Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Pakistani population and their influence is considerable in patients suffering from kidney diseases and undergoing dialysis (Haemodialysis/ Peritoneal). This study considered the total number of dialysis a patient received and the number of dialysis in a week with the chances of Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B infection. This cross sectional study was conducted to determine the frequency of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in patients undergoing either haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Serum sample was extracted from the blood of 60 patients. All the patients were suffering from either chronic kidney disease or acute renal failure. Screening was performed by strip method, which is based on Immuno-chromatographic technique for the detection of antibodies against HBsAg and HCV in patients on dialysis (haemodialysis/ peritoneal dialysis). The patients undergoing haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis were randomly selected, out of which 43 were males and 17 were females. The association of HCV and HBV infection was calculated in relation to frequency per week of dialysis and total number of dialysis. There is significant correlation between HCV infection and total numbers of haemodialysis a patient has. Increase in the frequency of HCV infection was observed as the number of dialysis increased.


Automated detection of fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns can potentially improve intra-partum care by providing consistent and reliable measures that assist health-care professionals in their assessment of the state of the fetus. We use the combined tools of signal processing and neural networks to detect the FHR patterns of baseline, acceleration and deceleration. Comparison to previous results reported in the literature are provided.


Marketers have not only the task to attract stakeholders to participate in the events that they organize, but also make them adopt the behavior that the company wants. In order to achieve this, a new form of strategy is used, that is gamification. Gamification can be used both in the management of motivating the employees and on customers, partners such as distributors and suppliers, in order to increase the involvement of the attendees at different kinds of events, whether we talk about pre event, during or post event, only to attract the attention and retention of the participants, to generate the desired behavior, at the same time to reach the objectives set for the events. Through this article we want to show the benefits of using gamification in events marketing and also to establish what specific strategies of gamification should be used according to the type of event, to reach the maximum potential of these strategies by taking into account the participants' structure and profile.


Background Haemolytic Disease of the Fetus & Newborn (HDFN) results from maternal IgG red cell allo-antibodies crossing the placenta & binding to their corresponding antigen on red cells in the fetal circulation. Immune haemolysis can cause varying degrees of anaemia & unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in the fetus & neonate. At present, all women have bloods drawn for group & antibody screen at booking. For expectant mother who test RhD positive, repeat antibody screening is not carried out in the absence of antibodies at booking. We sought to determine if our unit was failing to identify neonates at risk of HDFN who were born to RhD positive mothers with negative antibody screening at booking who developed antibodies later during their pregnancy. Methods We carried out a retrospective chart review of babies born to women who booked with a negative antibody screen who subsequently produced a clinically significant antibody in that pregnancy, from 2011 to 2017 inclusive. The development of antibodies was detected incidentally via repeat maternal sampling or via repeat maternal testing following a positive Direct Coomb's test on their baby. Results We identified 18 babies born to Rhesus D positive women who produced at least 1 of 8 clinically significant antibodies after their booking bloods were taken. 2 women tested positive for 2 antibodies. Any pregnancy where an immune Anti-D was produced was excluded. 2/3rd of the at-risk infant population were male and 1/3rd female. All tested DCT positive 14% of at-risk babies in the study group were diagnosed with jaundice; 2 due to Anti-E antibodies, 2 due to Anti-c antibodies & 1 each due to Anti-Jka, - Jka & -Jk3, Anti-Wra and Anti-Cw antibodies. 3 jaundiced neonates had no treatment. 4 needed phototherapy, of whom 2 also needed top-up red cell transfusion. 1 of these infants was later identified later as having Hereditary Spherocytosis accounting for his marked haemolysis and transfusion requirement. Discussion Based on the retrospective review of this small cohort of neonates in a single centre, a lack of routine repeat screening for their RhD positive mothers did not increase the risk of HDFN-associated morbidity nor mortality. We do not recommend routine repeat screening of Rhesus positive mothers for clinically-significant red cell allo-antibodies at 28–32 weeks in the absence of concern regarding haemolytic anaemia or jaundice in their babies. This would also confer a further 9,000 samples per year in our unit at a significant financial & workload cost with no evident gain for our neonatal population.


In this paper, we study self-adjointness and spectrum of operators of the form $$H=\displaystyle -\frac{d^2}{dx^2}+Fx, F>0 \quad\text{on} \quad \mathcal{H}=L^{2}(-L,L).$$ $H$ is called Stark operator and describes a quantum particle in a quantum asymmetric well. Most of known results on mathematical physics does not take in consideration the self-adjointness and the operating domains of such operators. We focus on this point and give the parametrization of all self-adjoint extensions. This relates on self-adjoint domains of singular symmetric differential operators. For some of these extensions, we numerically, give the spectral properties of $H$. One of these examples performs the interesting phenomenon of splitting of degenerate eigenvalues. This is done using the a combination of the Bisection and Newton methods with a numerical accuracy less than $10^{-8}$.


Brown allylation methodology has been employed to provide seven of the eight possible isomers of the (ZE)(EZ) spiroacetal system representing the CD ring fragment (C17-C28) of spongistatin 1. The stereochemistry of the isomers follows from high-field NMR examinations which furnish insights into the trends in the NMR data for these ketal structures.


In this symposium, "Civic Education in the Ancients and America," the contributors address these questions from the disciplinary perspectives of history, philosophy, political science, and classics. The answers they provide both complement and dissent with one another, offering us a rich and nuanced account of civic education both among the ancients and the Americans and the relationship between these two. What we discover is that not only do different regimes provide different accounts of civic education but the nature of civic education itself evolves as the political community does. Furthermore, even during the same period of a regime, different visions of civic education can be proposed and compete among themselves, whether by political leaders, social reformers, or public intellectuals. At the same time, we may be able to detect some commonalities among these distinct accounts of civic education. There might be something that both the ancients and the Americans share. The contributors in this symposium adopt a broad definition of civic education to include the institutions and processes that affect citizens' beliefs, commitments, capabilities, and actions as members of a political community. The source of civic education is diverse: it can come from the state, civil society, or the individual. However, the outcome of civic education is the same: the common good of the political community, whether it is Aristotelian virtue, Roman republican values, the founding principles of the American regime, or a criticism and replacement of those ideals. Although the conceptualization of the common good may vary from regime to regime and from thinker to thinker, it is the notion that public interests predominate over private ones that is the ultimate aim of all civic education. I start the symposium with my contribution, "Aristotelian Pluralism and Diversity: The Conditions for Civic Education and the Common Good," an examination of the conditions that make a meaningful civic education possible for Aristotle. Unlike the Spartan and Socratic


Coordination is one of the important aspects in the management of Covid-19 handling in Surabaya. In itsimplementation, some problems arise such as the problem of ego-sectoral that becomes one of the obstacles inhandling this coordination process. Problems related to coordination also appear in various mass media, this factshows that the problem of coordination related to Covid-19 handling in Surabaya is a strategic and interestingissue to study. The writing method used in this paper is a literature review to find the formulation of appropriateand effective forms of coordination patterns. The writer also collected Primary data from online discussions todescribe the pattern of coordination from the other Local Government Agencies as a form of best practice thatmight be adopted in Surabaya so that they could build better management of Covid-19 handling in Surabaya.The results showed that the pattern of coordination in the management of Covid-19 handling that is initiated bythe Surabaya City Government needs some improvement. In vertical coordination, it is necessary to strengthengood coordination between the City Government of Surabaya and the Government of the Province of East Java.For Horizontal coordination, Surabaya Government needs to reinforce the coordination with the city or districtgovernment in the surrounding area. These things are necessary because Surabaya is an agglomeration areawhere there are still many people who do mobility in and out. The conclusion from this study is that there is aneed to strengthen coordination patterns both vertically and horizontally with various stakeholders involved inthe management of Covid-19 handling in Surabaya. At the end of this paper, the researcher also gave arecommendation and trying to show best practices in applying the coordination pattern that has been carried outby other regional governments as a form of illustration that might be able to be adopted to improve Covid-19handling in Surabaya.


Abstract Nosocomial infections at pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) often lead to substantial morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stays in children who have open-heart surgery. Little is known about the risk factors in this population. Our aim was to identify the incidence and clinical factors associated with infections at the PICU in children with congenital heart disease after surgery. Clinical records of patients ≤ 3-year-old with congenital heart disease, admitted for surgery, were evaluated for clinical, nutritional, and other risk factors. Infection was determined during the patient's stay at the PICU. Two hundred eighty-nine patients were included in the study. Factors related to overall infection were: higher risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery, age > 1-year-old, cyanotic cardiac anomaly, parenteral or mixed nutrition support, more than 5 days of fasting, and mechanical ventilation ≥ 48 . Factors related to pneumonia were higher risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery, cyanotic cardiac anomaly more than three inotropics infused during surgery, parenteral or mixed nutritional support, more than 5 days of fasting, and mechanical ventilation ≥ 48 h. Factors related to mediastinitis and sepsis were: age > 1-year-old, aortic clamp ≥ 120 min, parenteral or mixed nutritional support, more than 5 days of fasting, and mechanical ventilation ≥ 48 h. In the multivariate survival analysis, parenteral or mixed nutrition and mechanical ventilation ≥ 48 h increased the risk for overall infection (relative risk 1.949, 95% confidence interval 1.108–3.43, P = 0.021 and relative risk 25, 95% confidence interval 2.53–246.19, P = 0.006 respectively). Early enteral nutrition after surgery and early weaning from mechanical ventilation (less than 48 h) will reduce infection incidence.


The "wisdom of the crowds" refers to the ability of statistical aggregates based on multiple opinions to outperform individuals, including experts, in various prediction and estimation tasks. For example, crowds have been shown to be effective at forecasting outcomes of future events. We seek to improve the quality of such aggregates by eliminating poor performing individuals, if we can identify them. We propose a new measure of contribution to assess the judges' performance relative to the group and use positive contributors to build a weighting model for aggregating forecasts. In Study 1, a dataset of 1,233 judges forecasting 104 binary current events served to illustrate the superiority of our model over unweighted models and models weighted by measures of absolute performance. We also demonstrate the validity of our model by substituting the judges with fictitiously "random" judges. In Study 2, we used a dataset of 93 judges predicting winners of games for the 2007 NFL season and evaluated our model's rate of convergence with a benchmark of simulated experts. The model does an excellent job of identifying the experts quite quickly. We show that the model derives its power by identifying experts who have consistently outperformed the crowd.


Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a rare multisystem disease characterised by widespread tissue fibrosis. It is recognised for its epidemiological association in patients with chronic renal failure, after administration of gadolinium-chelate magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent, particularly gadodiamide (Omniscan, GE Health Diagnostic, Amersham, United Kingdom). Gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCAs) are used for MR imaging because of gadolinium's ability to increase the T1 relaxivity of soft tissue, increasing the contrast between normal tissue and pathology. As gadolinium, in its free form (Gd3+), can result in a toxic reaction in vivo, it exists in a form of water-soluble gadolinium chelate complex for use in medical imaging. Several brands of gadolinium based contrast agents exist, differing from each other by the chelate which binds to the gadolinium ion. The clinical features of NSF were first observed in 1997 and formally documented in 2000.'1'2' By January 2006, Grobner first proposed a possible causal relation between gadolinium -based contrast media and NSF. In that paper, Grobner observed that five of nine haemodialysis patients exposed to a GBCA (gadodiamide in this instance) developed NSF within 2-4 weeks of an MR imaging examination.i3' Since then, more than 80 related papers have been published, strengthening the epidemiological association between GBCAs and the development of NSF. Based on currently available data, the estimated incidence for the development of NSF in the patients with chronic renal failure, and who have had GBCA, is in the range of 3%-5%.i461 NSF has not been described in patients with normal renal function. The disease was originally named nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD) for its more obvious dermatological clinical manifestations; it was later renamed nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in recognition of its systemic effects.'" In spite of this, NSF remains a misnomer as it is not a kidney disease, but rather, it seems to occur in patients with severe renal failure who have received GBCAs. The estimated time between onset of symptoms and the contrast -enhanced MR imaging examination is about two to several months.i6'8i The skin manifestation is often the most obvious feature, although it can mimic scleromyxoedema, cellulitis or lymphoedema.''' The skin thickening is usually insidious, but it can develop rapidly and confine the patient to a wheelchair within weeks. There is a predilection for the extremities, but torso H000 \ COOH


Objective:To investigate the imaging features and value of CT and diagnostic MRI in the diagnosis of intra- and extracerebral cavernous hemangioma.Mathods:CT and MRI data of 45 cases of intracerebral and extracerebral cavernous hemangioma were studied retrospectively.45 cases were performed MRI,and 30 cases of CT.There were 42 cases of intracerebral cavernous hemangioma and 3 extracerebral cavernous hemangiomas,all cases were confirmed pathologicaly.Results:The lesions of intracerebral cavernous hemangioma could be located in any position of the brain,single lesion was more commom.Most lesions had no or slightly edema without mass effect.CT features of 27 cases included:slightly higher or mixed density mass without contrast enhancement.MRI features on T2WI were mulberry-like inhomogenous high signal intensity with flocculent hypointensity ring.Only few lesions were slightly enhancement.Extracerebral cavernous hemangioma were located in the middle fossa and parasellae,dumbbell shape,and homogenous slight hypointensity on T1WI and hyperintensity on T2WI images with markedly enhancement.Conclusion:The CT and MRI findings of intracerebral and extracerebral cavernous hemangioma are specific,MRI is superior to CT,especially the T2WI image is important significance for diagnosis.


Information systems will always remain a subset of interactive communications systems. These physical networks will reflect the relationships between people and information. The element of surprise will always remain, however. Suppose that the recent work at the Stanford Research Institute in communicating straight from the brain to computer augmentation is continued and is perfected. This will lead to innovation in a new area of terminal equipment beyond the conception of most of us with our present orientation. To imagine a life in that mode is difficult from our present expenence. The future of interactive telecommunication systems will be one of continuing change bounded by behavior and not technology.


ABSTRACT With the stricter requirements for energy saving and emission reduction, air preheaters have always been the focus of scientific research, especially the development of plate air preheaters with high compactness, good heat transfer performance and reduced media flow pressure has a sharp upward trend. At present, there are two kinds of plate type air preheaters on the market, one is popular in the market for welding support points between plates, or the Stubs-inserted Plate Air preheater (SIPA); the other is the Corrugated Plate Air preheater (CPA). In order to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the two series of air preheaters, this paper analyzes the exergy loss of the CPA and SIPA through experimental research. Experiments were conducted where environmental air was heated by high-temperature flue gas produced from the burning of natural gas. Variations in the effectiveness and dimensionless exergy losses of the air preheaters according to gas flow rates are compared. The temperatures of the inlet air and flue gas were kept constant at 30°C and 300°C, respectively. The Reynolds numbers varied from 2.95 × 103 to 5.47 × 103 for air and 2.01 × 103 to 3.14 × 103 for flue gas. The experimental results show that the number of heat transfer units and the effectiveness of the CPA were much higher than those of the SIPA under the same conditions. The maximum and minimum values for the CPA were 0.564 and 0.438, respectively, and were 0.337 and 0.232 for the SIPA. Simultaneously, the exergy losses of both air preheaters increased with increases in gas flow. The CPA had a higher value than the SIPA but smaller dimensionless exergy losses under the same conditions, which indicates that the SIPA had greater irreversibility than the CPA at the same heat transfer rate. In consideration of its thermodynamic characteristics, the heat transfer performance of the CPA is superior to that of the SIPA.


Bitcoin is one of the most successful cryptocurrencies, and research on Bitcoin price prediction is getting more and more attention. Previous studies have used traditional statistical methods and machine learning models to predict Bitcoin prices. However, previous studies also have many problems, such as too few influencing factors, lack of model optimization, and poor prediction effect. This paper selects 27 factors related to Bitcoin price changes and screens the features through the XGBoost algorithm and the Random Forest algorithm (RF). In this study, combined forecasting models based on Support Vector Regression (SVR), Least Squares Support Vector Regression (LSSVR) and Twin Support Vector Regression (TWSVR) are used to predict Bitcoin price, separately. In addition, the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are applied for parameter tuning of the models. Expected Variance Score (EVS), Coefficient of Determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) are used to measure the prediction accuracy of the combined models. The CPU time is used to measure the operation speed of the combined models. The experimental results show that the combined model XGBoost-WOA-TWSVR has the best prediction effect, and the EVS score of this model is 0.9547. In addition, our research verifies that Twin Support Vector Regression has advantages in both prediction effect and computational speed.


A new method of detecting somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) is proposed using a time-frequency based windowing to enhance the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the recorded SSEP signals. A sequential computation of maxima and minima was then used to find the location of characteristic positive and negative peaks of the SSEP. The algorithm rejects trials with high peak value as they are corrupted with noise. The performance of the proposed algorithm was observed to be within acceptable clinical margins even with the use of only 30 consecutive trials at a time, thus proving to be very efficient for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring during surgical procedures.


The BFGS quasi-Newton methodology, popular for smooth minimization, has also proved surprisingly effective in nonsmooth optimization. Through a variety of simple examples and computational experiments, we explore how the BFGS matrix update improves the local metric associated with a convex function even in the absence of smoothness and without using a line search. We compare the behavior of the BFGS and Shor r-algorithm updates.


Abstract:Since the late 1990s, the concept of multipolarity has gained prominence around the globe. Russia and China, in particular, have repeatedly agreed on this ill-defined term and subsequently have included it or alluded to it in nearly all of their joint declarations, statements, and treaties dating from the mid-1990s to the present. At a time when American hegemony is declining and speculation abounds as to which among the world's burgeoning nations will rise to power, it is important to examine the renewed Sino-Russian relationship and one of its foundational pillars—the promotion of multipolarity. This article deconstructs the definition of multipolarity as it applies uniquely to Russia and China in an effort to determine the depth of the two countries' agreement. Though the two may agree upon the same "solution" to the next world order, China and Russia employ very different strategies to achieve it.


The invention relates to a preparation method of flake silver powder with low burning loss, belonging to the technical field of conductive metal powder. The preparation method comprises the following steps of: preparing silver nitrate into reducing silver powder with D50 of 0.5-2mum by adopting a chemical method; carrying out surface modified treatment on the reducing silver powder and then feeding the treated reducing silver powder, a grinding medium, water and an emulsifier into a hexagonal ball grinding mill according to a certain proportion for wet method ball milling, wherein the use of the emulsifier ensures the realization of a wet method ball grinding process with water as A solvent; after finishing ball grinding, cleaning to remove the emulsifier and excessive grinding aid; carrying out vacuum drying at the temperature of 60 DEG C; and after completely drying, maintaining the temperature for 2-5 hours at the temperature of 120 DEG C for further desorbing the excessive grinding aid. According to the method disclosed by the invention, the burning loss of the flake silver powder is lower than 0.2 percent which is one tenth that of the international standard; and by using the silver powder in the use process, the adverse influence of the grinding aid is reduced to be minimized.


We present a mass spectrometric method for analyzing protein structure and function, based on the imidazole C-2 or histidine Ce1 hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange reaction, which is intrinsically second-order with respect to the concentrations of the imidazolium cation and OD– in D2O. The second-order rate constant (k2) of this reaction was calculated from the pH dependency of the pseudo-first-order rate constant (kφ) obtained from the change in average mass [ΔMr (0 ≤ ΔMr < 1)] of a peptide fragment containing a defined histidine residue at incubation time (t) such that kφ = −[ln(1 – ΔMr)]/t. We preferred using k2 rather than kφ because k2max (maximal value of k2) was empirically related to pKa as illustrated with a Bronsted plot [log k2max = −0.7pKa + α (α is an arbitrary constant)], so that we could analyze the effect of structure on the H/D exchange rate in terms of log(k2max/k2) representing the deviation of k2 from k2max. In the catalytic site of bovine ribonuclease A, His12 showed a change in log(k2...


A number of Gram-positive bacterial species of biotechnological importance were screened for the expression of the Gram-negative broad-host-range cosmid pJRD215, previously shown to be expressed in Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis. As judged from acquired kanamycin or streptomycin resistance, pJRD215 was expressed in five out of ten species tested: Bacillus subtilis, Brevibacterium sp., Corynebacterium glutamicum, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Mycobacterium parafortuitum.


In order to improve the smelting capacity of variety steel in No.2 steelmaking plant of WISCO,intelligent control technology in KR desulphurization process,the desulfurization dynamic on-line control model were developed.Parameters were optimized by BP neural network control system,and automatic intelligent desulfurization was realized.Production practice showed that the radio of desulphurization achieved 99 %,the first-hit yield of desulfurization was 99.5 %,desulfurization effect was stable,desulfurizer utilization rate was increased,the cost of desulfurization was decreased to a maximum extent.


One of the major aspects of urban area performance evaluation that has received little attention to date is that of the exhaustive identification of (exclusive) items to be considered in the evaluation. The object of this paper is to describe a technique useful for making such an identification and to suggest how the many factors that evolve can be culled and eventually utilized in conjuction with certain common evaluation procedures. The technique involves the cross categorization of a set of descriptive characteristics, obtained through a Thesaurus search, with a set of urban area elements, derived by expanding the Ekistics grid. The results obtained are the evaluation factors considered here.


Starting from the moon episode in Orlando Furioso ,  the essay put in aesthetic and cultural perspective the peculiar way in which Ariosto translates in written form the platonic contrast between Idea and copy. Ariosto is thus integrated into the platonic tradition of the Renaissance, taking into account his links with the cultural environment of Ferrara at the time.


Malaysia recorded a fiscal policy with a deficit budget since the economic crisis in 1997. During the tough economic crisis to maintain economic growth, the government committed to stimulus fiscal budget controlling. According to the Keynesian theory, a fiscal policy may induce economic growth at moderate levels of public debt. Although debt and economic growth are not recent issues faced by the Malaysia government, the impact government debt on economic growth has been debated, especially in terms of imbalances development. This work aims to investigate the relationship between economic growth and government debt in Malaysia, with the application of structural break analysis. We utilized econometric techniques such as unit root tests and Granger. Regarding the unit root test, we used structural break combinations with pure and partial structural change models. The analysis is based on data across the period of 1970 to 2018. We find more evidence against the unit root test with structural breaks in Malaysia, with causality between debt and economic growth.


The speed, angles, distribution of the movement in time and in space, skill of body revolving and other kinematic parameters during bLFF movement in pool training by JI Xiao-ou are analyzed by the methods of video recording and photography and so on. The results show that the take off, distribution of the movement in time and in space and skill of body revolving should be improved and some suggestions are made.


The utilization of Chloride Mass Balance (CMB) to determine water fluxes generally has been restricted to
applications in arid to semi-arid environments. Only in such environments does the chloride deposited by precipitation
and dry fallout concentrate sufficiently by evapotranspiration for accurate measurement. This study successfully applied
CMB to dryland winter wheat plots with 860 mm of precipitation per year. Soil cores were collected from long-term
dryland winter wheat test plots located near Stillwater, Oklahoma, which had known constant applications of the fertilizer
KCl for the past 29 years. This additional chloride was sufficient to allow for accurate chloride concentration
measurement. Groundwater recharge rates of 12.2 to 38.9 mm/y were calculated with recharge increasing with fertilizer
N. These fluxes may be overestimated by up to 20% based on anion exclusion measurements from adjacent soil cores.
Numerical modeling of the chloride distributions beneath the plots supported the assumptions of CMB.


This paper gives an idea about the sources of Islamic law, types of Islamic financial contracts, and the effect of Islamic schools of thought on the Islamic financial industry. Also, it shades a light on Islamic banks philosophy.


The overall objective of the Transport and Urban Mobility Support Program (PATMUR) is to contribute to improving the overall level of service provided on the national road system, ensure the servicing of landlocked areas and improve urban mobility. The project will (i) rehabilitate the road infrastructure in the region of Grande Niayes and (ii) refurbish the Pompiers bus station in Dakar. However, these PATMUR activities could have negative social impacts and therefore require the application of operational environmental and social protection directives on the involuntary movement of populations. PATMUR activities will have an impact on both the land and the means of livelihood. The expected impacts on the land are as follows: permanent land acquisition; destruction of agricultural fields; limited land occupation and temporary occupation of buildings to be constructed or rehabilitated. With respect to the means of livelihood, the loss of income for persons compelled to suspend their activities during the infrastructure construction phase, is worth noting.


The knowledge itself is usually supposed to be uncertain when we solve the uncertain problems, so we always use reliability to represent the uncertainty of knowledge. Because the computation of reliability depends on subjective estimation of people and the consistency of knowledge system, it is difficult to ensure the accuracy and is easy to produce the conflicts. In this paper, we consider that the knowledge is certain within a certain interval and knowledge frame, and propose a method to calculate the uncertainty based on the historical facts and phenomena of problems. Taking the Problem Oriented Analysis and Decision Knowledge Model (POADKM) as the research object, a counter is attached to every problem of this system in this method to record the number of problem facts. When judging a new problem whether exists or not, we can calculate the evident degree about the occurrence of the problem based on the previous facts, and let users make decisions according to the calculated evident degree. Keywords-uncertain problem; knowledge frame; fact; evident degree; multi-evidences


Many breakthrough drugs have been developed from plants with medicinal properties on the basis of ethnopharmacological information. In the search for structurally novel and mechanistically unique lead compounds, drug discovery and development progams are now also paying attention to the myriad of bioactive molecules provided by the animal biodiversity. A well-known example emerging from these efforts is the breakthrough angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril used for the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Captopril has been developed as an analogue of bradykinin in the venom of the Brazilian pit viper Bothrops jararaca (Viperidae) following the observation that the latter agent lowered blood pressure by vasodilation. In the mean time, dozens of clinically useful and potentially therapaeutically applicable compounds from animal origin have been identified. The skin gland secretions of amphibians have been refined during millions of years of evolution to highly efficient defensive chemicals. These compounds have remarkable pharmacological activities and may also represent a treasure chest of potentially novel drugs against pathophysiological conditions. This paper addresses the importance of bioactive compounds in the skin secretions of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians, and elaborates on the therapeutic potential of some of them as anti-alzheimer, cardiotonic, antidiabetic, anti-HIV, analgesic, antimicrobial, and antiparasitic compounds.


S represents the stimulus situation impinging upon the individual; P is his perception of the nature of S (what S "means" to him; how he "sees" S); R is his response to his perception of the stimulus situation. The critical point to be made is that the response is to the immediate nature of the perception, not to the immediate nature of the stimulus situation. The perception of the stimulus situation may or may not be a faithful representation of the true state of that stimulus situation. (This issue is referred to as the degree of veridicality present in perception.) Or, some aspect of the stimulus situation which, by objective analysis, should have controlling impact upon behavior might play a very subordinate role in the individual's perception of the situation. In such case, the individual's behavior would appear to violate a 'law" or theory based upon the objective analysis. These are the psychological circumstances involved in our judgment that another person's behavior is irrational. (Remembering, of course, that the behavior is not perceived as being irrational by the individual under scrutiny.) When we apply these psychological concepts to microeconomic analysis, we are dealing with a particular category of experience-that having to do with the various economic stimulus situations in which individuals find themselves and their responses to these economic circumstances. Our generalized equation becomes:


DENNIS H. ROBERTSON. Lectures on Economic Principles, Vol. II. Pp. 162. London : Staples Press, 1958. (Distributed by John de Graff.) $3.50. This book is the second of three volumes which reprint the author's lectures at the University of Cambridge. It deals with the distribution of incomes between production factors. The approach is characteristic of the Cambridge school and the level of discussion is appropriate to upperdivision undergraduate students in the United States. The treatment is very concise but the reader is likely to be surprised at how much is included in a small volume. At times the exposition becomes algebraic but a literary exposition in common-sense terms usually follows so that the nonmathematical reader can understand what is involved. Principles are stated, but illustrations of the various theoretical points are also given, comments are made on the views of others, and pertinent data are cited. Robertson is no great admirer of the Keynesians and takes the opportunity to point out that Marshall, before Keynes, had recognized the interdependence of saving and income. He raises doubts as to


Disclosed is a semi-solid oil-in-water type emulsion seasoning which can be molten and spread over the surface of a food properly by applying the seasoning on the food and subsequently heating the food to form a topping that is hardly detached after cooling. The oil-in-water type emulsion seasoning has an aqueous phase comprising a first thickening agent and a second thickening agent. When an aqueous 1 wt% dispersion of the first thickening agent is heated to 55 DEG C and subsequently cooled to 20 DEG C, the viscosity of the aqueous dispersion becomes less than 80% of a viscosity that is achieved by heating the aqueous dispersion to 90 DEG C and subsequently cooling the aqueous dispersion to 20 DEG C. An aqueous 2% solution of the second thickening agent can form a gel at 5 DEG C. The gel is a thermoplastic gel.


Using a Karnaugh-map perspective, this paper investigates the definitions, exposes the properties, introduces new computational procedures, and discovers interrelationships between the Walsh spectrum and the real transform of a switching function. Appropriate Karnaugh maps explain the computation of Walsh spectrum as defined in cryptology. An alternative definition of this spectrum adopted in digital design and related areas is then presented together with procedures for its matrix computation. Then, the real transform of a switching function is defined as a real function of real arguments. This definition is clearly distinguished from similar ones such as the multi-linear form or the arithmetic transform. The real transform is visualized in terms of a particular version of the Karnaugh map called the probability map. Karnaugh maps are also used to demonstrate the computation of the spectral coefficients adopted in digital design as the weight of the switching function and weights of its subfunctions or restrictions. These maps match the earlier ones for the spectrum used in cryptology. Novel relations between the Walsh spectrum and the real transform are utilized in formulating two simplified methods for computing the spectrum via the real transform with some aid offered by Karnaugh maps. Finally, a solution is offered for the inverse problem of computing the real transform in terms of the Walsh spectrum. Key Words. Switching functions, Walsh spectrum, Spectral coefficients, Real transform, Karnaugh maps, Probability maps.


This paper provides an overview of recent developments concerning mechanisms for predicting the outcome of complex processing tasks. Mechanisms describe procedural patterns of information processing resulting from processing demands, processing limitations, and various processing constraints in completing tasks with a high degree of processing complexity. Since the available mechanisms refer either to structural models or describe processes, they can be divided into structure- and process-based mechanisms. The proposed mechanisms fit a framework that enables one to distinguish between decay, overflow, and trade-off mechanisms. The results available so far demonstrate the usefulness of mechanisms for predicting the outcome of complex processing tasks.


This paper introduced ontology and ontology mapping briefly,and discussed several current ontology mapping methods.Aiming at the deficiency of current mapping methods,this paper proposed a new classification-based method for ontology mapping to pursue a cost-effective approach and implemented the prototype tool(COMT) based on this method.At last,it gave an example to validate this tool.


Objective. To investigate the frequency of isolates of various uropathogens in patients of the COVID-19 Hospital "Mišeluk" in comparison with patients from the nonCOVID-19 zone of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina (KCV). Methods. For the purpose of this study, information was collected on urine isolates sent from the COVID-19 hospital and the non-COVID-19 zones of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina in a three-month period, with samples from the non-COVID-19 zone KCV used as controls. Results. Of the 449 patients from the COVID-19 Hospital, the most common causative agents of intrahospital urinary infection (IUI) were members of the genus Enterococcus, (216/449; 48.10%), which in most cases caused IUI in women (127/216; 58.79%). The second most common causative agent of IUT in COVID-19 was Klebsiella pneumoniae (85/449; 18.93%). Of the 913 patients from the non-COVID-19 KCV clinics, the most common cause of IUI was Escherichia coli (249/913; 27.27%), predominantly in women (199/249; 79.91%, (ch2 (1) = 49,042). p <0.00001)). The second most frequent causative agents of IUTs were members of the genus Enterococcus, (216/913; 23.65%), with no significant difference in distribution between the sexes (ch2 (1) = 0.0833; p = 0.847). Conclusion. The most common causes of IUI in the COVID-19 KCV hospital were members of the genera Enterococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae with almost equal distribution between the sexes. There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of different IUI agents in the COVID-19 hospital patients versus the nonCOVID-19 KCV clinics. These results may be important in determining empirical therapy in patients of the COVID-19 KCV Hospital, as well as in planning procedures for the reduction of nosocomial infections.


Protection of gas-transmission pipelines from external corrosion is achieved by the application of a good anticorrosion coating and cathodic protection. In very rocky areas, pipeline-construction operations sometimes dictate that an external impact-resistant or barrier material be applied over the pipe to protect the anticorrosion coating from damage during backfilling. The use of a select backfill, such as compacted sand, is often specified, but transportation of the backfill and access to sufficient right-of-way to truck the sand into more remote areas becomes costly. As an alternative, recent practice has been to specify that a barrier coating of concrete or urethane foam be applied over the anticorrosion coating. However, concern has been raised regarding possible shielding of cathodic-protection currents by these external barrier materials.

This project investigates the shielding effects of barrier coatings on attempts to maintain CP levels on natural gas pipelines. Investigation included lab experiments with five representative barrier coatings materials carried out to determine the degree to which shielding occurred and the levels of CP needed to overcome this effect when occurring.


The crystal structure of Pt(CH3CN)2Cl2 has been determined twice independently. The compound is the cis isomer. It crystallizes in the monoclinic P21/c space group, a = 6.660(3) [6.668(4)], b = 12....


To solve the problems of logistics information integration and data sharing in automobile supply chain,it is imperative to build up a high quality information integration platform. Radio frequency identification( RFID) is an effective technology which makes logistics information more traceable,visible and transparent. Based on this novel technology,the infrastructure and structure of the logistics information platform for automobile supply chain are designed. RFID tags and readers are used in this study to capture the real-time shop-floor inventory data. Main production scheduling( MPS) information and material requirement planning( MRP) data in ERP are integrated with the real-time inventory,as well as production planning and scheduling records in MES and transportation details of suppliers. Furthermore,the security strategies,materials requirement publishing procedure and data processing methods in RFID savant are described. A case study is presented to demonstrate the research. The mechanism and methodologies can be provided for automobile manufacturing enterprises as references to adopt RFID technology to improve the competitiveness of their supply chain.


Convention (no. 149) concerning employment and conditions of work and life of nursing personnel. Geneva, 21 june 1977 [united nations, treaty series, vol. 1141, i-17907.]


FromMachiavelli's advice that "princes should delegate to others the enactment of unpopular measures and keep in their own hands the distribution of favours" (The Prince, 2003 [1532], p. 61), through to Walter Bagehot's (The English Constitution, 1968 [1867], p. 151) concerns about the need for a "protecting machine [to] stand between the department and the busybodies and crotchet-makers of the House and the country," the analysis of blame (i.e. attribution and amplification, pitfalls and pathologies) has always been a central concern of political science. To enter this rich seam of scholarship is to enter the realm of "foxes" who are wily enough to avoid blamebased traps, and "lions" who are strong enough to escape such traps (the former highlighting anticipatory blame games, the latter reactive blame games). In recent years, this field has grown exponentially as (inter alia) interdisciplinary studies, new case studies, and an emphasis on the impact of social media have added to this corpus of knowledge. Despite the growth in the subfield, it is possible to suggest that it has been dominated by the intellectual influence of two particularly significant scholarly reference points—the first being Kent Weaver's classic article, "The Politics of Blame Avoidance" (in Journal of Public Policy, 1986), and the second, Christopher Hood's equally prominent "The Risk Game and the Blame Game" (in Government and Opposition, 2002). Due to their significance in terms of framing and conceptualizing blame—plus their obvious complementarity—these two pieces set in motion a form of intellectual path dependency whereby the work of Weaver and Hood provided the foundations on which subsequent analyses in the field were built. To some extent, Markus Hinterleitner's Policy Controversies and Political Blame Games continues this tradition, but it also goes far beyond the realms of existing studies. The key to this contribution is to be found not within the work ofWeaver and Hood but within a powerful 2017 review by Ching Leong and Michael Howlett (in Policy Sciences), which suggested that a full understanding of the distribution of "credit and blame" could only be achieved if scholars moved away from a tight focus on executive politics, individualized strategies, and implicit rational choice-theoretic cost-benefit assumptions, and instead rebalanced their approaches through a more sophisticated and subtle grasp of the role of contextual dimensions. In many ways, this is exactly what Hinterleitner has delivered, and it explains why Policy Controversies and Political Blame Games is likely to emerge as a key and central reference point in the field, alongside the works of Weaver and Hood. The book provides a context-sensitive explanation of blame games and their consequences, which is developed and tested through the analysis of 15 blame games in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. Hinterleitner's main argument is that the study of blame games offers crucial insights into how democratic political systems change and function when they switch into "conflict mode" or "heat up."Two insights offer some sense of the distinctiveness and originality of this book. The first relates to the "institutional imprint" within a polity and how that creates a set of preconditions or "rules of the game" that structure and channel the viable distribution of credit and (more often) blame. What Hinterleitner's analysis reveals is how and why dominant assumptions about the characteristics of polities can be inverted during intense policy controversies. The UK, for example, is well known for being an aggressive, adversarial, power-hoarding, majoritarian polity. In contrast, Germany is known for its more considered and consensual policy style. And yet, Germany exhibits a far more heated and adversarial "blame game style" than the UK. This finding takes us back to Walter Bagehot's nineteenthcentury creation of an "accountability shield" in the form of the convention of individual ministerial responsibility to parliament and an executive drawn from the legislature. The "busybodies and crotchet-makers" of the legislature, who might like to meddle in executive affairs or engage in blame games, are generally restricted in all but the most exceptional circumstances (as recent British governments have found in relation to Brexit) due to the executive's tight control of a parliamentary majority. The second insight is arguably more distinctive in terms of taking forward this body of scholarship due to the manner in which it focuses on what might be termed "bringing the audience in." Where Leong and Howlett (p. 599) encouraged researchers to study "more widely from the view of the public as well as that of the public official, and that both concepts [credit and blame] should be analysed as part of the larger issue of the legitimation of public actions," (2017, p. 599) Hinterleitner has responded by building an emphasis on both issue "salience" and public "proximity" into the analysis of blame. "Opponents who generate blame for a distant-salient controversy," he notes, "use emotions to attract the public's attention and argue that political incumbents have a moral obligation to address the controversy" (p. 188). For incumbents, such challenges represent "a prickly affair," but it is in being able to gauge and comprehend the dialectical interplay between agency, context, and structure that Hinterleitner is able to add tone and texture to case studies that might otherwise have remained descriptively heavy but intellectually light. This is an intellectually heavy and incredibly impressive work. It is also one that matters both within and beyond


Dynamic interspecific interactions are thought to contribute to fundamental structures of ecological communities. Using the Yodzis framework of dominance control versus founder control versus niche control, the importance of intransitive loops in sub-communities in a source/sink or metacommunity competition context is examined. It is found that a three-species sub-community sampled from a species pool composed of nothing but dominance controlled species pairs can result in a stable three species coexistence. It is shown that if effect and response competition are balanced, the overall sub-community will be persistent, anchored by one or more intransitive loops. It is proposed that such an arrangement be referred to as an intransitive structure. It is concluded that persistence of a sub-community (when species pairs in the species pool are all dominance controlled) of more than three species is possible only if it has an intransitive structure.


This document is the compiled progress reports from the Interdisciplinary Research and Training Program in the Plant Sciences funded through the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory. Fourteen reports are included, covering topics such as the molecular basis of plant/microbe symbiosis, cell wall proteins and assembly, gene expression, stress responses, growth regulator biosynthesis, interaction between nuclear and organelle genomes, sensory transduction and tropisms, intracellular sorting and membrane trafficking, regulation of lipid metabolism, the molecular basis of disease resistance and plant pathogenesis, developmental biology of Cyanobacteria and hormonal involvement in environmental control of plant growth. 132 refs. (MHB)


In this article, the titanium based Mn-Sb co-doping SnO 2 anodes (Ti/Mn-Sb-SnO 2 ) prepared by the coating pyrolysis method at different annealing temperatures were investigated. The novel Ti/Mn-Sb-SnO 2 anodes did not only perform higher stability than the Ti/Sb-SnO 2 without Mn doping, but also exhibit superior capability of degrading phenol. The electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX), polarization curve, chronopotentiometry, and phenol degradation simulation. Among all the samples, the Ti/Mn-Sb-SnO 2 electrode annealed at 550 ℃ performed the best catalytic stability. Moreover, the phenol removal efficiency of Ti/Mn-Sb-SnO 2 anode made at 600 ℃ almost reached 100% in 2h. To probe into the deep reason resulting in the better catalysis, the fluorescence spectrum method was applied to test the hydroxyl radicals produced on the surfaces of each electrodes in phenol oxidation. The results confirmed Mn-doping could promote the catalysis activities of Ti/Mn-Sb-SnO 2 electrodes.


Air quality adjusted routing can provide health benefits for users and encourage users to use more environmental friendly vehicles. This is particularly true for urban areas with varying zones for different air quality levels. We use PM10 total emission data from the state of Berlin, Germany. This data provides the amount of PM10 pollution for a 1x1km grid for Berlin as it represents a major indicator for air pollution. The data is available in Soldner Berlin format (EPSG:3068). As routing software we use the Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) with map data for Berlin from OpenStreetMaps (OSM) available at geofabrik.de. Our approach uses the possibility of OSRM to access a PostGIS database from a transportation mode profile. The evaluation compares our approach with a baseline approach which assumes the same speed for all roads. Compared to the baseline approach, the routes calculated with our approach tend to avoid the city center as much as possible, but are still acceptably short (for long distances about 22% longer than the shortest path).


Harm minimization as a drug-policy approach represents a major step forward in Australian society's method of dealing with the myriad problems associated with illicit drug use. However, harm minimization lacks a substantial theoretical underpinning and there has been little debate about harm minimization at the sociological level. This article investigates a number of the assertions made within the harm minimization literature and the assumptions on which they are based. These assumptions are critically deconstructed from a number of points of view, including a Foucauldian perspective. Areas investigated include: the use of epidemiological data as a foundation for many harm-reduction strategies, the failure of harm minimization theories to deal adequately with the role of discourse in the drug policy arena, the harm minimization claim to amorality, the use of a utilitarian set of values, the supposed popularity of harm reduction and the idea that the current harm-reduction paradigm clearly acts as an extension of 'surveillance medicine' through the vehicle of governmentality. It is concluded that, whilst harm minimization represents the most promising advance in drug policy in the past, the lack of theoretical rigour in the development of these initiatives results in many of the claims made by proponents of harm-reduction strategies being either overly optimistic or fundamentally flawed.


Amino acids are essential nutriments and the most basic construct matter of a living organisms. Thus, the amino acid content is determined in various fields. However, reference materials are necessary for making calibration curves for quantitative analysis, such as chromatography methods. Therefore, a variety of amino acids standard solution that is traceable to the International System of Units (SI) have a wide field of demand. To make standards solution of the precise concentration, which requires reference materials with accurate purity and precise weighing methods. However, for precise weighing, an appropriate weighing environment is neccessary. It was known that to some amino acids have strong hygroscopicity, but it wasn't known in a quantitative form. Therefore, previously weighing environment is empirically-determined. We measured the hygroscopicity of amino acids for deciding on a quantitatively-assessed weighing environment to obtain a precise amount of amino acids, and to prepare a standard solution with precise concentrations. We estimated the hygroscopicity and sublimability of 41 amino acids using temperature and humidity-controlled thermobalance equipment. As a result, when it was below a relative humidity 30 % (at 25 °C), we can weigh a precise amount of 41 amino acids. We can prepare an amino acids standard solution with precise concentrations. We create a methodology for determining a quantitatively-assessed weighing environment to obtain the precise mass or concentration of the standard solution. This methodology is effective and it can be applied widely.


Abstract This article analyzes two sets of late antique witnesses to the Abgar-Jesus correspondence: the discussion of the letters in the literary record of the 4th-6th centuries and the Coptic version of the correspondence, as preserved in amulets and ritual formularies. I approach each of these sets with a particular interest in how the texts' forms-both the textual variants contained within them and the physical objects upon which they are inscribed-may reflect practices of engagement with the letters, drawing attention to the ways in which ancient readers, scribes, and ritual specialists grappled with questions about these texts' source, attribution, stability, and reliability. The available evidence suggests that ancient readers, hearers, and users of the Abgar-Jesus correspondence were not particularly concerned with questions of "canonical authority" and "genuineness;" these texts were put to use not because they were demonstrably "authentic," but because they worked. While a number of features suggest the letters' origins as part of an "epistolary fiction," these texts were nevertheless received as efficacious in matters of life and death. Their utility for particular scriptural practices trouble the modern distinctions between "authentic" and "forged," "real" and "fictional," "canonical" and "apocryphal," and demand a recalibration (if not total overhaul) of these analytical categories as applied to antiquity.


The aim of the research was to analyze the chemical composition of Lithuanian propolis and to compare it with the chemical composition of propolis in neighboring countries (Latvia and Poland) according to the predominant flora in the collecting places and the quality of raw material collecting process. The article describes the qualitative analysis of phenolic acids in propolis using the high-performance liquid chromatography technique. Studies showed that the quantitative and qualitative composition of phenolic acids in propolis depended on what plants the bees in the area collected substances for the raw material of propolis. In addition to that, it was found that the amount of active substances was higher in propolis extracts produced from propolis collected from areas characterized by the predominance of deciduous trees. The predominant phenolic acids were determined to be ferulic and coumaric acids that may be among the main indicators of quality in the standardization of the raw material and preparations of propolis. Experimental studies showed that the process of the collection of propolis influence its chemical composition too. The production of pharmaceutical preparations requires the regulation of the technique and the conditions of the collection of propolis, ensuring high quality of the collection of the raw material.


disease in pregnancy: strategy for surgical management. Am J Surg 23:49 – 53. McKeller DP, Anderson CT, Boynton CJ, Peoples JB. 1992. Cholecystectomy during pregnancy without fetal loss. Surg Gynaecol Obstet 174:465 – 468. Rohatgi A, Widdison AL. 2004. Left subcostal closed (Verres needle) approach is a safe method for creating a pneumoperitoneum. Journal Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques 14:278 – 280.


Traditionally, models of economic decision-making assume that individuals are rational and emotionless. This chapter argues that the neglect of emotion in economic models explains their inability to predict important aspects of the labor market. We focus on one example: the scarcity of nominal wage cuts. Firms frequently cut real wages of workers, by increasing nominal wages by less than the inflation rate, but seldom cut nominal wages, in contrast to the predictions of the standard, rational model. This pattern suggests that workers exhibit a special resistance to nominal wage cuts, which is hard to explain if they are purely rational. We argue that strong resistance to nominal wage cuts is best understood in terms of a model where, consistent with evidence from psychology and neuroscience, salient features of a situation trigger emotional responses and sway judgment of the entire situation. Since a cut in the wage is a very salient feature, we argue that cutting the nominal wage leads to a reaction that is mainly dominated by emotions. On the other hand, we hypothesize that an increase in the nominal wage produces a more deliberative evaluation, because there is no immediately salient feature: the individual needs to compare the inflation rate to the wage change before it becomes clear whether the change increases or decreases utility, thus producing a more measured response. We present evidence from experiments that supports this argument: self-reported emotions such as anger and surprise respond strongly to nominal wage cuts, but not to decreases in the real wage achieved through increasing the nominal wage by less than the inflation rate. Although emotions may benefit individual workers, by strengthening their bargaining position and preventing wage cuts, we argue that overall impact on labor market outcomes is ambiguous, because a survey of the evidence suggests that higher wages tend to lead to higher unemployment.


55 V high-side RESURF LDMOS has been integrated successfully in 0.35 /spl mu/m smart power technology by carefully arranging the lateral doping profile. This device has Rds.on/spl times/area of 0.55 m/spl Omega/.cm/sup 2/ with excellent safe operating area. With proper device terminal biasing scheme, this device can also be used as an isolated device. Techniques and issues related to the isolation is considered and discussed.


This paper proposes an Improved Bisection Searching Technique (IBSST) for voltage collapse analysis in reliability evaluation. The loading factor which is the closest to the voltage collapse point for a contingency state can be determined using the proposed technique. The IEEE 30-Bus System has been analyzed using both the IBSST and the Binomial Searching Technique (BNST). The expected system loading factor considering up to first order line contingencies has been defined and calculated to represent the effect of system configurations. Load point reliability in terms of voltage stability is presented by the probability of a bus being the weakest bus considering the first order failures. The computation time of the IBSST is three times faster than that of the BNST. The more accurate loading factors can be obtained using the IBSST compared with the BNST.


Background: Aortic valve surgery can be performed through a reduced ministernotomy with less surgical trauma, improved cosmetics, faster reco-very and excellent long-term results. Aim: To report the long-term results obtained with the minimally invasive approach technique in Sou-thern Chile. months of follow up. Conclusions: Ministernotomy is an excellent approach for aortic valve surgery which can be performed with very good results not inferior to those obtained with full sternotomy thus simplifying the surgical technique and reducing local hospital costs.


Using vision-based hand gesture control method,this paper constructs a digital home environment.After skin color binary image is obtained,area filtering and image orientation difference are adopted to identify left and right hand position.Shape filter algorithm is proposed to track the location of fingertips.Static gestures of left hand are analyzed to control the home appliances,and the path of right hand fingertip movement is tracked,discrete direction vectors are calculated.Baum-Welch algorithm is used to train the discrete direction vector,Viterbi algorithm for dynamic gesture recognition is used to achieve home appliances control.Experimental result shows that the method can effectively complete control function of home appliances in digital home environment constructed.


Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) performed audit calculations of a Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) seized/sheared shaft transient for the Westinghouse Seabrook Plant using RELAP5/MOD 1.5 (Cycle 32) and FRAP-T6. The objective was to determine the effect of time of loss of offsite power and other single component failures on the peak clad temperature. The RCP shaft seizure event was modeled in RELAP5 by using the pump model shaft stop option. In modeling the sheared shaft failure, the faulted pump was replaced with a branch component having no flow losses. In general, the RELAP5-predicted system response for the seized shaft transient was very comparable to the results presented in the Seabrook FSAR, although the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) pressure response was somewhat different. The RELAP5 sheared-shaft analysis results were very similar to those for the seized shaft.


There are in total 18 chapters split into 3 sections. The first section talks about basic concepts of the measurement process related to the acquisition of magnetic resonance images covering potential sources of variations or unexpected errors in acquired images and potential corrections amongst others. Section B concerns techniques that are designed to try and measure independent parameters within the brain. These range from the direct measurement of proton density, T1 and T2 (chapters 4, 5 and 6) through measurement of diffusion and magnetization transfer (chapter 7 and 8), but also include the more biologically directly appropriate methods of spectroscopy, T1 and T2 dynamic contrast enhanced MR, functional MRI and arterial spin labelling (chapters 10– 13). Section C is a single chapter that reviews the biological significance of measured MR parameters in multiple sclerosis. This chapter stands alone and it might have been nice to see other specific disease-related chapters although I do not think the book suffers significantly for their lack. Finally section D deals with pure ''image analysis'' techniques including spatial registration of images, measurement of structural volume and detection of atrophy, measurement of shape and texture and statistical methods for measuring subtle changes in diffuse disease.


Background: Progression of disease after hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection differs among individuals, indicating a possibility of participation of host genetic factors. 2′‐5′‐oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS‐1), an important component of the innate immune system, has an antiviral function, and may therefore have a certain relationship with progression of disease.


Fine-grained recognition is a challenge that the computer vision community faces nowadays. The main category of the object is known in this problem and the goal is to determine the subcategory or fine-grained category. Vehicle make and model recognition (VMMR) is a hard fine-grained classification problem, due to the large number of classes, substantial inner-class and small inter-class distance. In this study, a novel approach has been proposed for VMMR based on latent SVM formulation. This approach automatically finds a set of discriminative parts in each class of vehicles by employing a novel greedy parts localisation algorithm, while learning a model per class using both features extracted from these parts and the spatial relationship between them. An effective and practical multi-class data mining method is proposed to filter out hard negative samples in the training procedure. Employing these trained individual models together, the authors' system can classify vehicles make and model with a high accuracy. For evaluation purposes, a new dataset including more than 5000 vehicles of 28 different makes and models has been collected and fully annotated. The experimental results on this dataset and the CompCars dataset indicate the outstanding performance of the authors' approach.


Storage is the key part of grain logistics where aeration is very essential to keep the grain safe. Exploring the intelligent method in modeling of stored grain aeration is helpful to effectively predict the aeration process and solve the problem of on-line calculation. The BP neural network was used for modeling in this paper. Firstly, the mechanical model used to collect data for modeling was presented and the topology of the neural network was determined. The initial grain moisture, initial grain temperature, air inlet air velocity, inlet air temperature, inlet air relative humidity and aeration time were chosen as the input variables, and the temperature and moisture of grain, the intergranular air temperature and humidity were the output variables. Then the BP neural network was trained and tested using the collected data. The simulation results showed that the BP neural network model could accurately predict the temperature and moisture content of grain during aeration, and provided an intelligent solution for stored grain aeration modeling.


The authors present a new algorithm for power system security analysis considering voltage security problems. The approach is based on the newly developed adaptive prefilter (APF). Reduced models are used for both contingency selection and analysis. A fast and reliable prescreening procedure is used to screen out a large portion of noncritical cases at very little cost and provide the information needed in building reduced models for the selection and analysis procedure after the prescreening. Tests show that the proposed approach is fast and reliable. The efficiency of this algorithm is achieved due to the following; a large portion of noncritical cases are filtered out at very little cost by the APF module, fast one P and fast one Q iterations are used for the contingency selection, and reduced models are used for the AC analysis, and some of the 1P-1Q iterations applied in the contingency selection are utilized in the contingency analysis procedure. >


In this paper, we propose a new approach to the development and learning of children and students. The main idea is to combine a full-fledged video game and real microcontrollers. To complete the quests in the game, it is necessary to collect electronic circuits with microcontroller and various sensors. The Unity3D game engine is selected to develop the virtual game. Arduino microcontroller is used to create real electronic circuits. For testing, several puzzles with two-dimensional graphics were developed. The results showed that some sensors work with a delay of about half a second. For the rest, Unity3D correctly receives and processes data from Arduino microcontroller.


This paper proposes a framework to assess the convenience of the current public debt denomination of the Chilean Government, through its implications on fiscal budget risk management. A "Value at Risk" methodology is proposed to compare alternative denominations regarding currency and interest rate. This methodology computes the implicit volatility of the budget's result considering both the variance of individual accounts, as well as their respective covariance, and permits to compare quantitatively the relative risk of different debt denominations. The exercise suggests that changing the current debt denomination in fixed interest payments to variable payments indexed to Libor or government bond rates would significantly reduce the volatility of fiscal results. If more recent correlations are considered in the exercise, the results also suggest reducing current currency denomination in US dollars towards a stronger position in euros. An additional analysis that considers the volatility of estimated correlations, however, recommends taking previous conclusions with caution.


This paper describes a formation control proposal for unicycle-type mobile robots under the leader-follower scheme with mounted camera. The control objective is determined directly in image space, hence this proposal corresponds with the Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) alternative. Using the Lyapunov stability theory, two controllers are designed: one that depends partially on the parameters of the vision system and another one that is robust to the three-dimensional parameters of the features that are mapped to the image space (the image features). Finally, experiments on a soft real-time platform with satisfactory results are carried out to validate the proposed theory.


FIELD: physics. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a light sensor device comprising a substrate (18), a first light sensitive area (14, 15), and a second light sensitive area (12, 13), a first optical filter device (22) assigned to said first area (14) and adapted to filter the visible light spectrum and a second optical filter device (24) assigned to said second area (12) and adapted to filter the non-visible light spectrum, preferably infrared light spectrum. Said first and second light sensitive areas (12, 14) are made on the same substrate (18) adjacent to each other to form a single integrated sensor component. An infrared light-emitting diode is placed on the substrate (18) to transmit information and/or said signals through infrared light. The invention also relates to a lamp, having such a light sensor device (10). EFFECT: invention provides design of a light sensor which is compact, relatively cheap and easy to assemble. 13 cl, 2 dwg


This lower support contact lens (1) is characterized in that it comprises a thin pad (9) arranged in the lower portion of the lens, this slim beach (9) having an outer face connected to the rest of the outer face (E) of the lens by a recess and an inner face confused with the rest of the inner surface (i) of the lens, said recess defining said lower support (1).


A protein purification method comprising: a purification step for, after preparing a solution that contains a monomer of a target protein and aggregates thereof, removing the aggregates of the target protein with the use of a cation exchange chromatography carrier, said carrier comprising at least one kind of weak cation exchange group and having a cation exchange group density higher than 30 mmol/L, to thereby give a purified solution of the monomer; and a virus-removal step for removing viruses from the purified solution with the use of a virus removal membrane having a logarithmic virus removal ratio of 3 or greater.


This book provides basic information and advice about reproduction pregnancy child birth infant feeding and care the postpartum period and methods of family planning. The primary audience for the book is women of reproductive age in developing countries. Chapter 1 covers topics related to conception such as hormones genes ovulation and fertilization. Chapter 2 deals with the beginning of pregnancy. Chapter 3 follows the week-by-week growth of a baby in the uterus. Chapter 4 discusses prenatal care and chapter 5 considers pregnancy-induced changes in a womans body and minor problems associated with pregnancy. Chapter 6 provides advice about what to do if things go wrong. Chapter 7 tells a pregnant woman how to look after herself. Chapter 8 covers preparations for the birth and includes information on bearing twins. Chapter 9 describes labor and the birth experience and what to do in the case of a birth without a midwife present. Chapter 10 deals with breast feeding and artificial feeding of an infant. Chapter 11 discusses the new baby and chapter 12 considers the postpartum condition of a womans body. The final chapter provides information on various means of contraception in order to space children.


Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are key elements for fiber lasers or sensors to measure strain or temperature. Using femtosecond laser pulses for inscription provides high temperature stable modifications [1]. Point by point inscription enables very flexible control of the Bragg wavelength however at the expense of coupling to cladding modes [2, 3]. In contrast a phase mask technique, where the interference behind the phase mask produces a grating [4], allows to suppress coupling to cladding modes by scanning fiber and phase mask with respect to the beam [5]. This results in high reproducibility however at the cost of a fixed period. Several approaches exist to overcome this limitation, e.g. by tuning the wavefront [6], all having certain drawbacks.


This paper is a continuation of work reported in the Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers for May 1928 by the same authors. A more extended study of echo signals with particular reference to directional characteristics and to diurnal variations has been carried out. Attention has also been given to the question of the relations between the echo signal and the frequency. Distortions, probably due to echo signals, have been recorded on long distance transmission. The relation between the echo signal and effective height of the Kennelly-Heaviside layer has been discussed.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of partial and simultaneous interpersonal communication and organizational climate simultaneously on the performance of employees of PT. South Prima Sejahtera Jaya Pekanbaru. The sample in this study were all employees of PT. South Prima Sejahtera Jaya Pekanbaru totaling 35 people. The technique of collecting data using questionnaires. Data analysis technique is quantitative descriptive method and regression. The results showed that interpersonal communication variables (X1) partially no effect on the performance of employees, organizational climate variables (X2) partially affect the performance and interpersonal communication variables (X1) and organizational climate variables (X2) simultaneously affect the performance of employees of PT. Selatan Prima Sejahtera Jaya Pekanbaru. Companies are advised to keep their employees working organizational climate in a way to keep the working atmosphere is created in a conducive environment so that employees will feel happier in their daily work. Working atmosphere needs to be maintained is the working atmosphere among employees and between employees and management. Keywords : Interpersonal Communication, Organizational Climate, Performance.


This paper aims to reveal students' pro-environmental behavior in a High School. Self-reported behavior assessment was administered in this study involving students with age range 15 to 18 years. Pro-environmental behavior in this study comprises six domains. Those are recycling, waste avoidance, consumerism, energy conservation, mobility and transportation, and vicarious conservation behavior. Pro-environmental behavior (PEB) of science class students was compared to behavior of non-science class students. Effect of students' grade level and extracurricular activity on the behavior was evaluated. Study revealed that science could improve students' PEB. It is because environmental topics are covered in science class. Student's involvement in extracurricular activity may enhance PEB as well. In conclusion, students' PEB is influenced by class program (science or non-science) but it is not influenced by time length in learning science. This finding could be consider by science educator in choosing strategy to enhance student's pro-environmental behaviour.


Electric resistance spot welding which is an important process in auto-body assembly ib simulated by a 3-D finite element code developed. The main interest in the simulation is the quality of welding and the durability of electrodes, which needs electrothermal analysis for temperature distribution in both electrodes and welded sheets. A finite element formulation is derived for both electric analysis and thermal analysis that are coupled together. The contact r&stance between electrodes and sheets is especially treated with artificial interface elements in which the material properties for electric and thermal analybir are &ficially imposed fur physically reasonable simulation.


We present the preparation of nanometer-size organic crystals using femtosecond laser induced forward transfer (Fs-LIFT) method. 1,4-Bis(4-methylstyryl)benzene (BSB-Me) nanocrystals are directly deposited on the substrate to form a nanocrystal film. Size and morphology as functions of applied laser fluence are investigated. We show that monodispersed organic nanoparticles with size varying from 40 nm to 300 nm could be obtained by careful adjustment of the experimental conditions. The produced nanoparticles exhibit well defined shapes, such as cube and tetrahedron with rather sharp edges. The as-prepared products have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM and selected area electron diffraction. The organic nanoparticles are demonstrated single crystalline, and FTIR spectra before and after the Fs-LIFT process shows that no significant chemical decomposition occurs during the process.


On September 28, 2018, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The disaster has caused severe damage on water supply systems; therefore, the affected households have confronted water supply crisis. In addition, the loss of houses als


As historians evaluate the impact of the Cold War and the rise of the national security state on American society, they will certainly need to pause and consider the significance of a series of human radiation experiments that were conducted on thousands of United States' citizens during and after World War II. Coming at a time when the victorious Allied powers were putting Nazi leaders on trial for crimes against humanity, and at a time when American leaders were trumpeting the glories of individualism and free choice over the evils of unfettered state power and mindless conformity in the Communist world, these experiments raise fundamental questions about American ideology and policy in the postwar era. The Plutonium Files is based on a series of Pulitzer Prize investigative reports that Eileen Welsome wrote for the Albuquerque Tribune in 1993. The book takes its name from an experiment conducted from 1945 until 1947 in which 18 patients were injected with plutonium, almost all of them with 5 micrograms, (2 were injected with 94.91 micrograms) at a time when the "tolerance dose" of plutonium was listed as 1 microgram. The author painstakingly recreates this and many other experiments on people with radioactive substances, and analyzes the Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) "vast network of national laboratories, universities, and hospitals that would investigate every imaginable effect of radiation over the next three decades" (p. 198). The book is also notable for its identification of the victims and its effort to understand what they went through. While historians might have hoped for more context for this story, the author does a stunning job of laying bare the government's role in sponsoring these experiments, including its mostly successful effort to keep them secret from the American public as well as from the patients themselves.


Test air nozzle at lab, research the relationship among unit impact, linear impact, and effective coverage width with spraying distance, the relationship among noise, and air flow rate with air pressure, supply the guideline on selection of air nozzle.


Investigations are described of the neutron flux distribution in a horizontal graphite thermal column with a short vertical stub near the end remote from the neutron source. It is shown that by introducing large voids in the column and stub the spatial distribution of flux at both vertical and horizontal access may be adjusted and, if desired, made symmetrical. At the same time the magnitude of the flux at both faces is greatly increased over that for a similar soIid column, by factors of up to 80. Computer calculations relate the fluxes observed using a 500 mC radium beryllium source to the fluxes expected when the neutron source is a reactor core, particularly of the swimming pool type. (auth)


This type of qualitative research approach through Phenomenology, as results showed that the tourism sector is an important sector in stimulating the economic development of both the macro level as well as the micro level, the success of tourism vary Depending on the seriousness of the Government and the support of the whole party is either an element of Government, private, community and among educators, in addition to that aspect of the management of the leading resource-based and reliable promotion will accelerate success tourism in Indonesia.


WORLD BALLET BECAME A CHRISTshe describes The Nutcracker as an immiMAS TRADITION IN THE NEW WORLD grant who is disliked in his old country, and by Jennifer Fisher. New Haven: Yale Univerwho successfully goes on to find a new sity Press, 2ooj. xix+2jo pp., illustrations, home in America (200 n^). Like many notes, bibliography, index. $2j.oo cloth. immigrants, The Nutcracker has a multifaceted identity. He is, says Fisher, "elite but Nutcracker Nation is a surprisingly fresh and accessible, serious but fun, decorative but inspiring ethnographic study of a ballet meaningful" (51). This personification of that, to some people, has grown a little The Nutcracker also organizes the book's stale. Almost every professional, regional, chapters as a chronological pseudobiograand amateur ballet company does its verphy. For example, in the first chapter, "The sion of The Nutcracker, and not always at Early Years," Fisher discusses Ivanov's creChristmas. Some aficionados have gone ation of the ballet and the slow process so far as to call The Nutcracker phenomenon of its growth to popularity. The second "a disease," but this characterization is chapter, "Making Friends at Christmasprobably too strong, especially given the retime," suggests an account of the ballet's suits of Jennifer Fisher's study (see Nagy happy childhood ensconced within a rich in Footnotes). Her book reminds us of the and supportive network of many different complexity of The Nutcracker as a familiar people for whom it has become an imand meaningful ritual. This is a book for portant annual ritual. The final chapter enanyone who participates in the dance titled, "The Meaning of Life," evokes cornworld, whether on the stage, in the audimon associations with the golden years ence, or at the studio. It is for anyone who of life. Here Fisher looks at the various has ever loved ballet, even if that love is as meanings The Nutcracker has for different worn and squashed as an old, forgotten pair communities, and its variations and transof ballet slippers at the back of the closet. formations (including a bharata natyam The Nutcracker was first presented, version by Vigi Prakash, a classical Indian Fisher tells us, in 1892 at the Maryinsky dancer-choreographer living in Southern Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Pyotr California [93]). Ilich Tchaikovsky created the score, and Fisher composed her study using a Lev Ivanov took over as choreographer in "participant oriented" methodology that place of an ailing Marius Petipa. The story contrasts with more text-based analyses, was adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 Whereas the latter tend to assume that short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse texts, such as The Nutcracker, dictate meanKing." Although the critics panned the ing, Fisher's approach acknowledges the ballet in Russia, bits and pieces of it continreader, dancer, or viewer as an active partued to be performed throughout Europe ner in the production of meanings within and America, and the first American fullspecific contexts (207 ni2). By the end of length version "after Ivanov" turned up at the book, one realizes that Fisher has the San Francisco Ballet in 1944. watched many more Nutcrackers than the Fisher provides an informative and lively average balletomane. She collects anecdotes account of The Nutcrackers migration. Folfrom audience members, performers, and lowing a conceit suggested in a 1976 Newscritics, as well as Nutcracker paraphernalia


We are grateful for the opportunity to comment on the article by Schmidli, Rogers, and Akacha (2021). The article covers very broadly many important subjects concerning estimands in the settings of studying recurrent events when death can be present. In this commentary we would like to share our thoughts on some of the subjects. In a clinical trial where mortality rate is not small, the estimand issues with studying the first occurrence of a nonfatal event are already challenging. In chronic heart failure trials, an analysis of the first hospitalization may suggest that a test treatment which reduces mortality compared to a control treatment appears to increase the probability of hospitalization. This can be observed simply because patients with a high risk of hospitalization may die earlier under the control treatment. In cardiovascular outcome trials, a nonfatal event such as silent myocardial infarction that may or may not be observable could be an intercurrent event and presumably could affect the probability of occurrence of another nonfatal event of interest. The test treatment and the control treatment may affect such intercurrent events distinctly on multiple aspects such as the probability of occurrence and patient's health conditions. Composite endpoint which is commonly used to capture such a complex series of events can be viewed as a special type of composite strategy defined in International Council on Harmonisation (2019). A causal estimand can be defined for the first occurrence of a composite endpoint, by borrowing the framework laid out in Sections 3 and 4 of the article. As an example, the definition can be made simply by replacing N(z) with I[S(z)<T], where S (z) is the time to the first nonfatal event or death for the treatment group z . For the first nonfatal event, we can use I[S∗(z)<min[(D(z), T)], where S∗ (z) is the time to the first nonfatal event. However, the first composite endpoint or the first nonfatal event could not capture the relationships among all nonfatal events which may be recurrent events such as recurrent hospitalizations or multiple-type events, for example, myocardial infarction or stroke. The inter-relationships among the events are undoubtfully complex. For instance, in chronic heart failure trials, does delaying the first hospitalization always delay subsequent hospitalization(s) farther in time? This complexity could challenge the clinical meaningfulness of the causal estimand as defined for the first hospitalization or even for the


We proposed a joint modulation format identification and OSNR monitoring method. Identification accuracies are all 100% and the mean absolute errors of OSNR monitoring are 0.067-dB, 0.118-dB, 0.17-dB, 0.327-dB, 0.345-dB for PDM-QPSK/-8QAM/-16QAM/-32QAM/-64QAM, respectively.


Global warming has been on the agenda over the past few years. Solutions to global warming and energy efficiency problems have brought with them the need for green building market. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a certification system regulating the compliance of green buildings to certain standards and is essential for construction projects focusing on sustainability and innovation. This study investigates the effects of sunshine duration on construction projects reducing annual electricity consumption and increasing renewable energy production. In this study, the effects of sunshine duration times on construction projects are located in different cities in Turkey which has gained point from LEED BD+C (NC) (LEED, Building Design + Construction: New Construction) certificate were analyzed with the help of getting the impact of annual electricity consumption and renewable energy production rates. It was our aim that the results will be used for construction projects in compliance with the "Energy and Atmosphere" category of the LEED BD+C certification system.


In The Sickness unto Death , Kierkegaard summed up everything he had to say about the self in one dense description. Needless to say, the passage needs a lot of unpacking. The human being is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation which relates to itself, or that in the relation which is its relating to itself. The self is not the relation but the relation's relating to itself. A human being is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of possibility and necessity, of the eternal and the temporal. In short a synthesis. A synthesis is a relation between the two terms. Looked at in this way a human being is not yet a self. In a relation between two things the relation is the third term in the form of a negative unity, and the two relate to the relation, and in the relation to that relation; this is what it is from the point of view of soul for soul and body to be in relation. If, on the other hand, the relation relates to itself, then this relation is the positive third, and this is the self. Such a relation, which relates to itself, a self, must either have established itself or been established by something else.


Using Majorana fermions and elementary mesons we find new massless quantum field theories with weakly interacting ultraviolet fixed points. We also find new classes of large N equivalences among SU, SO, and Sp gauge theories with different types of matter fields and Yukawa interactions. Results include a triality of asymptotically safe theories and dualities between asymptotically free matter-gauge theories with identical fixed points, phase diagrams, and scaling exponents. Implications for conformal field theory and orbifold reductions are indicated.


This paper presents a reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO) using bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO). Topology optimization is formulated as volume minimization problem with probabilistic displacement constraint. Young's modulus, external load and thickness are considered as uncertain variables. In order to compute reliability index, four methods, i.e., RIA, PMA, SLSV and ADL(adaptive-loop), are used. Reliability-based topology optimization design process is conducted to obtain optimal topology satisfying displacement and reliability index constraints with the above four methods, and then each result is compared with respect to numerical stability and computing time.


To develop more accurate global carbon (C) budgets and to better inform management of human activities in the ocean, we need high-resolution estimates of marine C stocks. Here we quantify global marine sedimentary C stocks at a 1-km resolution, and find that marine sediments store ∼ 3117 (3006–3209) Pg C in the top 1 m (more than twice that of terrestrial soils). Sediments in abyss/basin zones account for 75% of the global marine sediment C stock, and 52% of that stock is within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones of countries. Currently, only ∼2% of sediment C stocks are located in highly to fully protected areas that prevent the disturbance of the seafloor. Our results show that marine sediments represent a large and globally important C sink. However, the lack of protection for marine C stocks makes them highly vulnerable to human disturbances that can lead to their remineralization to CO2, further aggravating climate change impacts.


cratic centralism, are not in the habit of airing publicly substantive disagreements on policy issues. Finally, even if one concedes the existence of Soviet "arms controllers" and "militarists," given the overall thrust of both Soviet SALT negotiating strategy and arms acquisition strategy, it is problematic whether the "arms controllers" have had more than a circumscribed influence on Soviet national security policy output. The methodological weaknesses of The Soviet Union and SALT should not distract the reader from the substantive points contained in later chapters. The most interesting and best-argued of the points is found in chapter 11 where the author takes up the question of whether "Soviet acceptance of arms control measures, such as strategic arms limitation, indicate any desire for any overall settlement with the West" (p. 91). The result is a solid piece of research, as Payne explains the synergistic rather than contradictory nature of Soviet foreign policy that calls at once for cooperation and conflict with the capitalist states under the rubric of peaceful coexistence. In concluding that "the SALT agreements do not imply any reduction in the general Soviet drive to attain predominance over the United States" (p. 102), Payne is sure to encounter dissenters. Nevertheless, his analysis is based on sound understanding of Soviet ideology and the Kremlin's global adventures over the past few years lend ample support to his view.


Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) are one of the main drivers for space weather disturbances. In the past, different machine learning approaches have been used to automatically detect events in existing time series resulting from solar wind in situ data. However, classification, early detection and ultimately forecasting still remain challenges when facing the large amount of data from different instruments. We attempt to further enhance existing convolutional neural network (CNN) models through extending their possibilities to process data from multiple spacecraft and to include a post processing step commonly used in the area of computer vision. Additionally, we make an effort to extend the previously binary classification problem to a multiclass classification, to also include corotating interaction regions (CIRs) into the range of detectable phenomena. Ultimately, we aspire to explore the suitability of several other methods used in time series forecasting, in order to pave the way for the elaboration of an early warning system.