Objective To evaluate the usefulness of thoracic excursion as a biomarker in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods We measured the forced the vital capacity (FVC), thoracic excursion, baseline-to-peak diaphragmatic compound muscle action potential (DCMAP) amplitude, diaphragm thickness at full inspiration (DTfi), Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score for muscle strength, and arterial partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide and administered the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale. The test–retest reliability of thoracic excursion was determined. Results and Conclusions Thirty-four patients with ALS and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy participants were enrolled. Thoracic excursion measurement had excellent test–retest reliability (intraclass coefficient: 0.974). Thoracic excursion was more strongly correlated with FVC (r = 0.678, p < 0.001) than DCMAP amplitude (r = 0.501, p = 0.003) and DTfi (r = 0.597, p < 0.001). It was also correlated with ALSFRS-R score (r = 0.610, p < 0.001), MRC sum score (r = 0.470, p = 0.005), and mMRC Dyspnea Scale score (r = −0.446, p = 0.008) and was the most sensitive parameter for assessing dyspnea and FVC. Thoracic excursion decreased as FVC declined in the early and late stages, there were no differences in DCMAP amplitude and DTfi between the early and late stages, and ALSFRS-R score and MRC sum score decreased only in the late stage. Thoracic excursion was well correlated with respiratory function and is useful for predicting respiratory and general dysfunction in patients with ALS regardless of stage.


After making thorough study on mechanism of nitrogen and phosphorus removal, it was found that biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorus is two independent and overlap biological processes. The overlap represents that denitrification, phosphorus uptake and nitrogen removal occur under anoxic condition due to contribution of phosphorus accumulating organisms. On basis of this conception, a new two-sludge treatment system (consists of two SBR system with different functions) was developed for biological denitrification and removal phosphorus. It gives a successful solution to the different requirement of nitrifying bacteria and PAOs on sludge age and the contradiction between denitrification and anaerobic phosphorus release from PAOs. The process has advantages of steady operation and good treatment effect, and is particularly suitable for treatment of wastewater with low BOD 5/ TP ratio.


Background: Separation of the core build-up material from the prefabricated post is a common problem. In view of the above it is imperative that the clinician now has uncertainties as to which material to select for core build- up and how to retain a core build-up material on the prefabricated posts to achieve optimum results. Lot of research has been done on the retention of core build- up material to the surface of posts. There are however very few studies to show that surface treatment of post-head could improve retention of new materials with the prefabricated post-head. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the retention of different core build- up materials with the sandblasted prefabricated metal posts and non sandblasted prefabricated metal posts. Method: A total of Sixty Self Cure Acrylic Resin blocks were fabricated. Out of sixty blocks, thirty blocks with sandblasted prefabricated metal post and thirty blocks with non sandblasted prefabricated metal post were fabricated. Core build- up was done using three different core build- up materials –High Viscosity Glass Ionomer Restorative material, Dual Core Composite Resin Restorative material, Silver Alloy Glass Reinforced Glass Ionomer Restorative material. Tensile bond strength was determined using an Instron Universal testing machine. Result: A statistically significant difference was found between tensile bond strength of sandblasted and non sandblasted prefabricated metal posts and core build-up materials of each group. Conclusion: Tensile bond strength of all three core build- up materials with sandblasted prefabricated metal posts was greater as compared to non sandblasted prefabricated metal posts of each group. Tensile bond strength of High Viscosity Glass Ionomer Restorative material with sandblasted prefabricated metal post was greater as compared to other two core build-up materials.


The authors describe a facile procedure for size-controlled synthesis of gold nanoparticles based on the reduction of Au3+ (HAuCl4) using Preyssler heteropolyacid (H14[NaP5W30O110]) under UV irradiation. Preyssler plays the role of green reducing agent and also efficient stabilizer. This method allows the synthesis of uniform hexagonal nanoparticles with an average size that is tunable between 1.35 and 86.7 nm by varying the gold ion concentration, molar ratio of gold ion to Preyssler, and Propan-2-ol amount. The authors found that there is a critical ratio for [Au3+]/[Preyssler] in which two opposing trends in the size of nanoparticles would happened.


The geometry and analysis on Finsler manifolds is a very important part of Finsler geometry. In this article, we introduce some important and fundamental topics in global Finsler geometry and discuss the related properties and the relationships in them. In particular, we optimize and improve the various definitions of Lie derivatives on Finsler manifolds. We also characterize the gradient vector fields and obtain a gradient estimate for any smooth function on a Randers manifold.


A model of myelinated nerve axon was used to study the initiation and propagation of action potentials for a variety of extracellular electrical stimuli. Frankenhaeuser-Huxley nonlinearities were incorporated at each of several nodes in a longitudinal array, and the extracellular current pulse was modeled as a spatial distribution of voltage disturbance along the membrane. Results from the model were compared to data from human sensory experiments and from animal electrophysiological experiments. Effects of polarity, electrode position, pulse duration, and biphasic oscillation frequency were examined. Biphasic pulses have higher excitation thresholds than monophasic pulses, provided the duration of a single phase is short relative to the time constant of the membrane depolarization process. The shapes of strength/duration curves from sensory experiments conform well to model predictions for monophasic stimuli. Strength/frequency curves derived from the model are similar to those from sensory stimulation with sinusoidal currents. The shapes of strength/frequency curves can be explained by membrane integration effects at high frequencies and membrane leakage effects at low frequencies. The model predicts lower thresholds for cathodal than for anodal stimulation: the predicted degree of polarity selectivity is confirmed by direct stimulation of axons in animal experiments, but is at variance with the selectivity found in human transcutaneous stimulation.


Praise for Understanding SOA with Web Services"This book does the best job of describing not only "where we are" in the timeline of enterprise integration efforts, but also providing strategic guidance for where we need to be. The authors have worked diligently to break down the integration problem into functional areas, and send you down the path of strategic integration utilizing XML Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture as the vehicle of choice. You will love this book!"-Daniel Edgar, Architect, Portland General Electric"E-Government needs a comprehensive guide to SOA with Web Services standards and best practices for implementation to get from the current "as is" to the future "to be" architecture. This book meets that need superbly."-Brand Niemann, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Semantic (Web Services) Interoperability Community of Practice, U.S. Federal CIO Council."There are many books on SOA available today, but Understanding SOA with Web Services stands out from the pack because of its thorough, outstanding coverage of transactions, reliability, and process. Where most SOA books focus on integration and architecture basics, Lomow and Newcomer fearlessly dive into these more advanced, yet critical, topics, and provide a depth of treatment unavailable anywhere else."-Jason Bloomberg, Senior Analyst, ZapThink LLC"This book provides a wealth of content on Web Services and SOA not found elsewhere. Although the book is technical in nature, it is surprisingly easy to read and digest. Managers who would like to keep up with the most effective technical strategies will find this book required reading."-Hari Mailvaganam, University of British Columbia, Vancouver"I have been teaching companies and lecturing on SOA and XML Web Services for years and sort of felt at home with these technologies. I didn't think anyone else could teach me anything more significant about either of them. This book surprised me. If a person teaching SOA and Web Services can learn something from this book, you can too. This book is a must-read for all architects, senior developers, and concerned CTOs."-Sayed Y. Hashimi, SOA Consultant"Newcomer and Lomow are no doubt the industry luminaries on the topics of Web Services, Service-Oriented Architecture, and integration. This book is sure to be a must-have for developers and architects looking to take advantage of the coming wave of standards-based, loosely coupled integration."-Ronald Schmelzer, Senior Analyst, ZapThink, LLC Author of XML and Web Services Unleashed (Sams, 2002)"The author makes it quite clear: SOA is an organizational principle and Web Service technology is a means to realize enterprise solutions according to this. SOA is the federative concept of nature and efficient societies. The book is an excellent starting-point to discover the new world of an IT-infrastructure adjusted to efficient business strategies and processes in a global value-add network."-Johann Wagner, Senior Architect, Siemens Business Services Author of Foderative Unternehmensprozesse"Finally, here's a third-generation Web services book that delivers pragmatic solutions using SOAs. Newcomer and Lomow draw from their years of real-world experience ranging from developing Web services standards to hands-on applications. Listen to them."-DOUG KAYE, author of Loosely Coupled: The Missing Pieces of Web Services Host and producer, IT Conversations (www.itconversations.com)The definitive guide to using Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web services technologies to simplify IT infrastructure and improve business agility. Renowned experts Eric Newcomer and Greg Lomow offer practical strategies and proven best practices for every facet of SOA planning and implementation. Newcomer and Lomow pick up where Newcomer's widely read Understanding Web Services left off, showing how to fully leverage today's latest Web services standards for metadata management, security, reliable messaging, transactions, and orchestration.Along the way, they present specific approaches and solutions for a wide range of enterprise integration and development challenges, including the largest and most complex.Coverage includes Why SOA has emerged as the dominant approach to enterprise integration How and why Web services provide the ideal foundation for SOA Underlying concepts shared by all SOAs: governance, service contracts, Web services platforms, service-oriented development, and more Implementing service-level communications, discovery, security, data handling, transaction management, and system management Using SOA to deliver application interoperability, multichannel client access, and business process management Practical tutorials on WS-Security, WS-Reliable Messaging, WS-AtomicTransactions, WS-Composite Application Framework, WS-Addressing, WS-Policy, and WS-BPELWhether you're an architect, developer, or IT manager, Understanding SOA with Web Services will help you get SOA right-and achieve both the business and technical goals you've set for it.© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.


The chief goal of our current research was to establish the anticancer property of Colchicine, a fresh compound isolated from Indigofera aspalathoids. Hep3B cell lines were treated with Colchicine for 24 hrs, 48 hrs and 72 hrs. MTT assay was performed to check the degree of cytotoxicity. The morphological changes of colchicine treated cell lines and control groups were observed using phase contrast microscope. Acridine Orange/Ethidium Bromide (AO/EB) double staining, Propidium iodide (PI), were done to check apoptosis of Hep3B cell lines. Cell cycle analysis was employed to determine apoptosis in Hep3B cell lines and degree of apoptosis was quantified using flow cytometry. Colchicine induces cell death in Hep3B cell lines in a dose dependent manner. The IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) value of colchicine on Hep3B cells was calculated as 344.25 μg/ml. Control group cell lines showed normal morphology, whereas the Colchicine treated cells showed altered morphology, also cells were not properly adhered to the culture flask. Colchicine induces apoptosis in Hep3B cell lines. Thus, it could be used as an active member of pharmaceutical or therapeutic concerns for the drug development.


The proper interpretation of serologic tests for syphilis is dependent upon a basic knowledge of serology. The limitations of the various tests must be recognized. Since the incidence of syphilis has increased in the past few years, most noticeably in the teen-age group, the geriatric group of the future may well reflect the greater morbidity, especially if newly infected persons a t the present time are not promptly and adequately treated.


We report a rapid artifact-compensated 2D large-field mosaic-stitching (rac2D-LMS) approach streamlined to a nonlinear optical microscope being capable to image a 12×12 mm2 area with 130 G bits of data in 60 seconds without post-processing.


the study analyzes existing structures and structures in which people at risk of poverty, usually suffering from social exclusion, can participate in social tourism facilities, and indicates ways to improve the efficiency of social tourism provision. It refers to the role of this type of tourism in consolidating political stability Between Russia and foreign countries and the social benefits that accrue to societies from social tourism activity


One key issue in managing a large scale 3D shape dataset is to identify an effective way to retrieve a shape-of-interest. The sketch-based query, which enjoys the flexibility in representing the user's intention, has received growing interests in recent years due to the popularization of the touchscreen technology. Essentially, the sketch depicts an abstraction of an shape in a certain view while the shape contains the full 3D information. Matching between them is a cross-modality retrieval problem, and the state-of-the-art solution is to project the sketch and the 3D shape into a common space with which the cross-modality similarity can be calculated by the feature similarity/distance within. However, for a given query, only part of the viewpoints of the 3D shape is representative. Thus, blindly projecting a 3D shape into a feature vector without considering what is the query will inevitably bring query-unrepresentative information. To handle this issue, in this paper we propose a Deep Point-to-Subspace Metric Learning (DPSML) framework to project a sketch into a feature vector and a 3D shape into a subspace spanned by a few selected basis feature vectors. The similarity between them is defined as the distance between the query feature vector and its closest point in the subspace by solving an optimization problem on the fly. Note that, the closest point is query-adaptive and can reflect the viewpoint information that is representative to the given query. To efficiently learn such a deep model, we formulate it as a classification problem with a ∗Corresponding author Email addresses: email@example.com (Yinjie Lei), email@example.com (Ziqin Zhou), email@example.com (Pingping Zhang), email@example.com (Yulan Guo), email@example.com (Zijun Ma), firstname.lastname@example.com (Lingqiao Liu) Preprint submitted to Elsevier March 4, 2019 ar X iv :1 90 3. 00 11 7v 1 [ cs .C V ] 1 M ar 2 01 9 special classifier design. To reduce the redundancy of 3D shapes, we also introduce a Representative-View Selection (RVS) module to select the most representative views of a 3D shape. By conducting extensive experiments on various datasets, we show that the proposed approach can achieve superior performance over its competitive baselines and attain the state-of-the-art performance.


The chemical discontinuity at the extratropical tropopause (ExTP) and stratosphere‐troposphere exchange (STE) pathways are investigated using the long‐lived chemical species carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) measured by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). A relative coordinate, tropopause latitude (TpLat), is developed based on potential vorticity (PV) from the Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS‐5) data assimilation system. TpLat is defined as the shortest geographic distance along an isentropic surface from the extratropical tropopause (ExTP) to an observation location. Our results show that this coordinate highlights the sharp chemical discontinuities at the ExTP more clearly than the widely‐used equivalent latitude coordinate. Geographical distributions of STE pathways and barriers are investigated based on meridional gradients in O3 abundances in the new TpLat coordinate in conjunction with analysis of Rossby wave breaking between 330 K and 360 K. In northern hemispheric (NH) winter (Dec–Jan–Feb), NH STE pathways are seen mainly above the northeast Pacific. In NH summer (Jun–Jul–Aug), the NH pathway covers all longitudes at 330 K. However, it is mainly located above Asia at 340 K and above the Atlantic and the North Pacific at 350 K and 360 K. In the southern hemisphere (SH), there is a weaker STE region above the Eastern Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific, at and above 350 K in SH winter, and a stronger STE region over the Southeastern Pacific at these levels during SH summer. In addition, this study shows NH PV gradients are slightly stronger near the ExTP in summer than in winter even though the subtropical jet is weaker and Rossby wave breaking is stronger in summer than in winter.


This study established the relationships between personal, situational and socio-cultural factors and intimate partner abuse among couples in Nigeria. A multiple regression statistical procedure was employed in analyzing the data collected from 200 participants randomly selected from five ministries in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Results obtained indicated that the three variables when combined effectively predicted intimate partner abuse (F-ratio of 5.756 significant at 0.05 alpha level). Taken separately, situational and socio-cultural factors contributed significantly to the prediction (t = 2.146, p t = 2.284, p (t = 1.705, p > 0.05). On the basis of these findings it was suggested that counselling psychologists should design intervention strategies to promote life-skills training in schools and out-of-schools settings. These include age-appropriate content on sexuality, conflict resolution, building healthy relationships and personal safety. Also, it was suggested that couples should be informed on the long-term health and social consequences of physical and sexual abuse.


Presents a review of graph theory, analyzing the existing links between abstract theoretical results and their practical implications using graph theoretical models and combinatorial algorithms. Includes extensive examples to illustrate the mathematical concepts when introduced. Treats subjects often excluded in other texts such as path algebra flow with grains, multicommodity flows, and the analysis and design of approximate algorithms.


Literature review. Definition of design and the design process. Case studies. Research questions and methodology. Organizing design activities for innovation. A model on collaboration approaches in design activities.


The authors investigate the influence of the layer sequence on transconductance, leakage current, gate-source capacitance, and current gain cut-off frequency and the optimization of InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs (high electron mobility transistors) for application in optoelectronic receivers. A medium sheet concentration range around 3.0 to 3.5*10/sup 12/ cm/sup -2/ seems to be a good compromise between high-frequency behavior, system sensitivity, and technical aspects for 1- mu m gate length HEMTs. In that range one observes no strong dependence of the leakage current, transit frequency, and gate-source capacitance on the carrier sheet concentration. Further lowering of the doping level and/or a simultaneous increase in doping layer thickness is problematic since the gate to channel distance has to be increased and the contribution of the doping layer to the 2-D electron gas (2DEG) becomes less effective. On the other hand the processing of a wafer with lower doping levels is less critical with respect to the gate recess control. The thermal stability of these layers will be improved also.<<ETX>>


The detonation temperature is acquired by measuring and calculating the emission spectrum of detonation processes. The emission light wave is sampled by optic fiber probe(implanted in explosives) and the detonation spectrum is measured by optic multichannel analyzer(OMA) within the visible light band. The detonation temperature is derived from fitting the calculated emission spectrum of the temporal detonation processes with Plank blackbody formula. The detonation temperatures of TNT explosives with densities ρ = 1 484 g/cm 3 and ρ = 1 570 g/cm\+3 are 2 028\^2 K and 2 086\^1 K with the least square errors 5\^5 and 6\^9 respectively. The detonation temperatures of Hexal explosives with densities ρ = 1 720 g/cm 3 and ρ = 1 840 g/cm\+3 are 2 916\^4 K and 3 063\^5 K (least square errors are 5\^4 and 5\^3). There is no line type spectrum in the detonation spectra of TNT, so they can be fitted by Plank formula directly. But with Hexal, there are two distinct peaks in the spectrum, so the spectrum must be smoothed before fitting it to obtain a high accuracy.


A scattering solution for long, thin, dielectric cylinders of arbitrary cross section and electrical length is presented. The infinite-cylinder scattering formulation is shown to be an asymptotic solution for the finite-cylinder case, regardless of cylinder electrical length or cross section. The generalized Rayleigh-Gans (GRG) approximation for circular cylinders is shown to be a specific case of this general formulation, and therefore, the assertions of GRG are explicitly proven. A moment-method (MM) solution for thin circular cylinders is likewise presented and is used to examine and quantify the asymptotic errors associated with this solution.


2.1 Abstract 32.2 Introduction 42.3 Materials and Methods2.3.1 Data source 42.3.2 Reliability coefficient G - statistical background 52.3.3 Method of estimation of the reliability coefficient fromthe screening programme 62.3.4 Method of statistical analysis 62.4 Results 72.5 Discussion 82.6 References 102.7 Appendix A 12Tables and figures 13


This study was aimed to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates (UAE) K-12 school managers are conversant with school organizational climate (SOC) in maintaining school performance (SP), and to explore which school organizational climate (SOC) dimensions is mostly observed by the school managers in upholding the school performance. This study also investigated the significant relationship between SOC and school performance (SP) and established whether SOC as a whole or any of its dimensions is a significant predictor of school performance based on the perceptions of UAE K-12 private school managers. The questionnaire used was adapted from Jeswani and Dave, and Lasisi. Utilizing the mean scores, correlation matrix and regression analyses, the findings revealed relatively moderate positive awareness of the school managers about SOC. The findings also showed that there is a significant correlation between SOC and SP, and that SOC is also a significant predictor of SP. Nevertheless, of the SOC dimensions, only communication and supervision were discovered as significant predictors of school performance. On the other hand, orientation, decision-making, and reward management proved to be critical dimensions of SOC as they were found wanting in contributing to the prediction of the study's model. This issue can be resolved by enhancing the approach used in implementing orientation, decision-making and reward management within the context of the UAE K-12 schools. As an implication, UAE government, education policy makers as well as school managers are encouraged to create and sustain SOC as it proved to be a significant predictor of school performance.


ABSTRACT An alternative method for obtaining analytical solutions of the time-independent Schrödinger equation (TISE) is developed and applied to 1-dimensional model quantum systems of interest in atomic and molecular physics. The method is based on proposing a wave function that is a product of two functions, one of them an integrating factor. The differential equation resulting from operating the TISE on the product wave function is compared with a differential equation with a known solution. This comparison produces a system of differential equations for the integrating factor. This system of equations is easily solved for model quantum systems such as the harmonic oscillator, the hydrogen atom and the Morse oscillator. The method presented simplifies some approaches shown in textbooks, based on asymptotic analyses of the TISE, and power series methods with recurrence relations. In addition, the method presented here facilitates the understanding of the relationship between the ordinary differential equations of the mathematical physics and the TISE of physical models as the harmonic oscillator, the Hydrogen atom, and the Morse oscillator.


We take it for granted that administering growth factors such as EPO or GM-CSF causes a selective increase in patients' hematocrit or granulocyte/monocyte counts, respectively. These selective effects of cytokines are in part due to lineage-restricted expression of their cognate receptors on late


The role of university is expanded from the human resource provider to demand site. The mission is also changed as a entrepreneurs. There is increasing in the needs of the university and industry cooperation(UIC), but cultural difference also happened. To successfully cooperation, we have to consider stakeholder's perspective and the size of companies and universities. Through the best c luster of innovation, we can figure out the key success factors of the universities, researchers, and leaders, and suggest the new characters for successful UIC.


Lai, P. S., Lien, T. J., Chen, R. S., and Tsay, J. G. * 2004. The occurrence of downy mildew of vegetable soybean and its detection by PCR. Plant Prot. Bull. 46: 155-162 Downy mildew, a consistently occurring foliar disease of soybean, caused some defoliation, reduces seed quality and size, and may lower yield. Kaohsiung No.5, a new cultivar of vegetable soybean, developed in 1996, was found that downy mildew infected not only leaves but also pods and seeds in spring season from 2000 to 2001. This study confirmed that the stained pods and seeds of vegetable soybean that was caused by P. manshurica. The sequence data showed only 1 % nucleotide difference in the ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 sequences of Peronospora manshurica in this study and P. manshurica from NCBI accession no. AB021711 posted by Saito, M. in 1999. A specific detection method based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed for identification of P. manshurica. Samples were subjected to 30 cycles of amplification. Each cycle consisted of denaturation for 1 min at 92℃, annealing for 45s at 55℃, and primer extension for 30s at 72℃. Amplified product of DNA was examined in an agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide. With the primer pair PM3/PM4, an expected 283-bp fragment was amplified only from vegetable soybean pods infected with P. manshurica, but not


In a sensor network, sensor data messages reach the nearest stationary sink node connected to the Internet by wireless multihop transmissions. Recently, various mobile sensors are available due to advances of robotics technologies and communication technologies. A location based message-by-message routing protocol, such as Geographic Distance Routing (GEDIR) is suitable for such mobile wireless networks; however, it is required for each mobile wireless sensor node to know the current locations of all its neighbor nodes. On the other hand, various intermittent communication methods for a low power consumption requirement have been proposed for wireless sensor networks. Intermittent Receiver-driven Data Transmission (IRDT) is one of the most efficient methods; however, it is difficult to combine the location based routing and the intermittent communication. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a probabilistic approach IRDT-GEDIR with the help of one of the solutions of the secretaries problem. Here, each time a neighbor sensor node wakes up from its sleep mode, an intermediate sensor node determines whether it forwards its buffered sensor data messages to it or not based on an estimation of achieved pseudo speed of the messages. Simulation experiments show that IRDT-GEDIR achieves higher pseudo speed of sensor data message transmissions and shorter transmission delay than achieves shorter transmission delay than the two naive combinations of IRDT and GEDIR in sensor networks with mobile sensor nodes and a stationary sink node. In addition, the guideline of the estimated numbers of the neighbor nodes of each intermediate sensor node is provided based on the results of the simulation experiments to apply the probabilistic approach IRDT-GEDIR. Copyright © 2015 IFSA Publishing, S. L.


This paper shows that multinational enterprises (MNEs) spur the adoption of industrial robots. First, I document a positive and robust correlation between multinational production and robot adoption using a new cross-country industry-level panel. Second, using detailed data about Spanish manufacturing, I combine a difference-in-differences approach with a propensity score reweighing estimator and provide evidence that firms switching from domestic to foreign ownership become about 10% more likely to employ robots. In terms of mechanism, increased foreign market access via the parental network generates incentives to scale-up production, and robot adoption is one way to achieve this goal. An empirical model of firm investment reveals that multinational-induced robot adoption raises productivity but decreases the labor share at the industry level. These results provide new evidence about the efficiency versus equity trade-off that policymakers face when attracting MNEs.


The act of play has been regarded as vital to mental health, emotional, physical and intellectual human being. All these elements are experienced in the play independent mode. The Hospital playroom provides better conditions for the recovery of the child in the facility, minimizing trauma and situations making their hospital stay more joyful. This dissertation proposes a study of phenomenological existential inspiration AIMING: unveiling-the sense of being an educator in the playrooms of the Children's Hospital of Vitoria/ ES, focusing on the experiences of them narrated and thoroughly experienced (or experienced) subjective modes of them be in the objective world, experiences which will be narrated by them in this spacetime of playfulness that lends itself to Hospital Pedagogy in their strands of school attendance (special education in an inclusive perspective) and outside school settings where hospital pedagogy composes a branch of Social pedagogy, thus offering care to children and young people especially, but not only (which may include adults and seniors). THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: the central theoretical term of our theoretical perspective is Care (SORGE), as in BOFF (2012) and WALDOW (1993; 1998; 2006) and Experience in PINEL (2004; 2006) to be (have been) somehow creator of this space-time playing (and study) at the hospital, consulting both a No School Education (Social Pedagogy) and School (School Pedagogy).The anguish of being an educator of playrooms it seemed to us that you will be in a feature essential to understanding their existence of being in the craft, as well as their interaction with oneself, with others and with the world of Hospital Playrooms. We understand the meanings of happiness, calm and happiness, courage and professionalism, transform (action), law and education and humanization and pain as elements that composed the complex mosaic of Care (Sorge) – own that it proposes to take care of themselves, each other and the things of the world by the bias of caring.


Single sign-up (SSU) is a new authentication mechanism that enables a legal user with a single credential to be authenticated by multiple service providers in a distributed computer network. Recently, Chang and Lee proposed a new SSU scheme and claimed its security by providing well-organized security arguments. In this paper, however, we describe that their scheme is actually insecure as it fail to meet credential privacy and soundness of authentication. Specifically, we represent two impersonation severities. The first attack allows a malicious service provider, who has easily communicated with a legal user twice, to resume the user's credential and then to impersonate the user to deal with the resources and services offered by other service providers. In next attack, an outsider without any credential may be able to enjoy network services freely by impersonating any legal user or a nonexistent user. Here, we identify the flaws in their security arguments to explain why attacks are possible against their SSU scheme. Our attacks also apply to another SSU scheme proposed by Hsu and Chuang, which has inspired the design of the Chang–Lee scheme. Moreover, by adapting an efficient verifiable encryption of RSA signatures proposed by Ateniese, we propose to improvement by repairing the Chang–Lee scheme. We project the formal study of the soundness of authentication as an open problem.


Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany, and the European Union agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015. Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit the scope and content of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from various nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the other signatories. Throughout his campaign, President Donald Trump denounced the JCPOA. He said that, if elected, he would "renegotiate with Iran—right after … enabl[ing] the immediate release of our American prisoners and ask[ing] Congress to impose new sanctions that stop Iran from having the ability to sponsor terrorism around the world." So far, however, the Trump administration has kept the agreement in place. The United States has continued to acknowledge Iran's compliance with the terms of the JCPOA and has waived various sanctions against Iran in compliance with its own obligations thereunder. Iran, by contrast, has charged the United States with failing to live up to its own JCPOA commitments.


ABSTRACT Schema Focused Therapy (henceforth SFT) is an integrative theory of therapy, which includes aspects of various different therapeutic approaches, but does not stress mentalization. Mentalization Based Therapy (henceforth MBT) focuses on mentalization, but lacks several causes for impaired mentalization found in SFT. The current article aims to fill these respective gaps. To this end, an assimilation of mentalization into SFT is suggested, causes of impaired mentalization are collected from SFT, and practical implications are discussed.


English idiom is an important component part of English language and English culture. A proper translation of English idiom is necessary for an effective intercultural communication. This paper reveals the cultural traits contained in English idioms, and presents an analysis of the difficulties in the translation of English idioms into Chinese. Based on Nida's principle of meaning priority, the paper also examined the methods applied to the translation of English idioms.


A Taguchi robust design process was applied to both a fully connected and a fragmented 16-member company level network topologies for the optimization of the V-NAD scheduler and Type 4 message parameters, as specified in the MIL-STD-188-220B protocol. We applied Taguchi's robust design method to the ITT TIDB Phase III OPNET/sup TM/ network model associated with the IOT&E, over a set of seven fragmented net configurations, in order to investigate mutual interference in the tactical Internet. The results demonstrated that the most critical control factors among MIL-188-220B parameters pertained to the voice activity net access delay (V-NAD) scheduler algorithm. Other control factors were found to have little or no affect on net performance. From these results, three optimum V-NAD scheduler sets (specified as "fast", "moderate", and "slow") were selected for investigating net performance over the seven fragmented net configurations. This paper presents an analysis of network behavior in various fragmented configurations over a range of optimum V-NAD sets. In addition, the performance results of the selected V-NAD parameter sets are compared against the current default scheduler algorithm (L-NAD). It is demonstrated that the "slow" V-NAD scheduler set represents a robust solution in the fragmented net environment.


An Globalization or G11N ensures that products have relevant features and functionalities that help them connect with geographically dispersed users. Localization, which is a part of globalization, deals with how a product can be modified to serve a regional market. During localization of a product one key step is translating the product document from one language to another. Translation can be erroneous and can lead to generation of toxic sentences in the translated language. So such sentences need to be classified and flagged. Performing this classification manually is time consuming and exhausting so we propose a NLP based approach to automate this multi label text classification task. It is observed that many multi label classification tasks have dependencies or correlations among labels. Existing methods generally ignore this relationship between the labels. Hence, we propose two methods one using Multi channel CNN network and the other using BERT to solve this classification problem.


Extensible Markup Language (XML) is rapidly emerging as the standard for exchanging business data on the World Wide Web. For the foreseeable future, however, most business data will continue to be stored in relational database systems. This paper discusses the emergence of XML and the benefits of its use in conjunction with relational database management systems in the development of a web application in System Analysis & Design courses. We will begin with a brief overview of the application and its architecture and will then discuss the various XML technologies that have been used (XSL, XSLT, XML Schema, and XQuery), as well as our experiences with each. The authors will explore the relationship between native XML databases and relational databases. Finally, the authors will discuss whether XML technologies are robust enough to completely replace relational systems and the benefits/detriments of such a replacement.


Abstract Nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) are a class of toxic environmental pollutants. We have studied the photodecomposi-tion of a series of nitro-PAH including: 1-, 3-, and 6-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene; 1-, 2-, and 4-nitropyrene; 2- and 9-nitroanthracene; 9-nitrodibenz[a, c]anthracene, and 7-nitrodibenz[a, h]anthracene. The resulting reaction mixtures were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. The results suggest that among the isomeric nitro-PAH, the isomer with its nitro substituent perpendicular to the aromatic moiety decomposes faster than those with a parallel nitro orientation.


Issue/problem

A wide consensus exists about the role of patient involvement in the management of diabetes (DM) in order to achieve the desired therapeutic goals. However, major problems in dealing with psycho-social problems have been documented in usual care. In particular, diabetes-related distress (DRD) is common amongst people with DM and hampers efforts to self-manage their condition.

The BENCH-D AMD study, part of the DAWN 2 initiatives in Italy, aims to evaluate whether a benchmarking activity based on …


Recent studies indicate that worldwide asthma control is not yet as good as expected. What are the reasons? Are guidelines still not implemented in clinical practice, are the anti-asthma drugs less efficacious than expected or are current assessment tools inadequately evaluating the level of asthma control in some patients? Assessment of asthma control is currently based on questions about specific asthma symptoms and the need for on-demand relievers. Juniper's Asthma Control Questionnaire was first published in 1999. The Asthma Control Test was subsequently developed and a similar pair of questions became integrated into the international Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommendations. Measuring the current level of asthma control enables healthcare workers to assess the effectiveness of treatment, to better judge the risk of future exacerbations and to adapt medication use accordingly. However, years after implementation, these assessment tools are still being questioned on these grounds:


Top-down and bottom-up model integration turns useful in order to inform the dec ision making process and management strategies with respect to greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation projects; in particular, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). A bottom-up model specification comprises peculiarities of a manufacturing process, type of technology, productive efficiencies of different en ergy inputs and production volume, production capacity and age (i.e. technological obsolescence) of an industrial plant. However, because access to such detailed information faces large barriers, bottom-u p and top-down model integration turns to be necessar y. A top-down approach relies on general propositions and assumptions on the conditions of aggregate industry operations. Methodological assumptions in top-down settings are framed considering primary an d integrated iron and steel making. This study specif ies a bottom-up energy intensity function for a representative mini-mill using electric arc furnace (EAF) technology for a given year t . On the other hand, a sector aggregate energy intensity index (AE II) is calculated for the whole iron and steel industry in period t-n. The integration of both approaches allows tracing back the energy profile of a representative 1 PhD Researcher, Management of Technological Change, Cleaner Production Technologies and Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction, University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich, United Kingdom, NR4 7TJ email@example.com 2 M.A., PhD, CEng, MICE, CEnv, Reader in Environmental Science, Energy Science Director, University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich, United Kingdom, NR4 7TJ, HSBC Director of Low Carbon Innovation email@example.com mini-mill. Afterwards, an average amount of CO 2 emissions is estimated on a cumulative basis from specific energy consumption in a mini-mill for a specified period. Opportunities to reduce CO 2 emissions are suggested since the productive efficiency of existing EAF in a representative faci lity is still far beyond that of latest-best-practice technologies.


Hydroa vaccinforme‐like lymphoproliferative disorder (HVLPD) is a rare T‐cell lymphoproliferative disorder driven by the Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV). It was initially designated under the 2008 WHO classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues as a distinct entity but has been recently reclassified as a lymphoproliferative disorder under the 2016 revision of the 2008 WHO classification of lymphoid malignancies. HVLPD mainly affects Asian, Central, and South American children. It is rarely seen in adults. Although HVLPD may initially be limited to cutaneous involvement and run an indolent course, some patients may develop a rapidly aggressive course. We report a case of an elderly Chinese man with cutaneous‐limited disease and a favorable course. A review of adult cases of HVLPD published in the English literature, with comparison to our case, is also presented in this paper.


PV generation variability and uncertainty significantly influence operation of the power systems with high penetration of PV sources. The potential impact of distributed PV generation on ramp rate requirements in the IEEE 24-bus system is evaluated in this paper. PV generation and load are, here, probabilistically modeled using actual data and curve fitting approach. Probabilistic unit commitment (UC) based on unit de-commitment method combined with two point estimate method (2-PEM) is used to determine the ramp rate required to compensate for the PV power fluctuations. The proposed method considers stochastic factors and their effects on the dispatch results. Two scenarios are studied to evaluate the dispersed PV generation and its potential to reduce the ramp rate requirement of conventional generators. Ramping requirements of the system are calculated for 6 hours ahead scheduling period and different PV penetration levels, which lend the authors a hand in a conclusion concerning the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method.


Abstract Proximal point method is one of the most influential procedure in solving nonlinear variational problems. It has recently been introduced in Hadamard spaces for solving convex optimization, and later for variational inequalities. In this paper, we study the general proximal point method for finding a zero point of a maximal monotone set-valued vector field defined on a Hadamard space and valued in its dual. We also give the relation between the maximality and Minty's surjectivity condition, which is essential for the proximal point method to be well-defined. By exploring the properties of monotonicity and the surjectivity condition, we were able to show under mild assumptions that the proximal point method converges weakly to a zero point. Additionally, by taking into account the metric subregularity, we obtained the local strong convergence in linear and super-linear rates.


Previous research suggests that higher education (HE) employees experience comparatively high levels of job stress. A range of instruments, both generic and job specific, has been used to measure stressors and strains in this occupational context. The Work-Related Quality of (WRQoL) scale is a measure designed to capture perceptions of the working environment and employees responses to them. This study explores the factor structure of the WRQoL for HE employees. Survey data were collected from workers in four HE institutions in the UK (N = 2136). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) methods were used to investigate the explanatory power of using a six factor model (Job and Career Satisfaction, General Well-Being, Home-Work Interface, Stress at Work, Control at Work and Working Conditions) to explain the data. A first-order CFA model fitted the data well, whilst a second-order model produced an acceptable fit. Results provide evidence to support the use of the WRQoL psychometric instrument as both a multidimensional and uni-dimensional measure to assess the quality of working life of employees in higher education. The practical utility of the measure to help improve the quality of life of employees working in the HE sector is discussed.


ADO.NET, ASP.NET and three-tier architecture are introduced first. Based on this, four approaches for database access and their implementations in Web application program are discussed based on ADO.NET. Finally, the detailed programs are realized with ASP.NET/C# language.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the apoptosis induced by antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASODN) against survivin and the mechanisms after the hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells transfected with the ASODN.

METHODS
The ASODN was transfected into SMMC-7721 cells mediated by liposomal reagent. The changes of cell cycle and apoptotic rate were detected by flow cytometry. The changes of cell skeleton was observed through confocal microscope. The activity of p38MAPK and caspase-3 were detected by immuno-precipitation and kinase activity assess methods, respectively.

RESULTS
There were control, sense control, 400, 600, 800, and 1 000 ng/ml ASODN groups (I - VI). The apoptotic rats were 0.70%, 0.76%, 2.43%, 7.82%, 23.11%, and 31.35% in groups I - VI, respectively, which in the ASODN-transfected groups were higher than that in the control group (t<or=-9.6, P<0.01). The cell cycle in the ASODN-transfected groups stopped at G2/M phase. The well-arranged structure of microfilament was broken or destroyed, and the average fluorescent intensity of actin were 189.69+/-6.68, 184.23+/-8.76, 173.14+/-8.15, 99.48+/-6.57, 76.69+/-10.05 and 63.80+/-6.79 in groups I - VI, respectively), which in groups IV - VI decreased markedly, compared with that in the control group (t>or=20.9, P<0.01). The activity of p38MAPK increased significantly, when the ASODN was transfected at the concentration of 600 ng/ml or more, so did the caspase-3 activity (the p38MAPK and caspase-3 activity in groups I - VI were 7.03, 7.07, 13.47, 16.37, 43.97, 47.87 and 0.015+/-0.010, 0.014+/-0.002, 0.026+/-0.003, 0.042+/-0.001, 0.093+/-0.001, 0.100+/-0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
ASODN targeting at survivin mRNA can induce G2/M stop, activate p38MAPK and caspase-3. The activated caspase-3 destroys the cell skeleton microfilament system, resulting in apoptosis.


This paper deals with a balanced model reduction for T-S(Takagi-Sugeno) fuzzy systems with time varying state delay. We define a generalized controllability gramian and a generalized observability gramian for a stable T-S fuzzy delayed systems. We obtain a balanced state space realization using the generalized controllability and observability gramian and obtain a reduced model by truncating states from the balanced state space realization. We also present an upper bound of the approximation error. The generalized controllability gramian and observability gramian can be computed from solutions of linear matrix inequalities. We demonstrate the efficacy of the suggested method by illustrating a numerical example.


Small-molecule organic photovoltaic cells (OPVCs) with a hetero- structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/C60/ metal (Ag), ITO/CuPc/C60/Al, ITO/CuPc/C60/CuPc/Al and ITO/Au/CuPc /C60/CuPc/Al were fabricated by thermal evaporation (under vacuum level of about 210-5 torr). Meanwhile the short circuit current Isc and open circuit voltage Voc for these OPVCs under different illumination conditions were performed. The following changes for these devices were made to find their optimum performance: (1) For electrodes, different way of deposition condition (ion sputtering or thermal evaporation) was chosen. The device with optimum power conversion efficiency was obtained by the thermal evaporation. (2) Among these frameworks, the best one is ITO/Au/CuPc/C60/CuPc/Al, because that the inserted CuPc buffer layer can effectively prevent C60 active layer from oxygen exposure and damage during the deposition of upper electrode. (3) The thickness of the film was controlled by the deposition time, the best active layers of thickness were CuPc: 30 nm, C60: 60 nm and CuPc buffer layer 10 nm. These results are consistent with the exciton diffusion length in each active layer. (4) A optimum power conversion efficiency and a small series resistance were obtained when a thin Au film was deposited on top of ITO. Finally, based on the abovementioned results, a mechanism related to the transport and separation of the photo-generated excitons and to the relation of power conversion efficiency versus film thickness was discussed.


The aim of this experiment was to find out the pH tolerance of E.Coli. Hence, in this extended essay there is a comparison of the optical density of E.Coli in different pH levels. These pH levels are chosen to investigate the E.Coli activity in acidic medium.
My research question was "How do different pH levels affect the growth of Escherichia Coli by measuring its optical density via spectrophotometer?"
According to the research question my hypothesis was "As the pH level of the medium increases, it will be more likely for E.Coli to die."
In this experiment spectrophotometric method was used to measure the optical density of E.Coli in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 pH levels. These pH levels are chosen so that experiment includes both acidic and neutral medium and the comparison of E.Coli activity can be made easily. Liquid broths with different pH levels were prepared and were put in bacteriological incubator for 1 day at a stable temperature. After 1 day the optic densities of these liquid broths were measured via spectrophotometer. Optical densities of these liquid broths illustrated the reproduction of the E.Coli. Higher optical density illustrates more reproduction of the bacteria.
The optical density is higher in 6, 7 and 8 pH levels and this means that there is more reproduction of E.Coli in those pH levels. On the other hand the optical density of 3, 4 and 5 pH levels were low comparing other pH levels. As a result of this experiment it can be said that E.Coli can live in neutral and die in acidic medium.


Background and aim In patients with periodontitis biomarkers in gingival crevicular fluid saliva and serum plasma have been analyzed. In the assessment of oral diseases particularly periodontal diseases saliva has emerged as a potential diagnostic tool. Salivary leptin concentration has not been analyzed in populations with chronic periodontitis to observe changes regarding the effect of periodontal therapy. Therefore the objective of this in vivo interventional study was to evaluate the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy NSPT on the levels of leptin in individuals with periodontitis.Methodology Twenty four participants included in the study were divided equally between healthy controls n12 and patients with chronic periodontitis n12. Clinical parameters such as probing depth clinical attachment levels plaque index gingival index and modified sulcular bleeding index were measured. Before and one month after periodontal therapy salivary leptin levels were estimated. Using the student t-test statistical analysis was performed.Results During the assay method leptin was detected in all the 24 patient samples. Between healthy subjects and subjects with chronic periodontitis no statistical significant difference in salivary leptin levels was observed. After NSPT clinical parameter evaluation of patients with chronic periodontitis revealed a significant improvement in the periodontal state. However it is necessary to conduct further interventional research with larger sample to establish the significance of salivary leptin in assessing periodontal health.Conclusion This study concludes that leptin level can be used as a biomarker to evaluate the effectiveness of periodontal therapy in chronic periodontitis patients. To establish a correlation more interventional studies with higher sample size may be required to ascertain the role of salivary leptin in evaluating periodontal health status.


Quality control, construction speed control and fund control are of vital importance in project construction. This paper, on the basis of the author's experience for many years, puts forward some measures to deal with the problems.


Water erosion contributes significantly in soil degradation, and vegetation cover is one of the important factors that influence the intensity of this erosion on the soil. To this end, this study aimed to evaluate soil and water losses by water erosion under natural rainfall in eucalyptus even-aged forest, relating them to limit-values of tolerance in a Red-Yellow Dystrophic Latosol. A standard plot was installed within the forest. From this collection, soil and water collections were carried out, after each erosive rainfall. The estimated soil loss presented and average value of 0.2566 t ha -1 in the study period (six months). The estimated water loss was of 8.36 mm in the study period. These low values found show the sustainability of the studied forest, within the context of erosion, when compared to the soil loss tolerance limit, and to other research findings in native forest and bare soil.


Policy-based network management is a necessity in managing large scale environments. It provides means for separating high level system requirements from actual implementation. As the network size increases the need for automated tools to perform management increases rapidly. Configuring routers and network devices to achieve Quality of Service goals is a challenging task. Using Differentiated Services to dynamically perform this configuration involves defining policies on different network nodes along multiple domains. Policy aggregation across domains requires a unified policy model that can overcome the challenge of conflict detection and resolution. In this work, we propose a unified model to represent and encode QoS policies that will result in efficient and flexible conflict analysis ability. The representation utilizes a bottom-up approach, from the base policy parameters to the aggregation of overall policy across domains with respect to traffic classes. We also present a classification of these conflicts and a simple analysis method for the severity of the conflict.


Personal welcomings, individual assistance, as well as recommendations to inform and buy are becoming an integral part in online retailing. These new so-called personalization elements are assumed to increase the retailer's share of wallet and the customer's satisfaction. However, up to now only little is known about which external factors influence the customer's acceptance of such personalization elements. This chapter discusses the forms of recommendations to buy and how their acceptance can be measured using the well-known Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach. An experiment is used, where volunteers are offered an online shopping experience with individually generated recommendations to buy. The experiment shows how high the acceptance of the generated recommendations is and how close this acceptance is connected to the quality and shopping relevance of the recommendations. Even though the results are limited to the specific recommendation types used, they give important implications for an adequate design of modern online shops.


Due to the increasing progress of context-aware computing, we expose the importance of using context-aware mobile technologies to access social networks. Exploring knowledge in the social networks is a challenge caused by the exploding size of data in these networks. Thus, using ontologies better fits this challenge. We propose, in this paper, an approach to combine these technologies (context, mobile and ontology) together to have a contextualized ontology helping to assist a mobile user in his information retrieval from the social networks. We end up by giving emphasis to our future works.


The talk reviews progress on high-speed InGaAs/InP photodiodes on silicon-based photonic platforms. Recent results from heterogeneously integrated photodiodes based on adhesive die bonding and direct III-V material growth on Si will be discussed.


This paper deals with the changes of tannin, soluble sugar and starch of two non-astrigent type fruits of persimmon during their development. Results showed that the fruit growth and sugar accumulation had two peak periods, following blooming and companying matureness respectively. The soluble sugar mainly consisted of glucose, fructose and sucrose, among which fructose had the largest proportion both in the inital and mature stages of fruit development in all cultivars. PCNA had higher content of sucrose than that of PVNA in almost the whole process. Main . deasringency of the PCNA occurred at the pre-period of fruit development, while that of the PVNA occurred at the near mature time. So some PCNA cultivars which matured later than PVNA was deastringent earlier.Key words non-astringent type fruits of Japanese persimmon, development of fruit, tannin, sugar


Aims The introduction of potentially invasive species through ornamental cultivation or for rehabilitation purposes is a serious environmental problem. They cause damage to biodiversity through loss, increased mortality or 'in situ' selection phenomena in natural flora. Spartium junceum is a Mediterranean shrub that is not native in most areas of the Iberian Peninsula, although it is extensively grown for the rehabilitation of roadsides. We have investigated the effect on the native vegetation of an old S. junceum (Fabaceae) plantation in a conservation area in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula: the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares nature reserve in Madrid. Methods We compared S. junceum stands with the native nanophanerophytic Cistus ladanifer community at different ecosystem properties: soil properties, temporal soil seed bank contents, standing vegetation and net primary production of annual grasslands growing in these shrublands. Important Findings The results highlighted S. junceum's ability to become established in the new environment (marginal areas of the nature reserve) and ensure its successful growth. This is more apparent in northern and eastern exposures where this formation contacts with the core of the best conserved native vegetation in the nature reserve. Soils under Spartium showed a higher nitrogen content, indicating its capacity—in common with other legumes—to fix N, and conferring an advantage over Cistus, which is N-limited. Other soil nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium and calcium and water availability are also higher in Spartium soils than in Cistus. Phosphorus is usually a constraint for N-fixers, but in our study, it is the most significant soil variable in both shrub formations and is important to the success of Spartium. Water availability is a key factor for Mediterranean vegetation, and particularly in autumn when soils are recharged. The Spartium formation is able to retain water as its growth produces a closer canopy than Cistus, thereby preventing water evaporation and contributing to the success of this species. Perennials are more frequent in the standing vegetation than in the seed bank, whereas therophytes are similar. The standing vegetation has therophytes and chamaephytes as the predominant growth forms in Spartium sites, and hemicryptophytes and phanerophytes in Cistus. Therophytes are dominant in Spartium and Cistus seed banks, although the first formation has more species. Spartium has a higher number of hemicryptophytes and Cistus is higher in phanerophytes. Northern and eastern aspects show significant differences in richness—with a predominance of annual weed species in Spartium—and in aboveground net primary production, probably as a consequence of the nutrients present in the soils. Ruderal annual species under Spartium (Bromus tectorum, Chenopodium album) have higher germination rates in the greenhouse than in the standing vegetation, suggesting they are at potential risk if environmental conditions change.


This article analyses the exercise of the right to housing in Europe in the light of European human rights standards. Special attention is given to the European Social Charter Article 31.1 which deals with the right to housing in general and overlaps with paragraph 2 on the prevention of homelessness and paragraph 3 on the affordability of housing costs. The European Convention of Human Rights also includes provisions on the right to housing, such as Article 3 (degrading treatment) and Article 8 (family), which overlap with provisions of the Charter. Together these provisions require States to guarantee citizens the right to receive temporary housing of dignity under all circumstances and access to standard housing without unreasonable delay. The last mentioned requires, in turn, that States have at their disposal a sufficient and sufficiently rotating stock of social rented housing, which is accessible to vulnerable persons and families. The article concludes that a multidimensional indicator is needed to assess the efficiency of the housing programs and measures to prevent and remove homelessness.


errors occur in this as in any other field of surgery. Sometimes, however, a patient and his legal advisers are convinced that a mishap must be self-evident negligence, such as when an arthroplasty dislocates; expert evidence is then made available to the patient and his advisers to indicate that this is not the case. While human error and negligence will just as surely lead to writs and settlements in implant surgery as in other branches of medicine, the golden rule, when dealing with vulnerable patients who have often been in pain and built up optimistic hopes which may not have been realized despite the exercise of all skill, must be to communicate, to explain, to give honest and objective assessments of the likelihood of success, mentioning the predictable complications, such as metal sensitivity, so that the patient can decide for himself whether to accept the treatment that he is offered.


The invention discloses a method for constructing testing software. Through the method, programming personnel conveniently and rapidly construct the testing software, the software has high expandability, the functions of the software can be rapidly expanded under the condition that the software is separated from a compiling environment, the customer requirements are timely met and the requirements can be automatically modified by a user. The testing software is divided into a testing program framework layer, a script interpretation engine and device dynamic link library (DLL) layer and a testing script layer, wherein the testing program framework layer is used for initializing a script interpretation engine, displaying logs, testing required control display and displaying an equipment panel; the script interpretation engine and device DLL layer is used for interpreting a script, operating a control script and connecting a testing script to an interface function of a device DLL; the testing script layer is used for describing a testing process; and a testing command loads a sequence of testing a script execution testing command through the script interpretation engine, so that a variety of testing equipment and the testing processes are met.


A high selectivity and a low internal resistance are key performance properties for ion-exchange membranes in redox flow batteries. Here, the basic zinc-acidic iron double ion-exchange membrane redox flow battery is described. In order to find the best combination of an anion-exchange membrane and a cation-exchange membrane for this design, the H+/OH− permeabilities and the Cl−/Na+ conductivities of different anion-exchange membranes and cation-exchange membranes were characterized and compared. For the investigated anion-exchange membranes, the H permeabilities were found to be in the order of Fumapem © FAA-3 > PTFE-QNPPO > QNPPO > Fumasep © FAB-PK-130, but the same order (from highest to lowest) is observed for the Cl− conductivities. For the investigated cation-exchange membranes, the OH− permeabilities were found to be in the order of Nafion © NR-212 > Fumasep © FKS-50 > Fumasep © FKE-50, while the same order (from highest to lowest) is observed for the Na conductivities. Hence, the choice for a particular ion-exchange membrane in the redox flow battery design should be made based on a trade-off between a high selectivity (low crossover) and a high ion conductivity (low internal resistance).


SYP-Z048 is a novel and highly active fungicide providing excellent control of a broad spectrum of plantpathogenic fungi. It is particularly effective against plant diseases caused by Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, andDeuteromycetes. SYP-Z048 has outstanding protectant, translocation, and residual properties. SYP-Z048 has a novelmode of action and shows no cross-resistance with other fungicides. The product is safe both to users and the environment.SYP-Z048 provided good activity against cucumber gray mold (Botrytis cinerea Pers) in laboratory and field experiments.SYP-Z048 at 200-400 g a.i./ha provided good efficacy in field studies. SYP-Z048 was more efficacious than carbendazim,procymidone, and N-3,5-dichlorophenylsuccinimide against cucumber mold.


Hydrodynamics in a liquid-liquid slug flow in a T-junction microchannel of 600μm diameter, operated under a squeezing regime, was simulated with the computational fluid dynamics method. The slug flow generation simulated shows very good agreement with experimental snapshots where the clear slug formation takes place in the vicinity of the T-junction. The internal circulation within each slug was also obtained, which could make us better understand the hydrodynamics of liquid-liquid slug flow in microchannel.


(1) A method to obtain a scale of subjective time unbiased by the time-order error is suggested. (2) The method gives as by-product some preliminary results on the memory process which gives rise to the time-order error. (3) The method is applied in an experimental study. Two methods, the adjustment method and the reproduction method were used to construct a subjective time scale within the range 1–7 seconds. The former method gave an almost linear R-S curve while the latter resulted in a positively accelerated curve. (4) The time-order error seems to be a very rapid process. The memory curve reaches very near its asymptotic value within a few tenths of a second.


AUTUMN 2002 although perhaps it should have gone beyond 1846, given how Bright went on to make Ireland a cornerstone of his post-League agitation, whilst Cobden and other Leaguers were never more than ambivalent about the place of Ireland in the free trade United Kingdom. Secondly, the book is a study of the mechanics of pressure from without in early Victorian Britain. Whilst McCord provided a breakdown of the formal structure and operational hierarchy of the League, Pickering and Tyrrell flesh out the picture of the limitless capacity of the League to churn out petitions and other memorials, addresses and circulars, newspapers and periodicals, and above all, an endless supply of itinerant lecturers, who seem to have ventured into every corner of the land almost as soon as railway track had been laid down. Thirdly, the authors are most revisionist in the emphasis they place on the League being far more than the tribune of a group of northern Gradgrinds. The connections between the League and organised religion— Anglican and non-conformist—is emphasised, and a whole chapter is devoted to the role of women in the movement. The thorny issue of working-class attitudes towards and membership of the League is given another chapter, and there are some fascinating thumbnail sketches of "operative" Leaguers in the north-west, although perhaps too little on the rise and fall of Chartist antipathy towards the League. Overall, the membership of the League is revealed as a cross-section of mid-nineteenth-century British society. Assorted aristocrats, manufacturers large and small, tenant-farmers, and a range of urban tradesmen, artisans, and shopkeepers comprised the uneasy classes who kept the League going for the best part of a decade. This book succeeds most in bringing to life the culture of the Leaguers, as page after page is devoted to colourful portraits of its lesser-known members, and detailed descriptions of the unfamiliar milieus and habitats in which the League operated. Something is undoubtedly gained by this cultural or social history of the League. We now have a study of the second-most famous agitation of the early Victorian years, which complements Dorothy Thompson's study of the most famous agitation of all: the Chartists. And in many ways, Thompson's 1984 book has clearly been a model for Pickering and Tyrrell. The political history of the League does lose out in this historiographical shift of emphasis. More might have been said in The People's Bread about the ideology of the League, how its history compares with that of other contemporaneous organisations, and, perhaps most crucially, how the League terrified the early Victorian state, particularly in 1842, when Robert Peel blamed Cobden and Co. for the assassin's bullet that killed his secretary. But for those who hunger after evidence of why the League became the template for subsequent extra-parliamentary campaigns at home and abroad, The People's Bread is a real feast. Miles Taylor University of Southampton


A parallel optical fiber Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) and Vernier effect sensor for simultaneous high-sensitivity measurement of relative humidity (RH) and temperature is proposed and verified by experiments. Two sections of a single-mode fiber (SMF) are fixed on the precision displacement platform, aligning them and leaving a small gap between them, and then filling the gap with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyimide (PI), respectively, to form two Fabry–Perot (F–P) cavities. To produce a Vernier effect when two F–P cavities are connected in parallel, the length of two F–P cavities must be accurately controlled to ensure that the free spectral range (FSR) of the two F–P cavities is similar. It is found that the F–P cavity filled with PI is sensitive to RH and temperature, while the F–P cavity filled with PDMS is only sensitive to temperature. Due to the different characteristics of the two F–P cavities, the simultaneous measurement of RH and temperature is realized by constructing the sensitivity measurement matrix. If they are connected in parallel to produce the Vernier effect, the RH and temperature sensitivities of the parallel structure can reach −11.388 nm/%RH and 18.436 nm/°C, respectively. The sensor has potential applications in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, environmental monitoring, food processing, and microbial sensing.


Introduction: To address the increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths in Canada the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) was enacted in May 2017. The GSDOA aims to reduce concerns of police attending overdose events and encourage bystanders to call emergency services. This study explores GSDOA awareness and understanding and the factors associated with GSDOA awareness among people who use drugs (PWUD).
Methods: A cross-sectional drug and harm reduction service use survey containing GSDOA-specific questions wasconducted from October to December 2019 at 22 harm reduction supply distribution sites across British Columbia.Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to assess correlates of GSDOA awareness.
Results: Overall, 54.2% (n = 315) of the eligible study sample (n = 581) reported being aware of the GSDOA. Of respondents reporting awareness, 45.2% and 61.3%, respectively, had a full understanding of when and to whom the GSDOA provides legal protection. In the multivariable model, GSDOA awareness was significantly associated with respondents identifying as cis-men (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.03 [95% CI: 1.30–3.19]); and those who obtained harm reduction supplies frequently (at least a few times/week) compared with those who did not obtain supplies or obtained them less frequently (AOR = 1.78 [95% CI: 1.14–2.76]).
Conclusion: More than 2 years after its introduction, approximately half of harm reduction site clients reported being aware of the GSDOA, and, of these, less than two-thirds had a complete understanding of who is legally protected by the GSDOA. Future GSDOA knowledge dissemination should target PWUD who are less engaged with harm reduction services to improve GSDOA awareness and understanding.


When the conductors of an antenna have length greater than λ/4, where λ is the broadcast wavelength, the current distribution may have nodes where the current vanishes. If so, it would seem that the conductors could be cut at these nodes, creating small gaps, without any effect on the radiation of the antenna. The possibility of nodes in the current distribution of an antenna is suggested by the familiar approximation of Pocklington [1] that the current distribution in a thin, perfectly conducting wire of an antenna is sinusoidal in space and time. A typical example of this prescription is that the current distribution along a center-fed antenna of length L has the form, I(s, t) = I0 sin[k(L/2 − |s|)] cosωt, (1)


Multi-element alloying is one of the methods to improve the properties of TiN coatings,which has been widely investigated.The new development and trends of the researches on multi-elements alloying coatings have been introduced.The processes,structure and properties of the multi-elements alloying coatings of Ti(CxN1-x),(Ti,Al)N,(Ti,Nb)N,(Ti,Cr)N,Ti-Si-N,Ti-B-N,Ti-C3N4 have been described.The perspective of the related research has been given.


A survey of cadmium (Cd) levels in poultry meat from polluted area of Eastern Slovakia is presented. Samples of poultry tissue (72 samples of breast muscle, leg muscle, liver and heart) were analysed for the presence of Cd on atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Unicam Solar 939). Mean values of cadmium in breast and leg muscle, liver and heart were 0.019; 0.021; 0.061; 0.099 mg/kg, respectively. On the basis of presented results of cadmium analyses it follows that its levels in poultry meat are below the highest permissible hygienic limits for Cd (muscle 0.1mg/kg; internal organs 0.5 mg/kg - Codex Alimentarum of the Slovak Republic No. 981/1996). The presented results are higher than those in unpolluted areas. The regular monitoring and control of poultry meat guarantee that a consumer is protected against unfavourable higher values of cadmium.


In CALL, the teaching and learning of the English language is at the centre of much of the discussion. In Phil Hubbard's survey described in this issue, for example, English clearly leads the way, and it is the language focus of the majority of respondents in their CALL work. In a study of my own, looking at the language focus in 177 articles published in edited volumes and major journals on CALL in 1999, I found that English led other languages by a very significant margin: around five times the number of articles focused on English compared to the next language which was French, followed in my case by German, Japanese, Spanish and Italian. Interestingly, in Phil's results and my own there were also a whole string of languages where just one person expressed an interest in that particular language. Whatever the exact figures might be at the present time, there is no doubt that this major concentration on the teaching and learning of the English language has implications for researchers, developers and practitioners who work with languages other than English (LOTE). How might this English language focus impact upon CALL as an emerging field of academic endeavour and as a social and cultural artefact, and what might the influence be upon approaches to design and courseware development? Scholars submitting papers to international journals are increasingly obliged to publish in English if they want their work to reach a broad audience. They are undoubtedly disadvantaged if they are non-native speakers of the language. Who knows how many non-native speakers feel discouraged and do not submit CALL articles because they find the prospect of writing in English too daunting? Native English speakers can be unforgiving too, as in the instance of the editor of Science, who commented:


Levee failures due to floods may results in extensive damage to agricultural land, rural and urban infrastructures as well as human. Manuscript deals with failure and the calculation and assessment of stability of right bank protective levee at Laborec River, and suggests possible remedial measures, such as stabilizing mound, raising the levee crest and drainage of levee body. Classification of embankments, legislation dealing with protective embankments and valid standards, designing and description of failures of protective levees are also briefly mentioned in the paper. GEO 5 programme for geotechnics calculations using Petterson's and Bishop ́s methods were applied for levee stability assessment. Calculations were done for more alternatives. Better results were found out according to applying Bishop ́s method.


1. In November, 1970, Captain Virgil R i n e h a r t of the U.S. Coast Guard presented a paper at the I n t e r o c e a n '70 [1] meeting in Germany on the subject of oceanographic instruments and network systems. In that paper he reported establishment of the U.S. National Data Buoy Project and outlined its objectives. At that time the project had just been established and had received its initial funds — technical goals and methods for accomplishing these goals were being formulated. Considerable progress has been made in the past two years. It is my purpose here to report that progress and attempt an assessment of the future.


Abstract Turbulence measurements from under drifting pack ice illustrate the distribution of turbulent mixing length in the well-mixed layer of the upper ocean. Mixing length (λ ≡ K/u*, where K and u* are the local eddy viscosity and square root of Reynolds stress, respectively) is found to vary inversely with wavenumber at the peak in the weighted vertical velocity variance spectrum: λ = cλ/kmax. This relation provides an empirical tool for making local estimates of eddy viscosity if the Reynolds stress is known, or alternatively, deriving fluxes via the inertial-dissipation method in the outer part of the rotational boundary layer. The vertical structure of λ is described for conditions of (i) neutral stratification (negligible surface buoyancy flux) under thick ice. (ii) stable stratification under rapidly melting ice, and (iii) statically unstable conditions from intense freezing. The last example, obtained during the 1992 Lead Experiment, included dime measurements of turbulent salinity flux, 〈w′S′〉....


Production of forage species like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is often relegated to areas with low inputs of water and fertilizer, therefore, selection should be based on efficient use of these resources. This study examined genotypic variation in switchgrass transpiration efficiency (TE), defined as the weight of dry matter per unit of water transpired, under conditions of water and N stress. Since reports show TE to be correlated with specific leaf weight (SLW) and leaf ash, these easily measured traits were assessed for their potential as predictors of switchgrass TE. In one greenhouse experiment with 9 cultivars (Alamo, Blackwell, Carthage, Cave-in-rock, Forestburg, Greenville, Kanlow, Pathfinder and Shelter) and 2 outdoor pot experiments in Vermont, USA, (in the summers of 1997 and 1998) with 2 cultivars, Alamo and Greenville, plants were grown in closed 5-litre containers in a soil-peat mix or solution culture and subjected to water or N deficit. Cultivars differed in TE; however, TE did not differ between water stressed and well-watered conditions. With decreasing N in solution, TE also decreased. Cultivars differed in their values of TE when grown in nutrient solutions containing 10.0 and 1.0 mM N, but not at 0.3 mM N. Transpiration efficiency was positively correlated with SLW in each experiment and across all experiments (r=0.85). Correlation between TE and leaf ash was inconsistent, with a negative relationship in the N experiment. The results show differences in TE among switchgrass cultivars and show that SLW is consistently predictive of TE.


There is an increasing recognition of the potential importance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for employment, income and poverty reduction in Ethiopia. Although the MSME sector contributes significantly to the national economy, the high failure rate among well established small businesses and enterprises is a matter of major concern. A random sample of 500 small businesses and enterprises selected from five major cities in Ethiopia were followed up for 6 years in order to assess the impact of influential factors that affect the long-term survival and viability of small enterprises. Hazard ratios estimated from the Cox Proportional Hazards Model were used to quantify the impact of key predictors of survival. Businesses that ceased operation were characterised by inadequate finance (61%), low level of education (55%), poor managerial skills (54%), shortage of technical skills (49%), and inability to convert part of their profit to investment (46%). The study shows that participation in social capital and networking (iqqub schemes) was critically helpful for long-term survival. Businesses that did not participate in iqqub schemes regularly were found to be 3.25 times more likely to fail in comparison with businesses that did. Results of the study have implications that could be used for developing policy initiatives that are aimed at fostering long-term growth in small businesses and enterprises. Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2008 Economic Society of South Africa.


The aim of the article is to show the systematic character of the philosophical views of Martin Heidegger based on an investigation of the main methodological prerequisites of his philosophizing (thinking). Five such preconditions are singled out: the notion of man as a sign without meaning, the idea of modular existence, the use of terms instead of scientific concepts, the conversion and trust of the thinker to poetic images and the astounding essence of thinking. The article proves that the systematic nature of Heidegger's views allows one to view works of different periods of his work as part of a single philosophical project.


In Ethiopia, and particularly in the Amhara region, the government as well as the concerned organization would not give special attention to establishing wind energy plants. Lack of scientific research inputs about potential assessment can be one of the reasons behind it. In this paper, a wind energy potential assessment for Debel, Malawa, Enwari, and Ayba Eyesus sites in the Amhara region has been investigated. Five statistical distribution methods namely Weibull 3P, Weibull 2P, Rayleigh 2P, Normal, and Lognormal are used to fit the data to the probability density function and cumulative distribution function. The proposed parameter estimation method, to precisely predict the values of the shape parameter, scale parameter, and location parameter, was the Maximum Likelihood Estimation Method (MLE). To analyze the goodness of fit of the models, Kolmogorov, Andersen Darling, and Chi-Square have been used. The test indicated that Weibull 3P is the best fitting method, except for Ayba Eyesus, which is suited to Weibull 2P. For Debel, Malawa, Enwari, and Ayba Eyesus, the maximum annual average wind power density was found to be 74.291 W/m2, 19.183 W/m2, 68.972 W/m2, and 49.221 W/m2 correspondingly. The evaluations show that VENSYS 87 turbine model has better performance in all three sites except Enwari, where Inox Wind DF 100 is favored. With their best performance turbine, the capacity factor of the sites is determined as 14%, 7%, 12%, and 14% for Debel, Malawa, Enwari, and Ayba Eyesus respectively. Furthermore, Economical analysis by initial cost, lifetime, operation, and maintenance cost, has been carried out to estimate the cost of energy. With VENSYS 87 turbine model, the three sites' present value costs are $5,479,586, while it costs $7,306,115 in Enwari with Inox Wind DF 100 turbine. The cost of electricity per kWh is estimated to be $0.00231, $0.00455, $0.00391, and $0.00312 for Debel, Malawa, Enwari, and Ayba Eyesus respectively, and it is significantly lower than the cost from Ethiopian electric utility (EEU), which is around 0.009$/kwh. Access to electricity in Ethiopia was reported at 45% in 2019. This indicates there is a shortage of energy in the country. This kind of study can help authorities and policymakers in taking into account wind power to mitigate energy poverty in the country.


is useful to first establish and elaborate on some of the basic tenets expounded in the course of her work. The riches of Malacca, both real and legendary, have long dominated the annals of history. Yet the European conquerers — first the Portuguese and later the Dutch — failed to appreciate fully that Malacca as a center of commerce and trade owned less to its strategic location in the Straits than to the authority exercised and prestige enjoyed by its rulers. The Portuguese and specifically the Dutch can be held responsible for seriously disrupting the economic and political fabric of the Malay world, and for preventing the emergence of a central Malay power in the region. In this sense the VOC held the various regional powers such as Johor, Aceh, Siak and later the Bugis "in check", though Dutch Malacca itself failed to assert itself as an economic and military hub in the region. The latter was conditioned to a large extent by the very policies of the VOC itself. The directors and shareholders of the company were primarily concerned with making profits. In addition to this, Batavia's status as the central entrepot of the VOC would ensure that Malacca would never be permitted to re-emerge as a serious competitor to Batavia. During the greater part of Dutch rule Malacca failed to return a profit for the company. Commercial reasoning would have dictated that such a drain on the coffers of the VOC be abandoned in order to cut costs. But the true value of Malacca was no longer measured by profitability, but in terms of its truly strategic location in the Straits. Malacca's surpluses in the final years of Dutch rule (1768-83) were not the result of effective VOC policies, but of decisions cast largely by politicians in London and in The Hague. If the primacy of Batavia contributed to the commercial marginalization of Malacca, the profiteering and monopolistic trade practices ensured that the alienated Asian traders would market their produce in rival centres. The cost of asserting the rights of exclusive trade by force far exceeded the benefits gained by suppressing smuggling and illegal commercial activity. Circumvention of the VOC's trade monopoly was common, and even the Company itself was quite willing to "bend the rules" on a regular basis. While many of the arguments which Dr. Lewis expounds in the course of her book cannot be deemed a novelty to historians of the Malay world or the VOC, she nevertheless sheds new light on a host of known problems and places them in perspective. As the book also represents a revised version of her dissertation originally passed in 1972, it is specifically worth highlighting that Dr. Lewis has incorporated relevant Englishlanguage publications which have been published over the past two decades. In view of these considerations, I am of the opinion that Dr. Lewis has furnished us with a useful work which can serve either as an introductory text or enrich historians of the Straits region.


The Juturnaiba Dam, located in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, has 1.2 km of its length built on an organic soft clay about four meters deep. The construction of the dam was preceded by careful site investigations, including a test embankment taken to failure. This paper presents an analysis of the Juturnaiba Dam behavior by using numerical analyses (CONMULT program), classical approaches and empirical methods. The primary emphasis of the analysis is on settlement. However the study of the pore pressure increase and of the lateral displacements, both during and after construction, is shown to be relevant, and is also presented.


On the Existence of Rook Equivalent t-core Partitions For a positive integer t, a partition is said to be a t-core if each of the hook numbers from its Ferrers-Young diagram is not divisible by t. In 1998, Haglund, Ono, and Sze proved that if t = 2, 3, or 4, then two distinct t-core partitions are rook equivalent if and only if they are conjugates. In contrast to this theorem, they conjectured that if t ≥ 5, then there exists a constant N (t) such that for every positive integer n ≥ N (t), there exist two distinct rook equivalent t-core partitions of n which are not conjugate. I prove this conjecture for t ≥ 12 with N (t) = 4 in all cases. Cameron has introduced a natural one-to-one correspondence between infinite binary sequences and sets of positive integers with the property that no two elements add up to a third. He observed that, if a sum-free set is ultimately periodic, so is the corresponding binary sequence, and asked if the converse also holds. We introduce the concept of difference density and show how this can be used to test specific sets. These tests produce further evidence of a positive nature that certain sets are, in fact, not ultimately periodic. We obtain sharp mean square estimates for the error term in the classical lattice point problem. We will also see how combinatorial geometry sometimes yields estimates previously obtained via Fourier analysis.


Planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) has been used to investigate the mean structure of circular Zero-Net-Mass-Flux Jet in Crossflow (ZNMF-JICF). The flow structure of these jets is primarily characterized by the Reynolds number (Re), the Strouhal number (St) and the velocity ratio (VR). The prime focus of this study is to investigate the effect of different VR and St numbers on the mean structure of the ZNMF-JICF. The Reynolds number for all the ZNMF-JICF experiments was kept constant at 1066. Four velocity ratios, VR = 2,3,4 and 5 were used in the investigation of the ZNMF-JICF. For each VR, the ZNMF-JICF experiments were carried out for Strouhal numbers ranging from 0.08 to 0.56. PLIF experiments revealed that there is a critical Strouhal number in the range between 0.11 to 0.19 that separates the mean structure of the ZNMF-JICF into a single trajectory ZNMF-JICF for St < 0.11 and a multiple trajectory ZNMF-JICF for St ≥ 0.19.


Sex estimation remains one of the most important steps in a forensic anthropology context, especially when dealing with deteriorated or fragmented skeletal remains. In this respect, the need for the permanent actualisation of study database, as well of the skeletal remains is obvious. Therefore, besides classical skeletal collections an important amount of data can be obtained from computed imaging of the skeletal system, namely CT scans. The CT scans have the advantage of being virtually unlimited in number, not having any interference with secular trends, individuals being of known age and sex as well as increase in accessibility and applicability of data, for subsequent statistical and complex analysis (for instance, geometric morphometric). In the following review, we have gathered and compared some of the most significant studies in the field of physical and forensic anthropology focusing on sexual dimorphism on the skull, both on skeletal collections and CT scans. The results of the studies were similar in terms of sexing accuracy, thus allowing us to conclude that using CT scans in forensic anthropology is a viable and sometimes better option than skeletal collections, in term of data acquisition.


In order to meet the requirements of modern hydrogeo-logic investigation, one multi-parameter auto-detecting instrument system for hydrological hole pumping test based on single-chip microcomputer is designed. The pumping test system contains one lower computer module and one upper computer module. The lower computer module uses the STM32 single chip microcomputer as the central module of the controller, supplemented by the sensor module, the power module, the communication module and the display module to realize the automatic detection of the multi-parameters of the hydrological hole pumping test It can display the information of pumping speed, water level, water temperature and water flow in real time and realize the function of pumping timing switch. The upper computer module allows users to check hydrological hole pumping test information and control the whole system operation. The information transmission between the lower computer module and the upper computer module is completed by Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-Iot). By analyzing the data of pumping test system after compensation, the max relative error of liquid level is all less than 1%. All these data confirm that the pumping test system proposed in this paper has certain application value.


ABSTRACT Feminist identity, which allows those who support feminist ideals to establish themselves as being interested in reducing gender-based oppression, has been connected to increased commitment to collective action. However, feminist stigma and a postfeminist perception may have created ambivalence for many when considering a feminist identity. This conceptual article explores the importance of feminist identity, indicating that, in part, the stigmatization of feminists and a postfeminist standpoint work to prevent feminist activism, and that a social work stance is needed that promotes feminism and feminist identity, especially among social work students. This conceptual article examines feminist identity with a focus on intersectionality; posits that feminist identity is a social work issue; identifies challenges with claiming a feminist identity; and suggests methods for incorporating feminism into social work education. The main findings are methods that social work educators can utilize to increase feminist awareness, including claiming a feminist identity themselves; engaging in rigorous intersectional feminist education; and pushing for a stronger mandate to include content on oppression in social work education whereby students may be better prepared to conceptualize how sexism shapes the lives of the clients they strive to help.


The present invention is a protein kinase - inhibitors, and their use for treating caused disease by pathological signal transduction cascade.


This urban and architectural design is a response to the conflict between urbanisation and agriculture. The project integrates a large scale vegetable production facility into the urban fabric by making use of LED-farming technology.