Fresh and Salt was a Trans/forming Cultures workshop on water, an issue of urgent interest in Australia and the region. It focused on the relationships between people and water, with particular attention to the interests of Indigenous peoples and was organised around four themes: freshwater rivers, oceans, borders and commons. Participants at the symposium included activists and academic researchers who brought with them an extraordinarily broad disciplinary background. They ranged from cultural analysts to freshwater biologists, from historians and anthropologists to lawyers, political scientists and geographers. This generated vigorous and wide-ranging discussions, opening up unfamiliar comparisons between conditions on inland freshwater rivers and those of ocean island societies, or between the politics of modernising technologies on vast tropical rivers like the Mekong with those of arid zone rivers like those in inland China and Australia. In doing so, these discussions probed the ways in which the tools of social and cultural analysis can be usefully engaged with those of policy, biology and economics. This introductory essay argues that the papers refined and presented here reflect the qualities of the symposium discussions. They illuminate the ways in which people generate meanings for water, the ways the political battles over water are fought out and the ways in which water as rivers or oceans has formed fruitful but contested border zones across the region.

This symposium was convened by Trans/forming Cultures, the UTS Centre for Culture and Communications in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science. It was generously supported by the Asia Pacific Futures Network and by the International Centre of Excellence in Asia Pacific Studies. The workshop was initiated and conducted by researchers from the centre, including Stephanie Donald [then TfC Director], Heather Goodall, Kate Barclay, James Goodman, Stephen Muecke and Devleena Ghosh [current TfC Director]. Participants were drawn from a number of active research networks associated with TfC, including the China Node of the APFN, the South Asia Network and the Research Initiative on International Activism.


A dictionary could be one of the best tools to help learners to acquire the second language (L2). There are two kinds of dictionaries compared in this study; they are monolingual dictionary and bilingual dictionary. In this case the writer compares both kinds of dictionaries in order to know the impact of using them in a writing course conducted at the senior high school level. This study may help the learners choose the most appropriate dictionary in their learning process. This study applies a quantitative research method. The writer used purposive sampling to get homogenous students' English proficiency. He used two kinds of tests; they are pre-test and post-test. For calculating the data he used t-test to count the significant difference between those tests. The result of this study showed that both monolingual dictionary and bilingual dictionary did not have significant difference. It means that the monolingual dictionary is as good as the bilingual dictionary. The result of this study also showed that both monolingual dictionary and bilingual dictionary are helpful for students in doing the writing test, even though the result showed that both dictionaries did not significantly increase the students' scores. Nevertheless, both dictionaries can still help students increase their writing scores. Therefore, the writer suggests that teachers should let his or her students use either a monolingual dictionary or a bilingual dictionary in doing their writing class activities.


We may find some rules as well as the development of the meaning of Chinese words by making some comparisons between different versions of modern Chinese dictionary.This paper aims to make the comparison between the 4th and 5th version and the statistics of senses of dictionary entry's changes of the monosyllabic of modern Chinese dictionary.Making the statistics by category according to the change,then try to make analysis and conclusions by the statistics.


Photograph of the Tobe Porcelain Works in Matsuyama, Japan. In the foreground, rows of pots are visible in the bottom half of the frame. Two men are visible working with clay.


Hypo-atmospheric-pressure plasma was utilized to pretreat 8-shape three-dimensional (3D) woven fabric of glass fiber. After that, the bending property of composite reinforced by the 8-shape 3D woven fabric was researched. The results showed that the composite of pretreated time 1 min had maximum onset fracture load, while the composite of pretreated time 3 min had minimum onset fracture load. Moreover, the displacement of all samples was over 4 mm. By observing the scanning electron microscopy images of the fibers peeling from the composites, it could be found that the surface of the fiber became coarse after the 8-shape 3D woven fabrics were pretreated by atmospheric-pressure plasma. The coarse surface improved interfacial adhesion between fibers and resin; consequently, the onset fracture load of the composite was improved.


Damage detection based on structural dynamic characteristics, such as natural frequencies
and mode shapes, is an important area of research. Obtaining accurate structural dynamic
characteristics is perhaps the most challenging aspect. In particular, changes in environmental
temperature due to seasonal weather or radiation from sunshine leads to changes
in the dynamic characteristics of structures. An important conclusion is that changes in
the dynamic characteristics of a structure due to damage may be smaller than changes in
the dynamic characteristics due to variations in temperature. Also, damage can affect the
frequency response. This is the first study of evaluation of the effect of changes in temperature
and multiple damages on natural frequency at the same time. In this paper, the
simultaneous effect of the multiple defects and temperature on the natural frequencies of
6063 aluminum alloy beam are assessed numerically. ABAQUS finite element software is
used for the numerical analysis. The present paper aims to evaluate the temperature effect
and multiple damages on vibration responses. The variations in the frequency have been
analysed in simulation by using an aluminum specimen and obtaining impedance signatures
at temperatures ranging from −200◦C to 204◦C. The results show that an increase in
temperature leads to a decrease in structural frequency, and that a decrease in temperature
leads to an increase in structural frequency. The evaluation of the effect of multiple
defects on natural frequency shows that when damages are created in the structure, there is
a significant decrease in the natural frequency responses of the 6063 aluminum alloy beam.
The results show that damage causes a decrease in the natural frequency of the structure.
This study highlights the importance of applying simulation methods to the evaluation of
the effect of changes in environmental temperature and multiple damages on the dynamic
characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes, especially at the same time.


Background: Physicians and medical professional societies have widely supported use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in persons who are at increased risk (1) (Table 1). Three randomized controlled trials published in 2018ASCEND (A Study of Cardiovascular Events in Diabetes), ARRIVE (Aspirin to Reduce Risk of Initial Vascular Events), and ASPREE (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly)sought to evaluate the benefits and risks of aspirin use for primary prevention of CVD in adults with diabetes, average-risk adults, and older adults, respectively (24). Collectively, these studies showed few benefits and consistent bleeding risks. ASCEND studied adults with diabetes and found fewer serious vascular events among those assigned aspirin but also an increase in major bleeding. Similarly, ARRIVE showed no difference in cardiovascular events between aspirin users and nonusers who were at average risk. Finally, ASPREE found increased overall mortality and unchanged cardiovascular mortality in older adults assigned aspirin. In light of these findings, in March 2019, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) released updated guidelines, which now recommend against routine aspirin use in persons older than 70 years and those with increased bleeding risk (5). However, the extent to which these populations take aspirin for primary prevention in the United States is unknown. Table 1. Current and Recent Guideline and Consensus Documents on Aspirin Use for the Primary Prevention of CVD* Objective: To characterize aspirin use for primary prevention of CVD among U.S. adults. Methods and Findings: We used data from the Sample Adult component of the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative in-person household survey of health and disability among U.S. adults. The final response rate was 53.0% (ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2017/srvydesc.pdf). Participants aged 40 years or older were asked the following questions about aspirin use: Has a doctor or other health professional ever told you to take a low-dose aspirin each day to prevent or control heart disease? Are you now following this advice? and On your own, are you now taking a low-dose aspirin each day to prevent or control heart disease? We classified participants who answered yes to either of the 2 latter questions as taking aspirin for CVD prevention. To focus on primary prevention, we excluded participants with a self-reported history of angina, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, or stroke. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with aspirin use. Our sample included 14328 adults. The mean age was 57.5 years; 54% were women, and 33% were nonwhite. Among adults aged 40 years or older without CVD, 23.4% (approximately 29 million persons) reported taking daily aspirin for prevention of CVD. Of these, 22.8% (6.6 million persons) did so without a physician's recommendation. Nearly half of adults aged 70 years or older without CVD reported aspirin use (Table 2). After adjustment, older age, male sex, and cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and smoking) were statistically significantly associated with aspirin use. Of note, a history of peptic ulcer disease was not statistically significantly associated with lower aspirin use. Table 2. Aspirin Use Among Adults Aged 40 Years or Older Without CVD, by Demographic and Clinical Characteristics (n = 14328)* Discussion: Nearly 30 million U.S. adults aged 40 years or older use aspirin to prevent CVD, including nearly half of older adults without self-reported CVD and a quarter of adults without CVD but with a history of peptic ulcer disease. Our findings have important implications in light of recent evidence and guidelines recommending against aspirin use for primary prevention of CVD in these 2 subgroups. Although prior AHA/ACC guidelines recommended aspirin only in persons without elevated bleeding risk, the 2019 guidelines now explicitly recommend against aspirin use in those older than 70 years (5). Our findings also suggest that a substantial portion of adults may be taking aspirin without their physician's advice and potentially without their knowledge. Our study had limitations. Aspirin use was based on self-reported data, and the term low-dose was not clearly defined, which may have led to misclassification. In addition, NHIS did not ask adults younger than 40 years about aspirin use, limiting the scope of our study. Finally, we were unable to calculate atherosclerotic CVD risk scores because blood pressure and cholesterol levels were not measured. In summary, aspirin use in the United States is widespread among groups at risk for harm. In light of recent trials and guidelines, our findings show a tremendous need for health care practitioners to inquire about ongoing aspirin use and to counsel patients about the balance of benefits and harms, especially among older adults and those with prior peptic ulcer disease.


Inthis paper, weconsider MIMO spatial multiplexing systems and elaborate theimpact ofthechannel condition number ontheperformanceofML andZFdetection. Inparticular, weshowthat forchannels withbounded condition number ZFdetection achieves thesame diversity asML detection. Motivated bythis, wepropose anovel threshold receiver that usessimple ZFdetection forwell-conditioned channels andML detection forpoorly condtitioned channels. We showthat this reveiver achieves full diversity andweprovide anupperboundonits SNRgaptoML detection. Wefurther investigate cost-reduced versions ofthethreshold receiver andexamine their performance intermsofsimulation results.


A calibration and measurement method using a wideband tri-six-port network and analyzer (TSPNA) is proposed. The scattering parameters of a three-port device under test are found to be the unknowns of a set of nine simultaneous complex linear equations. These equations are established via a group of three calibrated linearly independent excitations. No isolators are required for calibration and measurement procedures. Three unknown reciprocal two-port standards are needed for the calibration of the TSPNA. The proposed method is rigorous, explicit, and suitable for wideband on-wafer three-port device S-parameter measurements. It can easily be adapted for heterodyne automated network analyzers equipped with three reflection test-set units. >


With fond memories of her own time in early childhood education and care, Kate Ellis, federal Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care, opens up to Rattler about her passion for education and commitment to national reforms in the lead up to the election.


Viking measurements of the Martian atmosphere indicate a value of N-15/N-14 which is markedly greater than that found in Earth's atmosphere. These isotopic measurements provide a powerful diagnostic tool which may be used to derive valuable information regarding the past history of Mars and they have been used to place important constraints on the evolution of Mars' atmosphere. Initial partial pressures of nitrogen, outgassing rates, and integrated deposition of nitrogen into minerals have been calculated from this important atmospheric data (McElroy et al., 1976 and 1977; Fox and Dalgarno, 1983). The greater precision obtained in laser spectrometer isotopic measurements compared to the Viking data will greatly improve these calculated values. It has also been proposed that the N-15/N-14 value in Mars' atmosphere has increased monotonically over time (McElroy et al., 1977; Fox and Dalgarno, 1983; Wallis, 1989) owing to preferential escape of atmospheric 14N to space. Nitrogen isotopic ratios might be used to identify relatively ancient crustal rocks (R. Mancinelli, personal communication), and perhaps determine relative aces of surface samples. As a first step in successfully measuring nitrogen isotopes optically we have demonstrated the measurement of 15NI14N to a precision of 0.1% (See Figures 1-4) using a tunable diode laser and an available gas (N-,O) with spectral lines in the 2188 cm-1 region. The sample and reference gas cells contained gases of identical isotopic composition so that the 15NI14N absorption ratio determined from the sample cell, when divided by the 15NI14N absorption ratio determined from the reference cell, should yield an ideal value of unity. The average measured value of this "ratio of ratios" was 0.9983 with a standard deviation (20 values) of 0.0010. This corresponds to a precision of 0.1% (1 per mil) for nitrogen isotopes, a value sufficiently precise to provide important isotopic data of interest to exobiologists. The precision presently attainable in gases is sufficient to permit the instrument to be used in the measurement of isotopic ratios of interest to exobiologists as well as geologists and planetary scientists.


Abstract Ion bombardment often leads to compositional changes in the surface layers of multicomponent targets. Such changes due to noble gas ion sputtering are discussed for InP and GaAs. The analyses show that the compositional change in InP (i.e., indium enrichment) is mainly due to preferential sputtering. In the case of GaAs. the changes are due to radiation-induced diffusion and segregation effects. Brief mention is made of compositional changes in a few other systems. The discussion on sputter-induced topography development deals mainly with InP because ion bombardment leads to dramatic topographical effects in this material. Ripple development on GaAs is also briefly discussed. Radiation damage has been well researched, and its mechanism and effects usually differ substantially when going from one semiconductor group to another. Bombardment-induced damage is briefly discussed for InP, GaAs, SiC, some II-VI semiconductors, and HgCdTe.


This article reviews the limitations of the official information in Criminal Justice in Brazil and suggests that the research
institutes have an important role in the accreditation of the information produced.


One object of systems biology is to develop the mathematical models of biochemical networks in cell and to analysis the system dynamic properties based on these models as well as to predict the system output. However, strong nonlinearity, complexity, noisy and incomplete measurements make the parameter estimation more difficult. In this paper, Unscented Kalman filter was proposed to estimate the unknown parameters and the unobservable state variables simultaneously. TNFα mediated NF-κB signal transduction pathway was taken as an example to illustrate the effectiveness of the method. Simulation results are encouraging and show that both parameters and unobservable state variables can be estimated well.


This article addresses teaching and learning in the discipline of Calculus I, in relation to the aspects provided by visualization. We propose to investigate some contributions of exploratory activities that involved graphs of derived functions with teachers who used GeoGebra software. We used the Qualitative research that sought to understand the view that these teachers had of these activities, the forms used for data collection were the records of audio recordings, exploratory activities and questionnaires. In this context, they made an experiment relating the activities with the main definitions that were suggested by the textbook used as support for their elaboration. The study points out that the GeoGebra software contributes to the teacher reflecting on his pedagogical practice when making use of the demonstrations and examples with graphs of derived functions, opportunistic to the students a better interaction and deepening of the main concepts that involve the graphs of derived functions.


This paper measures the Ecuadorian banking industry structure within two periods
divided by the crisis of 1999.The first period covers the years between 1994 and 1998,
whereas the second includes the years among 2004 and 2012. Rather than focusing on
different isolated topics in Industrial Organization (IO), this work gathers themes of
concentration, competition and dominance. The results show that, contrary to a preliminary
vision of the industry, there is low concentration in the years before de crisis. Moreover,
despite the fact that the concentration level increases during the years after the crisis, the
industry is classified as moderate concentration. On the other hand, the competition within the
industry is under monopolistic competition in both periods, associated with a large number of
firms but without strategic interaction between them. The analysis of this topic is based on the
Rosse & Panzar test that is extended and discussed by Bikker et al. (2009). At last, using the
work developed by Stenbacka et al. (2007) the main finding is that there is dominance only in
short term deposits by Banco del Pichincha, after the crisis. The total number of banks reduces
drastically after 1999.


THE CHAUC>.RIAN PHRASE io1 my cit!, d«ivcs, of comse, from ch, moment in the Canterbury pilgrimage when Harry Bailly first notices the unobtrusive traveling companion whom we know to be the narrator (ThP 695). 1 While this is not the only time that Harry interrogates a pilgrim, what is striking about this occasion is the comprehensiveness of his opening question, its utter lack of specificity: "What man artow?" By contrast, for example, Harry asks the Monk and the Parson not to identify themselves but simply to explain their specific ecclesiastical offices (see MkP 1929-36 and ParsP 22-23 ); that the Monk is a monk and the Parson a priest are facts not in question. Similarly, th� other two pilgrims whom Harry asks to account for themselves, the Canon and the Yeoman, are also easily recog nizable: the Canon's hooded black gown and white surplice proclaim his identity as a canon ( CYP 5 7 3 ), while his companion is unproblematically classified as his servant or "yemen" ( CYP 587), the English word typically used to translate the Latin valettus. 2 Hence Harry seeks immediately to absorb the Canon into the tale-telling game, and only when alerted by the Yeoman's ambiguous assurances does he more pointedly ask him to "telle what [the Canon] is" (CYP 616). With the narrator, however, the opening question implies unrecog nizability. Harry can see that his companion is withdrawn and perhaps shy, that he is short and fat (a "popet"), and that he is "elvyssh" (whatever that


Let $\Gamma$ be a countable group and $\operatorname{Sub}(\Gamma)$ its Chabauty space, namely the compact $\Gamma$-space of all subgroups of $\Gamma$. We call a subgroup $\Delta \in \operatorname{Sub}(\Gamma)$ a boomerang subgroup if for every $\gamma \in \Gamma$, $\gamma^{n_i} \Delta \gamma^{-n_i} \rightarrow \Delta$ for some subsequence $\{n_i \} \subset \mathbb{N}$. Poincar\'{e} recurrence implies that $\mu$-almost every subgroup of $\Gamma$ is a boomerang, with respect to every invariant random subgroup (IRS) $\mu$. We establish for boomerang subgroups many density related properties, most of which are known to hold almost surely for IRSs. Our main result is that if $\mathbb{G}$ is a simple, connected Chevalley group over $\mathbb{Q}$, then every boomerang subgroup of $\Gamma = \mathbb{G}(\mathbb{Z})$ is either finite central or of finite index. In particular this holds for $\Gamma = \operatorname{SL}_n(\mathbb{Z})$. This gives a simple new proof for the Nevo--Stuck--Zimmer theorem in these cases.


The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is one of the Ser/Thr protein kinases that functions as a key integrator of signaling from nutrients,energy and growth factors.mTOR integrates extensive biological process including cell growth,proliferation and protein synthesis etc,and has a close relationship with the development of insulin resistance(IR).This article summarized the recent studies about the regulation mechanism of mTOR/S6K1 and its relationship with the development of IR,and the effects of exercise on mTOR signaling pathway,inorder to provide theory basis for searching possible exercise forms and pharmaceutical targets in treating the metabolic diseases like 1R and type 2 diabetes which ale induced by disturbance of cell metabolism.

Key words:
Mammalian target of rapamycin; Insulin resistance; Exercise


In this study, four biorefinery technical lignins were used to synthesize lignin–phenol–formaldehyde (LPF) resin adhesives with a proposed formulation that was designed based on accurate analysis of the active sites in lignin with 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The properties of the LPF resin adhesives and the plywoods prepared with them were tested. The structural features and curing behavior of the LPF resin adhesives were thoroughly investigated by solution- and solid-state 13C NMR. Results indicated that the proposed formulation exhibited favorable adaptability for all four of these technical lignins for synthesis of LPF resin adhesives. High-performance plywood with low emissions of formaldehyde could be successfully prepared with the synthesized LPF resin adhesives. All the LPF resin adhesives exhibited similar structure and curing behavior with the commercial phenol–formaldehyde (CPF) resin adhesive. However, the LPF resin adhesives showed relatively higher curing temperatures as compared with the CPF resin adhesive. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42493.


Data marketplaces (DMs) promote the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities. To facilitate the easy exchanges of real-time IoT data streams between device owners and third-party applications, it is required to provide scalable, interoperable, and secured services for large numbers of distributed IoT devices operated by different application vendors. Thanks to decentralization, immutability, and auditability, Blockchain is promising to enable a tamper-proof and trust-free framework to enhance performance and security issues in centralized DMs. However, directly integrating blockchains into large-scale IoT-based DMs still faces many limitations, such as high resource and energy demands, low transaction throughput, poor scalability, and challenges in privacy preservation. This paper introduces a novel Federated Ledgers-based Framework for Hierarchical Decentralized Data Marketplaces (Fed-DDM). In Fed-DDM, participants are divided into multiple permissioned domains given their registrations. Each domain leverages an efficient Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus protocol to commit transactions of a domain on a private intra-ledger. A public inter-ledger network adopts a scalable Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus protocol to federate multiple private intra-ledger networks. We design a smart contract-enabled inter-ledger protocol to guarantee the security of the cross-domain operations on a public federated ledger without exposing sensitive privacy information from private ledgers. A proof-of-concept prototype is implemented, and the experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed Fed-DDM solution with performance and security guarantees.


Two popular nondestructive methods to assess the dynamic properties of building structures are ambient vibration and forced vibration experiments. Ambient vibration testing offers an important advantage over forced vibration techniques as it does not require any special excitation of the structure. Massive structures may indeed require strong forced excitation levels that are not always possible in operational buildings, and floor system alterations are typically required to restrain the shaker, which is also constraining.


In a 2010 Foresight article, S&OP Editor John Mello argued that successful execution of S&OP is inevitably linked to corporate culture. A culture based on silo mentality and lack of trust not only undermines S&OP effectiveness but also reduces employee engagement and well-being. In this article, Niels van Hove argues that while effective S&OP can thrive in the right company culture, the process itself can influence and shape that culture. He calls for S&OP leaders to articulate goals that include clear expectations on behaviors. Doing so will not only improve effectiveness but also enable S&OP to play an active role in improving employee attitudes and satisfaction. Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2017


The paper considers the problem of finding the significance of vertices in vertex cover of a graph based on its topology. Index computed Shapley-Shubik in a cooperative game of vertex cover for some graph classes.


The PICmicoTM family of RISC microcontrollers hax been designed to provide advanced performance and a cost-effective solution for a variety of applications. This application note provides examples which illustrate some uses of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) using the PIC17C42's Timer1 or Timer2 module. These examples may be modified to suit the specific needs of your application. Author: Mark Palmer Microchip Technology Inc.


The invention relates to a device (1) for hard machining of an elongated, non-rotationally symmetric component (10) a toothing (12), in particular a rack for a steering gear of a motor vehicle, with a pinion (14) provided with the toothing (12) in engagement engageable with a specifiable pressing force (F) on the gear (12) can roll, said pinion (14) has an abrasive surface (14a), and wherein the pinion (14) for removal of material from the tooth flanks (12a) (the toothing 12 ) is deflected in an oscillating when rolling on the gear (12).


This article lists the most acute problems of the forest industry today: illegal logging, forest fires, and outdated data on forest management. The article describes the positive results of the federal project "Forest Conservation", which has been in operation since 2019, and the results of the first GIL cycle, which covered 85 regions and ended at the end of last year. The LesEGAIS system was launched, and a new Strategy for the development of the Russian forest complex until 2030 was adopted. The updated version of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation has entered into force. A unified electronic control system for industrial, sanitary and other wood felling is being created. The measures taken should restore order in the forestry sector and make forest management as careful and transparent as possible.


This Article looks at various aspects in how EEC competition rules have been interpreted by courts. In Part I, I will review some of the more recent examples of cases in different areas of Community law in which the Court has safeguarded the comprehensive character of the Community legal order by means of the teleological method of interpretation. Not surprisingly, the same judicial concern governs the Court's interpretation of Article 85, 86, and 90 of the Treaty. In Part II, after noting a number of past examples of this coherence in the competition cases, I will also try to show that in recent competition cases balanced comprehensiveness of the system of undistorted competition continues to guide the Court's decisions. THE PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION APPLIED BY THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR RELEVANCE FOR THE SCOPE OF THE EEC COMPETITION RULES* Bastiaan van der Esch* *


Environmental DNA (eDNA) concentration exhibits a positive correlation with organism abundance in nature, but modeling this relationship could be substantially improved by incorporating the biology of eDNA production. A recent model (Molecular Ecology, 10.1111/mec.15543) extended models of physiological allometric scaling to eDNA production, hypothesizing that brook trout eDNA production scales nonlinearly with mass as a power function with scaling coefficients < 1 in lakes. To validate this hypothesis, we reanalyzed previously published data (Biological Conservation, 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.12.023) that examined the correlation between eDNA concentration and brook trout abundance in streams. We found that allometrically scaled mass (ASM) (e.g., ∑(individual mass 0.36 ) best described patterns of eDNA concentration across streams ( r 2 = 0.43). ASM exhibited substantially improved model


Optical windows consisting of layers of different materials created at elevated temperatures usually exhibit substantial residual stresses. These stresses are cause by intrinsic strains, in addition to thermal strains that originate from the bonding of the layers, which generates internal forces and moments that must be balanced to achieve mechanical equilibrium. For isotopically elastic structures, this leads to planar contraction or elongation accompanied by spherical deformation, thus resulting in a partial relaxation of the stresses. There is a vast amount of literature relating to this topic. Analytical solutions have been proposed for thin films on a thick substrate, but a closed-form solution for multiple layers of arbitrary thickness has only been available since 1987 and has not yet been fully exploited. It is the purpose of this contribution to take advantage of Townsend's model for deriving 'user-friendly' formulas that properly describe the strains, the stresses, and the curvature of chemically vapor-deposited multilayered optical window blanks; interfacial shear stresses do not alter the curvature or the normal stress distribution off the edges and are beyond the scope of this paper.


Monday strongly refuted allegations of its alleged involvement in the Pegasus telephone tapping scandal and accused the Opposition of using it to disrupt Parliament. Information Technology and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, whose name was also found in the list of people whose phones had been tapped, dismissed media reports on the use of Pegasus software to snoop on Indians, saying the allegations made just ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament are aimed at maligning Indian democracy. In a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that with several checks and balances being in place, "any sort of illegal surveillance" by unauthorised people is not possible in India. The Minister made this statement in response to media reports that the spyware Pegasus was being used to conduct surveillance on several Indians, including political leaders, Government officials, judges and journalists. "A highly sensational story was published by a web portal yesterday night.... The Press report appeared a day before the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. This cannot be a coincidence. In the past similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp. Those reports have no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties...." said the Minister. T Pegasus snoopgate got bigger on Monday as names of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad Patel surfaced among those who may have been the victim of a spyware telephone tapping conspiracy. A lady staffer of the Supreme Court who accused for Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi of sexual abuse also figures on list as potential targets of Israeli spyware "Pegasus" in the latest set of explosive revelations by The Wire portal along with 15 International media organisations like Forbidden Stories , The Washington Post and The Guardian. Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee's name are among those whose phones may have been compromised. Also on the list is the personal secretary to Vasundhara Raje Scindia, when she was the BJP's Chief Minister in Rajasthan, The Wire reported. The Israeli company, NSO Group, which sells Pegasus, has denied the snooping charges and claimed that it only offers its spyware to "vetted Governments" and said it was "considering a defamation lawsuit". The France-based media non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International's Security Lab had access to these records, which they shared with The Wire and 16 other news organisations


Taking into consideration the education fairness,as well as the widespread methods for education assessment in the countries all over the world,reducing the gap between educational achievements of urban and rural students in the compulsory education stage is invariably the target of balanced compulsory education development. Based on the comparative analysis of Junior School Graduate Test results in county C,Y,and H in 2010,we find that there are various differences in average scores,passing rates and excellent rates. The differences are largely due to different family environment,and the gap between urban and rural pre-school and school education quality. The way of reducing the gap between educational achievements of urban and rural students in the compulsory education stage is to strengthen the resource construction of rural communities and vigorously develop pre-school education,to create the exchange system of urban and rural teachers and make greater efforts into the construction of rural teachers,and to popularize the small-scale rural schools and the small class teaching.


Delays are unique and one of the largest issues mining/manufacturing companies is facing today. Delays in mining/manufacturing projects have become a major concern across all parts of the world. Substantial value is destroyed and companies face significant corporate risk if these delays occur during project execution. However, despite the concern regarding the project delays, there has been very limited research conducted in this area. Delay in the completion of a project can be a major problem for contractor companies leading to costly disputes and adverse relationships amongst project participants. Projects can be delayed for a large number of reasons. The reasons are related to the various types of uncertainty associated with activities during the mining/manufacturing processes. The most common factor of delay are natural disaster like flood, earthquake etc. and some others like financial and payment problems, improper planning, poor site management, insufficient experience, shortage of materials and equipment etc. Delays will also result in several negative effects like lawsuits between house owners and contractors, exaggerated prices, loss of productivity and revenue, and contract termination. So, comprehensive study on these delays is important. Present study works on identification of causes of delay in mining/manufacturing projects in Indian context. An approach is suggested to carry out ranking of these causes by two different techniques: Relative importance index and Importance index based on degree of severity and degree of frequency. In most of the cases schedule delays also appear in these projects and result in delay claim progressively. Several studies have proposed various schedule delay analysis methodologies; however, most of the studies focus on the analysis of surface data (as-planned and as-built schedules), few of them on evaluating the effect of root causes, such as the problem of lost productivity. Lost productivity, one essential delay cause, is usually experienced by a contractor while accomplishing its works less than planned rate of production. We analyze the situations of schedule impacts caused by loss of productivity through the case study. In this study, it has been proposed to calculate the schedule impact from lost productivity. The study results will be a basis for developing comprehensive delay analysis methodologies for different mining/manufacturing Projects. It is hoped that the findings of the paper will help the stakeholders to act on critical causes and further try to reduce delay of their projects.


The Coalition for Accurate Product Labels is asking Congress to amend the 1967 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) in order to establish a federal standard that would require that labeling requirements and warnings be based on risk potential and scientific evidence.


1Department and Graduate School of Safety and Environment Engineering, Research Center for Soil & Water Resources and Natural Disaster Prevention, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliu, Taiwan 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada 3School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China 4Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA


Coagulopathy, a common complication with sepsis, contributes to vascular injury and organ dysfunction. Early detection using diagnostic criteria for sepsis-induced coagulopathy is important to consider for potential clinical management.


Retail is India's largest industry as for over ten per cent of the country's GDP and around eight percent of the employment. Technological improvement is responsible for majority of innovation in retail sector over past few years. Customer Relationship Management systems are adopted by the retail sector in order to get success by improving customer satisfaction and enhancing loyalty. CRM motivates a customer to return again and again as they receive good services. This paper throws light on the need of CRM in retail sector. With the help of CRM system and strategies, retail sector can retain their customers even for the life time. India is progressing towards a tough competitive environment where only those retailers would survive who can understand their customers and develop a strong bond with them by developing and implementing appropriate CRM strategies and programs effectively.


SUMMARY Recent researches have demonstrated that the Parkinson Disease (PD) must be considered as a neurodegenerative and progressive disease characterized by presence of multiple monoaminergic dysfunction, including dopaminergic, cholinergic, serotoninergic, and noradrenergic systems deficit. Other signals of the PD are non-motors (as sleep disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and depression) and can be related to different areas and different regions of the brainstem. The author makes a revision about the etiology of Parkinson disease, emphasizing the genetic and environmental hypothesis.


Pressure tube fabrication and installment challenges combined with natural sagging over time can produce issues with probe alignment for pressure tube inspection of the primary circuit of CANDU reactors. The ability to extract accurate defect depth information from poorly-focused ultrasonic signals would reduce additional inspection procedures, which leads to a significant time and cost saving. Currently, the defect depth measurement protocol is to simply calculate the time difference between the peaks of the echo signals from the tube surface and the defect from a single element probe focused at the back-wall depth. When alignment issues are present, incorrect focusing results in interference within the returning echo signal. This paper proposes a novel wavelet analysis method that employs the Haar wavelet to decompose the original poorly focused A-scan signal and reconstruct detailed information based on a selected high frequency component range within the bandwidth of the transducer. Compared to the original signal, the wavelet analysis method provides additional characteristic defect information and an improved estimate of defect depth with errors less than 5%.


Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have probably made more money for conference organizers in Australia over the last couple of years than they have made for contractors or saved for governments. However, we are getting past the talking stage. There are a number of real PPP-style projects that have been or are being completed in Australia. Included in those are a couple of road projects such as the Gateway Duplication and perhaps a second Range crossing at Toowoomba or even a road rehabilitation and maintenance package. The paper describes a unique arrangement in Queensland for some time with Toll Roads owned and operated by QML, a Company wholly owned by the State Government. This does introduce elements of PPP in its broadest sense but of course risk transfer is limited to arrangements between QML and relevant contractors. The Transport portfolio here in Queensland makes no claim to be PPP experts - there are enough of those about (or at least those that claim to be). Main Roads and Queensland Transport have worked closely with the Department of State Development and Treasury during the preparation of the Queensland government Guidelines and continue to work with those central agencies, but at the end of the day transport and other PPP projects are the line agency's responsibility. In accepting that responsibility, it recognizes that the PPP concept has its challenges - particularly for Government - and that the commercial process leading up to and including the PPP contract is critical to achieving value for money for the public dollar. Value for money is the determining factor and must be demonstrated with the desired service level provided for the life of the contract.


Clayton PE, Freeth JS, Whatmore AJ, Ayling RM, Norman MR, Silva CM. Signal transduction defects in growth hormone insensitivity. Acta Pædiatr 1999; Suppl 428: 174–8. Stockholm. ISSN 0803–5326


The binding of ligands with DNA is a key moment in a whole range of cellular processes that provide not only the normal cell vital activity but also the development of some pathological processes. Depending on ligand type, structure of DNA adsorption centers, and physical–chemical conditions of the surrounding, the ligand may bind to DNA by several modes [1]. Particularly, adsorption isotherm of multimodal ligands binding to DNA in Scatchard's coordinates has a concave shape with two brightly expressed linear areas in the region of small fillings. The analysis of such type of adsorption isotherm for determining of important binding parameters such as binding constant and number of adsorption centers (the part of DNA polymer with which one ligand molecule binds) presents difficulties. Practically in all cases, the analysis of such adsorption isotherm is carried out by linear parts of curves. Such analysis mode of experimental points is approximate method, since all registered of experimental points are roughly divided into two groups and they are treated by linear binding isotherm and therefore the binding parameters are determined. In the present work, the non-linear adsorption isotherm in Scatchard's coordinates is obtained which allowed, provided, the more precise treatment of all experimental points by unique curve which includes linear regions as well. Such mode of treatment of experimental points makes more precise the determination of not only binding constant and number of adsorption centers that correspond to the one ligand molecule binding, but also additional binding parameter – a proportion of adsorption centers of each binding to DNA type of multimodal ligand.


Based on a three-band model, a polarization-dependent pulsed four-wave mixing (FWM) model which can be used to analyze the optical sampling process in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is presented. The polarization-dependent characteristics and cross-polarization modulation (XPolM) of pump, probe and conjugate pulses are investigated in detail. The maximum sampling efficiency occurs, when pump and probe pulses are linearly co-polarized and parallel to the TE axis. When the pump, probe pulses with initial linear polarization states interacting in an SOA, their polarization states do not just rotate and the conjugate pulse is not just linearly polarized but with complicated polarization states during the propagation along the length of SOA.


We have demonstrated that both spectra and kinetics of spontaneous emission of Eu0.9Y0.1Ta7O19 powder can be strongly affected by small amounts (<1 wt.%) of gold nanoparticles added to the powder. This opens a possibility of engineering basic spectroscopic properties of random laser materials on nanoscale level.


The semiconductor light emitting device capable of improving light output efficiency and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. Of the present invention, the semiconductor light emitting element, is regular concave and convex are arranged on a substrate formed of a first texturing; The first texturing the n-type contact layer, an active layer and a p-type contact layer formed on the substrate is formed by sequentially laminating the light-emitting layer comprising; The p-type contact layer in a regular concave-convex are formed are arranged a second texturing; And a protective layer formed on the first p-type contact layer 2 is formed texturing.


Postpartum uterine diseases can impair reproductive performance of dairy cows. Diagnostic tools have been developed to identify cows at risk of poor subsequent reproductive performance. Most of these tools focus on identification of inflammation in the reproductive tract during the postpartum period. Endometrial cytology was proposed as a good tool to identify cows with cytological endometritis; however, cytology is not an easy technique to implement for an on-farm uterine health surveillance program in dairy herds because it requires the use of a microscope. Therefore, a more convenient on-farm method needs to be identified for determination of uterine status of dairy cows. Aleucocyte esterase (LE) colorimetric test is commercially available (Multistix®, Bayer Corporation, Elkhart, IN) and could be used to detect endometrial inflammation. The objectives of this study were to determine diagnostic criteria for endometritis in dairy cows by use of endometrial cytology and LE testing, to quantify the agreement between results of these two methods, and to quantify their impact on subsequent reproductive performance.


By introducing the holomorphic representation we obtain, in closed form, relations between the c-number functions, which represent an operator in spin-J space, without recurring to expansions in spherical harmonics. In particular, we obtain the diagonal representative from the diagonal matrix element through an integral relation. New analogies between these and the spin (Bloch) coherent states are established which avoid the introduction of Schwinger bosons, and the consequent projection to the physical subspace, by introducing a generalized Fourier transformation in spin-J space in a way similar to the treatment by Cahill and Glauber (1969) for boson coherent states. Also, we study the generalization to the spin case of the s-ordering of Cahill and Glauber.


Objective To investigate whether 5-azacytidine(5-Aza) induces bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMMSCs) to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells(CMCs),and the effects of CMCs transplantation on cardiac function in rabbits after acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Methods BMMSCs were purified,cultured and identified in vitro,and then were induced by 5-Aza.Before transplantation,the induced BMMSCs were labeled with DAPI at 4 weeks following induction.Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly assigned into three groups.Left anterior descending artery(LAD) was ligated to establish a rat model of AMI.In control group,saline was infused into the surrounding infarct area at 4 points using a microsyringe at 1 hour following model induction by coronary artery ligation.In 5-Aza group,an equal volume of BMMSCs induced by 5-Aza was injected at the same region.In BMMSCs group,an equal volume of BMMSCs was injected at the same region following model establishment.A fluorescence microscope was used to observe whether BMMSCs survived in the infarcted myocardial tissue at 3 h,3 d or 4 w following transplantation,and the hemodynamic testing was used to evaluate cardiac function.Results After induced by 5-Aza,part of BMMSCs began to express the specific protein of myocardical cell,just as beta myosin heavy chain(β-MHC),troponin T,and so on.Fluorescence microscopy results demonstrated that DAPI-labeled BMMSCs were survived in the myocardium of 5-Aza group and BMMSCs group.Compared with BMMSCs group,the survival rate of DAPI-labeled transplanted cells was increased,and the cardiac function improved in 5-Aza group.Conclusion It is confirmed that BMMSCs can be differentiated into CMCs by induction with 5-Aza,and the CMCs can be used to improve the cardiac function of AMI rats.


Dried flower petals of "Tornado" floribunda rose cultivar are a highly abandoned source of anthocyanins with more than 4.0 g of anthocyanins per 100 g of the dryed plant material. The main components of the "Tornado" flower anthocyanin composition were found to be 3,5-diglucosides of cyanidin (80.9 %) and peonidin (13.9 %). While in flower petals of "Shock Versilia", "New Fashion" and "Black Magic" hybrid tea rose cultivars cyaniding-3,,5-diglucoside was also the main anthocyanin, that of "Corvette" cultivar is a proper source to get the same pelargonidin derivative (68.4 %). An optimized method for anthocyanin extraction and partial purification in a "simulated moving-bed" solid phase extraction mode was proposed to get a concentrate in a mixture of 1 part of 0.1 M HCl water solution and 3 parts of ethanol with the overall anthocyanins concentration of 3.7 g/l as a cyanidin-3-glucoside chloride equivalent.


The kinetics of the free radical polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide of third (G3) and fourth (G4) generation spacerless dendronized macromonomers, bearing a methacrylate group at the focal point, is experimentally investigated. Conversions up to 90% could be achieved in few hours for both monomers, with degrees of polymerization on the order of thousands of monomer units for G3 and 100–200 for G4. Experimental data are interpreted using a conventional free radical kinetic scheme. Within this frame, chain termination is dominated by chain transfer to monomer and the extremely high reactivity of the macromonomers when polymerized in supercritical carbon dioxide is reflecting reduced termination rate at increasing dendron generation.


Previous studies have reported mixed and ambiguous results in the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and knowledge sharing. This paper is intended to examine the effect of TQM practices on knowledge sharing. We used a qualitative methodology in this study to get as clear a picture as possible of the problem. We therefore carried out semi-directive interviews studies in twelve companies of various sizes and different sectors of activity (Metallurgy, agri-food, banking, automotive, cosmetics and luxury) using an interview guide to collect qualitative data. This study showed that different quality practices significantly affect knowledge sharing. The results revealed that the main obstacles facing companies in Morocco were employee engagement, dominance in sharing explicit knowledge of tastes, differences in experience levels, lack of leadership and managerial guidance to clearly communicate the benefits and values of knowledge-sharing practices, lack of formal and informal spaces to share, reflect and generate new knowledge.
It is recommended that companies continue to implement TQM practices with all variables to improve performance. Companies should then develop engagement, commitment, employee awareness to share their knowledge, improve the company's system and provide efficient resources to overcome barriers to effective implementation of TQM practices.


Yugoslavia was a European state with a highly diverse and complex mix of ethnicities and cultures. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was a federation of six republics and two autonomous provinces. It housed five nations (Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians) and had at least three official languages (Slovenian, Serbian-Croatian, Macedonian). Serbian-Croatian had two names, two different alphabets (Latin and Cyrillic), ,three different dialects (Stokavian, Kajkavian, Cakavian) and two further variants (Ekavian and Jekavian). The religious population was divided into three different confessions-Roman-Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims. While it was officially led by a single party-the League of Communists of Yugoslavia-the political system of socialist Yugoslavia was far from simple. Unlike other socialist economies, SFYR was not a straightforward command or planned economy as in the USSR and other East and Central European states but a hybrid of market socialism with elements of direct democracy in the factories (i.e., autogestion, or workers' selfmanagement). The economic and political elites were controlled by the party. There were also several "social-political organizations" with different functions and multiple layers of administration: the League of Communists, the Socialist Alliance of Working People, the League of Socialist Youth, the Alliance of Trade Unions, and others. 1 More than twenty years after the violent breakup of the SFRY, seven nation-states emerged on its former territory: Slovenia, Croatia,


In this paper,through analyzing the practical processes of production and circulation of a certain SUV manufacturer,we explored the financing methods suitable for enterprises with different industrial chain positions.


The invention relates to a HF-reducing green roofing that consist of a support construction made of a textile fiber layer and/or a substrate (12), a vegetation layer (14) from lower plants, and a planar or spatial structure of electroconductive threads, said structure being complementary to or being a component of the support construction. The spaces in between adjacent electro-conductive threads (10) are smaller than a fourth of the wavelength of the electromagnetic HF radiation to be shielded off.


The purpose of this study was to verify the position of the glenoid fossa for both genders in subjects with different sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns. A lateral cephalometric study was carried out on 124 subjects (45 male and 79 female) aged 18-30 years who were classified according to skeletal sagittal relationships using ANB angle into three groups {Cl. І =48 (13 male and 35 female), Cl. ІІ =41 (14 male and 27 female), Cl. ІІІ =35 (18 male and 17 female)} subjects, and according to skeletal vertical relationships using MP-SN angle into three groups {normal angle=67(17male and 50 female) , high angle=23 (8 male and 15 female), low angle=34 (20 male and 14 female)} subjects. Cephalometric analysis comprised both sagittal and vertical measurements for the assessment of the position of the glenoid fossa in relation to surrounding skeletal structures. The assessment was achieved by measuring two angular and six linear variables using the AutoCAD computer program 2008. The results revealed that in sagittal skeletal relation, the glenoid fossa position didn't differed in skeletal Class I for both gender, while in skeletal CL.ΙΙ and CL.ΙΙΙ the glenoid fossa position was more cranial in male than female, while in the vertical plane; the position of the glenoid fossa relative to Basicranial structures was more posterior in male than female for normal angle subjects and more cranial in male than female for high angle subjects when compared with subjects with low angle vertical relationships. In conclusion, subjects with high angle vertical relationships show a more cranial position of the Glenoid Fossa in male group in relation to cranial base when compared to subjects with either normal or low angle vertical relationships regarding the vertical plane and more cranial in male group in skeletal CL.ΙΙ and CL.ΙΙΙ regarding the sagittal plane.


We introduce the multivariate decomposition finite element method (MDFEM) for solving elliptic PDEs with uniform random diffusion coefficients. We show that the MDFEM can be used to reduce the computational complexity of estimating the expected value of a linear functional of the solution of the PDE. The proposed algorithm combines the multivariate decomposition method, to compute infinitedimensional integrals, with the finite element method, to solve different instances of the PDE. The strategy of the MDFEM is to decompose the infinite-dimensional problem into multiple finite-dimensional ones which lends itself to easier parallelization than to solve a single large dimensional problem. Our first result adjusts the analysis of the multivariate decomposition method to incorporate the (ln(n))d-factor which typically appears in error bounds for d-dimensional n-point cubature formulae and we take care of the fact that n needs to come, e.g., in powers of 2 for higher order approximations. For the further analysis we specialize the cubature methods to be two types of quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) rules, being digitally shifted polynomial lattice rules and interlaced polynomial lattice rules. The second and main contribution then presents a bound on the error of the MDFEM and shows higher-order convergence w.r.t. the total computational cost in case of the interlaced polynomial lattice rules in combination with a higher-order finite element method. We show that the cost to achieve an error ε is of order ε−aMDFEM with aMDFEM = 1/λ + d′/τ if the QMC cubature errors can be bounded by n−λ and the FE approximations converge like h with cost hd , where λ = τ(1 − p∗)/(p∗(1 + d′/τ)) and p∗ is a parameter representing the "sparsity" of the random field expansion. A comparison with a dimension truncation algorithm shows that the MDFEM will perform better than the truncation algorithm if p∗ is sufficiently small, i.e., the representation of the random field is sufficiently sparse.


In Croatia, maize hybrids were tested by the Registration office for three years at four locations (FAO 200 and 600) or six locations (FAO 300, 400, 500) in four replications. However, no published data existed on whether all locations are equally suitable for hybrid testing. Optimal site/location should be representative possessing high correlation between site mean and total mean across genotypes and reliable measured by site specific heritability characterizing the accuracy of the experiment. The objectives of this study are i) to determine differences of several locations in Croatia according to their suitability for yield testing and ii) to recommend some methodological corrections for setting of maize yield trials in Croatia. Our experiment consists of complete data sets of 8 locations in three years with 24 genotypes and four replications respectively. The yield trials were conducted at the locations of Northern Croatia (major maize growing region), with a higher density of sites in the most intense maize growing area of North-East Croatia. Each of the 24 location/year combination was considered as a random (macro)-environment. The relationships among mean grain yields and correlations between environmental mean and total mean for each location averaged over 24 maize hybrids varied considerably, indicating the differences in suitability for selecting genotypes among locations. Some of the high yielding sites show consistent tight correlation with yield over the range of environments. Some of the best yielding sites had consistent high site specific heritability estimates indicating constant high accuracy of trials. Due to differences of locations in Croatia in their suitability for yield testing, there is a necessity for weighing sites or excluding sites with extreme low estimates of site specific correlations and heritabilities. According to a simulation of decreasing number of replications to optimize the testing process, it seems appropriate to reduce the replication number to three with no substantial reduction of site specific heritability estimates.


A variety of Permalloy thin films were prepared under various sputtering conditions, producing BH loops exhibiting diverse magnetic characteristics. The domain structures of these films was observed with Kerr-effect microscopy using high-speed image processing (video). The specimens were in the thickness range of 800 to 1600 AA and had square dimensions of 100 mu m. It was observed that BH loops showing strong uniaxial magnetic orientation correspond to films with properly oriented domains. However, Permalloy films which exhibit poor uniaxial anisotropy may contain distinct regions of different magnetic orientation or islands of weak anisotropy within a predominantly uniaxial domain structure. The BH-loop characteristics and coercivities are discussed in light of the optical findings. >


The asymptotic expression for the ponderomotive force in the magnetic liquid film is derived and a role of the disjoining pressure in 2D magnetic foam formation is considered. New equation for the force balance at the vertex of 2D magnetic foam is proposed and modified Plateau rule for the films is obtained. The theoretical relation for the angle between films fits the experimental data for small magnetic Bond numbers very well. r 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Objective Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation(AF) patients with atrial septalocclude(ASO) is challenging,this study is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of catheter ablation in these patients. Methods Sixteen patients [age(56 ± 12)years,10 male] with drug-refractory AF(10 paroxysmal,6 persistent) and previously implanted ASO device underwent ablation. The transseptal puncture was performed under the guidance of RAO 45° fluoroscopy. Balloon dilation of the closure device was performed if the native septum passage could not be achieved. For paroxysmal AF,the ablation strategy was circumferential pulmonary vein isolation(CPVI) and for persistent AF,atrial linear ablation was performed combined with CPVI. Results Transseptal access was achieved through the native septum in 11 patients(group A) and through the ASO in 5 patents(group B) with the aid of balloon dilatation. Pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in all the 16 patients and linear block was achieved in all the persistent patients except mitral isthmus block could not achieved in one patient. The transseptal,total fluoroscopy,procedural duration was(38 ± 8) min vs(5 ± 3)min,(54± 15) min vs(31 ± 11) min and(224 ± 36) min vs(165 ± 35) min in group B and A,respectively. No shunt at atrial level was detected by transthoracic echocardiography at 3-month follow up. During a follow-up of(16 ± 6) months,sinus rhythm was maintained in 12(75%) patients. No severe complications were observed. Conclusions In patients implanted ASO,catheter ablation of AF is feasible,safe,and effective. Balloon dilatation technique can facilitate transseptal access through the ASO.


Acceptable methods of defining taxon (or clade) names in the draft PhyloCode, or so-called phylogenetic nomenclature, are "node based," "stem based," and "apomorphy based." All of them define a clade name by pinpointing a node; whereas node-based and stem-based definitions require two or more taxon "specifiers" to define names, an apomorphy-based definition requires two specifiers of different types; namely, a single-taxon specifier and a character specifier. The taxon specifier in an apomorphy-based definition is completely different from the "type" in the Linnaean system. Taxon (or clade) names in the PhyloCode are characterized in two entirely different manners: One is a name that does not change, either in its orthography or in the contents of the taxon referred to by it (or its meaning) over time; the other is a name that is just like a pure mark and thus has no meaning. Communication through such PhyloCode names is very ineffective or impossible.


A moderate size earthquake ( M L 4.3, M w 4.0) occurred in southeastern England on 28 April 2007. The earthquake was of some significance as it caused damage in the town of Folkestone and produced the largest peak horizontal ground acceleration (PGA, 0.1 g ) measured in the United Kingdom to date. It was followed by 12 aftershocks between M L 0.8 and 1.7. The earthquake was the first of this size recorded by a significant number of newly installed broadband stations in the United Kingdom. The hypocenter of the event was at a depth of about 5 km beneath Folkestone, with an error ellipse indicating horizontal errors in a location of about 5 km. The depth was well constrained using a number of techniques, of which local travel-time inversion and teleseismic depth phase modelling are most reliable. A stress drop of 28.6 bars and a source radius of 0.5 km were determined from the analysis of displacement source spectra. We derived a near-surface attenuation factor κ =0.02 from the aftershock data that were used in the spectral analysis of the mainshock. Applying the horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratio technique to microtremor data recorded at a station 2 km from the epicenter revealed site amplification at frequencies of 0.4 and 3.9 Hz. This amplification is likely to have contributed to the mainshock PGA of 0.1 g measured at the same site. Similar site conditions may have been responsible for the damage in parts of Folkestone. The moment tensor computed from regional broadband data showed a strike-slip mechanism with a normal component and either right-lateral movement on a west-southwest–east-northeast-striking or left-lateral movement on a north-northwest–south-southeast-striking nodal plane. The north-northwest–south-southeast-striking nodal plane matches the trend of the main faults affecting the Kent coalfield and also possibly the Variscan front. It is thus possible that the causative fault was associated with the Variscan front, a major structural boundary at the northern limit of late Carboniferous folding and thrusting.


Out of the plethora of sensors being developed using carbon dots, the use of green alternatives with the potential of multi-functionality is still in its infancy. In view of this, the present work shows the use of Rosa indica derived heteroatom i.e. nitrogen and sulfur co-doped rose carbon dot (N-S@RCD) for dual fluorescence based sensing of multi-analytes. The N-S@RCD shows interesting fluorescence turn "off-onoff" response towards S2 and Au3þ with limit of detection (LOD) 92.4 nM and 63.1 nM, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is first report on direct "Turn-on" of c-dots with S2 ions without any intermediate c-dotequencher complex. Further, the bioimaging and flow cytometry studies revealed the potential of live cell imaging, intracellular sensing and cytocompatibility of N-S@RCD. The hemocompatibility of N-S@RCD was also investigated for potential in vivo applications. Moreover, the "off-onoff" fluorescence behaviour was used to construct molecular logic gates which simulate single input logic "YES" and multi-input "INHIBIT" logic system. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


The effects of N-induced acceptor defects on tuning optical, transport, and magnetic properties of In2O3 films fabricated by magnetron sputtering technique were investigated systematically by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–visible absorbance, Hall effect, film resistivity (ρ) versus temperature, magnetoresistance, and magnetic measurements. Detailed structural analyses reveal that N-doped In2O3 films have a cubic bixbyite structure with the substitutional N defect at the O sites of In2O3 lattice. The N-doped In2O3 films display clear room-temperature ferromagnetic behavior and Mott variable range-hopping transport behavior. With increasing N-doping concentration, the saturated magnetization of the films monotonically increases and the conductivity transforms into p-type. Crossover of negative to positive magnetoresistance and a red shift of the optical band gap Eg are also observed with N-doping. First-principles calculations show that the localized holes induced by N-doping can m...


Oxygen-rich deep interiors of the Giant Planets [1] cannot explain the discovery of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the stratospheres of the Giant Planets by [2] because these species are trapped by condensation around their tropopause levels (except CO 2 in Jupiter and Saturn). Therefore, several sources in the direct or far environment of the Giant Planets have been proposed: icy rings and/or satellites [3], interplanetary dust particles [4] and large comet impacts [5]. Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), Cassini, Odin and Herschel observations have proven that the Jovian stratospheric water and carbon dioxide originate from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impacts in July 1994 [6, 7], while Herschel has recently shown the external flux of water at Saturn and Titan is most likely due to the Enceladus geysers and the water torus they feed [8, 9]. As for carbon monoxide (CO), the emerging picture seems to show more uniformity for its sources. Because CO does not condense at the tropopauses of Giant Planets, oxygen-rich interiors are a valid source. An internal component has indeed been observed in the vertical profile of CO in Jupiter by [10] and in Neptune by [11], while an upper limit has been set on its magnitude by [12] for Saturn. In addition to interiors, large comets seem to be the dominant external source of CO in the Giant Planets, as shown by various studies: [10] and [13] for Jupiter, [14] for Saturn and [15] for Neptune. Despite its first detection almost a decade ago by [16], the situation has remained unclear for Uranus ever since. The (sub)millimeter domain with the use of heterodyne spectroscopy has long been considered as promising to determine the vertical profile of CO, and thus its origin, in Uranus (e.g., [17]). However, attempts made to detect the molecule have failed so far in this spectral range, leading only to upper limits [18]. In this paper, we present the first submillimeter detection of CO in Uranus carried out with the HIFI instrument [19] onboard the Herschel Space Observatory [20] in 2011-2012. Using a simple transport model, we review the various possible sources of CO (internal and external) and constrain their magnitude. For instance, we derive an upper limit for the internal source of CO. And with the thermochemical model of [21], adapted to the interior of Uranus, we derive an upper limit on its deep O/H ratio from it.


Copper matrix nanocomposite powders reinforced with 8 mol% yttria-stabilized 1 wt.%, 2 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 4 wt.% and 5 wt.% zirconia (8-YSZ) particles were synthesized by mechanical alloying under a high purity argon atmosphere in an Attritor ball mill. Cu and Cu-ZrO2 powder mixtures were compacted with a compressive force of 500 MPa in a steel mold of 10 mm in diameter and sintering was performed at 900 ◦C for 2 h in argon atmosphere. With the study of the microstructure done by scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), it was shown that there is uniform distribution of the reinforcement in the Cu matrix and nanocomposites with the least porosity are developed. The micro-hardness and density results showed that the gain in micro-hardness was found to be dependent on the zirconia contents rather than on the relative densities. The zirconia content up to 5 wt.% resulted in an increase of 54.55% in micro-hardness and slight decrease (3.7%) in relative densities. The results of compression tests showed increase in compression strength (22.08%) as zirconia content increased up to 5%. Maximum electrical conductivity of test materials ranged from 88.0% IACS to 59.7% IACS.


Topics discussed include: (1) design considerations for a MARS sample return laboratory module for space station investigations; (2) crew productivity as a function of work shift arrangement; (3) preliminary analysis of the local logistics problem on the space construction base; (4) mission hardware construction operational flows and timelines; (5) orbit transfer vehicle concept definition; (6) summary of results and findings of space processing working review; (7) crew and habitability subsystem (option L); (8) habitability subsystem considerations for shuttle tended option L; (9) orbiter utilization in manned sortie missions; (10) considerations in definition of space construction base standard module configuration (option L); (11) guidance, control, and navigation subsystems; and (12) system and design tradeoffs.


For the development of seeds, the figs (Ficus spp.) are dependent upon small chalcidoid wasps of the family Agaonidae. No other means of pollination of fig flowers is available to the plant, and the wasps cannot develop anywhere except in the gall flowers of the fig.2 There has been considerable difference of opinion as to the degree of host specificity of the fig pollinators. For example, Baker (1961) did not fully accept the specificity of fig wasps, but in a later publication Baker and Hurd (1968) said that in the enormous genus Ficus a unique situation prevails in which almost every species of fig has a recognizably different wasp as a pollinator. The present paper evaluates the evidence concerning such specificity and its occasional breakdown. The female agaonids carrying pollen enter the young receptacles at the time the female flowers are ready for pollination (female phase). Wasps probably first pollinate all the female flowers (shortand long-styled) and next lay eggs in the short-styled ones. The flowers which are only pollinated develop normally and each produces a seed, while the pollinated flowers which also received agaonid eggs become "gall flowers," each nourishing a single wasp larva. The agaonid wasps reach maturity in a male-phase fig. Copulation takes place before the females escape from the galls inside the fig. After copulation, the females emerge from the galls and immediately go to the anthers, which become ripe synchronously with the softening of the fig and the emergence of the wasps inside of it. There is a difference in the way the wasps pick up the pollen from the anthers in the two subgenera of figs that reach the New World, Urostigma and Pharmacosycea. In Urostigma, exclusively pollinated by Blastophaga (Pegoscapus), the females emerge from their galls and at once go to the dehisced anthers. They pick out the pollen from the anthers using the mandibles and front legs, and move it to corbiculae or concavities located in the front coxae and in the mesosternum (Ramirez, 1969; see also Galil and Eisikowitch, 1968b and Galil and Snitzer-Pasternak, in press, for Ficus religiosa). Once the corbiculae are filled, the wasps go to exits made by the males through the fig wall and fly away. The pollen of most New World Urostigma is not shed from the anthers without wasp activity because the pollen sacs do not open sufficiently. In Pharmacosycea figs of the New World, which are exclusively pollinated by species of Tetrapus, the anthers dehisce and shed the pollen naturally and apparently without the help of the wasps; the wasps which are emerging from the galls inside the fig become completely dusted with it. They also eat it before leaving the fig. Once the newly emerged female wasps, dusted with pollen or carrying it in the corbiculae, escape from their ripe figs, they fly to another fig tree of the same species in which they developed and which pos1 Contribution number 1451 from the Department of Entomology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 2 Galil and Eisikowitch (1968a) divide the developmental phases of a syconium in a way which I have followed, thus: Phase A (Prefemale): young syconium prior to the opening of the ostiole. Phase B (Female): ostiolar scales loosen, female flowers ripen, agaonid and other sycophilous wasps penetrate into the syconium and oviposit into the ovaries. Phase C (Interfloral): wasp larvae and fig embryos develop. Ovaries occupied by the larvae are transformed into galls. Phase D (Male): male flowers mature, wasps reach the adult stage, fertilized female wasps leave the syconia via channels bored by the males. Phase E (Post-floral): both the syconia and the seeds inside them ripen.


Objective To explore the metabolic abnormality in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and effect of atpical antipsychotics olanzapine on them.Methods Thirty patients with first-episode schizophrenia,admitted to our hospital from February 2010 to February 2011,and 40healthy controls were chosen in our study; patient group was given oral olanzapine for 4 week.The height,weight,waistline and hipline were measured before and after treatment,and the total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride(TG),high-density lipoprotein(HDL),low-density lipoprotein(LDL),apolipoprotein AI(aPOAI),apolipoprotein B100(aPOB100),lipoprotein a(LPa),fasting blood-glucose,fasting insulin and C peptide levels were detected before and after treatment; and the insulin resistance(IR)index,waist hip ratio(WHR)and body mass index(BMI)were calculated before and after treatment; metabolic index were compared between patients and controls,and patients before and after the treatment.Results The HDL and aPOA1 levels in patient group were significantly lower,and the WHR,IR index,fasting insulin and C peptide levels were obviously higher as compared with those in the controls(P<0.05).The BMI,waist circumference,WHR,the IR index,the insulin,TC,TG,LDL and aPOB100 levels after treatment were significantly increased as compared with those before treatment(P<0.05).Conclusion There may be some inborn metabolic abnormality factors in patients with first-episode schizophrenia; the high incidence of metabolic abnormality in patients with schizophrenia may be the result of combined action from antipsychotics and inherit susceptibility.

Key words:
Schizophrenia;  Metabolic abnormality;  Olanzapine


century A.D. onwards. Most of these epigraphic records political history and temple royal grants. On contrary to Buddhism, the exact references of Brahmanical philosophy or any particular practice recorded in an intensive detail were apparently mentioned during this period. The inscriptions related to Brahmanism were normally erected mainly for three main purposes: informing the religious activities, recording of royal chronology and announcing the rules and social condition over the lands which were under the governing (protection) of particular Gods or temples.


The effect of the structural dimension is often neglected in most of the models provided by the international codes for the design of reinforced concrete structures. Although a lot of studies put in to evidence the important influence of the structural dimension on the mechanical behaviour of concrete structures, only in few situations this aspect is taken into account, usually according to empirical relationships based on experimental results. The problem of size-scale effects is not easy to analyse and, both due to computational aspects and to the requirement of establishing simple design formulae, most of the models in the available codes focus on simplified limit configurations where the mechanical response is predicted by imposing the equilibrium equations. In this context, nonlinear Fracture Mechanics models can profitably be used to obtain more accurate descriptions of the structural behaviour, with the possibility to give an insight onto the problem of size-scale effects. In the instance of quasi-brittle materials like concrete, in fact, Fracture Mechanics theories have been demonstrated to be an effective analysis tool, as, e.g, for the evaluation of minimum reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams in bending. This Thesis aims at addressing in a rational and exhaustive way some important size effects characterizing the mechanical behaviour of concrete and reinforced concrete structures. Among which, we mention the analysis of the tensile and compressive behaviours of plane concrete and the evaluation of the rotational capacity of reinforced concrete beams in bending. Both these aspects are very important in the modelling and designing fields and they are only qualitatively included in the provisions of the design codes. After a wide review of the state-of-the-art literature, original features of this Thesis include: (1) the definition of a new nonlinear model, referred to as Overlapping Crack Model, for the description of the behaviour of concrete in compression, based on the concept of strain localization; (2) the development of a new unified model, obtained by merging the two elementary models in tension and compression, the cohesive and overlapping ones, able to fully analyse the behaviour of reinforced concrete beams in bending by varying the main design parameters; (3) a wide validation of the proposed model by means of a comparison with the results of several experimental programmes; (4) the analysis of the main lacks in the design codes concerning the ductility of reinforced concrete beams and a proposal of new design diagrams that are easy to use


Metal and ridge assisted slot waveguide is proposed on the silicon on insulator (SOI) platform for biochemical sensing applications. Slot-based nanophotonic sensors give high sensitivity for detection of bio-analytes and chemicals. The proposed structure is investigated numerically by optimizing the design parameters.


Objective To analyse the scale of seriousness of psychological disorders and its structural factors.Method Based on SCL-90,the author makes analysis of all psychological symptoms among 300 university students.Results The result shows that the psychological troubles among university students are light on the whole.Among them,sensitivity to interpersonal relations and compulsion are on the top of the scale( P 0.05),with paranoia and depression followed( P 0.05).Using the method of gradual multifactors converge,the author finds that the psycholoical symptoms restrain each other.The factors affceting functions burden above 0.3 are paranoia,sensitivity to interpersonal relationship and anxiety.Conclusion The main factor of psychological disorder is sensitivity to interpersonal relationship for university students.


A computer-based system for equitable distribution of pediatric inpatients among nine major hospitals in Brooklyn is described. In the first year of operation it has efficiently resolved the problem of overcrowding of city hospitals and underutilization of voluntary hospitals.


Overview In this document, we first present the detailed parameters of the networks in Section 1. Then we qualitatively evaluate our method on the datasets with realistic blur kernels in Section 2 and present both the qualitative and quantitative evaluation on the datasets with the commonly used degradation model (i.e., Bicubic) in Section 3. Next, we further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed blur kernel estimation method on the video super-resolution problem in Section 4. Section 5 provide the qualitative evaluations of the feature warping operation. Section 6 analyzes that the proposed method generates videos with better temporal consistency property. We report the running time of the proposed method against state-of-the-art methods in Section 7. Finally, we show more visual comparisons in Section 8.


This paper studies the empirical applications of the autocorrelation tests, the unit root tests, and the efficient estimation procedures introduced in Guo and Phillips (1999a) to daily return series for the S&P 500 Index and a set of eight individual stocks. As a further example of estimating the mean and volatility parameters, quarterly inflation rate series for several developed countries are also examined. The results illustrate that efficiency gains are realized and greater prediction power are obtained from the efficient estimation approach in estimating and forecasting both the mean and volatility, and that skewness and excess kurtosis in the data justifies the use of the new methods. In general, models of this type promise to be useful in fitting data series characterized by dynamic structures in both the mean and second moments, especially those with highly skewed and heavy-tailed features, as are commonly present in financial and macroeconomic series.


The combined Continuous Time Random Walk (CTRW) in position and momentum space is introduced, in the form of two coupled integral equations that describe the evolution of the probability distribution for finding a particle at a certain position and with a certain momentum as a function of time. The integral equations are solved numerically with a pseudospectral method that is based on the expansion of the unknown functions in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. In parallel, Monte-Carlo simulation are performed. Through the inclusion of momentum space, the combined CTRW is able to yield results on density and temperature profile evolution, on particle and heat fluxes and diffusivities, and on kinetic energy distributions. Depending on the choice of the probability distributions of the particle displacements in position and momentum space, the combined CTRW is able to model phenomena of anomalous transport in position as well as in momentum (or energy or velocity) space. An application is made to a toroidally confined plasma that undergoes off-center injection of cold plasma (off-axis fueling), using two variants of the model, the mixed model and the critical gradient model. The phenomenon of profile stiffness is addressed, both for the density and for the temperature profile, respectively, and the particle and energy confinement times are determined. The analysis of the particle and heat fluxes shows that the dynamics realized in the combined CTRW is incompatible with the classical approach of Fick's or Fourier's law for particle and heat transport, respectively.


A frame to construct a blending surface among quadrics with the algebraic tensor-product B-spline surfaces was presented.A C~(1) continuous algebraic spline surface was obtained that very smoothly joined the given quadrics.Examples were provided to demonstrate the detailed construction procedure.The results indicate that the method can control the shape of blending surfaces by adding the numbers of knots,restrictive points and approximation points,and that it has several parameters with more intuitionistic and more geometric signification.So the method is very flexible in solving complex blending problems.


While climate change does not discriminate among lines of class, caste, age, sex, physical abilities or financial insecurity, it is exacerbating existing inequalities and driving those with poor adaptive capacity into deeper conditions of vulnerability to shocks and stresses. Understanding how climate change impacts intersect with people's marginalisation remains limited, as vulnerability assessments have been largely concerned with fragile ecosystems and considered along sectoral lines. Whilst common but differentiated responsibilities between nations is a founding principle of the UN Climate Change Convention, differentiated human dimensions of climate change are only now starting to assume centre stage, buoyed by the launch of the Global Alliance for Climate Justice of the Global Humanitarian Forum (2008), through which Kofi Annan and several hundred participants 'agreed to support efforts to establish climate justice as the guiding principle for a post-Kyoto global climate agreement'.


The aim of this study was to develop a procedure of data collection on freestyle swimming turn (number of repetition). Eleven swimmers executed 8 turns each one. The measured variables were Normalized Peak Force (PFn), Contact Time (TC), Impulse (Imp) and Turn Time in 10 meters (TV10m). The visual stability as for the number of executions was checked through the calculation of the accumulate coefficient of variation that presents small variations curves. No significant differences were found between the accumulate averages using ANOVA between the different groupings and also for the confirmation of the least number of repetitions, it chose in confronting the data, through the Mann-Whitney U test carried out between the variables. Was found that three valid executions are enough to evaluate the performance in front freestyle turn.


Purpose – Public contracts are contracts for consideration concluded between the purchaser and the contractor, which apply to the supply, services and construction works. They play a significant role in the exchange of goods and services and realize the goal of optimal spending of public funds. The article presents the objectives of public procurement regulations as well as the manner of capturing the subject matter of public procurement law. Research method – The literature on the subject was reviewed and the analysis of legal provisions was used.Results – The main purposes of establishing the public procurement system were identified and the functions assigned to the public procurement system were systematized.Implications /recommendations – The purpose and functions of public procurement are important from the point of view of entities spending public funds as well as those carrying out public contracts. It is important to change the approach to the public procurement function, because it should not only be considered as an effective use of public funds by purchasing goods and services at the lowest possible price.


Many kinds of special equipment is developed to active trial for disaster environmental. But there are no test methods of testing and grading for the equipment. This is the time that required standardized evaluation method that can be utilized in a real environment. In order to derive a standardized evaluation methods require primary grading process. Grading process is applied differently depending on the absence to the case where existing of standardized criteria. Grading criterion is utilized as a basis for a database that include the environment of disaster. Existing grade is re-evaluated by proceeds to build a database. Standardized evaluation method and the grading process presents the criteria for use of the purchase of efficient equipment for consumers. Further, the developer, the methods presents the direction of development and presents an optimized environment for each case.


In order to assess the responses of circumpolar and semicircumpolar plants growing around their southern distribution margins to artificial warming, we set up 11 open‐top chambers (OTCs) on a fell‐field (1680 m a.s.l.) in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan. The OTCs increased mean air temperature by 1.3°C through the growing season (June–September) and extended the length of the growing season. We examined phenology and leaf traits of plants in the OTCs and control plots during the first season under artificial warming treatment using two deciduous and three evergreen species. Ledum palustre (evergreen shrub), Vaccinium uliginosum, and Arctous alpinus (deciduous shrubs) showed earlier leaf emergence and/or flowering in the OTCs. Deciduous shrubs had longer individual leaf longevity and an extended foliage period in the OTCs than in the control plots. There were no significant differences in specific leaf area and leaf size for many species between the OTCs and the control plots. Vaccinium vitis‐idaea (evergreen shrub), L. palustre, A. alpinus, and Empetrum nigrum (evergreen shrub) had lower leaf nitrogen concentration in the OTCs than in the control plots, whereas it was higher in V. uliginosum. Only E. nigrum showed larger annual shoot growth in the OTCs. No clear differences in response to the warming effect were detected between evergreen and deciduous species in the first season. Circumpolar plants growing in temperate alpine regions may be more affected by season length rather than temperature itself.


Presented are new developments over recent years for blood pressure meters for self-measurement, which increase the accuracy of measurement, improve the handling of instruments, reduce discomfort during the measurement, make the instrument more compact and easier to transport. Special attention is focused on new developments which can eliminate measurement errors, especially in the elderly.


At present, bug tracking systems are used to collect and manage bug reports in many software projects. As participants, the testers not only submit bug reports to the system, but also comment on bug reports in the system. The tester's behaviors of submitting and commenting reflect his/her influence in bug tracking systems. However, with the rapid increase of the bug reports in software projects, evaluating the testers' influence in the projects accurately becomes more and more difficult. Aiming at solving this problem, the submission and comment on bug report can be regarded as social behaviors of the testers, and thus the method of Influence Ranking for Testers (IRfT) in bug tracking systems is presented and used for measuring the influence of the testers in this paper. The case study of the Eclipse project in Bugzilla shows that the result produced by IRfT is consistent with the actual performance of the testers in this project. The ranking results can keep stable in the cases of link adding or removing and tester removing in tester networks, and the results are also proved to be valid in the future. The further investigation on the speed of network break-down by node removal demonstrates that the top-ranking testers are important in the organization of tester networks. Additionally, the results also show that the ranking of the testers is related to the existence time in bug tracking system. Therefore, IRfT is proved to be an effective measurement for evaluating the influence of the testers in bug tracking system, and it can further demonstrate the testers' contributions in software testing, such as bug validations, bug fixes, etc.


In this paper, we present an emergent computing architecture scheme, denoted as marching pixels (MPs), which is well-suited for massively-parallel embedded systems based realising smart optical sensors. Smart in this context refers to sensors in which signal capturing and signal processing is combined either in one chip or in a compact 3D chip stack. MPs are life-like agents, which are crawling within a pixel field in such a chip in order to find centre points and other attributes of objects in binary images. MPs fulfill these tasks only by utilising local interaction and stigmertic communication. Principal ideas, the architecture and first results are described in this paper along with a comparison to both conventional and other unconventional computing approaches.


Under the condition of structural reliability,this paper makes use of analysis method of condition extremum in higher mathematics,combines rectangular flexural member of reinforced concrete of double bars with the economic of structural element,and proposes safe,dependable,economical and practical Optimized Design Method.


. The impact of mineral fertilizers on an agricultural system has been analyzed. It has been shown that encapsulated fertilizers of prolonged action are the effective type of fertilizers that enable to achieve rich harvests and simultaneously consistently reduce the load on the agricultural system. Balance calculations on evaluating the agricultural system contamination level in case of implementing granulated and encapsulated fertilizers have been carried out. It has been shown that in case of using encapsulated fertilizers instead of granulated fertilizers, the environmental contamination caused by excessive nutrition elements of mineral fertilizers indigested by the plants decreases almost fourfold. Pilot experiments on using such cultures as potato, soy, and maize have proven that the effectiveness of using encapsulated fertilizers in comparison with granulated fertilizers under condition of less expenses of mineral fertilizer is 30–50 % higher.