Washington continues to have a vital stake in European stability, which in turn hinges on Western European political consistency and economic growth. Prolonged confusion over the future course of European integration affects European efforts to reform its international defense institutions to meet the post-Cold War challenges. The only certainty is that Paris and Bonn will be at the heart of efforts to resolve current dilemmas, for the Bonn-Paris axis has been the engine that has driven greater European integration and provided a means to overcome a long history of Franco-German conflict and discord. This article focuses on the implications of this important bilateral relationship on bilateral defense cooperation. In and of itself, the establishment of the European Economic Community represented a significant historical achievement. More recently, members of the European Community (EC) have expressed an intent to build a more comprehensive foundation of European unity that looks toward complete economic union. Moreover, these nations seek a European political union that will further expand European integration. Naturally, discussions concerning political union have generated considerable dialogue over closer integration of security and defense policies. Progress toward these goals initially appeared to be accelerating. The Single Economic Act (signed in July 1987), one of European Commission President Jacques Delors' greatest accomplishments, was implemented, in principle, on January 1, 1993. At the December 1991 Maastricht summit the EC heads of government agreed to the "Draft Treaty on Political Union" that laid out the plan European political union. (1) Nor has cooperation been limited to economic and political issues. At Maastricht, the EC heads of government also agreed to the goal of establishing a common defense policy and the development of the Western European Union (WEU) "as the defense component of the European Union...." (2) Moreover, in May 1992 at their summit in La Rochelle, President Mitterrand and Federal Chancellor Kohl formally announced the creation of a joint multinational corps, which, in time, could include other European participants. (3) To many observers and officials, the combination of these events indicated that the long elusive objective of European integration appeared to be close at hand. Obstacles to European Integration But events have proven otherwise as EC politics have become rather messy, not to mention complicated, of late. (4) For example, prior to the Danish referendum on the Maastricht Treaty in May 1992, the path toward greater Western European integration appeared clearly set. However, the Danish electorate rejected the Maastricht draft treaty in June. (5) This rejection, in the words of Daniel Vernet, Foreign Editor of Le Monde, "... has brought into the open in many European countries a situation their governments had been trying to pretend did not exist: a crisis in foreign policy." (6) Shortly thereafter, when, for domestic political reasons President Mitterrand placed the Maastricht Treaty before the French electorate, it passed by only the narrowest of margins (50.95 to 49.05 percent). (7) Even the much vaunted Single Market may well not function in practice (e.g., due to lack of consumer confidence in product quality and efficiency), despite the implementation of all the necessary legal instruments. (8) And, high German interest rates (due to the ever escalating costs of unification) and low British interest rates (to stimulate a lagging economy), combined to force Britain and Italy out of the EC's Exchange Rate Mechanism in September. (9) Finally, the EC's inability to achieve consensus on the means for halting the war in the former Yugoslavia, underscored the difficulties inherent in crafting common security and defense policies. The obstacles to full implementation of these policies raises the question: where does European integration, particularly in the realm of security, go from this inauspicious point? …


This paper presents a study of piano pedaling gestures and techniques on the sustain pedal from the perspective of measurement, recognition, and visualization. Pedaling gestures can be captured by a dedicated measurement system where the sensor data can be simultaneously recorded alongside the piano sound under normal playing conditions. Using the sensor data collected from the system, the recognition is comprised of two separate tasks: pedal onset/offset detection and classification by technique. The onset and offset times of each pedaling technique were computed using signal processing algorithms. Based on features extracted from every segment when the pedal is pressed, the task of classifying the segments by pedaling technique was undertaken using machine learning methods. We compared Support Vector Machines (SVM) and hidden Markov models (HMM) for this task. Our system achieves high accuracies, over 0.7 F1 score for all techniques and over 0.9 on average. The recognition results can be represented using novel pedaling notations and visualized in an audio-based score following application.


For the last decade the high level yields, 5t-6t/ha, max. 6.5t/ha, of soybean (cv. Okushirome) have been recorded continuosly under the upland conditions converted from rice paddy fields at Saihoku Branch of the Yamagata Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station, located in Shinjo (38°45'N, 140°18'E). In 1982 and 1983, dry matter accumulation pattern, canopy structure and light penetration for Okushirome under the converted fields at Saihoku Branch were compared with those of some cultivars (Table 2) grown under the fields of Experimental Farm of Hokkaido University (Sapporo, 43°35'N, 141°20'E). Okushirome produced the highest yields in both years, 5.3t/ha in 1982 and 4.6t/ha in 1983. It had also large LAIs (about 6), small light extinction coefficients (K:0.38 and 0.42), long leaf area duration (LAD) and high harvest indices (62% and 56%) compared with those of the cultivars grown in Sapporo (Table 3 and Fig. 5). Grain yield was closely correlated with number of pods (r = 0.886), LAD (r = 0.800) and grain filling period (r = 0.813), regardless of years, locations and cultivars. The K value was related to number of pods per maximum LAI (r = - 0.796), though not related directly to grain yield. As shown in Fig. 6, in 1982 Okushirome showed a peculiar unique plant form that the upper 3 to 4 large leaves on main stem had vertical and long (25 cm to 30 cm) petioles though stem height was very short (Table 2). In addition, leaflets of Okushirome did active solar tracking movements in both years during early morning to late afternoon, suggesting the relation to effective light penetration within the canopies (Fig. 4).


Background: The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in pediatric medical education in China. Methods: We searched Chinese electronic databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, the China Science Periodical Database, and the Chinese BioMedical Literature Database. We also searched English electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We searched for published studies that compared the effects of PBL and traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) on students' theoretical knowledge, skill, and case analysis scores during pediatric medical education in China. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Results: A total of 12 RCTs were included, with a total sample size of 1003 medical students. The PBL teaching model significantly increased theoretical knowledge scores (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79–1.52; P < .00001), skill scores (95% CI, 0.87–2.25; P < .00001), and case analysis scores (P < .00001, I2 = 88%) compared with those using the LBL teaching model alone. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis shows that PBL in pediatric medical education in China appears to be more effective than the traditional teaching method in improving theoretical knowledge, skill, and case analysis scores. However, a more controlled design of RCT is needed to confirm the above conclusions in future work.


A t the 2007 W LA Conference in Tacoma, the "W riting W omen's Biographies: Processes, Challenges, Rewards" panel had a large audi ence eager for more time for discussion. Since then, several audience participants have contacted Western American Literature to suggest a follow-up session at the 2008 Boulder Conference. Therefore WAL offers a transcript o f the panel so we can take up where we left off. We have broadened the topic for 2008 to "W riting Biographies" and would like to discuss both genre and gender. We have invited some new par ticipants, but in the spirit o f the conference theme, collaborations, the format o f "W riting Biographies" will be primarily conversation rather than focused on the panelists.


As an example, the underground steel liner reinforced concrete bifurcations of a certain pumped storage station are analyzed by the finite element method (FEM) software Marc, to simulate the united bearing of steel lining and surrounding rock mass. By using 3D linear and nonlinear FEM, the stress and strain of steel lining, concrete and surrounding rock mass are analyzed in different working conditions. The influence of initial ground stress, secondary stress and gap between steel lining and concrete are considered. Some useful conclusions are got.


Stimulation of corticosterone and aldosterone production in rat adrenal decapsular and capsular cells respectively by alpha- and beta-melanotropins (alpha- and beta-MSH) have been investigated. Although they are considerably less potent than corticotropin (ACTH), the dose-response curves are parallel to those for ACTH except in the case of aldosterone stimulation by beta-MSH where the dose-response curve is biphasic. The steroidogenic actions of ACTH, beta-MSH and alpha-MSH are antagonized by corticotropin-inhibiting peptide in both capsular and decapsular cells. A synthetic analog of beta-MSH ([Gly10]-betac1-MSH) inhibits both beta-MSH and ACTH in aldosterone output in capsular cells, but it does not inhibit their corticosteroidogenic actions in decapsular cells.


We show among other things that if B is a linear space of continuous real-valued functions vanishing at infinity on a locally compact Hausdorff space X, for which there is a continuous function h defined in a neighbourhood of 0 in the real line which is non-affine in every neighbourhood of 0 and satisfies |h(t)|=


Tuberculosis (TB) is still a significant public health problem in Korea. In many cases, it is not easy to diagnose TB. A 13-year-old male patient was admitted for left chest pain for 6 months period. Chest radiography done two months ago during the school screening revealed a pleural effusion in the left lung. All cultures were negative, and 3 sputum samples and his pleural fluid sample tested negative for Acid-fast bacilli. There was no evidence of a malignant effusion. A pleural fluid examination revealed features suggestive of an empyema. Thick and yellowish pus was drawn out. Pleural fluid analysis presented White blood cell 5,200/mm3, and neutrophil-dominant with 60% of neutrophil. In an effort to attain a diagnosis, a video-assisted thoracoscopy procedure was performed with pleural drainage and biopsies. Active chronic granulomatous pleuritis was found through pleural biopsies. He was responsive to treatment and received 6 months of anti-TB therapy with complete clinical resolution. If the clinical picture is in confusion, pleural biopsy is occasionally indicated to diagnose TB pleuritis.


3. Page 3117, lines 13-22: This paragraph does not fully describe the idea of the hybrid data set, since it doesn't mention the sun photometer. Without the AOD constraint, it is not possible to get the extinction coefficient at 355 nm with sufficient accuracy. The experienced reader gets confused here, because the extinction information at 355 nm is obviously missing in the described setup. It becomes only implicitly clear later on that this information is "created" by a constraint retrieval making use of the AOT from the sun photometer. The authors should be more precise here and they should also discuss the related shortcomings/errors compared to a direct measure of the extinction coefficient.


This paper discusses the approach of wiping off the nitrogen in sewage disposal by the comparison with the method based on the parctice of Pingdingshan Sewage Disposal Factory.


As wind farms commonly gather in areas with abundant wind resources, spatial dependence of wind speeds among nearby wind farms should be taken into account when modeling a power system with large-scale wind power. In this paper, we first propose a novel bivariate non-parametric copula, bivariate diffusive kernel (BDK) copula, to formulate the dependence between random variables. Then, we extend the application of the BDK copula to high dimension by pair-copula method and name it as pair diffusive kernel (PDK) copula, which is flexible to formulate the complicated dependence structure of multiple random variables. Besides, a quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) method, based on the combination of the Sobol sequence and the Rosenblatt transformation of the PDK copula, is elaborated in the sampling procedure to generate correlated wind speed samples. The proposed method is applied to solve the probabilistic optimal power flow (POPF) problems. We first validate the effectiveness of the BDK copula in copula definitions. Then, in order to verify the superior performance of the PDK copula in formulating the dependence structure of wind speeds among different wind farms, three different data sets are used in various goodness-of-fit (GOF) tests. Furthermore, samples obtained from the PDK copula are used to solve POPF problems, which are modeled on three modified IEEE 57-bus power systems. Compared with the Gaussian, T and parametric-pair copulas, the results obtained from the PDK copula are superior to formulate the complicated dependence in solving POPF problems.


This article explores in depth the themes that resonate through the life and work of Peter Sís, particularly the dualisms of growing up in the Cold War era. More than many other contemporary artists, Sís's way of seeing the world, as well as choice of artistic media, are determined by his reflection on state-ordained and controlled propaganda and the attempt to evade their influence.


In the past decade, there have been relatively few studies on speaker recognition based on minority languages, especially Tibetan, and most of them use traditional recognition methods. Starting from the Tibetan level, this paper adopts the mainstream neural network learning, and proposes a new Fast ResNet-101 structure by improving the residual network (ResNet) module structure, thus constructing a complete Tibetan speaker recognition system. The improved model is compared and evaluated by two metric learning loss functions, prototype and angle prototype. By introducing Fast ResNet-34 and Fast ResNet-50 models as baselines, the experimental comparison shows that the Fast ResNet-101 model with deeper network structure has the best performance, and the model recognition effect after Angular Prototype metric loss function processing is better. The recognition error rate can reach 3.72 %.


Aim: The purpose of this study was to review retrospectively the functional and anatomic outcomes of women who underwent vaginal repair of enterocele and vault prolapse with the use of an intraperitoneal suspension of the vaginal vault to the uterosacral ligaments in conjunction with fascial reconstruction of the anterior and posterior vaginal wall. Result: Twenty five women with advanced symptomatic posthysterectomy vault prolapse underwent a standard transvaginal uterosacral suspension of the vault to correct their prolapse between january 2014and april 2016. Anatomic results were assessed by standardized examination from 6 months to 3 years after the operation. Functional results were assessed subjectively and with standard quality of life questionnaires. The average age of the women was 55 years.There was no intraoperative difficulties.16% patients required blood transfusion.there was no urinary complication. Improvement of symptoms was seen in all patients.92% patients were satisfied with the procedure. Conclusion: Uterosacral suspension of the vaginal apex is a simple method for correction of vault prolapse with good functional outcome and less complications.


The invention discloses a co-generation system based on wind power. The system comprises a wind power generating device, a current control and allocation device, a power supply cable and an electrical heating device, wherein the wind power generation device is used for receiving the wind power, the current control and allocation device is connected with the wind power generation device, the power supply cable and the electrical heating device are connected with the current control and allocation device, the electrical heating device is further connected with a gas circulation device and a heat exchange device, the heat exchange device is further connected with a soft water preparation device and a heat accumulation device, and the heat accumulation device is connected with a heat supply pipeline. The invention further discloses a co-generation method based on the wind power. The system and the method are based on the wind power, and energy transformation is conducted on a current which is produced by the wind power and is not suitable for requirements of a local power grid or redundant currents, namely electric energy is transformed into heat energy to be provided for users. The system and the method can effectively solve the problem of matching of a power grid of wind electricity, significantly improve the annually effective operation time of a wind turbine generator and greatly improve the operating economy of the turbine generator.


Cervical cancer still remains a high socio-economic, health challanges in the developing world. To acheive a significant decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer related morbidity and mortality: women should have adequate knowledge and awareness of the disease and screening. The aim of the study is to promotion the benefits of early detection by public awareness and knowledge of the diseases and factors; influencing the utilisation of the screening among non health and health workers in Rivers State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria A cross sectional study using questionnaires were used for data collection. The mean age of the female non health workers was 29+ 9.2 and 29±9.9 years for the health workers. The respondents demonstrated high awareness on cervical cancer 415 (80.9%) where x 2 = 25.366; p = 0.000; df =1 and cervical cancer screening 382 (74.5%) where x 2 = 26.371; p = 0.00; df = 1. Mass media was the main source of information in the non-health workers group 115 (56.1%) while majority 202 (96.2%) of the health workers got there information from Doctors and fellow health workers. Surprisingly; 232(60.7%) are of the opinion that, cervical cancer screening is necessary for every sexually active woman. Despite that; only 71 (18.6%) of the respondents have had cervical cancer screening. Finally this reflects the general overview of the nature and degree of health information in the society. As it shows that even though the knowledge is acceptable on the disease, the awareness of the screening and uptake is very low.


In order to reduce the serious fluctuation of torque, fluxes and stator current in electromagnetic continuously variable transmission motor direct torque control, an amendatory direct torque control method based on the diagonal recurrent neural network technology was presented in this paper. This method can reduce the torque and flux ripple in static run and enhance the performance of low speed. The simulation experimental results indicate that this method may be feasible alternative and high robust capabilities.


In this collaborative work, three leading historians explore one of the most significant areas of inquiry in modern historiography--the transition from slavery to freedom and what this transition meant for former slaves, former slaveowners, and the societies in which they lived. Their contributions take us beyond the familiar portrait of emancipation as the end of an evil system to consider the questions and the struggles that emerged in freedom's wake. Thomas Holt focuses on emancipation in Jamaica and the contested meaning of citizenship in defining and redefining the concept of freedom; Rebecca Scott investigates the complex struggles and cross-racial alliances that evolved in southern Louisiana and Cuba after the end of slavery; and Frederick Cooper examines the intersection of emancipation and imperialism in French West Africa. In their introduction, the authors address issues of citizenship, labor, and race, in the post-emancipation period and they point the way toward a fuller understanding of the meanings of freedom. |A historical exploration of the societal changes and difficulties brought about immediately following the end of slavery both in the Americas and Africa. The authors address issues of citizenship, labor, and race, and point the way toward a fuller understanding of the contested meaning of freedom.


Beetroot pickles are a relatively new vegetable gaining market share in Bangladesh. It is a naturally growing root vegetable known for its health benefits due to its phytochemicals and bioactive compounds. Beetroot (beta vagaries) has been shown to improve clinical and physiological conditions and promotes good health. And has become a potential functional food that can prevent disease. One of its compounds, bataline, has shown chemo preventive, sedative, and disease-preventive activity. There is a fundamental difference between the newly developed pickled beet sample and the commercial one. The sample developed was 11.50 Brix, 55.5 mg (%) Vitamin C, 27.5% Moisture, 3.25% Dietary Fiber, 37.3 % Carbohydrate, 1.25% Protein, 2.7% Ash, 28%, 195 mg (%) Bataline, pH 4. Microbiological analysis of samples after 270 days showed 5/g colony forming units (cfu), with an overall acceptance of 70% among trained panelists after 270 days of storage. Vitamin C and added salt prevent oxidative degradation and extend the shelf life of pickled beets.


To describe the AddNeuroMed imaging framework for multi‐centre magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment of longitudinal changes in Alzheimer's disease and report on early results from the first 24 months of the project.


This paper introduces a new flocculant of poly-silicon,aluminum and ferric,and its preparation as well as application in wastewater treatment.Turbidity,colourity and pH value were investigated after flocculating.The result showed that,compared with other coagulants,this flocculant has better effect,such as the lower use level,deposited quickly and higher stability.It would be suitable for commercial process.


Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) establishment in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) communities is often controlled by the use of prescribed fire, which also kills big sagebrush, an important component of wildlife habitat. Knowledge of the effects of Douglas fir establishment in big sagebrush communities is essential to determining when control of establishing Douglas fir by fife or other means may be warranted. Three southwestern Montana mountain big sagebrush (A.t. ssp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) communities with establishing Douglas fir were selected for study. Twenty-five sites, representing different levels of Douglas fir establishment were selected within each study area. The effects of Douglas fir growth on mountain big sagebrush and herbs were described and quantified. Data were collected on Douglas fir and mountain big sagebrush canopy cover, density, and age, Douglas fir basal area and height, mountain big sagebrush winter forage production, and herbaceous canopy cover. Models were developed for big sagebrush canopy cover and density of "large" sagebrush (average crown cover > 15 cm), grass, and total herbaceous canopy cover. Negative correlation values indicated that as Douglas fir canopy cover, total basal area, and density increased, mountain big sagebrush and herbaceous variables decreased. Overall, Douglas fir canopy cover had the strongest negative relationship with sagebrush canopy cover (r = -0.86), density of "large" sagebrush (r.= -0.93), sagebrush production per plant (r = -0.87), and total sagebrush production per transect (r = -0.84). While increases in Douglas fir growth caused declines in mountain big sagebrush and herbaceous variables at all study areas, models were often quite variable between study areas. Both linear and curvilinear declines in mountain big sagebrush and herbaceous variables were recorded. Model validation results indicated that individual study area models were generally not precise or accurate. Overall models for density of "large" sagebrush and sagebrush cover did predict well. Douglas fir canopy cover had the greatest impact on mountain big sagebrush and herbaceous variables. Mountain big sagebrush canopy cover declined to < 15%, as Douglas fir canopy cover increased beyond 20%. Sagebrush canopy cover declined to < 5%, as Douglas fir canopy cover increased beyond 35%.


The article studies the transformation of relations among the members of an association of victims of a collective tragedy. It is based on the example of a group of parents with children suffering from growth disorders. The children were given treatments that were contaminated by a pathogenic agent, which in some cases led to fatal illnesses. Following the history of the group, the article explores two main questions: the use of democratic processes by the group of victims and how the collective, created out of an initial situation of violence, was able to receive within its ranks – in keeping with the principle of mutual aid – the victims of a second situation of violence.


The attention theory can provide better attention control mode for the basketball players and mind-set situation for the main basketball skill application so as to enable the basketball players to choose the correct attention ways and conduct the flexible and effective attention transference.During the optimization transference,the basketball players should emphasize the understanding and application of current attention,the habit of advantage attention,development of weak attention,different time of attention and attention intensity volatility.


This study aims to analyze the effect of incentives, motivation, and work discipline on employee performance at CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih Pontianak. The instrument test used is the reliability test, validity test, statistical test (T-test, F test, and R2 test/coefficient of determination), and classical assumption test (multicollinearity test, heteroscedasticity test, and normality test). The number of samples was 37 people. This research is very important because it looks at the performance of CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih employees in the last time bracket has decreased and this impact is certainly not good for the development of an organization, The data analysis method used in this study was multiple regression, All populations are 37 people and all of them (census) are sampled in this study to achieve a good level of precision.Partially, the incentive variable does not have a significant effect on the employee performance of CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih Pontianak. However, motivation and discipline have a significant effect on the employee performance of CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih Pontianak. Simultaneously, the Incentive (X1), Motivation (X2), and Discipline (X3) variables significantly influence the employee performance of CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih Pontianak. Based on the analysis of the coefficient of determination, the employee performance of CU Filosofi Petani Pancur Kasih Pontianak can be concluded and explained by the variables of Incentives (X1), Motivation (X2), and Discipline (X3), while the other 52.4% are influenced or explained by other variables which are not discussed in this study.


para- and meta-substituted aromatic isocyanides have been found to react in alkaline aqueous dioxane yielding the corresponding formamides. From a kinetic analysis of the reaction, the observed rate constants were found to be linearly dependent upon hydroxide concentration; this observation, together with the positive value of p, was taken as evidence of direct nucleophilic attack. Decreasing values of ΔH‡ were observed as electron-withdrawing substituents were introduced, whereas ΔS‡was fairly constant at –57 J K–1 mol–1; this indicates little variation in transition-state geometry across the range of isocyanides studied. The kinetic evidence is discussed in terms of two mechanisms: nucleophilic attack of hydroxide with concerted proton transfer from water to the isocyano carbon, and nucleophilic attack of hydroxide to yield a carbanion intermediate, with protonation occurring in a rapid subsequent step. The reaction rate increases with increasing water content in the solvent; this observation appears to favour the concerted mechanism. In dioxane–deuterium oxide the reaction showed a small inverse isotope effect; the apparent lack of an appreciable primary isotope effect is consistent with a concerted mechanism only if minimal proton transfer from water to carbon has occurred in the transition state.


Objective To find out the factors influencing the students' learning by analyzing the students' score and data mining with rough set theory.Methods Using rough set theory,this paper has an attribute importance analysis to collected mass data in the process of college students' learning process,and avoids the unnecessary data based on attribute reduction,to get the key factors influencing learning effect.Results It is concluded that the character interest factor and the soft and hard conditions can make big influence on the students' study by rough set theory.Meanwhile the family economy factor,the base knowledge and the teachers' level have lettle effect.Conclusion The research is beneficial to make it target-oriented in the teaching process,and improve the teaching quality and effect.


This article presents the possible usage of the universal voltage conveyor (UVC) for the design of a Kerwin–Huelsman–Newcomb-equivalent filter working in the voltage mode. When compared with the known solution using operational amplifiers, the proposed structure embodies new advantages. To support the theoretical results, the behaviour of the structure designed has been verified by PSpice-OrCAD simulations and furthermore by experimental measurements using the UVC-N1C active element.


Introduction It has been demonstrated previously that eggs originating from free foraging animals and from hens of private owners are contaminated with higher levels of dioxins than eggs from animals held indoors. 1-4 The outdoor environment is believed to be the main contamination source of these eggs. In the frame of a recently performed study a number of families, living in different parts of Belgium, voluntarily participated in a national study determining the levels of different contaminants in their home produced eggs (dioxins, PCBs, pesticides, flame retardants, PAHs, heavy metals and mycotoxins). Here we present and discuss the obtained levels of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in eggs and soils. A second paper deals with the risk assessment 5


Bile acids (BAs) promote lipid absorption as a detergent and a high fat diet consumption promotes its secretion. In our previous study, we found that a diet supplemented with cholic acid (CA), a major primary BA increasing during aging, induces non‐obese fatty liver in rats. The CA‐induced fatty liver seems represent some symptoms at an early stage of fatty liver. On the other hand, hepatic iron is associated with severity of fatty liver disease but little is known about the roles of iron in the early stage of fatty liver development. Thus, we investigated whether distribution of minerals in the body is involved in the CA‐induced fatty liver.


Bluetooth is a promising wireless technology that enables devices to form short-range wireless ad-hoc networks or personal area networks. However, formation of the scatternet, or a Bluetooth network, is one of the challenges that needs to be resolved since their performance depends largely on the scatternet topology used. Further, to improve the performance of the scatternet, the energy capability of Bluetooth devices should be utilized to determine their roles in the scatternet with more capable devices performing more demanding roles. We present a distributed scatternet formation algorithm for creating energy-efficient scatternets of height-balanced binary tree topology. We also provide reorganization techniques on these tree scatternets to maintain energy efficiency and handle device arrivals and departures. We present simulation results, conducted using the Blueware simulator, to study and compare the creation and maintenance of our scatternet


School of Management, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA ___________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: Oracle Database 10g introduced SQL Advisor to simplify application and provides for SQL tuning which was considered as an advantage over the already existing Oracle 9i. Oracle 10g had greater advantages when it came to performing the root-cause analysis of one or SQL statements. It also involved one of the major disadvantages of involving several manual steps. This came in as major problem to the DBA's who had the tedious task of reviewing and testing the same, themselves. This issue was resolved with the introduction of the Oracle 11g that had the feature of the Automatic SQL Tuning, Real-time SQL Monitoring and Partition Advisor component of SQL Access Advisor that improved the performance problems without the DBA intervention. Index Words: Automatic SQL Tuning, Automatic Workload Repository, Manual Tuning, SQL Tuning Advisor. __________________________________________________________________________________


The rate and endo/exo selectivity of the Diels–Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and methyl (E)-α-cyanocinnamate at 25°C, in several acetone–water and 1,4-dioxane–water mixtures, were measured. The linear correlations of log k and log(endo/exo) vs solvophobicity are reported. Correlations for selectivity are considerably improved when the results obtained in acetone–water and 1,4-dioxane–water are taken as separate series.


Chinese information processing will be one has the broad prospects scientific research domain in the future. From Chinese information processing's research content,the mainstream technology and so on several aspects discussed shallowly to the computer Chinese information processing understanding.


The industrialization of higher education has not only brought great changes to higher education institutions but also posed great challenges to the security of these institutions. To take the challenges we need to upgrade our concepts so as to set up new administrative mechanisms.


Canadian designer Patty Johnson works with weavers from the indigenous Wai Wai community of Guyana in the Liana Cane factory.


The paper describes a rare case of severe, but reversible bilateral damage to the sciatic nerve (compression neuropathy) in a patient with Blumenbach's clivus meningioma developing during 12-hour operation removing the tumor in the patient's sitting position on the operating table. The etiology and prevention of this complication are discussed.


. On the basis of documentary sources, most of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the problem of the commission of malfeasance by officers of the NKVD of the Far East in the period 1941–1945 is analyzed. The relevance and practical signific-ance of the study is due to the valuable historical experience that was gained by the law enforce-ment system of the state in the emergency conditions of wartime, including in the field of ensuring discipline and legality. The conclusion is substantiated that among the causes and conditions of official criminality in the NKVD bodies during the war years, the shortage of high-quality person-nel and the growing deterioration of the material situation of personnel, together with shortcom-ings in the systems of professional training, educational work and ensuring their own security, were of decisive importance. Among the criminological features of official criminality of this period, the following are noted: an increase in the number of crimes related to the illegal release of citizens from military service and other restrictions and obligations imposed by law; the specificity of the subject of criminal encroachments; high latency.


The feasibility of making tropospheric wind measurements with a space-based Doppler lidar was studied by a number of agencies over the past 10-15 years. Currently NASA has a plan to launch such an instrument, the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS), within the next decade. The design of the LAWS continues to undergo a series of iterations common to most instruments targeted for a space platform. In general, the constraints of available platform power, weight allowance, and project funds continue to change. With these changes the performance and design specifications also must change.


This article examines key works by Brazilian contemporary poet and artist, Paulo Bruscky, including Poema da repeticao, Poesia viva, his Mail Art, and "envelopoemas." It argues that throughout Bruscky's practice, it is possible to identify a poetics with circuits of signification that refer back to the material signs that constitute the work itself. It considers how this strategy builds from techniques forwarded by concrete poetry, as well as how Bruscky's work intersects with a range of internationally practiced contemporary arts. Rather than a myopic, inward looking practice, Bruscky's poetics generates significant opportunities for political messaging, even at its most tautological.


What does a woman do when her husband is away from home and is not expected to return for a long time? Let us say, for argument's sake, that his absence will be generally regarded as a social necessity, be it on a mission as in times of war or for economic reasons as in the case of migrant workers in South Africa who leave their families behind to seek employment in the big cities. Does she continue to perform her duties as a wife and mother, kindling the fires of the homestead on behalf of the father? W ill she remain faithful to him? Throughout the ages, and not only in Western societies, men have prized the constancy of an exceptional wife and have sung the praises of her sufferings and tribulations. This account we find in Homer's Odyssey as well as in a beautiful poem byJJRJolobe, 'Umzalikazi' (The Mother'),


Abstract Previous studies have indicated that, in rat liver, gluconeogenesis from pyruvate and lactate involves carboxylation of pyruvate in mitochondria but the oxalacetate formed does not diffuse to the cytosol. Instead it is reduced to malate or transaminated to aspartate. The present study indicates that aspartate and malate may be converted to phosphoenolpyruvate by enzymes in rat liver cytosol almost as rapidly as is oxalacetate. The rates of conversion are sufficient to account for the formation of carbohydrate in livers of normal rats and are greatly elevated in preparations from livers of diabetic rats. The synthesis of phosphoenolpyruvate from pyruvate via the malic enzyme or pyruvate carboxylase in the cytosol was found to be insignificant. Quantitative measurements of enzymes in the cytosol indicate that fumarase is elevated in diabetes and fasting but is not altered by adrenalectomy or administration of hydrocortisone. Malate dehydrogenase is elevated in diabetes and after hydrocortisone. Both glutamate-oxalacetate and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase are elevated in diabetes, in fasting, and after hydrocortisone. In agreement with other workers, citrate cleavage enzyme was depressed in diabetes and fasting, and elevated after insulin administration and refeeding of fasted animals. The enzyme adaptations and the rates of metabolite conversion in rat liver cytosol are thus in keeping with the proposed pathway of carbon in gluconeogenesis.


- In order to compute economic equilibrie i n an exchange economy by means of a simplicial algorithm, we propose a new simpliciel subdivision of the underlying price space, being the unit simplex. We call this subdivísion the Ti-triangulation. We show that the Ti-triangulation is superior to the well lrnown Ki- and Ji-triangulations according to measures of efficiency of triangulations.


The concept of structural redundancy is implemented in the fatigue analysis of an offshore wind turbine jacket structure. The analyzed jacket is a real life example. Time domain analyses are performed for the most representative design load case. The uni-directional and multidirectional simulations of the offshore wind turbine system are carried out using a coupling of the aero-elastic code and the finite element code. Fatigue analyses are performed using hot spot stress approach and Miner's rule. Comparative studies show that considering structural redundancy leads to expanded fatigue life of the offshore wind turbine jacket structures.


A computer modeling system is being developed specifically for simulating human operator systems. Primary design goals of the system are that it require minimal training and be easy to use for the novice while still providing the experienced user with powerful modeling capabilities. The language, Micro SAINT, is discussed.


To find new fungicidal lead compounds with high bioactivity, novel lead compounds were designed by active group splicing. The synthetic routes are as follows: 6-chloro-2-(2,6-difluorophenyl)quinoline-4-carbonyl chloride ( 7 ) was synthesized using 5-chlorine isatin ( 4 ) and 2,6-difluoro acetophenone ( 5 ) as raw materials by cyclization, acyl chlorination and other step reactions. Then 13 novel title compounds were synthesized by acylation of 6-chloro-2-(2,6-difluorophenyl)-quino-line-4-carbonyl chloride ( 7 ) with substituted anilines ( 8 ). The structures of the compounds were confirmed by HRMS and 1 H NMR. The preliminary fungicidal activity showed that all the compounds exhibit fungicidal activity against Gaeumannomyces graminis and Fusahum graminearum sehw , Rhizoctonia cerealis and Pyricularia grisea at concentration of 50 mg/L, part of compounds against Gaeumannomyces graminis were more than 90% at concentration of 50 mg/L.


Introduction. Ischemic stroke accounts for approximately 85% of all vascular accidents and has a high number of identified risk factors, including transient ischemic attack, smoking, metabolic syndrome, alcohol consumption, elevated cholesterol levels and artery stenosis carotid. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a well-established risk factor for ischemic stroke. Material and method. This prospective longitudinal observational study highlights the importance of localization of ischemic stroke, including 340 patients with acute ischemic stroke with / without diabetes mellitus. The database was collected in a Microsoft Excel document. The correlation analysis was processed in the MedCalc 14.1 program where correlation tests included in the program were used. Results. The predominant localization of ischemic stroke in diabetic patients was the middle cerebral artery followed by the posterior cerebral artery and the double localization compared to the group witness where the same trend is maintained (p = 0.22). The correlation between the localization of the acute ischemic stroke with the age 64.5 for MCA, 64.6 for PCA, and 73.57 for DL (CI 95%, p= 0.02). The correlation of the NIHSS severity score with the location of ischemic strokes was also obtained: average NIHSS score 18.9 points for MCA, 18.5 for PCA, 24 for DL (CI 95, p < 0.0001). The data obtained from the Kaplan-Meier analysis on the survival rate of the patients (divided by the vascular territory involved), provided an expected result difference (statistically significant, p < 0.0001). Conclusions. There is no statistically significant difference between diabetic vs. non-diabetic patients regarding the localization correlated with DM, the double location being statistically insignificant between the two batches. The double location having a higher frequency in elderly patients.


Guidelines for the use of clinical ultrasound in obstetrics should be considered, in view the many nonthermal bioeffects of this very widely used diagnostic modality. Am. J. Ind. Med. 33:308–309, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


The effect of the chemical reaction and radiation absorption on the unsteady free convective flow of an incompressible viscous fluid through porous medium past a semi-infinite vertical permeable moving plate is studied. The system is stressed by a uniform transverse magnetic field. The system equations are derived for the flow over a vertical plate and the resulting nonlinear coupled differential equations are solved numerically by finite difference technique. Also, the case of the flow over a horizontal plate was studied analytically by using the perturbation technique. A comparison between the case of vertical and horizontal flow was illustrated graphically to access the accuracy of our numerical calculations, and the results show an excellent agreement. The effects of various parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are presented graphically and the physical aspects of the problem are highlighted and discussed.


ABSTRACT The benefits of urban open spaces for improving the quality of life and sustainability in cities are widely recognized. The functions they perform within the framework established by urban planning, as well as their metrics, are now more complex than in the past. It is convenient to develop methodologies for the evaluation of these spaces adapted to the present time to check their level of efficiency, which is useful in urban planning for the establishment of new urban open spaces. The aim of this study is to classify such spaces through a methodology that integrates spatial analysis, configuration analysis, and decision support so as to understand their complexity from a more advanced analytical perspective. In order to do this, a prior exploration of specific literature is carried out, which allows the characterization of the functions of urban open spaces by means of the corresponding analysis variables in a weighted manner. The integrated combination of these advanced tools is a step forward in achieving consistent and detailed results for urban open spaces. They perform their functions best in dense, central, equipped, accessible, connected, and easily walkable urban environments. In addition, future recommendations are provided.


lnflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) are ocean-going vehicles used as rescue vessels by the Australian Surf Lifesavers (Figure 1). The IRBs are used to navigate and patrol the wave-break areas of Australia's popular beaches. They were adopted by Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) in 1 975 because of their high mobility and rapid response time. The IRBs generally carry a crew of two people, a driver and a crewmember (Figure 1). The surf lifesavers in their IRBs can encounter waves up to and exceeding three metres in height, causing the boat to be subjected to large impact accelerations. This impact can result in a variety of injuries to the crew and patients being rescued. Figure 1 : I RB in Use Showing Crew Positions


Time reversal and inversion symmetric materials fail to yield linear and nonlinear responses since they possess net zero Berry curvature. However, higher-order Hall response can be generated in these systems upon constraining the crystalline symmetries. Motivated by the recently discovered third-order Hall (TOH) response mediated by Berry connection polarizability, namely, the variation the Berry connection with respect to an applied electric field, here we investigate the existence of such Hall effect in the surface states of hexagonal warped topological insulator (e.g., Bi$_2$Te$_3$) under the application of electric field only. Using the semiclassical Boltzmann formalism, we investigate the effect of tilt and hexagonal warping on the Berry connection polarizability tensor and consequently, the TOH effect provided the Dirac cone remains gapless. We find that the magnitude of the response increases significantly with increasing the tilt strength and warping and therefore, they can provide the tunability of this effect. In addition, we also explore the effect of chemical doping on TOH response in this system. Interestingly, we show based on the symmetry analysis, that the TOH can be the leading-order response in this system which can directly be verified in experiments.


For $q\leq 3$ smooth plane algebraic curves $\mathcal{C}_i$ having simple normal crossings, if the invariant logarithmic $2$-jet differential bundle associated to $(\mathbb{P}^2(\mathbb{C}), \sum_{i=1}^q \mathcal{C}_i)$ has a nonzero section vanishing on some ample divisor, then, for every algebraically nondegenerate entire holomorphic curve $f\colon\mathbb{C}\rightarrow\mathbb{P}^2(\mathbb{C})$, we have a Second Main Theorem type estimate: \[ T_f(r) \leq c\sum_{i=1}^q\,N_f^{[1]}(r,\mathcal{C}_i) + o\big(T_f(r) \big)\parallel, \] where $T_f(r)$ and $N_f^{[1]}(r,C_i)$ stand for the order function and the $1$--truncated counting functions in the Nevanlinna theory, and where the constant $c=c(q,d_i)>0$ can be computed explicitly. In particular, our result includes the case of $3$ conics in $\mathbb{P}^2(\mathbb{C})$. Moreover, we provide some new results concerning the algebraic degeneracy of certain complex surfaces, e.g., the complex hyperbolicity of a very generic surface of degree $\geq 15$ in $\mathbb{P}^3(\mathbb{C})$.


A 53-year-old female was admitted to the emergency department complaining of nausea, vomiting and constipation over the previous 2 days. Her past medical history was characterized by a previous laparoscopic appendectomy. Physical examination revealed abdominal distension and pain, especially in the right lower quadrant. Laboratory tests revealed leucocytosis (white blood cell count of 14.1 × 10/L) while other data were within normal limits. A plain abdominal X-ray (Fig. 1a) showed dilated small bowel loops with multiple air fluid levels, suggestive of acute small bowel occlusion. A computed tomography scan was performed (Fig. 1b) and it revealed closed-loop obstruction of the small bowel with a transition point into the right inguinal area and free fluid. Surgery was mandatory and a laparoscopic approach was attempted, suspecting an acute small bowel obstruction. The first trocar was placed in periumbilical position using an open technique and other two additional trocars were introduced into the right and left flanks. Laparoscopy demonstrated the presence of a Richter's hernia entrapped in the orifice of an inguinal hernia (Fig. 2a). The bowel appeared hyperaemic, but viable without sign of strangulation or perforation. Carefully, the hernia was reduced (Fig. 2b) and the orifice was closed with a continuous suture (Fig. 3). The post-operative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged after 5 days. Richter's hernia is an abdominal hernia in which only part of the circumference of the bowel, usually distal ileum, is entrapped in an orifice which is large enough to allow only a part of the loop to pass. It represents 5–15% of the strangulated hernia and the most common location is the femoral ring (36–88%). The possibilities of development in previous trocar incision has been reported, with an incidence that varies from 0.2 to 3%. Diagnosis can be difficult because symptoms and clinical courses are variable, depending on how much circumference of the loop is entrapped. Frequently, the patient complains of nausea and vomiting but the bowel function can be conserved, otherwise the presentation may be an adhesive small bowel obstruction or an acute abdomen due to perforation of the loop. The treatment is the reduction of the incarcerated loop. The repair of the defect and a prompt surgical procedure are the key to avoid complication because this type of hernia progresses quickly to gangrene. Commonly, Richter's hernia is misdiagnosed or missed because there is an absence of pathognomonic signs and usually an explorative laparotomy is performed. Acute small bowel obstruction is one of the most common causes of emergency surgical operations and about one-fifth of hospital admissions for acute abdominal pain are related to bowel obstruction. Laparotomy is the standard surgical procedure, but laparoscopic treatment may be attempted and can be advantageous in selected patients. Several benefits have been reported using a mini invasive technique in terms of reduction of post-operative mortality (1.5%), morbidity (14.8%) and shorter length of hospital stay. Furthermore, studies conducted on animal models have demonstrated a significant reduction in the creation of new adhesions although a difference in terms of recurrence of small bowel obstruction after a laparotomy or a laparoscopy has not been proved yet. Main technical difficulties encountered using a laparoscopic approach are the reduced working space due to the distension of the ileus and the fragility of the loops. The conversion rate reported varies from 17 to 33% and the principal reasons for this are: the impossibility to determine the cause of the bowel obstruction, the presence of a strangulated bowel which needs resection and the creation of accidental enterotomies (incidence 3–17.6%). To try to reduce this risk the placement of the first trocar in a region without prevision scars is recommended, with an open technique. Different studies have tried to establish criteria to predict in which cases it is reasonable to start with laparoscopic approach. Up until now few conditions have been identified and correlated with a lower rate of conversion and are: (i) high experience and laparoscopic skills of the surgeon; (ii) bowel diameter inferior to 4 cm; (iii) distal small bowel obstruction; (iv) absence of signs of perforation and strangulation; and (v) small bowel obstruction due to a single band or simple adhesion. Laparoscopic treatment of small bowel obstruction due to Richter's hernia can be performed by an experienced surgeon, after accurate patient selection. Further studies and above all randomized trials or prospective studies are necessary in order to define the real


Eco-economic development model of thermal power plant is to be analyzed using the system's point of thermal power plants, making up the material flow cycle, reduce waste emissions. After investigation, ecological and economic construction of thermal power plant fly ash utilization patterns mainly desulfurization project and project-based ecological economic model.


Of three branches of Altaic family, Manchu and Mongolian belong to Manchu-Tungusic and Mongolian language group respectively. Because of close ties between Manchu and Mongolian, there exists much correspondence in relatives and pronunciation. In this paper, author based on an analysis of the use and distribution of affixes in plural nouns and the forms of plural nouns of these two languages, elaborated their primal forms in common and paronymous relationship between them, and points out that their plural affixes probably have common origin.


.......................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... vi CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES................................................................................ix TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. xiii CHAPTERS PART I


The invention provides a processing method of a USB socket, the USB socket and a mobile terminal. The processing method of the USB socket comprises the following steps: blanking and punching to form a strip forming piece; forming a first groove in the strip forming piece; bending the strip forming piece at a preset position of the strip forming piece to form a first support and a second support, and forming an accommodating groove, wherein the preset position is positioned at other position, except the first groove, of the strip forming piece; welding and connecting the first support and the second support; and mounting and fixing a USB tongue plate body in the accommodating space so as to obtain the USB socket. Through the scheme, the strip forming piece obtained through blanking and punching is bent at the preset position to form a shell of the SUB socket, so that the thickness of the USB socket and the widths on the left side and one the right side of the USB socket can be reduced; and moreover, the processing technology is simple, so that the technical problem that the processing of the USB socket in the prior art is complicated in process and low in production efficiency is solved.


In recent years, situational judgment tests (SJTs) have made strong inroads in assessment practices. Despite the importance of scoring for the validity of SJTs, little attention has been paid to di ff erent SJT scoring methods. This study investigated the in fl uence of scoring methods on the criterion-related validity of SJTs. We examined fi ve di ff erent consensus scoring methods (i.e., raw, standardized, dichotomous, mode, and proportion scoring) and several integrated scoring methods for scoring the same SJT. Results showed that one of the most popular scoring approaches (raw consensus scoring) is associated with an extreme response tendency and yields the lowest scale validity of all scoring approaches examined. Moreover, the mean item validity of midrange items was good only when they were scored by the mode consensus method. Thus, this study extends previous work (McDaniel et al., 2011) by deepening our understanding of how di ff erent scoring methods improve the validities of SJTs. Our fi ndings suggest that using scoring methods that control the in fl uence of extreme response tendency on the scores of SJTs yields higher validities. Finally, this study is the fi rst to suggest that scoring SJTs with integrated methods yielded higher mean item validities than using any single method. Hence,


Saint Petersburg Telegraph Agency (SPTA) was set up in 1904. For the first time in the Russian history this agency became independent from foreign news agencies (Reuter, Wolf, Havas etc.). In this article the reasons, motives and processes in Russian news agencies' independent development in the first quarter of the 20th century have been studied.


The limited dynamic range of conventional digital cameras is a well-known problem. A common solution is to apply high-dynamic-range (HDR) techniques over several images acquired using different exposure times. Time-of-flight (ToF) cameras using a photonic mixer device (PMD) are not an exception, since the dynamic range of its dual pixels is also limited. Furthermore, in this case, the saturation of the pixel channels leads to wrong depth measurements. An appropriate solution is the suppression of background illumination (SBI) system designed by the PMD. This system actually extends the dynamic range of the camera by hardware, but it also introduces noise when activated. In this paper, we present an adaptive HDR (AHDR) solution to the problem for the ToF case that overcomes the limited dynamic range of the system, allowing sensing along a theoretically infinite dynamic range with the only limitations of the power of the illumination system and the decay of the SNR with higher distances or lower illumination intensities. Our method is able to detect and segment relevant scene regions responsible for unexpected saturation, i.e., close foreground objects, from the rest of the scene and adjust the exposure times of the acquired images considering them. The results show a reduction in detail losses and a higher SNR in the AHDR raw images, with respect to single acquisitions. This results in a dramatic depth error reduction and effective axial resolution improvement in critical areas, while keeping a high frame rate. In addition, the SBI-related noise is eliminated.


Combining the secondary and tertiary vocational education has become one of the most-researched topics in the fi eld of vocational education studies, and curriculum design is the key. This paper analyzes problems in this respect and proposes some countermeasures and strategies to address these problems.


The Cosmicflows database of galaxy distances that in the second edition contained 8188 entries is now expanded to 17,669 entries. The major additions are 2257 distances that we have derived from the correlation between galaxy rotation and luminosity with photometry at obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope and 8885 distances based on the Fundamental Plane methodology from the Six Degree Field Galaxy Survey collaboration. There are minor augmentations to the Tip of the Red Giant Branch and Type Ia supernova compilations. A zero-point calibration of the supernova luminosities gives a value for the Hubble Constant of (± rand. ± sys.) km s−1 Mpc−1. Alternatively, a restriction on the peculiar velocity monopole term representing global infall/outflow implies km s−1 Mpc−1.


................................................................................................................................................. vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... vii BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................................... vii METHODS ................................................................................................................................................. vii RESULTS.................................................................................................................................................. viii CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................... viii BODY OF REPORT ......................................................................................................................................


During manufacturing,a phenomenon of the false junk will appears when the part is machined and measured by transited process dimension on the condition of craft datum and design datum non-coincidence.The cause of false junks,the determination of tolerance zone and the false junks zone formulations of multi-loop size of chain were give under the analysis of a example.Some methods to reduce or prevent the false junks were pointed out.


This paper is intended to provide some reference materials for future design of building with built-in wind turbine, by reviewing the pros & cons of using wind turbine in building, classifying the installation types of wind turbine in building, and analyzing the representative examples. Research method includes the navigation of related homepages, the search of reference documents, and the analysis of collected materials. Some conclusions can be summarized as following: There are some advantages & disadvantages on using wind turbines in building. Installation types of wind turbine in building can be classified as 'on the top of building', 'concentrator within a building facade', 'between multiple buildings', and 'on the side of a building'. There seems to be various purposes in applying wind turbines for sample buildings, such as design factor for national or urban symbolization, supporting tool for low income housing, image enhancement for high energy consuming building, and expressing tool for organization's mission. Wind turbines have been installed in various kinds of building such as office, residence, mixed use, parking, airport, school and so on. Energy by wind turbine can cover some part(around 10%) of all energy consumption in sample buildings. Buildings with wind turbine also adopt other renewable energy source, various low energy strategies and sustainability in building construction.


Aims: The aims of this study were to assess the incidence of hospital-admitted severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the adult population in Norway, and to determine whether there were differences in the epidemiological characteristics of severe TBI between rural and urban regions. Methods: A prospective population-based study on adults with severe TBI admitted to the Norwegian Trauma Referral Centres during the 2-year period (2009–2010). The electronic patient register was searched weekly for ICD-10 diagnoses of intracranial injuries (S06.0–S06.9) to identify patients. Severe TBI was defined as lowest unsedated Glasgow Coma Scale Score ≤8 during the first 24 h after injury. Results: The annual age-adjusted incidence was estimated at 5.2/100,000 in 2009 and 4.1/100,000 in 2010. The highest frequency of hospitalized patients was found among the youngest and the oldest age groups. The most common causes of injury were falls and transport accidents. The highest in-hospital case-fatality rate was found among the oldest patients. There were consistent epidemiological characteristics of severe TBI from both rural and urban regions. Conclusions: The incidence of hospital-admitted patients with severe TBI in this national study supports the declining incidence of TBI reported internationally. No major differences were found in epidemiological characteristics between the urban and rural parts of Norway.


Speaking competence is one of the basic competences in senior high school
students, it is a must have competence in learning english. However, there are some
problems that mostly emerge in achieving this competence, specifically in reading
news item text. The problems are the lack of students' English vocabulary, their lack
of comprehension in using correct sentences and the discomfort they feel caused by
the lack of creativity of teachers in managing the learning process in classroom. In
order that students could comprehend news item text, the writer selects group
investigation as a technique used in teaching this topic. This technique is applied in
whilst-teaching phase by giving students half of the news text as their task to
investigate the text given. Group investigation consisted of four stages: (1) Planing,
(2) Action, (3) Observation, (4) Reflection. The writer concluded: First, Group
Investigation also improves the students' speaking ability by (a) increasing the
students' pronunciation, grammatical, vocabulary, and fluency, (b) by reducing the
students' reluctance to speak, worry of making mistakes, and afraid of being laughed
at by other students. Second, Group Investigation improves the students' participation
in speaking (a) the students learnt how to investigate a certain problem and to solve
the problem using English, (b) how to share, (c) how to discuss, (d) how to give their
ideas, (e) how to accept other opinions, and (f) how to present their ideas. So, by
using group investigation, it is expected that teachers could maximalize their roles in
increasing students' speaking competence. The writer also hopes that the technique
used could give positive contributions in teaching speaking competences in order to
improve students' competence in conveying the news.


The identification of conditions for improving the functioning of domestichigher education institutions by substantiating changes in the structure, relations and mentality ofdifferent categories of personnel using the well-known technologies of strategic planning oforganizational development is carried out.It is determined that the creation of an additional virtual structure within the institution ofhigher education in the form of a platform for the formation and achievement of collectiveconsensus will be aimed at creating an environment in which the improvement of the quality ofhigher education will become the central theme of social discourse, where the formation of anew professional ethos will become a unifying basis for the participants. , and new mediaplatforms will provide the necessary publicity and transparency. That is, as outlined in thestrategy for reforming higher education, the platform for achieving collective consensus will playa role of the "media platform" of higher education institution.It is proved that the large-scale introduction of strategic planning technologies requiresradical changes in the methods and styles of management of higher education institutionmanagement, the leaders of its main process and resource departments, leading executives -professors and academic staff. At the same time, the necessary, oriented to ensure the subjectsubjectiverelationships of change must be initiated and implemented in the practice of subjectsubjectiverelationship with subordinates, it is the leaders of all levels of the university hierarchy,which requires additional research on the problem of necessary changes in models leadership indomestic institutions of higher education, the main focus of which is the renunciation oftraditional leadership in favor of intellectual with the indisputable requirement of the ability ofany leader to combine collegial and managerial approaches in the management of highereducation institutions.


This paper reports the microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) and electrochemical behavior of carbon steel (API 5LX) in the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria Bacillus cereus ACE4 (a Gram-positive bacterium) and Serratia marcescens ACE2 (a Gram-negative bacterium). Weight loss studies and metallographic analysis of the metal API 5LX exposed to a simulated corrosive environment showed that the bacterium ACE4 caused severe pitting corrosion than that of bacterium ACE2. As part of biodegradation studies, the impact of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) on diesel degradation was investigated along with reduction of total hydrocarbons. It was clearly observed that, during the biodegradation experiment in the presence of B. cereus ACE4, the content of the total hydrocarbons decreased significantly due to their metabolism induced by AHH enzymes when compared to S. marcescens ACE2. Degraded petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel) act as a good nutrient for bacteria, which in turn increases the proliferation of...


Generation of quasi-monochromatic terahertz (THz) using multimode Coherent Cherenkov Radiation (CCR) on the order of 0.1 THz was investigated. The intensity and frequency of CCR were measured directly by a Michelson interferometer and a bolometer.


One hundred and twenty Syrian golden ham- sters were infected with Schistosoma mansoni cercariae and 20 served as negative controls (group I). Of the S. mansoni-inkcted hamsters, 20 served as positive controls (group II) and 100 hamsters were treated for 12 weeks post-infection by loading with S. mansoni adult worm antigen. Animals were divided into groups according to the dose of adult worm antigen injected: group III (5-fold increase in circulating antigen concen- tration), group IV (10-fold increase), group V (20-fold increase), group VI (40-fold increase), and group VII (80-fold increase). Each of the groups was subdivided into four groups (sacrificed at 1, 2, 4 or 7 days after initiation of antigen loading or the corresponding time points in the case of the control groups). At sacrifice, blood and urine were obtained for laboratory assess- ment (serum creatinine, protein, albumin, cholesterol and urinary proteins). Kidney, liver and spleen tissue specimens were obtained for light, immunofluorescent and electron microscopic examinations. At sacrifice, significant proteinuria, hypoalbuminaemia and hyper- cholesterolaemia were observed in S. mansoni-'mfected hamsters when compared with negative control animals. Histopathologic assessment showed changes compatible with those previously reported, mainly immune complex glomerular deposits, mesangial pro- liferation and renal amyloid deposits. Significant labor- atory improvement was observed in animals treated with antigen loading, especially those treated with 80-fold antigen excess and sacrificed at 7 days post- initiation of treatment. Histopathologic evaluation showed significantly less immune complex glomerular deposits, less mesangial hyperplasia, and less amyloid deposits in hamsters treated with antigen loading. It is concluded that induction of antigen excess by anti- gen loading induces biochemical and histopathologic regression of schistosomal-specific nephropathy in S. mansoni-infected Syrian golden hamsters.


The most high power warships adopt engaging transmission in other countrys.Basing on engaging transmission type,the high power CCG transmission system is depicted in this paper.The CCG transmission can effective reduce energy consumption.Four engines and twin shafts CCG transmission and engaging CCG transmission and integration proplusion system CCG transmission is depicted and analysed.We discuss the high power CCG transmission system commonness problems,it establishs foundation for CCG transmission system.


A high amorphous content Fe-based amorphous coating was prepared by the activated combustion high-velocity air-fuel (AC-HVAF) spraying method. According to the thermodynamic transformation theory of amorphous alloys, the crystallization of the fractional crystallized amorphous alloy is the transformation of residual amorphous phase, and its transformation enthalpy should be proportional to the phase content of residual amorphous phase. The coating was crystallized by different heat treatment methods. The nanocrystal content in the heated treating coatings and the fractional transformation enthalpy were measured by DSC analysis. The crystallization of the coating was detected. The experimental result basically matched with the data of theoretic forecasting.


Abstract Archidona Viaduct is located on the high-speed railway line between Antequera and Granada, in the province of Málaga (south of Spain). The structure is a railway bridge with a total length of 3150 m, having expansion joints only at the abutments and presently the bridge with longest continuous deck between joints in the world. Besides, it is constructed in an area of seismic actions. In order to solve the problems related to the significant length between joints, the deck has been designed with a composite steel–concrete cross section (twin-girder type), with constant depth and typical span length of 50 m. The deck solution is similar to that of the "Arroyo de las Piedras" Viaduct, which was the first composite steel–concrete high-speed railway bridge in Spain. The design of the substructure is based on seismic resistance strategy and the need to allow for significant displacements of the deck due to thermal and rheological effects. Special attention was paid, both in the design and during construction, for easy and prompt delivery of construction detailing and elements using systematization as a guideline by making full use of precast construction and highquality control standards for the steel fabrication.


Hospitals have become overcrowded and overburdened and at the same time have become a major source for viruses and pathogens to breed and spread. Even the testing mechanism and kits are limited in number and are very expensive to manufacture. We propose a mechanism using Machine Learning, Neural network techniques, and hardware to create a commercial inexpensive pre-screening device for such diseases. This device is designed for conditions that can be easily detected by analyzing the cough audio signals and have distinct cepstral coefficients. This device can then help us reduce the burden on the healthcare system as we can pre-screen and only send patients that are more likely infected to the hospital.


Marketing concentrates on the customers' wants and needs and so emphasises it as an essentially human centred activity. Engineering involves the application of scientific principles in order to develop new things or solve problems. The challenge facing engineers is to understand the 'softer' issues essential if new products are to satisfy customer wants and needs. Engineering and marketing interact primarily in the product development and product life cycle management elements of marketing. The author concentrates on these areas. The role of marketing in technology is continually to relate the scientific activity to the ultimate user. Through disciplined techniques as practised by marketing professionals it is possible to improve the new product development process. With ever faster advances in technology and shorter and shorter product life cycles the relationship between engineering and marketing needs to become closer in order to ensure the survival of the enterprise.


The Asiatic isopod Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 was collected in 2007 in Arcachon Bay (SW France), where the species occurs in a variety of habitats, both in the intertidal and at shallow depths. This species, native to the Sea of Japan, may have been accidentally introduced in Arcachon Bay with oyster transfers or as fouling on ship hulls.


Enzyme electrophoresis of three species of Pleurodema (38 specimens) collected from six sites in northwestern Argentina resolved 44 allozymes for 15 loci. Pleurodema cinerea and P. borellii, which are morphologically similar, are believed to be reproductively isolated by habitat differences. Although the genetic distance was smallest between the two P. borellii populations, P. borellii was not genetically distant from P. cinerea (average values for Nei's and Rogers' intersite genetic distance indices (D) were 0.155 and 0.229, respectively). Pleurodema tucumana was genetically distant from both P. cinerea and P. borellii (average Nei's D = 1.918; average Rogers' D = 0.799). A comparison of mating calls also suggested that P. cinerea and P. borellii are very similar to each other. The calls of P. borellii and P. cinerea differed only in average pulse rate (100.4 and 59.9 pulses per second, respectively) but this difference may have been temperature related. No conclusive evidence was found in this study to ...


We propose a new compact long period fiber grating (LPFG) fabricated using the photo-elastic effect and a heat-shrinkable tube. Our proposed LPFG consists of an optical fiber, a screw and a heat-shrinkable tube. The temperature characteristics of the LPFG are investigated experimentally and reveal the feasibility of its use a temperature sensor.


This article offers a mathematical model to calculate the laser plasma′s parameters on the basis of its related physics knowledge. By testing, we can use the model to get basically coincident result with the one got in another way.


Spirulina is an algal microorganism that comes in four species. It is a green growth microorganism are widely used in water quality determination and monitoring. Profound learning and convolutional neural systems are turning into a broadly utilized strategy for picture classification in a number of domains. Moreover, Deep-Learning and Convolutional Neural Networks are yielding better outcomes and utilize strategy in a variety of picture classification problems. Computerized discovery of Spirulina is one of the most top research topics in the field. For this study, a broad spirulina picture dataset was specifically built. This paper presents the outcomes of a study which utilised Convolutional Neural Network technology in the spirulina discovery problem in order to ascertain whether it is appropriate to identify Spirulina. A comprehensive spirulina picture dataset was specifically devised utilizing an artificial picture augmentation technique on real pictures of spirulina gathered from waterways in Turkey. The dataset covers distinctive light conditions and it was computationally expanded from 60 original sample pictures to 1000 pictures. In this study, a customized Convolutional Neural Network configuration that settles the 4-class spirulina detection and identification problem from an extensive set of microscopic pictures are proposed. Outcomes are examined and compared with those of past investigations. We present a preliminary investigation that utilizes the Convolutional Neural Network in the problem of discovering spirulina.


The occurrence and the history of Neotropical mammal specimens in the collections of naturalistic museums in Rome, Italy, and their scientific utilization is here reviewed. These specimens belong to several scientific expeditions made after the discovery of the new Continent. The oldest specimens date back to the famous Museum of Athanasius Kircher at the Collegio Romano (1651) and to the Museo Zoologico della Università di Roma that was established inside the University of the Pontificial State (Archigymnasium) (1823). Many of these early specimens are now lost due to the complex history of Roman scientific museology, but some specimens are now available mainly in two institutions, the Museo Civico di Zoologia (established in 1932) and the Museo di Anatomia Comparata "Battista Grassi" of "Sapienza" University of Rome (1935). Among the numerous specimens, is noteworthy the presence of a hairy long-nosed armadillo, Dasypus pilosus, the first record in an Italian zoological collection and the 26th known specimen of this species in world museums. More recently, some Roman researchers have maintained a scientific interest for Neotropical mammals, including primates, with collaboration with South American mammalogists. A greater historical knowledge of scientific activities concerning the work of Italians researchers on Neotropical biodiversity should be pursued.


In a focus group setting, we examined how young adults responded to six fear appeal Public Service Announcements. We tested whether the young adults' ratings of Public Service Announcements' effectiveness were explained by the variables identified in the fear appeals literature: fear (i.e., graphic content and fear arousal), perceived threat (i.e., perceived likelihood of consequences and perceived severity of consequences) and perceived efficacy (i.e., perceived self-efficacy and perceived response-efficacy). We found that a model including all predictors explained over 70% of the variation in effectiveness ratings with four of the predictors having statistically significant beta coefficients. In addition, the most influential predictor of effectiveness was the level of fear aroused by the Public Service Announcement. We also found that males and females responded differently. While fear arousal was clearly the most influential predictor of effectiveness ratings by each gender, males' effectiveness ratings were also significantly influenced by the level of graphic content in the Public Service Announcement and females' effectiveness ratings were also significantly influenced by their perception of the likelihood of the consequences of the threat. We use these and other findings to draw conclusions about the design of effective fear appeals to young adults.


Bag-of-Words (BOW) models have recently become popular for the task of object recognition, owing to their good performance and simplicity. Much work has been proposed over the years to improve the BOW model, where the Spatial Pyramid Matching technique is the most notable. In this work, we propose three novel techniques to capture more refined spatial information between image features than that provided by the Spatial Pyramids. Our techniques demonstrate a performance gain over the Spatial Pyramid representation of the BOW model.


We investigated the effects of acute prolonged exercise (marathon running) on cardiac function and myocardial perfusion. Cardiac dimensions and function were measured in seven endurance‐trained men using echocardiography before and repeatedly after marathon (42.2 km) running (at 10 min, 150 min, and 20 h). Myocardial perfusion and perfusion resistance were measured using positron emission tomography and 15O‐H2O before and 85–115 min after running. Echocardiographic indices showed only mild and clinically non‐significant changes in cardiac function after running. Rate‐pressure‐corrected basal myocardial perfusion (0.89±0.13 vs. 1.20±0.32 mL min−1 g−1, P=0.04) was increased after running. Also, adenosine‐stimulated perfusion tended to be higher (3.67±0.81 vs. 4.47±0.52 mL min−1 g−1, P=0.12) and perfusion resistance during adenosine stimulation was significantly lower after running (26±6 vs. 18±3 mmHg min g mL−1, P=0.03). Plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration was significantly increased after running. These results show that marathon running does not cause marked changes in cardiac function in healthy men. Basal perfusion was increased after exercise, probably reflecting changes in fuel preferences to increased use of FFAs. Strenuous exercise also seems to enhance coronary reactivity, which could thereby serve as a protective mechanism to vascular events after exercise.


This paper presents a performance analysis of a baseband multiple‐input single‐output ultra‐wideband system over scenarios CM1 and CM3 of the IEEE 802.15.3a channel model, incorporating four different schemes of pre‐distortion: time reversal, zero‐forcing pre‐equaliser, constrained least squares pre‐equaliser, and minimum mean square error pre‐equaliser. For the third case, a simple solution based on the steepest‐descent (gradient) algorithm is adopted and compared with theoretical results. The channel estimations at the transmitter are assumed to be truncated and noisy. Results show that the constrained least squares algorithm has a good trade‐off between intersymbol interference reduction and signal‐to‐noise ratio preservation, providing a performance comparable to the minimum mean square error method but with lower computational complexity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between total productive maintenance (TPM), kaizen event (KE) and innovation performance (IP) for Malaysian automotive industry using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Design/methodology/approach
The samples were selected from the list of Proton and Perodua automotive industry. The number of collected respondents was 238 respondents. An SEM technique was used in the study. In order to test the reliability and validity of the instrument, reliability analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted.

Findings
Based on the results, KE does not affect the relationship between TPM and IP. However, the impact of TPM on IP increases with mediating of KE for Malaysian automotive industry. Thus, this study has shown that empirical test results prove that the implementation of TPM and KE has improved the IP for Malaysian automotive industry.

Research limitations/implications
This study only focused on the Malaysian automotive industry. The other limitation in this research is the number of factors and limited measurement in this study. Only a few TPM, KE and IP measurements were considered. By using the SEM technique, four TPM constructs, three for KE constructs and three for IP measures were developed and verified. Therefore, this study can assist the researchers and practitioners to the practice of TPM, KE and IP for Malaysian automotive industry.

Originality/value
This research provides fundamental knowledge and direction for researchers in further research as well as practitioners to constantly improve IP through the implementation of TPM and KE for Malaysian automotive industry.


xii between the estimated Blood pressure features and the pooled features from Electrocardiography and Photoplethysmography. The segments associated to (very) strong correlations (spearman correlation coefficients above 70%) were assembled to define the training group in the cross validation. This enabled to test the influence, in the built models, of the inclusion of strongly correlated segments of the biosignals, instead of the entire biosignals. At last, the influence of the implemented calibration procedure both in the beginning of the surgery (through the computation of a recursive least squares method) and during the surgery (including a derivation of Pulse arrival time) was studied. These models were validated within British Hypertension Society and Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation protocols, which are considered to be the standards on the evaluation of blood pressure automated measuring systems. These protocols depend on the distribution of the differences between the real and the estimated Blood pressure values. The measuring system to be accepted within the British Hypertension Society protocol requires that at least 50%, 75% and 90% of the mentioned differences to be within 5, 10 and 15 mmHg, respectively, while the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation demands the standard deviation and the mean of the differences to be lower than or equal to 8 mmHg and 5 mmHg, respectively. The best performing model according to the implied standard protocols didn't require neither extra electrocardiogram sensors nor the implemented calibrations. This corroborates the key role of the included range of Photoplethysmography features. Pulse pressure estimation was the only to fulfill the two protocols' requirements while Diastolic blood pressure and Mean arterial pressure estimations only met British Hypertension Society recommendations. At last, Systolic blood pressure estimation didn't meet neither British Hypertension Society nor Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation protocols. Overall, the strong relationship between blood pressure and Photoplethysmography was corroborated for this data. Larger heterogeneous population would have to be tested in order to be presented reliable conclusions on the continuous and non-invasive Blood pressure estimation solely from Photoplethysmography.


The purpose of this research is to examine, via a questionnaire survey,the relationship between participation in an exercise class and social consciousness in a regional setting and to infer this causal relationship with the use of SEM. The questionnaire was formulated in accordance with our belief that 'trust', 'association', 'exchange' and 'social participation' are the core concepts of social capital. The results of such analysis yielded four 'structural factors' within ten items.  The results of structural equation modeling yielded the following results: the correlation between 'factor 4 is social participation' and factor 3 IE 'association' was .343, and between factor 3 is 'associated' and factor 1 IE 'trust' was .307 - indicating a relatively weak correlation. The correlation between factor 3 'association' and factor 1 '(perceived) importance' was .289 - indicating a relatively weak correlation. In addition, the indices that reveal the degree of relevance were GFI=.968, AGFI = .945, CFI = .909 and RMSEA = .050, indicating a high degree of relevance.  This research thus revealed that participation in an exercise club lead to consciousness with respect to 'social participation'within a community and the possibility of creating a horizontal network. It became apparent that participants with a certain degree of social consciousness were more likely to participate in sports activities. At the same time, such participation, by creating 'general trust, contributes to the stability of and within a community.


In deep submicron VLSI circuits, interconnect delays dominate MOSFET gate delays. Conventional buffer insertion method reduces delays at the cost of valuable chip area. Consequently, alternative methods are essential. Current mode interconnects have lesser delay than voltage mode circuits and also consume lesser chip area. In the present work, superiority of current mode over voltage mode interconnects is analyzed. The simulative analysis is carried out using Tanner EDA tools.


Research, innovation and entrepreneurship are cornerstones of a country's economic growth. Nations which build knowledge, encourage innovation, and promote a culture of entrepreneurship could survive in this globally competitive era. Countries that have increased their investments in research and innovation have better prospects for their future. Recently, Gulf countries have started reforming their higher education systems and research institutions for transforming from national resources-based economies to knowledge- based economies. The manifestation of these endeavors can be seen from the restructuring of existing educational institutions and opening of new research and foreign universities and institutes in the GCC.In addition, there is a great research surge in the Gulf for establishing innovation centers, center of research excellences, research chairs, technology transfer offices, entrepreneurship programs which may help them transferring their knowledge and technology from universities to industries. It is evident that the patent filing ratio is also growing day-by-day and institutions are introducing lucrative financial incentives and rewards for the inventors and innovators. Besides, several spin-off companies have been established through universities, and faculty and students are encouraged to come forward with their innovations for commercialization.The major purpose of this special issue is to introduce the World to these new reforms in education, research and technology transfer of the Gulf countries. It also covers the newly introduced management practices and strategies for technology transfer, present a broad range of papers ranging from success stories, case studies, and comparative analyzes, etc. In addition, the adopted models for knowledge exchange and technology transfer by the GCC countries could provide good motivation and indications for other developing nations.The first paper of this special issue by Al-Sudairi and Bakry (2014, pp. 177-184) is concerned with exploring the state of Saudi Arabia with regards to the main knowledge issues of the Global Innovation Index (GII) in order to direct its future knowledge development. This paper considers the knowledge issues as the core of innovation; and it provides an approach for their integrated assessment. It uses the approach to assess the state of Saudi Arabia in these issues relative to the countries enjoying distinct development, e.g., Brazil, Russia, India, China, Malaysia, and South Korea.The second paper by Al-Khouri (2014, pp. 185-195) explores the role of a governmentinitiated digital identity management system in supporting the creation of a stronger digital economy in the world. The author gives an overview of the identity management infrastructure development initiatives in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and briefly examines their potential to revolutionize and transform existing economic models. The author argues that the new smart identity cards issued in these countries may serve as secure tokens that connect digital and physical identity, create trustworthy environments, and strengthen confidence in e-transactions critical to the growth of the digital economies.In the next paper, Erogul (2014, pp. 196-212) provides an overview of entrepreneurial activity and attitude in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the purpose of facilitating stakeholders to create new knowledge-based activities. The paper takes a multi-faceted nature of entrepreneurship to reveal the range of environmental conditions that affect the attitudes and activity of Emirati entrepreneurs. The paper concludes with a set of policy implications to help improve the external environment and promote entrepreneurship as a career choice.In the fourth paper, Tseng (2014, pp. 213-224) presents comprehensive research to investigate technological innovation, knowledge sources and collaboration innovation in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. …


The present study explores how violin teachers can assist students in optimizing the memorization process. Authors who have investigated this theme have highlighted the importance of effective access to stored information through the use of specific cues (retrieval cues). In physical education, the same cues have been investigated as a means of improving communication, as well as promoting meaningful learning and memory optimization. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify teaching cues and their use in one-to-one violin lessons. This research topic emerged from my experience as a violin teacher when I began to question myself: "Why should I repeat some instructions so many times for some students? Why do they remember some instructions instead others?" These, and others questions, led me to undertake a detailed observation of teacher and student communication behind classroom doors. The results of this study highlighted the importance and the need to systematize the use of teaching cues as a teaching tool.


This chapte r serve s as an introduction to polymer-base d solar cells. The fundamenta l processe s involved in converting sunlight into electrica l power by semiconductin g polymers are described . This includes the opti cal, electrical, and mechanica l propertie s of polymers that are either ben eficial or detrimenta l for solar cell design and fabrication. The method s for processin g polymer solar cells and state-of-the-ar t efficiencies and cell lifetimes are reviewed .


A monolithic CCD channel filter consisting of transmit-and-receive filters for a PCM codec was fabricated using a triple-layer polysilicon gate and NMOST process. This filter employed both a minimum phase design with a greatly reduced number of taps and newly developed overlapping-double-split-electrode (ODSE) structure in order to minimize chip area and eliminate excess capacitances at all of the sensing nodes. Improved filter performance, such as negligible degradation in frequency response, reduced power dissipation, a significantly small common mode signal, and consequently, much improved signal-to-noise ratio are discussed. Frequency responses, harmonic contents, and noise spectral densities are presented as experimental results. Signal-to-noise ratio was measured to be 84 dB with a total harmonic distortion of less than 0.4 percent.