functional scale score were collected before and after treatment. Both groups continued to take their medications according to the evaluation clinic's recommendations. Results: Patient's average age was 57.18 ± 2.64 years. Out of 60 patients 19 belongs to age 35-45 year, 13 belongs to 45-55 year and 28 belongs to age group of 55-65 year. This table explains that mean difference of NPRS and Hip Abductor strength between two groups showed p-value 0.082 and 0.100 respectively statistically non-significant result, whereas, Hip Abductor strength and LEFS showed p-value 0.001 statistically significant difference between two groups. Conclusion: According to the findings piriformis syndrome can be treated without the use of stretching, electrophysical agents, or soft tissue mobilization. Considering that piriformis insertion is on greater trochanter. The excessive hip adduction and internal rotation shown during functional movement testing were exerting tension on this muscle, resulting in sciatic nerve compression. However only Group A improved in terms of hip abductor strength. Group A demonstrated considerable improvement in strength of hip abductor and lower extremity functional scale when compared to Group B. Keywords: Piriformis syndrome, Sciatica,


A two-dimensional integral boundary-layer method is developed to enable fast and economical computations of boundary-layer flows. The ultimate goal is to provide some experience for the extension o...


Container is disclosed. The container has a side, an upper, a lower and a cavity formed by the sides and top and bottom. The container also has a disposed in the cavity material. Side has at least one convex portion and at least one recess. Side is permeable to water. Side is also impermeable to disposed in the cavity material.


In late eighteenth century Brazil, the Portuguese reassessed the importance of the Amazon River to the total economic health of the colony. The river and its tributaries were now viewed as a vital fluvial highway linking the potentially valuable exports of the region with the Portuguese market. Gold, lumber, coffee, medicinals and contraband Spanish silver were transported via canoes downriver to Belem do Para and offloaded onto waiting brigs. Technical problems of this trade included the necessity of contructing specialized craft and navigating while dealing with changing floodplains, inconsistent wind patterns and often treacherous rapids. The Portuguese approach to solving these problems was rational and resourceful, often relying on indigenous expertise. The consequent creation of a viable inter-modal maritime network brought prosperity to the region and spurred the development of forward-linked industries. This precocious attempt at regional economic macro-planning has potential resonance for today's revitalized Amazon River commerce.


The treatment of dry spun acrylic fibre wastewater by iron chips activated carbon internal electrolysis is investigated, and the influence of three factors (reaction time, wastewater pH and iron carbon ratio)on the results is discussed. The results show that the removal ratio of CODcr reaches 60% after the treatement. Combining the internal electrolysis with flocuulation, the total removal ratio of CODcr is 89%.


The capsular polysaccharide of swine streptococcosis could be classified as 35 serotypes,namely the serum type 1~34 and 1/2.Swine streptococcus could reside in tonsil of healthy swine and infected swine,subclinical infected swine is the main source of infection,part of serotype bacteria could reside in swine and couldn't show symptoms.It caused great loss for the swine industry,and is the main disease of preventing the development of swine industry in China.


Begomoviruses are whitefly-transmitted ss-DNA viruses infecting dicotyledonous plants and contribute to major economic losses to global crop production. Invasion and establishment of an aggressive species of B. tabaci, known as the B cryptic species, has severely constrained vegetable production in the southeastern and southwestern United States. Disruption of genes/pathways critical for whitefly mediated transmission can be effective for the management of begomoviruses. In this study, yeast two hybrid (Y2H)-based screening of B. tabaci cDNA library identified a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE4) of the whitefly as an interacting partner with capsid proteins (CPs) of old- and new-world begomoviruses. Interactions of PDE4 with begomovirus CPs were validated by GST-pull-down assays, co-immunoprecipitation, and co-immunolocalization in whitefly midgut. The PDE4 family of enzymes hydrolyze cAMP and regulate intracellular cAMP levels. This study revealed that elevation of cAMP within whitefly by chemically inhibiting or gene (PDE4) silencing resulted in increased retention and transmission of begomoviruses. Similarly, decreased cAMP levels resulted in reduced begomovirus retention. The results of this study demonstrate that whitefly mediated transmission of begomoviruses is regulated by intracellular cAMP by unknown mechanisms. Importance Begomoviruses, transmitted by the sweetpotato whitefly, (Bemisa tabaci Gennadius), are the causal agents of many economically important plant virus diseases. Lack of host plant resistance against begomoviruses, high whitefly abundance, and whitefly's ability to develop insecticide resistance rapidly often renders commonly used management practice ineffective. This study demonstrates how begomovirus retention within whitefly and its transmission can be modulated by altering cAMP expression of its insect vector. Naturally occurring bio-pesticides that target insect cAMPs are known. Our findings can lead to alternative strategies for the management of begomoviruses by targeting whitefly cAMP using chemicals, botanicals, or RNAi-based insecticides.


The research aimed to find out diversity of diurnal birds in wild conservation. The research work was conducted in Pulau Datok Coastal Area in North Kayong Regency of West Kalimantan by using spot mapping and count methods. Wild animals are one of natural resources which have important role for human life in ecology, recreation, economy, tourism, education and knowledge. If the birds extinct, the natural resources also will be extinct, therefore they need to be conserved. According to observation, it was founded that of two habitats for diurnal birds there were 17 species. 11 habitats were found in secondary forest with 186 birds and 9 spesies in bush with 210 birds. The observation was conducted in three different time, in the morning at 5.30, at noon at 13.00, and in the afternoon at 16.00 – 17.00. The research findings revealed that there were 17 types of diurnal birds which were classified in 12 families. Based on counting index, index of domination, index of species diversity, and index of highest equity value of habitat in secondary and bush area were birds that inhabited in secondary forest with domination score C = 4,9937, birds inhabited in bush with the highest index of equity value with H = 0,9918, birds in secondary forest with highest species with d = 5,2975 and birds in secondary forest with highest equity valu with e = 0,9556. Keywords: Birds, Diversity, Diural, Pulau Datok Coastal Area, Species.


The title reaction was investigated in a crossed-beam experiment. A (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphon ionization technique was used to interrogate the internal-state distributions of the CD3 product at three different collision energies. Only the ν2 (umbrella) mode excitation was observed. Its distribution changes from a monotonically declined distribution at low energy to a slightly inverted one at higher collision energy. Although the rotational excitations of CD3 were small, a strong preference for K=0 was found, indicative of the dominance of the tumbling rotation motion of the CD3 product. The vibration-resolved excitation functions were also measured for ν2=0–3. A reaction barrier of 0.5 kcal/mol was deduced.


Equivalence relations: a theoretical synthesis within the basic and applied empirical data. The present paper is a synthesis of a wide (extensive) review (Valero, 1990) on the phenomenon titled Equivalence Relations, a type of interactions which make possible the emergence of new behavior without being explicitly trained. The phenomenon has been defined as well as the antecedente have been indicated. What follows is the description of the different areas of research, that is: (a) expansion of the number of relations, (b) types of responses, stimuli, and procedures used, (c) the analysis of the variables involved in the matching-to-sample procedure, (d) the analysis of the possible intervening behavior, (e) the analysis of the verbal components involved, and finally, (f) a brief review of the studies conducted from an applied point of view. The paper ends, on the one hand, with the variables known with regard the internal validity of application of the matchingto-sample procedure needed to isolate the emergence of new behavior, and on the other hand, with regard to the variables involved in such an emergence. Relevant points are discussed and research is emphasized.


ABSTRACT Primary objective: To examine the relationship between hearing protection and non-impact, blast-induced concussion in US military personnel. Research design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods and procedures: A total of 501 US service members from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database with hearing protection status reported either 'worn' or 'not worn' were eligible for analysis. Clinical records were reviewed for concussion diagnoses. Univariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed. Main outcomes and results: Overall, 270 (53.9%) service members sustained non-impact, blast-induced concussion and 231 (46.1%) sustained other blast injuries. Only 39.6% (107 of 270) of service members with concussion wore hearing protection at the point of injury compared with 61.0% (141 of 231) of those with other injuries (p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, service members wearing hearing protection had significantly lower odds of concussion compared with those not wearing hearing protection (odds ratio = 0.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.29–0.62). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this preliminary study is the first to demonstrate that hearing protection is associated with lower odds of non-impact, blast-induced concussion. The benefits of using hearing protection in terms of force readiness could be significant since many service members wounded in recent conflicts were diagnosed with concussion.


Building drainage system is an essential facility of a building. Prestigious investigation illustrates that building drainage system is one of the routes of infection in SARS epidemic experience, which leads to an international panic in 2003. The corrupt performance of drainage equipment makes the whole system invalid and threaten people's healthy issues. This paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation tool for drainage system of existing buildings in Taiwan based on our previous evaluation researches. The concept of health inspection of human body was imitated to conduct a evaluation model to diagnosis the situation of existing building drainage system. Accordingly, it can explicitly detect the drainage system faults or problems. Thus, it will be clear and effective for decision-making of retrofitting. This paper proposed a comprehensive strategy and evaluation tool by free network access for diagnosis existing building.The results will contribute to the building service engineering and improve the drainage systems in existing buildings.


The tight-binding molecular dynamics method was used to study the size dependent melting temperature of Pd nanofilms with thickness of 0.510.4nm.The results show that the melting temperature of Pb nanofilms decreases with decreasing the film thickness,and the simulated results are consistent with the predictions of thermodynamic model.The Pb films with more than 3 atomic layers have specified melting temperature,but not for these with less than 3 atomic layers. The melting of nanofilms starts from the surface and then approaches to the center of the films,which is different from those of nanoparticles with free surface(the surface shell melts first,and then the interior core melts instantaneous).Furthermore,the temperature of finishing melting is higher than that of beginning,which is different from those of the corresponding bulk materials.


The Inquisitives as a New Social Movement: Political Aspects of Exercising the Right for the Access to Information in Poland
In this paper, the author analyzes the new social movement labeled "The Inquisitives". It apparently has its roots in political thought and in philosophy of "the right to know". Poland adopted the Act on Access to Public Information (2001) to give citizens the formal right to inquire about the public affairs. The information society strives for information about political issues, and about political-public affairs. The author of this paper has stated two hypothesis that (1) a new social movement – the Inquisitives has been occurring in Poland and (2) access to public information has been used for political struggle. The author aims to explore aims, genesis, background, roles, functions, and political values of The Inquisitives within categories such as political scandals, corruption, interest groups, power concentration.


Introduction Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) is considered as a genetic risk factor for intellectual disability and specifically for impairment on verbal skills. Prenatal and perinatal morbidity concurrent with this diagnosis determine the entity and typology of neurodevelopmental deficits. Objectives To describe the intellectual and adaptive functioning of a patient with KS and prenatal and perinatal difficulties, assessed in the Service of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Mental Health at La Paz University Hospital (Madrid). Methods A descriptive study was conducted of a 6 year and 7-month-old boy with diagnosis of KS (karyotype XXY), extremely low weight at birth (752 gr.), Arnold Chiari type I malformation with post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus and periventricular leukomalacia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intra-atrial septal defect, left kidney agenesis with iatrogenic adrenal insufficiency, and acute ventriculitis due to E. Coli. Neuropsychological evaluation was carried out in October 2021. Leiter-3 scale was selected due to the absence of expressive language; and his parents completed the questionnaire Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II. Results The nonverbal intelligence quotient was observed in the very low range (full-scale IQ = 69). The result of general adaptive behavior (z = -2.83), showed very high functional disability both in the conceptual, social, and practical domains. Conclusions The high number of causes of disability in this patient is consistent with a high degree of functional disability. Efficient evaluation sessions of intellectual performance, adaptive functioning, and necessary supports, due to the absence of expressive language and limited receptive language, are required. A specific neuropsychological evaluation profile should be established for KS. Disclosure No significant relationships.


As an important theory in the today's field of learning theories research, the situational learning theory provides a new visual angle for us to explore adult learning. Bases on the key viewpoint of situational learning theory, this paper makes a discussion on adult learning in five aspects such as the motivation, the essence, the content, the process and the evaluation of learning.


In this paper, we address the free (uncontrolled) dynamics of a snakeboard consisting of two wheel pairs fastened to a platform. The snakeboard is one of the well-known sports vehicles on which the sportsman executes necessary body movements. From the theoretical point of view, this system is a direct generalization of the classical nonholonomic system of the Chaplygin sleigh. We carry out a topological and qualitative analysis of trajectories of this dynamical system. An important feature of the problem is that the common level set of first integrals is a compact two-dimensional surface of genus 5. We specify conditions under which the reaction forces infinitely increase during motion and the so-called phenomenon of nonholonomic jamming is observed. In this case, the nonholonomic model ceases to work and it is necessary to use more complex mechanical models incorporating sliding, elasticity, etc.


All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. In a recent review of David Garland's book Peculiar Institution, retired Justice John Paul Stevens reiterates his objection to the death penalty as per se unconstitutional in that it is disproportionate to any crime. Citing his 1977 opinion in Gardner v. Florida, he expresses his view that the death penalty differs from other punishments


In this paper, we investigate the quality decision of a make-to-order (MTO) supply chain, where there may be different strategies between players. Before and after orders are placed in the market, the quality of the raw materials and the price of the products are set by the supplier and the manufacturer, respectively and production takes place. Due to the volatility of demand, the players are subject to financial risk. In contrast to the general assumption that players in a supply chain are risk neutral in quality decision, we consider the risk tolerance of the players. On the basis of preference theory, we use a certainty equivalent to represent the utility of an individual. Under three different supply chain strategies including Vertical Integration (VI), Manufacturer's Stackelberg (MS) and Supplier's Stackelberg (SS), we derive the utility of the players. The study provides valuable insights into the impact of supply chain strategies and risk tolerance on quality investment. Compared with a risk-neutral supply chain, a risk-averse supply chain provides lower, equivalent and higher quality of products in VI, MS and SS, respectively.


The main objective of this study is to understand how timbre semantic associations—for example, a sound's timbre perceived as bright, rough, or hollow—vary with register and pitch height across instruments. In this experiment, 540 online participants rated single, sustained notes from eight Western orchestral instruments (flute, oboe, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, and vibraphone) across three registers (low, medium, and high) on 20 semantic scales derived from Reymore and Huron (2020). The 24 two-second stimuli, equalized in loudness, were produced using the Vienna Symphonic Library.
 Exploratory modeling examined relationships between mean ratings of each semantic dimension and instrument, register, and participant musician identity ("musician" vs. "nonmusician"). For most semantic descriptors, both register and instrument were significant predictors, though the amount of variance explained differed (marginal R2). Terms that had the strongest positive relationships with register include shrill/harsh/noisy, sparkling/brilliant/bright, ringing/long decay, and percussive. Terms with the strongest negative relationships with register include deep/thick/heavy, raspy/grainy/gravelly, hollow, and woody. Post hoc modeling using only pitch height and only register to predict mean semantic rating suggests that pitch height may explain more variance than does register. Results help clarify the influence of both instrument and relative register (and pitch height) on common timbre semantic associations.


This paper considers effective electromechanical properties of the relaxor-ferroelectric crystal/polymer composite with 2–2 connectivity. A single-domain 0.67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3—0.33PbTiO3 crystal/polymer composite is proposed in which the polarisation vectors of components are tailored to optimise the electromechanical coupling factors k*3j and k* h . A strong correlation between the hydrostatic electromechanical coupling factor k* h and the hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficient d* h is observed near min k* h and max k* h . Examples of the condition k* 31 =k* 32 are also considered. The specific advantages and potential of the 2–2 composite in terms of its considerable d* h and k* h values are discussed in connection with the studied orientation effect.


The study of English words constitutes an important part of English learning activities Words simple in spelling and pronunciation but complicated in usage is just one of the phenomena in the application of English words. Study of this phenomenon helps to improve English learners' ability in using those high frequency words The author makes an analysis of the factors behind this phenomenon by citing some examples collected while reading


ABSTRACT Introduction: according to Wenger in developed countries more than 50% of the women die as a consequence of cardiovascular diseases. The sudden death is responsible for 35% of that mortality. With the intention of optimizing the therapeutics intended to know what is the woman's profile operated in our center and to establish if the female sex represents a isolated risk factor for CABG. Method: Historical cohort study. Population source with 83 patients being the first group (G1) formed by 23 women and the second (G2) formed by 60 men. Itinerary with 32 items for data collection. Univariate analysis. Significance level of 5%. Approved for the Ethics Committee. Results: in G1 the average of age was of 65,23±12,37 and IMC 27,45±6,28. In G2 the average of age was of 61,69±10,15 and IMC 28,22±5,99. The univariate analysis identified: age (P=0,045), IMC (P=0,895), angina (P=0,159), cardiac insufficiency (P=0,614), previous infarct (P=0,395), diabetes (P=0,144), COPD (P=0,890), tabacco smoker (P=0,819), dyslipidemia (P=0,513), hypertension (P=0,505), previous stroke (P=0,547), number of commited arteries (P=0,868), number of accomplished grafts (P=0,667), extracorporeal use (P=0,104), postoperative infarction (p=0,159), breathing support (P=0,768), postoperative stroke (P=0,577), bleeding (P=0,238), postoperative infection (P=0,579), hospital stay (P=0,221) and hospital death (P=0,666). Conclusion: the revascularized woman is a senior patient (62,90±10,92), with overweight, angina (97,6%) and hypertension (62,30%) bearer, diabetic (45,6%), with previous infarct (59,7%). The prevalence of the coronary disease is larger in male (2,6/1) and the female sex didn't represent a isolated factor of risk for CABG.


This paper introduces an novel algorithm, which allows to form expectations about future wealth transmissions and the associated tax revenues by combining recent micro-data on the wealth of private households with demographic projections on age-, genderand educationspecific mortality rates. The structure of the distribution of wealth among private households in Austria and demographic changes indicate a strong increase of aggregate capital transfers over the coming decades. Both the number of transfers and their average amount will increase substantially. On the basis of the performed projections, the sum of transferred assets increases from 8 billione in 2010 up to 20 billione by 2035. My simulations show that the combination of a comparatively high inheritance tax exemption threshold with significant marginal rates would have pronounced progressive effects. While the majority of the population would not suffer from the tax, total revenue inflow would be substantial.


The invention discloses a low-temperature coefficient high-order temperature compensated band gap reference voltage source. A high-order temperature coefficient is obtained by injecting a current with a high-order negative temperature coefficient into a PNP-type triode; and the voltage is coupled into a final output reference voltage through a double-differential pair operational amplifier to compensate a high-order temperature component in a triode band gap voltage so as to obtain a high-order temperature compensated reference voltage. Only first-order temperature compensation is adopted in a conventional band gap reference voltage source, and the reference voltage is compensated by a high-order temperature, so the reference voltage source has the characteristics of greater performance improvement and lower temperature coefficient compared with the conventional band gap reference voltage source.


This paper explores bond pricing implications of a stochastic endogenous growth model with imperfect price adjustment. In this setting, the production and price-setting decisions of firms drive low-frequency movements in macro growth and inflation rates that are negatively related, as in the data. With recursive preferences, these endogenous long-run growth and inflation dynamics are crucial for explaining a number of stylized facts in bond markets. Notably, when calibrated to a wide range of macroeconomic data, the model quantitatively explains the means and volatilities of nominal bond yields. The model also generates a sizeable equity premium and high investment volatility.


AIM: To investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of methylflavonolamine (MFA) on myocardial injury induced by adriamycin in mice. METHODS: The myocardial injury was induced by adriamycin (ADR) 1.5 mg·kg -1 ip once every two days for ten days in mice. All mice were taken the electrocardiogram examination before given drugs. The mice with abnormal electrocardiogram were excluded prior to the experiment. The degree of J point elevation, the prolonged degree of the QRS complex duration and the Q T interval, the change of contents of serum creatine phosphokinase (CK), serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), myocardial malondialdehyde (MDA), and the activity of myocardial superoxide dismutase (SOD) were observed in control and treated groups. The contents of serum CK and LDH were measured by spectrophotometry, and the content of myocardial MDA was measured by TBA method and the activity of myocardial SOD by hydroxylamine method. RESULTS: The J point was elevated, the Q T interval and the duration of QRS complex were prolonged and the contents of serum CK and LDH were increased in mice with acute myocardial injury induced by ADR, suggesting that a widespread and severe myocardial cell injury occurred in the prepared models. While all these injury indices were reversed by MFA treatment. The content of myocardial MDA was increased and the activity of myocardial SOD was decreased in mice with myocardial injury, and MFA decreased the MDA content and increased the SOD activity, indicating that it possesses the actions of scavenging free oxygen radicals and anti lipoperoxidation. CONCLUSIONS: MFA significantly alleviates the degree of the acute myocardial injury in mice induced by ADR. Its mechanism may be associated with reducing oxygen free radical production and anti lipoperoxidation.


THE TECHNIC of goniotomy in treatment of congenital glaucoma has recently been published.1In the present communication the description and specifications of the instruments are given. GONIOTOMY KNIFE The shaft of the goniotomy knife (figs. 1 and 2) is tapering, oval and 25 mm. in length, the longer diameter of the oval being parallel with the cutting edge of the blade. The measurements of the blade and shaft are such that the wound is sealed throughout the operation. To secure the shape of the blade and the degree of taper of the shaft which will, on the one hand, prevent loss of aqueous and, on the other, not offer too much resistance to easy insertion and passage across the chamber, exact specifications, as given on the mechanical drawing to 0.01 mm., must be followed. The degree of taper of the shaft is not so great that it resists insertion


Indian Capital Market is well structured and well developed in terms of size, turnover and regulatory measures. Always Indian Corporate bond market is criticized as underdeveloped as compared to other countries. Despite various initiatives undertaken in the past, there is a little change in the overall growth and development of the corporate bond market in India. In order to set a benchmark, there is a need of comparison with its economic peers. Hence the present study is with the objective to compare and analyse the Indian Corporate Bond Market with other Asian Countries. Several Factors like Size of total bond market and Corporate bond market, Market Penetration, Financing Profile, Bond Turnover Ratio and turnover in Secondary market for the period 2008-09 to 2018-19 are compared analyzed.


Considerable variation exists in textbook prices, and this variation is not correlated with book quality as judged by instructors. Community college faculty are more price conscious and more accurate in estimating prices than are university faculty. Most faculty interviewed believe that publishers are not making significant efforts to compete in the area of price, and increased faculty access to price information would lower textbook prices. Recommendations are made for increasing price awareness and knowledge among faculty.


Subsolidus phase relations and isothermal section relations at 1550°C in the system of Y_2O_3-Al_2O_3-Si_2N_2O have been investigated. Results indicated that Si_2N_2O can form O'-Sialon (O's.s.) with Al_2O_3 up to 15 mole %, and 2Y_2O_3 ·Si_2N_2O and 2Y_2O_3. Al_2O_3 can form continuous solid solution (Js.s.). In the Si_2N_2O-rich corner of the system, Si_2N_2O will react with Y_2O_3 to form Si_3N_4 and Y_(10)(SiO_4)_6N_2 (H-phase). Therefore, there are four quarternary-phase regions in the system: In the isothermal section at 1550°C there is a large liquid-phase area near the Al_2O_3—Si_2N_2O side. The eutectic composition is Y_2O_3:2Al_2O_3:2Si_2N_2O at 1450°C.


The application of sub-aperture stitching in long optical flat was researched.The principle was discussed.Testing the model of sub-aperture stitching were established.According to the basic theory of least-squ,a program was designed for it.The tilting can be revised by using this program.Experiments were done to verify the feasibility and the validity of this program.After the anti-tilting the right stitching result can be gotten and it is possible to compare different test results with full-aperture.The result expressed that the program can satisfy the request of long optical flat testing.


The majority of point cloud registration methods currently rely on extracting features from points. However, these methods are limited by their dependence on information obtained from a single modality of points, which can result in deficiencies such as inadequate perception of global features and a lack of texture information. Actually, humans can employ visual information learned from 2D images to comprehend the 3D world. Based on this fact, we present a novel Cross-Modal Information-Guided Network (CMIGNet), which obtains global shape perception through cross-modal information to achieve precise and robust point cloud registration. Specifically, we first incorporate the projected images from the point clouds and fuse the cross-modal features using the attention mechanism. Furthermore, we employ two contrastive learning strategies, namely overlapping contrastive learning and cross-modal contrastive learning. The former focuses on features in overlapping regions, while the latter emphasizes the correspondences between 2D and 3D features. Finally, we propose a mask prediction module to identify keypoints in the point clouds. Extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets demonstrate that our network achieves superior registration performance.


ABSTRACT Background This study examined whether a particular type of childhood trauma (CT) is more prevalent in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder than in a matched sample of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and whether clinical variables of bipolar disorder are related to CT. Methods Seventy-one inpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were matched to those diagnosed with schizophrenia for age, sex, and duration of illness. Both groups completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Traumatic Antecedent Questionnaire, the Impact of Events Scale, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon. Second, clinical variables at discharge, course variables within one year (relapse, readmission, and time remained in therapy) and medication adherence were investigated for association with trauma types. Results Reported CT and protective factors did not differ between those diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. In addition, CT was not related to clinical features, course variables or medication adherence. The only significant correlations found were between childhood emotional neglect and prescription of anxiolytics (p < 0.05) and sleep pills (p < 0.001) at discharge. Conclusions We did not find any particular type of CT that distinguishes bipolar disorder from schizophrenia, implying there is no specific contribution of CT to different psychotic diagnoses. However, some types of trauma may correlate with the prescription of specific psychotropic medication.


Natural water quality is continuously diminishing with human intervention and poses a major threat to the ecosystem. The present work investigated the treatment of contaminated lake water using a 4...


As the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) comes to a close, the true scope of the venture is becoming clear. The Year was launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover". Since its inception, IYA2009 was planned to be more than just a series of activities occurring over 12 months. It has been designed and implemented as a springboard for the popularisation of astronomy with a much longer timeframe in mind. Abundant in grass-roots initiatives and global projects, this venture has been highly visible and its impact will last for years. Perhaps the most impressive statistic from IYA2009 is the sheer size and scale of the astronomy network that has been created: the largest in history. 148 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, joined together to work toward the common goal of making astronomy accessible to all; the International Year of Astronomy 2009 truly has been international! Individuals and groups in all of these countries have been collaborating both internally and across borders on projects beneficial to us all. The relationships forged between scientists, communicators, teachers, and enthusiasts during IYA2009 should remain far into the future, and it is hoped they will only become stronger with time. Sharing resources and expertise is a win-win situation, as IYA2009 has shown. A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR Most of the incredible initiatives have come from individual countries During 2009 more than one million Canadians have experienced a so-called "Galileo moment", an engaging astronomical experience that has opened their eyes to the Universe. In Portugal more than 300 000 people participated in this year's astronomy-themed Oceans festival. It featured a Guinness World Record 4.8-km long canvas painted with the help of enthusiastic volunteers. In Japan more than 7 million people were outside stargazing during 2009. The IYA2009 presence in the new media sphere has been tremendous: the number of IYA2009-related blog entries and tweets reached millions. The IYA2009 Cornerstone Project Cosmic Diary, a blog where 60 professional astronomers from around the world blog about their lives, families, friends, hobbies and interests, as well as their work, had more than 250000 visitors and more than 2100 blog entries. As another example, more than 10 000 people participated in


ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the status of community diabetic patients' knowledge related to diabetic foot and analyze the influencing factors. Methods: With descriptive study design, 210 diabetic patients living in a community in Shanghai were enrolled in questionnaires investigation. Results: As a whole, awareness of the knowledge related to diabetic foot of the community diabetic patients was not satisfactory. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that duration of diabetes, educational level and per capita monthly income of the family were the main influencing factors of knowledge related to diabetic foot(P0.05). Conclusion: We should improve the health education for diabetic patients in community, focus on the patients whose family economic conditions were poorer and conduct education according to the patients' duration of diabetes and educational level to improve the quality of health education.


Source of material: Eu4Sb20 is synthesized from stoichiometric amounts of Eu, Sb and Sb203 (ratio 12:4:1 ) in sealed niobium ampoules at 1150 K. Eu4Sb20 (see ref. 1) is isopointal with the K2NiF4-stracture type (f/14) but has a different da ratio. It is characterized by a two-dimensional network of corner sharing 0 E u 6 octahedra. Note the anomalous anisotropy of oxygen (U33 > Ui 1 = U22)· This feature indicates that the oxygen atoms prefer die coordination number S instead of 6. The coordination of Sb is a mono-capped tetragonal antiprism of nine Eu atoms.


I have read with great interest the article entitled 'Manned Space Flight Navigation Techniques' by Major R. C. Henry in the October issue of the Journal. It would appear that much of the imagined difficulty in interplanetary navigation is due to the fact that until now man has really been concerned with fixing his position and controlling his path on a spherical surface, the third-dimensional problem in air navigation has been one of altitude—i.e. definition of the surface concerned. Now, for the first time, we are involved in what at first sight appears to be a truly three-dimensional problem, and its solution appears difficult, partly because we are to be removed from our familiar graticule of earthly meridians and parallels. If the problem be divided into two parts, an obvious solution presents itself. At sea, a ship must be on the surface of the water, and is mainly concerned with its position and course on that surface. An aircraft determines its surface of reference by barometric pressure (which by tradition is termed Pressure Altitude and expressed as a linear measure), and again is then concerned with a twodimensional problem on that surface.


Advancing in our postdoctoral research on the female folk healers on the outskirts of Fortaleza, we came across several manifestations of Spirituality that involve women as an important element for their pantheon. One of these manifestations is Wicca, which has in the feminine its maximum sacred exponent. To support our theoretical background in this case study, we rely on fundamental researchers in the area such as Cordovil (2017), Langer and Campos (2007), Osorio (2011, 2005, 2004), and Terzetti Filho (2016, 2014). Thus, we analyze a coven that brings together thirteen Wiccans since 2016. We conclude that those initiates reflect the precepts of the Art systematized by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s, drawing on the legacy of Margareth Murray and other earlier scholars, developed later by the closest followers of the former and the latter.


The paper presents a minimal proof theory which is adequate for proving the main important temporal properties of reactive programs. The properties we consider consist of the classes of invariance, response, and precedence properties. For each of these classes we present a small set of rules that is complete for verifying properties belonging to this class. We illustrate the application of these rules by analyzing and verifying the properties of a new algorithm for mutual exclusion.


WO3 has attracted widespread attention as an important semiconductor for supercapacitors. However, applications of WO3 are limited by its poor performance regarding capacitance and conductivity. In this paper, a novel method is presented for preparing a WO3/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite, based on poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) as a linker. PIL enables a tight contact between WO3 and graphene to exploit the excellent electrical conductivity of graphene. Results of the morphology for the as-prepared WO3/PIL/RGO composite indicate that the WO3 nanoparticles are distributed uniformly on the surface of the RGO. The WO3/PIL/RGO electrode displays a much higher specific capacitance, 316 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, than that of the pure WO3 electrode. Furthermore, WO3/PIL/RGO also has good rate and long cycling performance for supercapacitors, making it a promising electrode material.


proPellets Austria is an association of the Austrian wood pellet industry. Vision & mission of proPellets is to bring about an energy transition in heating.


A brief survey of events and movements from the first century to the present day provides the background for understanding the complexity of questions relating to the presence of Christians in the Middle East at the present time. Some of these issues affect all Christians, while others are specific to particular countries in the region. Given the steep decline in the numbers of Christians for a variety of reasons over the centuries, is it possible to have any optimism about their future in the region?


A novel BiCMOS membership function circuit is presented. It implements trapezoidal/triangle functions with all parameters (slope, position, width, height and amplitude) independently and continuously adjustable. Computer simulations are shown that verify the characteristics of the circuit.


The amylolytic enzyme produced by a thermophilic mould, Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae was partially purified by acetone precipitation. Sice the major product of the enzyme action on starch was glucose, it was identified as glucoamylase. The glucoamylase was optimally active at pH 7 and 50°C. It was stable for 8 d at 50°C and exhibited a half-life of 10 d. The K and V m a x values of glucomylase (soluble starch) were 0.77 mg mL - 1 and 125 μM mg - 1 protein min - 1 , respectively. Cations such as Hg 2 + , Pb 2 + and Mn 2 + inhibited the activity while others like Mg 2 + , Co 2 + , Ba 2 + and Cu 2 + stimulated. EDTA (10 mM) and additives such as urea and sodium azide exhibited an inhibitory effect on glucomylase activity.


We analyze the utilization of preexisting music by Villa-Lobos in two films from the sixties by Glauber Rocha, Black God, White Devil (1964) and Entranced Earth (1967). Considered by Guerrini Junior (2009) as an "allegory" of Brazilian nation in great part of Brazilian Cinema Novo, the music by Villa-Lobos is heard all over Black God, White Devil . However, the piece in the end of the film points to a change to a more anthopophagic and tropicalistic in Entranced Earth, in which Villa-Lobos´ music is part of a patchwork of many styles and genres. We consider the meanings that the preexisting Villa-Lobos´ excerpts bring to the two films, in addition to the relationships with national and popular elements as well with other sound components.


Cystadenoma of salivary glands is an uncommon benign neoplasm in which the epithelium demonstrates adenomatous proliferation that is characterized by formation of multiple cystic structures. This manuscript describes a rare case of cystadenoma located in the lower lip of a 60 year old male patient.

Keywords: Salivary gland, Cystadenoma, Lip, Neoplasm


It was pointed out that there exist some problems in the network pressure-superposed water supply,such as low efficiency of pumps and low reliability of continuous water supply.If the facilities of pressure-superposed water supply are not designed or fixed or operated properly,they may affect water supply system badly.Their combination with small pneumatic tank or pumps with different head can save more energy.By means of lowering the elevation of the facilities,shortening the length of inlet pipe and increasing the diameter of inlet pipe,the reliability of water supply may be improved and the volume of pressure balancer be reduced.


From a Translation Studies perspective, translation assessment is gradually becoming more popular thanks to increasing academic interest in translator education. In fact, we believe that evaluation should be more deeply explored in order to systematise and consolidate how it is carried out, especially in a particular Brazilian context. As we still witness an unwelcome focus on summative assessment of students with little room for constructive feedback from educators, the purpose of this article is to discuss ways to assess translation students that move beyond traditional approaches. The focus here is on formative assessment, whose emphasis on feedback better suits the dynamic nature we believe translator education should have. Furthermore, we shall review the concepts of translation competence and translation error as important elements within translation evaluation, as well as peer and self-assessment, which promote a more student-centered and participatory environment.


The Center for Remote Sensing at Michigan State University is developing a statewide data base of land-surface information on an ERDAS 400 microcomputer system. The raster file structure uses 1 square-kilometer grid cells and contains 633 columns and 733 rows. The initial elements of this data base include (1) augmented Level I land cover; (2) average available soil water capacity; (3) topographic information; and (4) multiple-vector, windward distance to the Great Lakes. Other elements will be added to the data base in the future in order to serve the multidisciplinary needs of the research community at Michigan State University.


Objective To evaluate the effect of small-dose ketamine on the onset time and course of modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) in mentally depressed rats.Methods Sixty SPF adult male SpragueDawley rats,aged 2-3 months,weighing 220-250 g,were randomly divided into 6 groups (n =10 each) using a random number table:normal control group (group C),depression group (group D),ECT group,propofol + ECT group (group PE),ketamine + ECT group (group KE) and ketamine + propofol + ECT group (group KPE).The depression model was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS).Mter CUMS,C,D and ECT groups received intraperitoneal normal saline 8 ml/kg,group PE received intraperitoneal propofol 100 ml/kg,group KE received intraperitoneal ketamine 10 ml/kg,and group KPE received intraperitoneal ketamine 10 ml/kg + propofol 80 ml/kg.All the groups received ECT once a day for 7 consecutive days starting from the time point when righting reflex was lost except C and D groups.Open-field test was performed before CUMS,at 1 day after CUMS and at the end of each ECT (T0 8).The total distance and the number of standing on the back legs were recorded.Morris water maze test was performed at 2 days after CUMS and 1 day after the end of therapy,and the escape latency and time of staying at the original platform quadrant were recorded.Results Compared with group C,the total distance was shortened and the number of standing on the back legs was reduced,the escape latency was prolonged,and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was shortened at T1-8 in D,ECT,PE and KE groups and at T1 5 in KPE group,and no significant was found in KPE group in the total distance,number of standing on the back legs,escape latency,and time of staying at the original platform quadrant at T6-8.Compared with group D,the total distance was prolonged and the number of standing on the back legs was increased at T6-8 in ECT and PE groups and at T4-8 in KE and KPE groups,the escape latency was prolonged,and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was shortened in ECT group,and the escape latency was shortened,and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was prolonged in KPE group.Compared with ECT and PE groups,the total distance was prolonged and the number of standing on the back legs was increased at T4-7 in group KE and at T4-8 in group KPE,and the escape latency was shortened,and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was prolonged in KPE group.Compared with group KE,the total distance was prolonged and the number of standing on the back legs was increased at T6.7,the escape latency was shortened,and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was prolonged in KPE group.Conclusion Small-dose ketamine can shorten the onset time and course of MECT in mentally depressed rats.

Key words:
Depression ;  Ketamine ;  Propofol ;  Electroconvulsive therapy


Shorebirds, as migratory aquatic birds and top predators in intertidal ecosystems, can be affected by global environmental changes and escalations in local impacts on coastal lagoons and estuarine trophic networks. Many shorebirds winter in North African Atlantic coastal sites, most likely because these locations provide constant and reliable food supplies with less energy costs in comparison with the wintering sites of northern Europe. Although more information is available for other important southern coastal sites (e.g. Saharan Atlantic coastal desert and Guinean mangroves coast), very little information is available for the North African Atlantic coast. Here, we focus on the impact of shorebird predation on benthic macroinvertebrates in a major wintering site in this area—Sidi Moussa coastal lagoon, Morocco—using an exclosure experiment. For most of the macroinvertebrate species there was no significant effect of the exclusion of shorebird predation. Overall, our results do not show evidence that predation by shorebirds influenced the overall standing biomass of the benthic community. This may indicate that the benthic productivity is high enough to provide constant and reliable food supplies for non-breeding shorebirds.


Twelve cultivars and one breeding line of tomatoes, (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) which varied in maturity from early to late cultivars, were crossed in a diallel to estimate general and specific combining ability for earliness, fruit size, and yield using Griffing's method II, model II. General combining ability mean squares for earliness at 3 stages expressed as growing degree days (GDD) (10–32°C); and for number of days were larger than specific combining ability mean squares except for the index of first flowering stage to first fruit set. Days from seeding to first flowering and of first fruit set to first ripe fruit were positively correlated with each other and with total earliness. However, days from first flowering to first fruit set was not correlated either with the period from first fruit set to first ripe fruit or with total earliness. Fruit sizes, measured at the 3 different times were positively correlated with each other and with overall average size. A positive correlation resulted between the September 1st and October 1st yields and total yield. There was no significant correlation between fruit size and yield. General and specific combining ability mean squares were estimated on August 1st, September 1st, and October 1st for fruit size and yield. Broad sense heritability estimates were high and narrow sense heritability estimates were low, for both fruit size and yield.


PURPOSE: Present invention provides an information recording medium, on which raw audio information in a long time duration can be recorded while keeping its original quality in a DVD audio format and which can allow a flexible selection in a structure of an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing the compressed audio information therefrom, and an information recording apparatus for recording the compressed audio information onto the information recording medium, and an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing the compressed audio information recorded on the information recording medium. CONSTITUTION: On an information recording medium (200), record information is recorded. The record information comprises a plurality of information units (230) each including header information (240, 241, 242) and divided-compressed audio information (243) obtained by dividing compressed audio information (Sr) so as to include one or a plurality of lead data (T, T') positioned at a lead of compressed partial audio information (AU). The compressed partial audio information is generated by variable-length-compressing partial audio information (AF) obtained by dividing raw audio information and by multiplexing it with compression control information. The compressed audio information is generated by arranging the compressed partial audio information in an order of reproduction. The compression control information includes first control information (MN, MJ, RH) to control an inputting and outputting operation of the compressed partial audio information with respect to a first buffer (90), which is used when reproducing the compressed audio information. The header information includes second control information (240b, 241f) to control an inputting and outputting operation of the divided-compressed audio information with respect to a second buffer (87), which is used when reproducing the compressed audio information.


The apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), protein (CP), fat and gross energy (GE) of three feed ingredients Fish meal, sunflower meal and rice polishing for Labeo rohita was studied by using chromic oxide as a dietary marker. The experimental diets consisted of a mixture of reference diet 69.3 percent and test ingredients 29.7 percent. Apparent nutrient digestibility coefficient of DM was highest (67.77% + 6.81) for fish meal followed by sunflower meal (38.18% + 0.63) and rice polishing (21.63% + 20.46). Apparent CP digestibility was highest (88.84% + 4.90) for the fish meal and was followed by sunflower meal (71.46% + 1.54) and rice polishing (70.22% + 8.62). For fat apparent digestibility was highest (82.37% + 6.26) for sunflower meal and next highest values in the descending order were (80.36% + 3.07) for fish meal and (38.38% + 1.51) for rice polishing. The apparent digestibility for GE was highest (93.64% + 9.34) for fish meal and this was followed by the rice polishing (77.47% + 10.02) and sunflower meal (67.29 % + 3.50).


It is aimed to discuss several words in current version of "Stories of Immortals" in this paper.It is argued that the expressions in "tomb of three Kings"——"and fell down at once" should be "but did not fall down at once" because "jiang" here means "to fall down" rather than "rigidly".


An E-wallet money is used in the various areas of the world business like and Companies, Banks and Customers. The Banks have taken a better place in providing a better bank transaction services and payment to the customers need .For customers are dragged by the shopping facilities that is given by E-wallet and customers are attracted because of convenience and speedy transaction .In case of companies ,the companies aims at providing facility of transaction services and payment choice to their customers and the multiple payment combination facility providing by the company are attached to E-wallet


In this randomized trial study, the authors examined the efficacy of a practitioner partnership language intervention addressing oral language learning (expressive and receptive) in young language-minority learners from multiple-language groups in Norway. Resource teachers in 16 elementary schools implemented the intervention in the first and second grades, delivering a total of 64 thirty-minute sessions over eight consecutive weeks. With a mean age of 6 years 3.34 months, 137 students were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a waiting-list control group, with the latter group receiving the intervention after posttest 1. Five assessments of oral language skills were conducted before the intervention, immediately following it, and four months later. The intervention group showed significant improvements in various oral language skills compared with the waiting-list control group. There were no significant differences between the groups at the four-month follow-up when the waiting-list control group received the intervention. The program was successful in enhancing oral language skills in young language-minority learners. ORAL LANGUAGE INTERVENTION In today's multicultural society, a growing number of children entering elementary school receive instruction in their second language (L2). Some of these children have not yet developed their L2 skills to the level needed for academic learning in school. As oral language skills are a necessity for gaining knowledge, these learners are faced with the challenging task of acquiring proficiency in their L2 while simultaneously accessing the curriculum. Accordingly, instructional support for young L2 learners' school-relevant language skills has recently become a topic of research interest (Murphy & Evangelou, 2016; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). Issues concerning both the curriculum and instruction for these learners have not yet been addressed to the level needed to inform educational practice (Dixon et al., 2012), which is highlighted by the limited number of interventions targeting L2 learning (for reviews, see August, McCardle, & Shanahan, 2014; Buysse, Peisner-Feinberg, Páez, Hammer, & Knowles, 2014). We designed the present study to examine the effects of instruction to support oral language learning through a practitioner partnership intervention program addressing L2 skills in the early years of elementary school. The program's purpose was to teach school-relevant vocabulary and basic sentence production in addition to supporting extended talk, that is, talk that extends the immediate here and now. The intervention reported in this article builds on a social interactionist theoretical approach to language-based school learning and draws on three domains of prior research: research on language learning embedded in instructional contexts, efficient strategies to foster oral language learning, and the role of practitioner partnerships in constructing oral language interventions. Theoretical Framework Based on studies of L2 acquisition, Cummins (1984, 2001) suggested that language proficiency can be conceptualized as two registers: a basic interpersonal communicative skills ORAL LANGUAGE INTERVENTION register and a cognitive academic language proficiency register. The latter register may require years of exposure to language typically found in school contexts (Cummins, 2001). As pointed out by Halliday (1993), mastering the academic register supports language-mediated content learning in schools. L2 learners face the additional challenge of simultaneously acquiring the academic register of their new language and the language-mediated content taught in schools (Halliday, 2007). Cummins' distinction between basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency combined with Halliday's theoretical account of learning taking place through language has previously provided a framework for understanding school-relevant language and its underlying skills (Snow & Uccelli, 2009). More recent educationally informed developments of this social interactionist theoretical position have paid attention to the skills required in the process of acquiring school-relevant language, such as skills in mastering a diverse vocabulary, comprehending complex sentences, and participating in school-based discourse, and have addressed the instruction that would support these skills (Aarts, Demir-Vegter, Kurvers, & Henrichs, 2016; Grøver, Uccelli, Rowe, & Lieven, in press; Uccelli, Phillips Galloway, Barr, Meneses, & Dobbs, 2015). Research within the domain of language acquisition has robustly documented the pivotal role of exposure to a considerable amount of talk in first-language (L1: Hoff, 2006; Rowe, 2012) and L2 learners (Bowers & Vasilyeva, 2011; Rydland, Grøver, & Lawrence, 2014), to extended talk in pragmatically supportive environments for L1 (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; Rowe, 2012; Snow, Porche, Tabors, & Harris, 2007) and L2 learners (Rydland et al., 2014; Snow, 2014), and to the role of repeated exposure to words in meaningful settings crucial for developing conceptual knowledge (Nagy & Scott, 2000; Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986; Stahl & Nagy, 2006). Furthermore, learning these skills is key for literacy and academic achievement (August, Carlo, Dressler, & Snow, 2005; August & Shanahan, 2006; Lesaux, 2012; Uccelli & Páez, 2007). ORAL LANGUAGE INTERVENTION Building on this framework in the present study, we examined the effects of an L2 intervention program offering multiple opportunities for language exposure and use embedded in interactions with peers and teachers. Language Learning Embedded in Instructional Contexts When young language-minority students enter school, the rapid learning of the basic content words (i.e., everyday nouns, verbs, and adjectives that provide meaning in a sentence) that are already acquired by their monolingual classroom peers before school entry is important. Content words are crucial in developing a knowledge-based foundation to access oral and written language in school. Thus, teaching words that underlie the curriculum within and across school subjects becomes highly relevant in the initial phases of L2 instruction and in developing reading skills. In recent years, curricular approaches have become an important part of language interventions, from prekindergarten to elementary school (August, Artzi, & Barr, 2016; August, Artzi, Barr, & Francis, 2018; Fantuzzo, Gadsen, & McDermott, 2011; Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013; Wilson, Dickinson, & Rowe, 2013). These curriculum-aligned approaches are usually characterized by language-learning strategies combined with school-relevant topics and instruction, which are adaptable to students' needs. An intervention program targeting instruction in curriculum-related topics and offering developmentally appropriate support enhanced children's basic prekindergarten skills in language, literacy, and mathematics (Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013). Moreover, the use of educative curricular materials in prekindergarten has been found to support both the quality of teacher talk and children's vocabulary skills (Neuman, Pinkham, & Kaefer, 2015), and an integrated curriculum for prekindergarten and elementary classrooms improved students' mathematic, language, and literacy skills (Fantuzzo et al., 2011). Furthermore, studies of the effects of ORAL LANGUAGE INTERVENTION instruction on academic vocabulary in curricular contexts reported that both extended (explicit, rich, and depth descriptions) and embedded instruction (incorporated descriptions of words after being presented in textbooks) were beneficial for language-minority learners, with the former being the most efficient (August et al., 2016; August et al., 2018). Moreover, teaching words that frequently appeared across subject areas to students in grades 6-8 enhanced their language growth immediately following the intervention (Snow, Lawrence, & White, 2009), a result that was maintained in two follow-up assessments (Lawrence, Capotosto, BranumMartin, White, & Snow, 2012). Given these outcomes, effective language instruction that embeds words crucial to understanding textbooks and classroom talk may provide opportunities to gain knowledge and increase young language-minority learners' language proficiency. Efficient Strategies to Foster Oral Language Learning Studies of the efficacy of language interventions provide important knowledge regarding how to promote oral language learning in childhood education. We briefly review approaches to word selection and oral language learning before turning to specific strategies viewed as important for L2 learning. Which words to choose and how to teach them have been a topic of concern. On the one hand, Biemiller (2005) emphasized teaching words that children are likely to encounter in their daily environments but of which they have only partial knowledge. These are words that 30-70% of their peers will know the meaning of (i.e., solution for first graders and appetite for second graders; Biemiller, 2005). Beck and McKeown (2007), on the other hand, focused on abstract words that children typically do not learn unless they are being read to, also known as tier 2 words. According to this approach, a tier 2 word is related to an everyday concept that the student already knows but represents a more advanced term. The word confer is an ORAL LANGUAGE INTERVENTION example of a more abstract word based on the concept of talk in kindergarten and first grade. Both approaches to word selection and word instruction have resulted in improvements in students' word knowledge (Beck & McKeown, 2007; Biemiller, 2005; Biemiller & Boote, 2006). Furthermore, word selection should be based on frequency, familiarity, and meaningful use related to the text or curriculum (Nagy & Hiebert, 2011). Taken together, these aspects provide systematic insights into word selection. Explicit instruction in v


The foremost purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of export activities along with location, size and supply chain management impact on the firm performance of the pawnshop situated in Jember, Indonesia. The data has been gathered from the employees of pawnshop situated in Jember, Indonesia by using questionnaires while PLS-SEM has been executed for analysis purpose. The results indicated that export activities, location, size and supply chain management have positive along with the significant impact on the firm performance of the pawnshop situated in Jember, Indonesia. These findings are valuable for the new researchers while investigating this area in future along with the policymakers who want to develop the policies related to the supply chain and firm performance.


We introduce our approach to apply machine translation to psychology, especially to translate English adjectives in a psychological personality questionnaire. We first extend seed English personality adjectives with a word2vec model trained with web sentences, and then feed the acquired words to a phrase-based machine translation model. We use Moses trained with bilingual corpora that consist of TED subtitles, movie' subtitles and Wikipedia. We collect Japanese translations whose translation probabilities are higher than .01 and filter them based on human evaluations. This resulted in 507 Japanese personality descriptors. We conducted a web-survey (N=17,751) and finalized a personality questionnaire. Statistical analyses supported the five-factor structure, reliability and criterion-validity of the newly developed questionnaire. This shows the potential applicability of machine translation to psychology. We discuss further issues related to machine translation application to psychology.


Introduction: Measurement of child anxiety during dental treatment is a challenge during the procedure. Several questionnaires have been developed to assess child anxiety, some of which are pictorial to facilitate their application in children. The aim of the current study was to evaluate validity of new RMS pictorial questionnaire and to compare it with previous scales, including Venham Picture Test (VPT) and Facial Image Scale (FIS), to assess child dental anxiety during their first visit in a dental office.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 10 children in Shiraz in 2016, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The children's anxiety was evaluated by RMS-PS, VPT and FIS questionnaires. To assess reliability, questionnaires were given to the children at a two-week interval. Data were analyzed with t-test and regression correlation test (α = 0.05).
Results: Age and gender had no effect on children's anxiety, but in the presence of preoperative pain, anxiety was significantly higher. RMS had a moderate (r = 0.622) and significant (p value < 0.001) correlation with VPT questionnaire and a good (r = 0.700) and significant (p value < 0.001) correlation with the FIS questionnaire. In addition, the relationship between FIS and VPT questionnaires was moderate (r = 0.623) and significant (p value < 0.001).
Conclusion: The results showed that RMS questionnaire is not reliable. However, it was valid compared to FIS and VPT questionnaires. Therefore, RMS can be used to indicate child dental anxiety as a proper tool.
Key words: Anxiety, Dental Treatment, Pediatric Dentistry.


This serial provides a comprehensive survey of the major topics in the field of developmental biology. These volumes are valuable to researchers in animal and plant development, as well as to students and professionals who want an introduction to cellular and molecular mechanisms of development. The series has recently passed its 30-year mark, making it the longest-running forum for contemporary issues in developmental biology. Volume 80 provides seven chapters on the latest research in developmental biology.


This paper provides an empirical analysis of risk handling arrangements adopted in the relationship between the venture capital investor and his investee. The theoretical framework adopted is principal-agent analysis, which views the investee as a risk averse agent entering into a risk sharing contract with the investor, a risk neutral Fully diversified) principal. The sample analysed is made up of twenty venture capital investors in the UK over the period 1992-93, and (where available) their corresponding investee(s). These investors accounted for about three-quarters of venture capital activity in the UK over this period. The paper reports on evidence gathered by semi-structured interviews with investors and investees, on expected returns, portfolio balance, screening and risk sharing.


luxuriant imaginary fyftems, which rather force than elucidate, and very little agree with the laws of na ture. Who hitherto has ever rightly explained the origin of mountains ? We perhaps know fome par ticular caufes, but how can we draw from them ge neral conclufions ? The bones of animals, which are found in the interior Mures of the mountain, demonMate it to be formed by a ruinous caufe. This fuffices not to explain, but only to illuftrate, the fubjeCt. In the annexed Plate I. A is the mountain Taberg. B, B, B, the heaps of broken ore. C, C, C, the fand brought forth from the fiffures. Z), Z), the neighbouring ftony rock $ and , the miners houfes* I am,


This paper provides with a description of how to use a formalism called CO-OPN (Concurrent Object Oriented Petri Nets), which incorporates both concurrency and data structuring features, for open distributed program development. CO-OPN is a structured extension of Petri nets and algebraic abstract data types. A CO-OPN specification is composed of a set of objects (algebraic abstract data types and Petri nets), and of a synchronous communication mechanism. We describe in which way it is possible to specify open distributed programs with CO-OPN and under what assumption it is possible to gather open systems through the use of standardized communication components specified with CO-OPN. Moreover the refinement capabilities of CO-OPN on the Petri net part and the algebraic abstract data type part allow powerful specification refinements in order to reach implementations.


The reception of K-pop in Japan must be contextualized within the postcolonial relationship between Japan and Korea. Studying fan discourse and discourse about fans reveals that the Korean Wave (that is, fandom around Korean popular culture) has produced various desires and fears among the Japanese public, suggesting that persistent Korea-phobia among conservatives stymies K-pop's soft-power potential. A longitudinal study of K-pop fans in Japan and an ethnographic investigation of Tokyo's Koreatown, Shin-Ōkubo, indicate that these fans' activities reflect the current state of Japan-Korea relations. Consuming K-pop instills attraction among fans, but this must be weighed against the potential dismissal of Korean Wave fandom by conservatives as being too feminized. This case study shows the usefulness of transcultural approaches to analyses of fans.


This research aimed to study the level of stroke awareness in hypertensive patients, and the relationships among gender, age, marital status, education level, income, experience, co-mobility ,  perceived illness severity , receiving information, and stroke awareness. The sample consisted of 400 patients diagnosed with hypertension recruited from four hospitals in the southern region, Thailand.  Research instruments comprised of the demographic questionnaire, perceived illness severity scale, stroke experience questionnaire and stroke awareness questionnaire including stroke knowledge questionnaire, stroke belief questionnaire, practices to reduce risk of stroke questionnaire.  All questionnaires were tested for their content validity by 5 experts. The Cronbach , s alpha coefficients ranged from .78 to .85.  Statistical techniques used in data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson , s Product Moment coefficient, Eta coefficient, and Spearman Rank correlation. Major findings were as follows: The average mean of stroke awareness scores in hypertensive patients were at the moderate level. (X = 41.29 , SD = 5.35) Gender and age were not significantly correlated to stroke awareness. Marital status, education level, income, experience, co-mobility, and perceived illness severity and receiving information were significantly correlated to stroke awareness.


Currently, many heritage buildings have been converted into music performance venues. Performing at ultra high sound pressure has induced coupled vibration of building elements which should be of protected, then caused irreversible damage of them after a certain time, such that application requirements and cultural relic protection formed an inevitable contradiction. Research on a case study of Guangzhou's Sun Yat - sen Memorial Hall in China demonstrated that music performance has little impact on the structure safety but a passive influence on some heritage building elements like colored glass and some murals, gave a reference for selection and design of damping measures, and at the same time pointed out that some issues required further study in this area.


The present contribution derives an explicit expression for (a version of) every uni- and multi-variate conditional distribution (i.e., Markov kernel) of Archimedean copulas and uses this representation to generalize a recently established result, saying that in the class of multivariate Archimedean copulas standard uniform convergence implies weak convergence of almost all univariate Markov kernels, to arbitrary multivariate Markov kernels. Moreover, we prove that an Archimedean copula is singular if, and only if, almost all uni- and multivariate Markov kernels are singular. These results are then applied to conditional Archimedean copulas which are reintroduced largely from a Markov kernel perspective and it is shown that convergence, singularity and conditional increasingness carry over from Archimedean copulas to their conditional copulas. As consequence the surprising fact is established that estimating (the generator of) an Archimedean copula directly yields an estimator of (the generator of) its conditional copula. Building upon that, we sketch the use and estimation of a conditional version of a recently introduced dependence measure as alternative to well-known conditional versions of association measures in order to study the dependence behaviour of Archimedean models when fixing covariate values.