Miscanthus ×giganteus has potential as a biomass feedstock for bioenergy production in cold environments. However, its sterility, high cost propagation and relative lack of cold tolerance constrain its cultivation especially during its first winter. Diploid Miscanthus sinensis is a closely related species with substantial genetic diversity, amenable to seed propagation and broadly distributed across a range of environments in eastern Asia including Japan. Forty-three wild Japanese M. sinensis populations collected across a range of latitudes (from N31°30′ in southern to N44°30′ northern Japan) and altitudes (0–1375 m) were evaluated in Sapporo (N43°; 56 m), Japan to assess morphological traits, winter survival and biomass productivity (BP). Seventy percent of M. sinensis from Hokkaido Island and 67% from other areas of Japan survived over three winter seasons in Sapporo. M. sinensis populations from cooler climates and higher elevations in other areas of Japan showed greater number of tillers, plant height and leaf length whose characteristics were associated with high BP. BP varied among accessions with higher potential productivity in plants from other areas of Japan than from Hokkaido, but annual biomass yield increase is less in the other Japan group. The present study concludes that wild M. sinensis populations from other areas of Japan could be used for domestication as an energy crop in cold environment areas such as Hokkaido. With the observed variability that exists among wild populations, further genetic improvement of M. sinensis for high yield and stability in BP is feasible.


Tourism has become one of the largest social phenomena of this century, with important implications for the economy, encompassing various forms of manifestation and development across different regions and countries. The ever-stronger processes of industrialization and urbanization alienate humans from nature at an alarming pace. One of the aims of tourism is to bring back the humans in the middle of nature. The motivation for the analysis of the RucAƒr-Bran areal depression is based on a novel type of tourism, the rural tourism, which became popular after 1990. The charm of the RucAƒr-Bran area is given by the harmonious landscape and gently varying topography which borrows its grandeur and monumentality from the neighboring mountains. Besides the spectacular natural tourist attractions, the area is also rich in man-made ones, such as the valuable traditional buildings in the ancient settlements of the area, which add to the list of reasons why the RucAƒr-Bran areal is sought and visited by many tourists.


Aim: To compare soft tissue chin, upper lip thickness and length in patients with different mandibular divergent patterns.
Materials and Methods: Pre-treatment lateral cephalograms of 180 patients was taken. Based on the mandibular plane angle (GoGn-SN), all the subjects were divided into three groups, Group 1 - hyper-divergent (30 males, 30 females), Group 2 - hypo-divergent (30 males, 30 females), Group 3- normo-divergent (30 males, 30 females). Soft tissue chin, upper lip thickness and length were measured on the cephalograms. The measurements were recorded by the same operator and analysed statistically.
Results: Soft tissue chin thickness (Pog-Pog'), (Gn-Gn') and (Me-Me') was found to be statistically significant only between hyperdivergent & hypodivergent groups (p=0.008), (p
Conclusion: Soft tissue chin thickness was greatest in the hypodivergent group as compared to the other groups. Greater values for lip thickness were observed for hypodivergent patients. No difference in lip length was seen for all the groups.

Keywords: Soft tissue analysis, Cephalometrics, Mandibular divergence.


Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH) is one of a group of primary headaches disorders known as the trigeminal autonomic cephalgias (TACs) (1), which also includes the more common entity of cluster headache. These headaches share a number of clinical characteristics, such as their unilateral first and second division trigeminal pain and ipsilateral cranial autonomic activation. They also probably share pathophysiological similarities as demonstrated by recent functional imaging studies. Clinical differentiation between the two entities may be difficult because of the phenotypic overlap between them before a trial of medication (2, 3). This differential diagnosis hinges on important and intriguing differences between them in their response to medication. The pain and autonomic features of CPH respond uniquely and absolutely to indomethacin (4) but not triptans, whereas most cluster headache sufferers have a striking benefit with subcutaneous sumatriptan but no response to indomethacin. It is well known that cluster headache is readily triggered by nitric oxide (NO) donors, e.g. glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), during active headache periods (5), but not during the asymptomatic interval (5). GTN triggering of CPH has not previously been reported. This report concerns a 78-year-old lady whose attacks of CPH could be triggered by GTN. Indomethacin abolished not only her spontaneous CPH attacks but also those triggered by GTN.


Rhaptic, and two configurations of the Markerless Motion Capture (Mmocap) system (with 2D or 3D tracking of hands). The fifth group was trained with a video tutorial. A post-training test carried out the day after evaluated performance in the real task. The experiment studies the efficiency and effectiveness of each interaction technology for learning the task, taking in consideration both quantitative measures (such as training time, real task performance, evolution from the virtual task to real one), and qualitative data (user feedback from a questionnaire). Results show that there were no significant differences in the final performance among the five groups. However, users trained under mouse and 2D-tracking Mmocap systems took significantly less training time than the rest of the virtual modalities. This brings out two main outcomes: (1) the perception of collisions using haptics does not increase the learning transfer of procedural tasks demanding low motor skills and (2) Mmocap-based interactions can be valid for training this kind of tasks. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4028588]


The article presents a review of the book "Life Annuities: An Optimal Product for Retirement Income" by Moshe A. Milevsky.


The chemisorption of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ on Ti(0001) is treated with use of an ab initio configuration-interaction theory for the surface region. Dissociation of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ occurs above the surface but more stable threefold coordination sites lie closer to the surface at \ensuremath{\sim} 1.3 \AA{}. Adsorption in adjacent threefold sites is less stable than in separated sites sharing only one surface atom. Bonding is predominantly with the $4s$ electrons of the metal leading to hydridic hydrogens and a polarized lattice electronic distribution.


The SISO mixed H/sub 2//l/sub 1/ problem for discrete time systems is studied. It is shown that there exists a unique optimal solution for this problem. The optimal solution can be approximated within any prescribed missing error bound in l/sub 2/ norm with solvable suboptimal solutions and solvable super-optimal solutions.


Awarding Institution: University of California Davis, USA
Date of Award: June 2010

Because of the dangerous nature of threats, investigators must immediately ask: Is the intent real? Is the threatener likely to act? With real lives at risk, using the linguistic information available to answer these questions quickly and accurately is of great importance. Yet, because most scholarship on threats has focused exclusively on behavioral characteristics or on their relation to individual linguistic forms (e.g., Rosenfeld and Harmon 2002, Meloy and Hoff mann 2008, Smith 2008), there is still a substantial lack of understanding of the discursive nature of threatening language and a lack of empirical evidence demonstrating how threateners encode their level of commitment to the proposed act or reveal their attitudes about the victim. Th e purpose of this research, then, is to explore the ways in which nterpersonal stances, or a speaker or writer's commitment to or attitudes about a person or proposition (Biber et al. 1999), are manifested and function in threatening communications.


Obesity may cause the lipid metabolisms disorder so that a risk factor for hypercholesterolemic. Catechin and epigallocatechin gallate in white tea potentially inhibit lipase activity. Caffeine compounds and catechin derivatives have a role as antihypercholesterolemic. The objective of this study was to explore antiobesity and antihypercholesterolemic activity from white tea infusions to lipase and total cholesterol in rats model fed a high-fat-diet. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups. Negative control group was administered with distilled water. The positive control group was administered with orlistat dose 14.2 mg/kgBW. Group 3 rd , 4 th , and 5 th were treated with white tea infussion doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kgBW/day, respectivelly. period and feed intake was calculated daily during the treatment. White tea doses of 500 mg/kgBW decrease the total cholesterol by 37.16±11 mg/dL, lipase level of 23.70±0.64 U/L, weight up to 3.53±1.21 g/day and decrease feed intake by 12.71±1.76 g/day. The infusion of white tea can decrease total cholesterol level, lipase level, body weight and feed intake. This study concluded that infusion of white tea has antiobesity and antihypercholesterolemic effect on rats fed high-fat-diet.


It is well known that memory material learnt some time before an ECS will be forgotten to an abnormal extent. Most of the psychological methods used to study retrograde amnesia after an ECS in man do not seem to be either sensitive or reliable enough to be used to study possible differences between influence on retention by an ECS when induced by different methods, under different conditions or in different groups of individuals.-For a review see Cronholm & Lagergren (1959). A priori it seems just as reasonable to assume that a dose of Evipan given after learning will facilitate or hamper retention. Several investigations have shown the disturbing influence of activity on retention of memory material, and that sleep immediately after learning improves retention (see Woodworth & Schlossberg (1954) ) , It is thus possible that if sleep (or at least drowsiness) is medically induced shortly after learning, retention will be better than when the patient remains awake. On the other hand, Leukel (1957) found that anesthetization of rats by means of sodium pentothal 1 min. after each trial during maze learning slowed the rate of habit acquisition. Anesthetization 30 min. after learning had no such effect, however. He concludes that sodium pentothal has the effect of attenuating a "consolidation" process following each experimental trial.


The 2-ferra-3-azetine complexes Fe{sub 2}({mu}-CHCH{double_bond}NR)(CO){sub 6}, which form from the reaction of Fe{sub 2}({mu}-CH{sub 2})(CO){sub 8} with phosphinimines, have been found to react photochemically with a variety of alkynes (R{sup 1}C{triple_bond}CR{sup 2}) by inserting the alkyne into the four-membered metallacycle to give the 2-ferrapyridine complexes Fe{sub 2}({mu}-C(R{sup 1})C(R{sup 2})CHCH{double_bond}NR)(CO){sub 6}. Two of the 2-ferrapyridine complexes have been crystallographically characterized and shown to consist of six-membered metallacycles having adjacent iron and nitrogen atoms with this metallacycle {pi}-coordinated to the second iron atom by three carbon atoms and an Fe-Fe bond. Terminal alkynes (R{sup 1} = Me, Ph, Bu{sup t}, SiMe{sub 3}) undergo the insertion regioselectively to give only the 2-ferrapyridine isomer with the substituted carbon adjacent to the iron atom. Unsymmetrical internal alkynes insert to give generally a mixture of isomers which is influenced by the steric and electronic nature of the alkyne substituents. The 2-ferrapyridine complex Fe{sub 2}({mu}-C(Ph)CHCHCH{double_bond}NBu{sup t})(CO){sub 6} was shown to undergo a ring contraction when heated at 160 {degrees}C under CO (500 psi) to five the new 2-ferra-3-azetine complex Fe{sub 2}({mu}-C[CH{double_bond}C(Ph)(H)]CH{double_bond}NR)(CO){sub 6}, which has also been crystallographically characterized and has a vinyl substituent attached to the 3-carbon of the 2-ferra-3-azetine ring. When heated, the 2-ferrapyridine complexes releasedmore » 2-pyridinones and pyrroles with the ratio of these products dependent upon the ring substituents and the conditions employed. 21 refs., 3 figs., 9 tabs.« less


Alongside the many structural and political processes generated by the #FeesMustFall student protests between 2015 and 2016 were narratives and discourses about revitalising the transformation of universities throughout South Africa. It was the very notion of "transformation," diluted by neo-liberal macro-economic restructuring from the late 1990s, that students jettisoned as they increasingly embraced the importance of "decolonisation." By exploring some of the key debates and interventions driven by the #FeesMustFall movement, we consider how earlier trajectories of feminist knowledge-making resonate with these. The article also reflects on how aspects of intellectual activism within the student protests can deepen and push back the frontiers of contemporary South African academic feminism. In so doing, it explores how radical knowledge-making at, and about, universities, has contributed to radical political thought in South Africa.


The research aims to statement of human pre-school children and detect its impact on building his character from the perspective of Islamic Education, to achieve the objectives of the research approaches were used descriptive and deductive analytical basis in addressing the issue of the study.
And which concluded that Islam admitted to pre-school children a set of rights, notably the right of breastfeeding, and the right to play and the right of alimony and learn social etiquette.
All of these rights contribute to the construction of the integrated child's personality aspects of the physical, mental, psychological and moral, social and religious.
The study recommended the holding of seminars and lectures that contribute to the definition of the Rights of the Child and its impact on building his character.


The current study examined parental awareness of their child's cyberbullying experiences in relation to the implementation of restrictive mediation strategies (e.g., interaction and technical restrictions) among children in elementary school and adolescents in high school. Canadian parent-child dyads (N = 102) completed a survey where parents reported their perceptions of their child or adolescent's involvement in cyber aggression, cyber victimization, and witnessing cyber aggression, while children and adolescents (ages 8–16) reported their own experiences. Mean difference scores were calculated to examine parental awareness. The results showed that parents of children in elementary school underestimated their participation in cyber aggression, whereas parents of adolescents in high school overestimated their participation in cyber aggression. In addition, parents of adolescents who did not use restrictive mediation underestimated the extent to which their adolescent witnessed cyber aggression. Overall, this study highlights the importance of parenting practices and parental knowledge of negative online behaviour across childhood and adolescence.


Lower aliphatic amines are derivatives of ammonia with one, two, or all three of the hydrogen atoms replaced by alkyl groups of five carbons or less. Amines with higher alkyl groups are known as fatty amines. Amines are toxic, colorless gases or liquids, highly flammable, and have strong odors. Lower mol wt amines are water soluble and are sold as aqueous solutions and in pure form. Amines react with water and acids to form alkylammonium compounds analogous to ammonia. The base strengths in water of the primary, secondary, and tertiary amines and ammonia are essentially the same. The lower aliphatic amines are widely used as intermediates in the manufacture of medicinal, agricultural, textile, rubber, and plastic chemicals. Some commercially important alkylamines are methylamine, dimethylamine, ethylamine, n-propylamine, isopropylamine, allylamine, n-butylamine, isobutylamine, sec-butylamine, ethyl-n-butylamine, n-amylamine. The formation of salts with acids is the most characteristic reaction of amines. Alkylamine are corrosive to copper, copper-containing alloys (brass), aluminum, zinc, zinc alloy, and galvanized surfaces. Lower aliphatic amines can be prepared by a variety of methods, using many different types of raw materials. By far the largest commercial applications involve the reaction of alcohol with ammonia to form the corresponding amines. Other methods are employed depending on the particular amine desired, raw material availability, and plant economics. The U. S. Department of Transportation requires labeling of all shipments of amines commensurate with the associated hazards. Alkylamines are toxic. Both the liquids and vapors can cause severe irritation to mucous membranes, eyes, and skin. Protective butyl rubber gloves, aprons, chemical face shields, and self-contained breathing apparatus should be used by all personnel handling alkylamines.

Keywords:

Alkylamines;
Nitrosoamines;
Amination;
Reduction;
Ritter reaction;
Amines;
lower aliphatic


: Lindqvist-type polyoxometalates (POMs) derivatized with pyrrole (Py) via an aryl − imido linkage [Mo 6 O 18 NPhPy] 2 − ( 1 ) and [Mo 6 O 18 NPhCCPhPy] 2 − ( 2 ) undergo coelectropolymerization with pyrrole, producing the fi rst electropolymer fi lms with covalently attached POM " molecular metal oxides " . X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) elemental analyses indicate that the loadings of POM achieved are far higher than in conventional, noncovalent inclusion fi lms, and covalent attachment prevents loss of POM on initial reduction cycles. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge − discharge measurements together indicate that the POMs enhance the speci fi c capacitance (up to 5 × ) and decrease the charge-transfer resistance of the fi lms by both modifying the behavior of the polypyrrole (PPy) fi lm and introducing a substantial additional faradaic contribution through the POM redox processes. Increasing the length of the POM − PPy linker improves both capacitance and stability, with PPy-2 retaining 95% of its initial capacitance over 1200 cycles.


Abstract Librarians and business researchers often deal with questions concerning business bankruptcies. Most bankruptcy sources are written for legal professionals and concentrate on code sections and case law. By contrast this article concentrates on business bankruptcy sources useful to non-lawyers. The beginning of the article explains basic types of bankruptcy and how to find information on a company in bankruptcy. The final section recommends general bankruptcy sources and those covering a specific bankruptcy area or topic.


China is a big agricultural country, and agriculture, as the primary industry, plays a very important role in the economic development. With the rapid economic development of our country, there is a big gap between rural areas and urban area's economic development. In order to promote the better development of our country's agricultural economy, the central government implements the agricultural supply-side structural reform to effectively promote the quality and quantity of agricultural products and the seamless connection between place of origin and consumption area through rural self-adjustment, thus promoting the better development of rural economy.


Problem. Mergers and acquisitions are traditional processes of redistribution of property rights in a market economy. Mergers are often used by companies to gain control over larger market segments and increase performance efficiency. The acquisition process is not always desirable for the target company and is often used to establish control over its assets. Thus, the problems of assessing the risk of hostile takeover of the enterprise and its prevention are extremely relevant at the current stage, especially in the transport sector of Ukraine. Goal. The goal of the work is to develop the methodology for assessing the risk of hostile takeover of a motor transport enterprise and suggest methods for preventing its occurrence. Methodology. During the study, the following research methods have been used: analysis and synthesis, logical analysis. Information resources of the study are electronic information resources and periodic publications. Results. The risk of hostile takeover of an enterprise is the probability that the enterprise will become the takeover target through the legal actions and methods taken by the acquirer, but the acquisition procedure itself is against the wishes of the target's board. The list of factors that determine the attractiveness of the potential acquisition target includes: the attractiveness of the enterprise in terms of its financial results and performance, the enterprise is not public, it occupies a considerable market segment, the enterprise operates as a joint-stock company, it is attractive in terms of further resale of its assets, the prospects of the industry in which the enterprise operates. According to the results of the studies assessing the risk level of hostile takeover of the group of motor transport enterprises, it has been revealed that 45% of enterprises are in the medium risk group. The following list of measures aimed at defending motor transport enterprises against hostile takeovers has been developed: the formation of optimal share capital structure; share consolidation when the majority shareholder holds the controlling interest; carrying out a sound dividend policy, the continuous monitoring of amounts and maturity dates of accounts payable, preventing the risk of arousing the counterparties' interest in the resale of debt obligations of the enterprise to others. Originality. The methodology for assessing the risk of hostile takeover of a motor transport enterprise and reasonable measures to prevent its occurrence have been proposed. Practical value. The proposed recommendations can be used by the owners and management of motor transport enterprises to build an effective system for preventing potential hostile takeovers.


The low number of female physicians in Japan is a significant diversity management issue. Policies such 'positive action' are needed to improve gender equality and eliminate gender barriers that form obstacles to female physicians who continue working as well as rearing children. This study investigated factors related to openness in implementing 'positive action' in healthcare organizations and in extending work-term appointments for child rearing among female physicians in Japan. A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire with 34 questions was distributed to 2,159 medical school alumni in 2011. Primary outcome measures were a?¾openness in implementing 'positive action' in academic hospitals' and in a?¾extending work-term appointments for child rearing'. Statistically significant relationships were identified using chisquare tests. A total of 453 responses were received: 51.7% females and 23.7% males approved to implement 'positive action'. Gender, Makiko Arima 147 Introduction Diversity management is a process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment in which the similarities and differences of individuals are valued (Patrick and Kumar, 2012). Effective diversity management is recognized in contemporary human resource management as a key to improving organizational performance, client service delivery and employee satisfaction (Victoria State Government, Australia, 2012). Many Japanese enterprises and local governments have started holding seminars on business skills and leadership such as the decision making process and how to become a motivational leader; they are implementing approaches to diversity management, such as introducing female promotion policies 'to set targets for the employment, and promotion to managerial positions of women', and flexible working systems, such as short work hours and work sharing. However, despite these advances, very few health organizations/hospitals in Japan have implemented any diversity management approaches; to date none has been listed among the enterprises included in the Japanese 'Diversity Management Selection 100' (Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2015). The low number of female physicians is a significant issue in clinical settings, including academic hospitals. In Japan, approximately 30% of students enrolled in medical schools are female but this percentage decreases by the time they finish training; female physicians account for only 19.7% (n=303268) of the medical workforce and this percentage decreases with age. Female physicians in their 30s make up approximately 30% of the medical workforce; those in their 40s, account for 20.4% and by their 50s and 60s only 13.0% and 9.7% respectively (Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2012). This situation has led to an underrepresentation of female physicians in senior positions and academic settings as well as an unbalanced gender distribution in clinical settings (Hancke et al. 2014). In many developed countries women still account for only a small percentage of those in prominent leadership positions in academia (Wietsma, 2014). An explanation given for the gender inequity in promotion is that women work fewer hours because of family obligations (Wietsma, 2014). The institutional and cultural structures of organizations/academic medicine affect gender inequity. Female physicians have reported that one of the causes of stress at work was the male-dominated society (Japan Medical Association Committee on Gender Equality, 2009). The women needed a 'gender-equal support system at workplace' to continue their career (Japan Medical Association Committee on Gender Equality, 2010). 'Positive action' is a term referring to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. It is defined as a?¾positive provision of the opportunities stipulated in the preceding item to either women or men within the necessary limits in order to redress gender disparities in terms of such opportunities.' (Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, 2011). Balancing family life and clinical practice is still challenging for Japanese female physicians. In a survey by the Japanese Medical Association Committee on Gender Equality (2009) 70% (n=2931) of female and male respondents reported that they had to forgo promising careers because of difficulties in raising children, balancing family life and a career. The proportion of Japanese physicians of both genders taking leave following childbirth is relatively low at 27.6% (n=2,978) (Japan Medical Association Committee on Gender Equality, 2010), and only 2.6% (n=4,286) of male physicians request paternity leave (Japan Medical Association Committee on Gender Equality, 2014). These findings indicate that, in clinical settings, the working environment does not support the physicians' need for a family life and leads to loss of expertise. In the Japanese clinical work system and in academic medicine, a work-term appointment is given to each physician at the beginning of their employment. This term is not usually extended, even for pregnancy, child rearing or care-giving for the elderly, although this is at the discretion of each health organization. Consequently, many Japanese female physicians have to either abandon their career development or give up on having children. If more organizations approved extensions of work-term appointments for family life it would help women to continue their careers as physicians and maintain work-life balance (WLB). Male physicians with children should be able to do the same. Research design Diversity management is a process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment, where similarities and differences between individuals are valued. Thus we assumed that maintaining job and WLB satisfaction may lead to creating awareness of workplace diversity. In clinical practice, where long working hours are common, improving WLB is a challenge. Previous studies have indicated that WLB has an impact on various workplace and personal outcomes in many having children, average weekly work hours, and satisfaction with work-life balance (WLB) were factors related to openness in implementing 'positive action'. Not having a specialist licence, specialty, dissatisfaction with their current position and satisfaction with their WLB were related to openness in extending work-term appointments for child rearing. Logistic regression analysis indicated that among female physicians with children, working 41–60 h/week and satisfied with their WLB, showed greater openness to implementing 'positive action' . Physicians with no specialist licence, those specialized in internal medicine and those unsatisfied with their current position showed greater openness to extending work-term appointments for child rearing. Female physicians urgently require reduced working hours and a WLB-friendly working environment. Flexible working hours with part-time options and work sharing could help to achieve a gender-equal workplace for female physicians with children. Improving awareness of gender-equality and extension of work-term appointments to accommodate family life will enhance female physicians' career development and improve work environments, gender equality and equal opportunity in the workplace.


The marine clays possess poor engineering properties and need to be improved prior to any construction activities on them. Lime stabilization is a widely adopted method of chemical stabilization for such types of soils. This paper evaluates the effect of surcharge loads during curing of lime stabilization of Cochin marine clays. In the case of lime-stabilized soil cured under surcharge loads, it is necessary to consider two processes, i.e. cementation and consolidation, along which the structures of stabilized soils evolve. These two processes are interrelated and cannot be considered separately, especially in the early stages of curing when significant structural changes occur. This study investigated the strength and deformation characteristics of lime stabilized Cochin marine clay subjected to surcharge loading during curing. The marine clay with 6% lime was subjected to surcharge loads of 20kPa, 40kPa, and 60kPa for different curing periods up to 180 days. The effect of surcharge loading on shear strength and compressibility characteristics were evaluated at different curing periods.


"Nazis. We love them." Tony Barta, on Hollywood's fascination with fascism1 Ilsa, Queen of the Nazi Love Camp kicked off One Yellow Rabbit's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. A dark musical satire, the play follows the travels of Usa (Denise Clarke) and the Colonel (Michael Green), two Nazis whose quest for Hitler's lost offspring leads them to the small community of Eckville, Alberta and to Holocaust denier Jim Keegstra (Andy Curtis). All the performers from the original 1987 production return to the stage, including live musicians, composer David Rhymer and violinist Karl Roth. Writer—director Blake Brooker, together with Rhymer, conceived Ilsa in 1987 as a response to the real-life case of Jim Keegstra, a high school teacher in Eckville, near Red Deer, who was teaching his social studies students that the Holocaust never took place. Keegstra, a former mayor, was stripped of his teaching certificate and charged with promoting hate speech.


The discovery of selfobject transferences and the interpretation of symptomatic behavior from within the patient's perspective have altered the conduct of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in fundamental ways. A review of the treatment process from a self psychological perspective serves as a background for pointing to the significance of curative fantasies in the process of recovery.


Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of acupoint ion introduction of Chinese medicine and administration of Chinese medicine in the treatment of post-cholecystectomy syndrome. Methods 26 cases of patients with post-cholecystectomy syndrome used acupoint ion introduction of Chinese medicine and administration of Xiaoyan Lidan tablet. 26 cases in the control group took orally Xiaoyan Lidan tablet. Results of using traditional Chinese medicine ion introduction plus traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of gallblad-der surgery syndrome patients, and a single oral anti-inflammatory Lidan tablets in the control group, there were significant differences between the group which used acupoint ion introduction of Chinese medicine and administration of Xiaoyan Lidan tablet and the control group. Conclusion For patients who have removed gallbladder, the therapy of acupoint ion introduction of Chinese medicine can improve the clinical symptoms and quality of life of patient when general treatment effect is not good.


Invasive alien plants not only influence plant community composition, biodiversity and ecosystem structure and function, but also have severe impacts on soil nitrogen transformation processes. The effects of invasive alien plants on nitrogen (N) cycling have been one of the hot topics in invasion ecology. Litter decomposition and its nutrient release play an important role in nutrient cycling. In addition, invasive alien plants have the potential to influence soil N transformation through allelopathy. All these processes are tightly related to soil microbes. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on litter decomposition and its nutrient release, and allelopathy to understand the effects of plant invasion on soil N transformation. Changes in soil N transformation and soil microbes (esp. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria and Ammonia oxidizing archaea) due to plant invasion, as well as the feedbacks of these changes to further invasion of alien plants were discussed. Finally, the interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant invasion were reviewed.


Cocoons of silkworm Bombyx mori L. were irradiated with four different doses of gamma radiation; 10, 20, 40 and 60 krad to minimize the damaged occurred during storage. Irradiated cocoons were packaged in different kinds of sac materials as traditional gunny, polypropylene, printed paper, thick paper, thin and thick cotton textiles treated with chamomile and propolis powder to overcome. Pest infestation preservation period was six months with one month as investigation interval. Packages of thick paper and thin textile treated materials gave the best results for preservation of cocoons irradiated with higher doses of gamma radiation gave the best results. as there were no resulted damaged cocoons through six months preservation period. Infestation test was carried out by irradiating adults of Dermestes maculates with 10 krad dose of gamma ray and transferred into the treated packages made of different kinds of sac material to investigate their ability for infesting silkworm cocoons. The lowest percentages of damaged cocoons were recorded when irradiated adults infested cocoons stored in thick paper, thin and thick cotton textiles treated packages. Generally the highest damaged cocoons percentages were scored when cocoons preserved in packages made of traditional gunny, polypropylene and printed paper.


An algorithm of fuzzy optimization design based on neural networks is presented as a new method for GPRS congestion control. The combination system adopts a new fuzzy neuron network which can appropriately adjust input and output, and increase robustness, stability and working speed of the network. Besides FNN, wavelet transform also be applied to compression algorithm for a higher and controllable compression rate. As shown by experimental results, the algorithm is capable of significantly preventing the congestion control, which proves that it is a more practical and more effective method than traditional methods for congestion control in wireless networks, and it is especially better at video data transmitting


[Objective] The foundation for the further research on transgenic plant was laid through the establishment of a mature plant regeneration system based on the study the factors influencing wheat culture in vitro for effective way of the callus induction and subculture,the differentiation and the plant regeneration of wheat mature embryo.[Method] The sterile embryos of five different wheat varieties from Henan province were cut and cultured for callus induction after the wheat seeds were disinfected,and the calli were sub-cultured and differentially cultured for plant regeneration.The impact of the different pre-processing times and plant hormones,such as 2,4-D,ABA,KT,IAA and NAA,on the induction,the subculture,the differentiation and the regeneration of wheat callus was studied through the investigation in the soaking them and the process of mature embryo culture in vitro.[Results] The result from the soaking time of 15 hours was good;the 2,4-D of 4.0 mg/L was conducive to callus induction;the ABA 0.3 mg/L added in subculture medium was in favor of the formation of compact callus from wheat embryo culture and the ability-maintaining in its regeneration;the application of KT and 6-BA in significantly promoted the differentiation of bud;and the rooting ability could effectively be strengthened in 1/2 MS medium added with NAA of 1.5 mg/L and IAA of 0.2 mg/L.[Conclusion] The soaking time and genotypes of wheat material had a great impact on callus subculture,differentiation and regeneration and addition of a certain amount of exogenous hormones helped to improve the plant regeneration frequency.


This study aims to examine the effect of Regulation, Organizational Commitment, Human Resources Quality, Internal Control Systems, Participation in Budgeting, and Utilization of Information Technology on Village Government Performance. The population in this study is all village apparatus in Klego Sub-District, Boyolali District, while the samples were selected using the convenience sampling method. The data collection process collected responses from 49 respondents that consist of Village Chief, Village Secretary, Head of Section, and Village Financial System (Siskeudes) Operator. The analysis results concluded that Regulation, Participation in Budgeting, and Utilization of Information Technology have a positive effect on Village Government Performance, while Organizational Commitment, Human Resource Quality, and Internal Control System do not affect Village Government Performance. The finding of this study needs to be a concern for an auditor because the variables that affect Village Government Performance might provide an opportunity for fraud to take place in the Village Budget management.


What share of the observed inequality in scholastic achievement is due to sociallyinherited factors, such as race, gender, the socio-economic status of one's parents, or place of birth? And how much is due to other factors, such as individual effort or genetically inherited talent, which policymakers have either no means or no business attempting to change? This paper examines these questions using internationally comparable data on standardized test scores for reading and mathematics for fifteen yearolds in fourteen countries – nine in the OECD, and five in Latin America.


The resulting composition of this SX 316 gives the steel much higher corrosion resistance in many aggressive environments. Molybdenum makes the steel more resistant to cavitation and cracks corrosion in chloridecontaminated environments. A lower overall corrosion ratio in slightly abrasive environments provides the steel with a good atmospheric corrosion resistance in dirty marine atmospheres [5].


--Microstrip antennas have becoming a rapidly booming area of research. It has got limitless and broad applications, due to their minimum weight, small size, and easy for manufacturing. One limitation is their inherently narrow bandwidth. Recent research has found ways of overcoming this obstacle. In this paper, we have designed a methods for multi-band terminal antennas using a single microstrip patch for UHF band is presented. The multi-band microstrip patch antenna have been designed with the threeband central frequencies. . Therefore, the antennas proposed in this paper can be used for various kinds of a mobile communication applications This design has three working bands centered around 1.3GHz, 2.5 GHz and 2.9GHz with Sshaped patch. Design results aresimulated for VSWR and return loss S11 in this paper. Simulation results are obtained by a Advanced Design System (ADS),the world's leading electronic design automation software for RF, microwave,and high speed digital applications. The innovative and commercially successful technologies to calculate S parameters and 3D EM simulators,


Application of coarse cereal flours is recommended to replace wheat gluten in meat products and to avoid gluten allergy in susceptible populations. Sorghum flour is a good source of dietary fiber and provides nonglutinous flours and scope for making gluten-free meat products. Keeping this in view, the present research was envisaged to evaluate the different quality characteristic of gluten-free chicken nuggets prepared with sorghum flour. Three types of chicken nuggets viz., Control chicken nuggets (CCNs), gluten-free nuggets (GFN1 with 5% sorghum flour and GFN2 with 10% sorghum flour) were compared for different physicochemical, instrumental texture, color and sensory characteristics. Use of sorghum flour significantly (P < 0.05) increased the product yield and dietary fiber content in GFN1 and GFN2 as compared with CCN. Instrumental color results showed that lightness (L* value) and redness (a*) values were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in GFN1 and GFN2 as compared with CCN. Texture profile analysis indicated that incorporation of sorghum flour significantly (P < 0.05) improved hardness, gumminess and chewiness. Sensory scores of GFN1 and CCN were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than GFN2. It was concluded that that 5% sorghum flour is optimum to prepare gluten-free chicken nuggets.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Sorghum is coarse millet and a popular staple diet in many developing countries. The results of this study support that sorghum flour can serve as a functional ingredient in developing healthy meat products. Use of sorghum flour in the formulation of wheat free meat products is an alternative to avoid gluten allergy. These gluten-free meat products have potential to reach the niche markets and will be highly acceptable to gluten allergic consumers who demand gluten-free products. Therefore, sorghum based food products can be marketed as health/functional products.


Knowledge of the natural history of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is crucial to identify patients at risk for failure to resolve VAP. Recognition of early markers of adequate response to therapy can help physicians to interfere in the process of care of those patients improving their trajectory, trying to attenuate morbidity associated with this noso-


Support Vector Regression (SVR) has been applied to many non-linear time series prediction applications [1]. There are many challenges associated with the use of SVR for non-linear time series prediction, including the selection of free parameters associated with SVR training. To optimize SVR free parameters, many different approaches have been investigated, including Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). This paper proposes a new approach, termed Constrained Motion Particle Swarm Optimization (CMPSO), which selects SVR free parameters and solves the SVR quadratic programming (QP) problem simultaneously. To benchmark the performance of CMPSO, Mackey-Glass non-linear time series data is used for validation. Results show CMPSO performance is consistent with other time series prediction methodologies, and in some cases superior.


Abstract Quantum physics describes a strange, but exquisitely beautiful world in which science and the philosophical discipline of semiotics come into a perfect union with one another. Quantum physics describes the underlying basis of the realities of our world's physical foundations. Semiotics explains the way in which we interact with this world. It is only through a synthesis of these two ways of knowledge that we can possibly hope to know this marvelous, awe-inspiring, yet puzzling world we live in and how our interaction with it plays a part in its existence as we experience it. Heisenberg's concept of probability is essential to an understanding of this process. Through the process of semiosis, we create an entire world out of probabilities. What quantum physics indicates about how we influence this world in a semiotic fashion is of prime importance in understanding who we are as semiotic animals, the only animals who consciously use signs.


This article describes how Tacoma, Washington-based Pierce Transit has incorporated GPS technology, onboard computers, alarm systems, and new radios for data and voice in their buses. The project, which began with the desire to install a new radio system, the Affiliated Computer Services Computer Aided Dispatch and Automatic Vehicle Location, four years earlier, ended with a complete overall of equipment installed in its vehicles as well as a remodeled communications center. The GPS technology allows the system to track where its vehicles are, and keeps track of the schedule through a display unit in the bus so operators know whether or not they're falling behind running ahead. The new system also collects data using automatic passenger counters, which allows dispatchers to modify service if ridership is running low. Passengers are benefiting from the new LED message boards that display stop-requested information. Soon to be implemented is an automatic bus stop announcement system using GPS detection for approaching bus stops.


Relay of information from technical documentation by contact center workers to assist clients is limited by industry standard storage formats and query mechanisms. Here we present and evaluate a new methodology for processing technical documents and tagging them against a Telecom Hardware domain ontology. We deploy classical ontological NLP approaches to extract information from both text segments and tables, identifying text segments, named entities and relations between named entities described by an existing T-Box. We describe a method for scoring candidate object property assertions derived from text before populating the Telecom Hardware ontology. In our algorithm we leverage customized gazetteer lists, including lists specific to object property synonyms, and use functions of distance between co-occurring terms to score candidate A-box object property assertions. We review the performance of this approach with a use case involving Tier 1 and Tier 2 call centre agents using a visual query tool, Top Braid Live, to interrogate the instantiated Telecom Hardware ontology for information relevant to the needs of clients.


The ac Stark shift (or light shift) of the 6$^{2}$S$_{1/2}$ (F $=$ 3 $\leftrightarrow $ 4) transition in $^{133}$Cs, as observed through coherent population trapping under pulsed excitation, is measured using a $^{133}$Cs gas cell and the $D_1$-line vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. This light shift can be calculated using density-matrix analysis. We derive an expression for this shift as a function of light intensity, showing that it varies linearly with respect to light intensity only with intensities higher than 1.0~mW/cm$^2$. For pulsed excitation of high laser intensity, the variation in light shift is 20 times lower than that when using a continuous wave. The differences between the results of theory and experiment are discussed, taking into account the difference in conditions assumed; the results from theoretical analysis, taking the attenuation of the first-order sideband into account, approximately agree with the experimental results. The light shift is reduced by shortening the observation times.


Simple Summary Maternal milk represents a crucial source of nutrients provided to suckling lambs. We analyzed the properties of maternal milk relative to the live weight of suckling lambs, and confirmed positive impact of milk production, milk protein, and milk lactose on lambs growth intensity in general. Further analyses identified specific fatty acids contained in milk fat with positive effect to lambs live weight. Results highlighted important components of mother's milk for optimizing lambs' growth potential till their weaning. Abstract This study determined effects of milk production, milk components, or fatty acids (FA) profile on live weight of suckling lambs till their weaning. Live weight (LW, kg) of 42 purebred Wallachian lambs (from 33 ewes) was recorded during four control days with approximately 30-day intervals during rearing. At the same time, their mothers were examined for milk production (kg), milk fat (g), proteins (g), lactose (g), and fatty acids (%) contents. Results investigated using linear regression analysis showed 5.93 kg (p < 0.05) increase of lambs LW corresponded with 1 kg of ewe's daily milk production increase during the observed period. Similarly, significant 0.13 kg or 0.11 kg increases of lambs live weight corresponded with 1 g increase of milk protein or milk lactose at this time. Milk with higher prevalence of trans-palmitoleic acid, trans-vaccenic acid, cis-vaccenic acid, linolelaidic acid, linoleic acid, or conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) significantly improved lambs LW. Moreover, significantly positive Pearson partial correlation between LW and trans-vaccenic acid (r = 0.305) or CLA (r = 0.347) indicated on genetic correlation between these traits. Therefore, milk (natural or artificially supplied) with higher distribution of these specified FAs could improve lambs' LW.


An abstract of the thesis of Tracey Abild-Lane for the Master of Science in Speech Communication: Speech and Hearing Science presented May 13, 1996 Title: Children with Early Language Delay: A Group Case Study of Outcomes in Intermediate Grades. Current research in early language development suggests that children who were diagnosed during preschool with expressive language delay would demonstrate difficulties during elementary school years (Scarborough and Dobrich, 1990). This purpose of the present study was to qualitatively describe the outcome of children with a history of early language delay and differing levels of expressive performance (ELD and HELD), as reported by the parents. A questionnaire was developed to determine the children's current age and grade level, past and present reading ability and reading interests, best and worst academic subject, special services and diagnosed disability, speech and language concerns, friendships concerns, and behavioral and motor issues. The study used Developmental Sentence Scoring (Lee, 197 4), which determined which children continued to function below the normal


The influence of acetylcysteine (ac‐cys) on cisplatin (CP) nephrotoxicity was investigated in female Wistar rats. Administration of 0.6 mg CP 100 g−1 body wt. was followed by oliguria and proteinuria, as well as a significant increase of blood urea nitrogen concentration. The i.p. administration of 0.6 mg CP 100 g−1 body wt. concomitantly with 100 mg ac‐cys 100 g−1 body wt. s.c. completely abolished the nephrotoxic effects of CP. However, following this, the Pt concentration in kidney was decreased significantly by ac‐cys treatment. This was caused by the enhanced urinary excretion of Pt. The same effect on CP nephrotoxicity appeared when CP and ac‐cys were dissolved together in solution prior to injection. It could be shown that in this solution a ligand exchange reaction of CP by ac‐cys started immediately, resulting in increased renal excretion and decreased Pt concentration in kidney.


CdS nanocrystallites with diameters smaller than 10 nm have been prepared in a pure silica matrix by sol-gel route. They are characterized by Low Frequency Inelastic Raman Scattering (LOFIRS) and X-ray diffraction.


A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of malondialdehyde after conversion into 1-[4-(2-phthalimidyl)-benzoyl]pyrazole with the fluorescent labelling reagent 4-(2-phthalimidyl)benzohydrazide. The labelling reaction was carried out at 50 °C for 60 min in the presence of phosphoric acid. The extent of conversion of malondialdehyde into the fluorescent derivative was approximately 100%. The fluorescent derivative was separated on an ODP-50 column with elution using 40% aqueous acetonitrile and detected by fluorescence at 320 nm (excitation) and 385 nm (emission). The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) was 8 fmol per injection (20 µl). The relative standard deviations for within-day and day-to-day precision were 3.18 and 3.53%(0.5 µmol l–1, n= 8), respectively. The method was applied to the determination of malondialdehyde generated from isolated rat hepatocytes stimulated with tert-butyl hydroperoxide.


Illustration shows William "Boss" Tweed and members of his ring, Peter B. Sweeny, Richard B. Connolly (stumbling over the curb), A. Oakey Hall, Tom Fields, James H. Ingersoll, and James Fisk, Jr. joining a crowd in pursuit of a thief, each thinking (and looking like) they are the object of the hue and cry.


A single prediction method has its own advantages and disadvantages in different aspects. In order to improve the accuracy of water level prediction, a water level prediction method combining The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Model, Exponential Smoothing (ES) model and Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) model through nonlinear programming genetic algorithm is proposed in this paper. By combining the advantages of local search of nonlinear programming and global search of genetic algorithm, this method uses nonlinear programming genetic algorithm to allocate the weights of ARIMA model, ES model and LSTM model, and obtains the final water level prediction result by weighting. The empirical results show that this method not only has higher prediction accuracy than single model, but also has higher prediction accuracy than using nonlinear programming or genetic algorithm to allocate weight.


In this paper,we propose a new two-lane cellular automata model in which the influence of the next-nearest neighbor vehicle is considered.The attributes of the traffic system composed of fast-lane and slow-lane are investigated by the new traffic model.The simulation results show that the proposed two-lane traffic model can reproduce some traffic phenomena observed in real traffic,and that maximum flux and critical density are close to the field measurements. Moreover,the initial density distribution of the fast-lane and slow-lane has much influence on the traffic flow states. With the ratio between the densities of slow lane and fast lane increasing the lane changing frequency increases,but maximum flux decreases.Finally,the influence of the sensitivity coefficients is discussed.


We investigate a problem of finding the minimum, in which each user has a real value and we want to estimate the minimum of these values under the local differential privacy constraint. We reveal that this problem is fundamentally difficult, and we cannot construct a mechanism that is consistent in the worst case. Instead of considering the worst case, we aim to construct a private mechanism whose error rate is adaptive to the easiness of estimation of the minimum. As a measure of easiness, we introduce a parameter $\alpha$ that characterizes the fatness of the minimum-side tail of the user data distribution. As a result, we reveal that the mechanism can achieve $O((\ln^6N/\epsilon^2N)^{1/2\alpha})$ error without knowledge of $\alpha$ and the error rate is near-optimal in the sense that any mechanism incurs $\Omega((1/\epsilon^2N)^{1/2\alpha})$ error. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our mechanism outperforms a naive mechanism by empirical evaluations on synthetic datasets. Also, we conducted experiments on the MovieLens dataset and a purchase history dataset and demonstrate that our algorithm achieves $\tilde{O}((1/N)^{1/2\alpha})$ error adaptively to $\alpha$.


Differentiation of mammary epithelial cells prepared from pregnant mice was stimulated by culture on floating collagen gels in the presence of lactogenic hormones. Differentiation was measured by the induction of casein synthesis and fatty acid synthase activity, both of which increased by up to 15‐fold during 12 days of culture. Addition of a 10–30 kDa fraction of goat whey proteins to culture medium from day 3 inhibited casein synthesis by greater than 20% compared with control cultures on days 4–12, and prevented further induction of fatty acid synthetase activity. Inhibition of secretory cell differentiation by this fraction, which is known to inhibit milk synthesis acutely in explant culture and lactating goats, suggests that similar autocrine mechanisms may mediate the sequential local effects on milk yield and cell differentiation elicited by manipulation of milking frequency or efficiency.


Investments in agricultural research by national and international organizations have successfully generated improvements in the economic well-being of people, well quantified in a wide range of ex-post impact assessment studies. In contrast, relatively little attention has been given to quantifying the impacts of research on the environment. This gap in understanding the full range of impacts arising from agricultural research presents an important challenge. Growing scientific and public recognition of the significance of environmental impacts of agricultural research, both positive and negative, necessitates their integration into the research evaluation process. This article provides a broad overview of some of the conceptual issues and empirical challenges inherent in measuring and documenting environmental impacts resulting from changes in agricultural practices, reviews some recent environmental impact assessment case studies, and discusses the lessons yielded by those case studies. Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: email@example.com, Oxford University Press.


The structure of Cu/FePc/Al/FePc/Cu vertical structure organic bipolar junction triode (VOBJT) is prepared by vacuum vapour deposition and magnetron sputtering process, using the photosensitive organic semiconductor material iron phthalocyanine (FePc) as the organic layer. The experiment results show that the device's output current is unsaturated, and the base voltage can effectively regulate the output current. FePc-VOBJT has good optoelectronic characteristics, and the optical response rate can reach R = 0.19 A W−1. Under the AC base voltage, the cut-off frequency of FePc-VOBJT is f c = 10.7 kHz, and the turn-on and turn-off time can reach the microsecond level. When FePc-VOBJT responds to light pulse, the cut-off frequency f c(Light) = 2 kHz, and the switch time can reach the millisecond level. Vertical structure dramatically reduces the device's conductive channel length and junction capacitance, which makes the organic semiconductor materials with poor electrical properties expected to be used in high-speed photoelectric sensors.


It has been reported that the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol and the TCP congestion control are highly problematic in terms of flow starvation in wireless mesh networks (WMNs). However, the economic features of IEEE 802.11 make it the commonly-used MAC protocol in WMNs. Therefore, solving starvation at the transport layer seems to be more appropriate. Indeed, the main starvation cause in TCP is that congestion is managed as a link-based problem. However, since bandwidth is a spatially-shared resource in WMNs, congestion is a neighborhood phenomenon that should be handled using mutual cooperation within a congested neighborhood. Such cooperation considerably consumes the already scarce bandwidth of WMNs causing more congestion. In this paper, we propose a neighborhood-aware and overhead-free congestion control scheme (NICC) that solves the starvation problem without impacting the scarce bandwidth of WMNs. NICC makes use of some underexploited fields in the IEEE 802.11 frame header, without modifying the standard frame size, to provide an overhead-free multi-bit congestion feedback; being overhead-free, this feedback allows performing neighborhood cooperation without generating control overhead. Furthermore, being multi-bit, it yields source nodes a fine-grained indication of the congestion degree, providing accurate rate control. The NICC performance in terms of starvation avoidance and bandwidth efficiency is proven through extensive simulations.


G. Thomas Tanselle's Descriptive Bibliography — a monumental compilation of essays devoted to bibliographical theory and practice as they have evolved as a discipline since the 1960s — not only attests to Tanselle's vibrant career but is also an occasion to reflect on bibliography as a "way of thinking" about book history, material culture, the editing of fluid texts, and digital scholarship. In our profession, the field of descriptive bibliography has endured decades of begrudging tolerance as "merely" custodial rather than critical; and yet bibliography — in so far as it records change — is the fundamental grounding for any historicist and materialist project. Melville's so-called "L-word" in Typee — once it is tracked from manuscript to first edition to revised edition — records an "oscillating revision" in Melville's thinking and writing that exemplifies the dance between accident and intentionality in the creative process. Tanselle's essays on the practical workings of bibliography also suggest the field's ability to extend its scope beyond idealized notions of the authorial work and to embrace non-authorized reprints, periodical placement, illustration, and non-literary documents, as well as adaptive revision in film and translation. Descriptive bibliography is essential for our deeper engagement with how and why versions evolve. Advancements in digital strategies related to database and display will facilitate the future acceptance of descriptive bibliography among literary scholars and critics seeking to test the interpretive potentials of biography, material history and culture, and the fluid text.


As vehicle warranty claims, recalls, and maintenance costs continue to grow, new methods are needed to predict, detect, and diagnose vehicle health issues. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology into the vehicle's embedded electronics, automakers and fleet owners can benefit from highly effective and adaptable vehicle health management capabilities that are not available today. This paper will describe how embedded AI-based Signal Integrity Monitoring can be used to detect complex anomalous patterns and provide signal fault isolation. It will also describe how unsupervised deep learning technology can simplify the data collection and labeling process that is needed to train the AI-based VHM models. Introduction The increasing complexity of vehicle electronics and software is bringing an abundance of vehicle health related challenges including quality issues and increasing costs of warranty claims, recalls, fleet maintenance, and fleet downtime [1]. This negatively impacts both OEM and fleet profitability, user experience, and end customer costs. In order to reduce OEM costs and the total cost of ownership (TCO) for consumers and fleets, new methods are needed to detect, predict, and diagnose vehicle health issues. Existing vehicle health management solutions rely on diagnostics trouble codes (DTCs) and limited amounts of telematics data. These solutions can detect known failure modes using hard-coded signal behavior validation rules that are frequently based on thresholds. They also provide alerts based on pre-defined error codes. However, they are unable to detect and diagnose unforeseen failure modes that do not have hard-coded rules, nor can they prognose future vehicle health issues. By using deep learning technology to analyze the thousands of parameters that are available onboard the vehicle in real-time, AI-based VDI-Berichte Nr. 2384, 2021 143 https://doi.org/10.51202/9783181023846-143 Generiert durch IP '188.8.131.52', am 14.11.2021, 19:24:22. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) solutions can not only predict vehicle health issues, but also estimate the remaining useful life of components, detect performance degradation, and determine the root cause of problems. By integrating AI-based Signal Integrity Monitoring into embedded vehicle electronics, automakers and fleet owners can provide: • Early indicators of known faults before a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) is triggered • Detection of system-level faults that do not have DTCs • Detection of complex fault patterns that are difficult to define explicitly • Root cause analysis of DTCs using signal fault isolation • Reduced No-Trouble-Found cases by correlating DTCs to anomalies • Reduced repair time with enhanced diagnostics report Integrating AI into Vehicle Electronics AI-based applications are frequently implemented as a pipeline of AI algorithms and models that are designed in serial and/or parallel signal paths. These pipelines can include deep learning algorithms, and they can be trained to analyze very complex data and identify patterns, features, anomalies, or other types of valuable information. One of the advantages of deep learning is that it can analyze very large amounts of complex data that cannot be effectively analyzed using traditional signal processing methods. For Vehicle Health Management (VHM) applications, deep learning pipelines are very effective at analyzing the behavior of complex vehicle systems. By monitoring multiple signals in real time, these deep learning pipelines can provide valuable prognostic and predictive insights about the vehicle's health and avoid the need to upload mass data to the cloud. But in order to do this, the pipelines need to be integrated into the vehicle electronics, where they can readily access all of the relevant signals and parameters. Fig. 1 illustrates a potential AI-based IVHM implementation in an automotive highperformance computer (HPC), such as a Central Gateway Module, Domain Controller, or Advanced Aftermarket Telematics device. In this example, the VHM Edge Service Application runs as an Adaptive AUTOSAR or Linux application and it includes the edge runtime functionality to process the data. The edge runtime supports one or more AI pipelines that provide Health Indictor outputs. Input data can be provided to the VHM Edge VDI-Berichte Nr. 2384, 2021 144 https://doi.org/10.51202/9783181023846-143 Generiert durch IP '18.104.22.168', am 14.11.2021, 19:24:22. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Service Application, and the Health Information is sent back to the customer application using the ARA interface. Alternatively, results can also be sent using other IP based APIs. Fig. 1: AI-based IVHM in an Automotive High-Performance Computer Signal Integrity Monitoring Signal Integrity Monitoring (SIM) is a powerful anomaly detection pipeline that monitors a group of vehicle signals and detects complex anomalous patterns and isolates signal faults. The inputs to the SIM pipeline can include sensor signals and parameters delivered through CAN bus messages, Automotive Ethernet data, or other vehicle networks/APIs. The outputs from the SIM pipeline consist of a Health Indicator, a Change Event Indicator, and a Diagnostic Vector. As shown in Fig. 2, the Health Indicator and Change Event Indicator are calculated by the SIM pipeline's Scoring and Decision Models block. The Health Indictor provides a score for the anomaly level of the system that is being monitored. The Health Indicator is a single score that is correlated with all of the input signals and varies in real time as the monitored system's conditions change. Because it provides a single health score, development engineers will typically design multiple monitors using different sets of input signals in order to monitor various systems or multiple aspects of the same system. VDI-Berichte Nr. 2384, 2021 145 https://doi.org/10.51202/9783181023846-143 Generiert durch IP '188.8.131.52', am 14.11.2021, 19:24:22. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Fig. 2: Signal Integrity Monitoring (SIM) pipeline architecture The Change Event Indicator monitors the Health Indicator and provides the time at which it changes from a normal health score to an abnormal health score. It enables the engineer or technician to know exactly when the vehicle's health condition changed. The third SIM pipeline output is a Diagnostic Vector that can be used for root cause analysis. By using Explainable AI techniques, the SIM pipeline calculates causality metrics that help explain the results of the deep learning algorithms, which are typically seen as an inscrutable black box [2, 3]. The Explainer Models block in Fig. 2 analyzes the causalities and relationships between the different input signals. Based on that analysis, it then creates the Diagnostic Vector, which is a set of input signal weights. If an anomaly is detected, then the Diagnostic Vector will show the correlation of each signal to the anomaly. This information can then be used to determine the root cause of the vehicle's health issue. One of the key features of the SIM pipeline is that it uses an autoencoder type of neural network, which can be designed very efficiently and trained in an unsupervised manner [4]. By using unsupervised training, the entire pipeline can be trained using "normal" vehicle data. This means that the SIM pipeline is trained only using data from a healthy vehicle. This greatly simplifies the data collection process and automates the training process, since it VDI-Berichte Nr. 2384, 2021 146 https://doi.org/10.51202/9783181023846-143 Generiert durch IP '22.214.171.124', am 14.11.2021, 19:24:22. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. eliminates the need for development engineers to intentionally degrade the vehicle's performance in order to collect training data with anomalies. The SIM pipeline must be trained using very large amounts of complex data, so called big data. This can be done most effectively by using distributed computing in the cloud. To support the big data training requirements for these deep learning algorithms, an automated cloud-based training tool, such as SafeRide's vInsightTM Developer, needs to be utilized. Results Fig. 3 shows the SIM pipeline Health Indicator outputs for a Fuel Efficiency Monitor that was developed using SafeRide's vInsightTM Vehicle Health Management platform [5]. The Fuel Efficiency Monitor was developed and trained to detect anomalous engine conditions that can lead to sub-optimal fuel consumption using the cloud-based vInsightTM Developer tool. It was then optimized for implementation in an automotive HPC and downloaded to the vInsightTM Edge embedded runtime engine. In this example, 14 signals were identified and collected from an Iveco Daily light commercial van with a 2.3L gasoline engine. Using unsupervised deep learning technology, the Fuel Efficiency Monitor was trained with normal vehicle data. The trained Fuel Efficiency Monitor was then tested by introducing four malfunctions that degraded the performance of the engine. The malfunctions were each introduced separately and consisted of an injector leak, an injector malfunction, an intake manifold leak, and a blocked air filter. VDI-Berichte Nr. 2384, 2021 147 https://doi.org/10.51202/9783181023846-143 Generiert durch IP '18.104.22.168', am 14.11.2021, 19:24:22. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. Fig. 3: SIM pipeline Health Indicator outputs As shown in Fig. 3, the Health Indicator showed a clear differentiation between the test vehicle's normal behavior and its anomalous behavior during the tests. During the injector malfunction, intake manifold leak, and blocked air filter tests, there was distinct separation between the health scores with normal


Earlier studies by Arrow have shown that uncertainty in elections causes conflict and increases cost. Accurate measurement which leads to easy acceptance of elections saves labor-time required to go over double counting. The purpose of this investigation is to unearth that good leadership and appropriate behavior, which is devoid of the observed conflicts in leadership, could cause and maintain efficiency in the stock market. The method utilized was the deductive approach. This approach provided the study with two distinctive theorems which were deduced from a renowned postulate that led the vital investigation of the study. The postulate that accurate measurement of political elections could eliminate social and political conflicts which characterize modern emerging states that want to do away with poverty and corruption. The results of the investigation reveal that the two theorems gained through the deductive approach permit efficiency to prevail in the stock market thereby fulfilling the first law of Welfare Economics. For they provide stability and equilibrium to the stock market and also caution market competitors about the effect social and transactional costs could have on their businesses. The first and second Welfare laws have been the fundamental building blocks worked upon and championed by Welfare and Behavioral Economists as contributing to market efficiency and market equilibrium. The study concludes, by asserting that we must be aware of social and transactional costs which conflict in the political arena cause to negatively influence the market. These transactional costs impede the occurrence of efficiency in the market and totally disorganize and cause disequilibrium to the market. Because these theorems caution us against the occurrence of social costs and transactional costs, they make the market much more efficient


With the CMOS technology scaling, transistor aging has become one major issue affecting circuit reliability and lifetime. There are two major classes of existing studies that model the aging effects in the circuit delay. One is at transistor-level, which is highly accurate but very slow. The other is at gate-level, which is faster but less accurate. Moreover, most prior studies only consider a limited subset or limited value ranges of aging factors. In this paper, we propose Aadam, a fast, accurate, and versatile aging-aware delay model for generic cell libraries. In Aadam, we first use transistor-level SPICE simulations to accurately characterize the delay degradation of each library cell under a versatile set of aging factors, including both physical parameters (i.e., initial threshold voltage and transistor width/length ratio) and operating conditions (i.e., working temperature, signal probability, input signal slew range, output load capacitance range, and projected lifetime). For each library cell, we then train a feed-forward neural network (FFNN) to learn the relation between the input aging factors and output cell delay degradation. Therefore, for a given input circuit and a given combination of aging factors, we can use the trained FFNNs to quickly and accurately infer the delay degradation for each gate in the circuit. Finally, to effectively estimate the aging-aware lifetime delay of large-scale circuits, we also integrate Aadam into a state-of-the-art static timing analysis tool called OpenTimer. Experimental results demonstrate that Aadam achieves fast estimation of the aging-induced delay with high accuracy close to transistor-level simulation.


Looking retrospectively at the many years of efforts by a number of researchers to develop a method for machining by cutting of polyhedral parts, it is found that the obtained results were not particularly satisfactory. For this finding, it is not possible to substantiate justify the basis in this paper, but the reason can be briefly indicated. One of the less successful methods has been created, though unintentionally, on the basis of fundamental kinematic cutting schemes (FKCS). The uniform rotary motion B, of the stock is kinematically related to the straight-line reciprocating motion C of the simple lathe cutting tool. Uniform, straight forward motion is also performed from the stock and it is a longitudinal feed movement. This method has some disadvantages: changing the actual angles of the tool during very wide cuts between 0° to 45°; variable size chip which is a source of periodic force loading of the tool and the stock and the correct reciprocating motion is realized by a CNC machine and the deviations from the exact shape being copied relative to the shape of the part surface of the machined area.


Treatment of 9-[6-(E)-(tributylstannyl)-5,6-dideoxy-2,3-O-isopropylidene-~-~-~ibo-hex-5-enofuranosylladenine [2b(E)1 or the 6-N-benzoyl derivative 2a(E) with iodine (or N-iodosuccinimide) or bromine (or N-bromosuccinimide) gave virtually quantitative and stereospecific conversions to the 6'-(E)-(halohomovinyl)nucleoside analogues. Analogous treatment of the 6'-(Z)-vinylstannanes gave the 6'-(Z)-halo compounds. Treatment of 2a or 2b with chlorine or xenon difluoridehilver triflate gave E and 2 mixtures of the respective 6'-chloroor 6'-fluorohomovinyl products. Deprotection gave the 9-[6-(E and Z)-halo-5,6-dideoxy-~-~-ribo-hex-5-enofuranosyl]adenines [(E and 2)-5',6'-didehydro-6'-deoxy-6'-halohomoadenosines, EDDHHAs and ZDDHHAs, 4c-7c(E and 211. The acetylenic 5',5',6',6'-tetradehydro-6'-deoxyhomoadenosine (3c) and the 5'-bromo-5'-deoxy-5'-methyleneadenosine (10~) regioisomer of EDDBHA [5c(E)l also were obtained from 2. Concentrationand time-dependent inactivations of 5'-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy) hydrolase were observed with 3c and the 6'-(halohomovinyl)adenosine analogues. The order of inhibitory potency was I > Br > C1 > F and E > 2 for the geometric isomers. AdoHcy hydrolase effected "hydrolysis" of the 6'-halogen from the (halohomoviny1)Ado compounds (to give the putative 6'-carboxaldehyde which underwent spontaneous decomposition) independently of its oxidative activity. Partition ratios for these hydrolytic turnovers/ lethal inhibitory events were in the order F > C1 > Br > I. Biological activities were evaluated with several viruses and cancer cell lines, and potencies were generally in the order I > Br > C1 > F and E > 2 isomers. This represents the first observation of a direct correlation of cytostatic activity with inhibition of AdoHcy hydrolase and highlights the potential of this enzyme as a viable target for chemotherapeutic intervention in anticancer as well as antiviral drug design.


Abstract Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an important microvascular complication of diabetes. Physical activity (PA) is part of a healthy lifestyle for diabetic patients; however, the role of PA in DN has not been clarified. Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to explore the association between PA and DN risk. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched for articles examining PA in diabetic patients and its effect on renal function. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020191379). Results: A total of 38991 participants were identified from 18 studies. The results indicated that PA was associated with increases in the glomerular filtration rate (SMD = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.02–0.17]) and decreases in the urinary albumin creatinine ratio (SMD = −0.53, 95% CI: −0.72 to −0.34), rate of microalbuminuria (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = [0.46–0.81]), rate of acute kidney injury (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01–0.04]), rate of renal failure (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = [0.52–0.97]) and risk of DN in patients with Type 1 diabetes (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = [0.51–0.89]). Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicated that PA is effective for improving DN and slowing its progression; however, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required on this topic.


Techniques of data compression involve de-duplication of data that plays an important role in eliminating duplicate copies of information and has been widely employed in cloud storage to scale back the storage capacity and save information measure. A secure AES encryption de-duplication system for finding duplication with the meaning and store up it in the cloud. To protect the privacy of sensitive information whereas supporting de-duplication, The AES encryption technique and SHA-256 hashing algorithm have been utilized to encrypt the information before outsourcing. Pre-processing is completed and documents are compared and verified with the use of wordnet. Cosine similarity is employed to see the similarity between both the documents and to perform this, a far economical VSM data structure is used. Wordnet hierarchical corpus is used to see syntax and semantics so that the identification of duplicates is done. NLTK provides a large vary of libraries and programs for symbolic and statistical natural language process (NLP) for the Python programming language that is used here for the unidentified words by cosine similarity. Within the previous strategies, cloud storage was used abundantly since similar files were allowed to store. By implementing our system, space for storing is reduced up to 85%. Since AES and SHA-256 are employed, it provides high security and efficiency.


The aim of this paper is a project which uses of Augmented Reality (AR) as a method for edutainment learning instrument to promote and encourage learning among students in this pandemic period. An AR application is developed together with a physical book called the Ocean's Secret. This application projects animated 3D models of the sea animals as visualized in the printed book as the students or readers interact with the book. The book Ocean's Secret offers facts about the ocean and marine animals along with fun quizzes, puzzles, coloring activities, as well as educational videos prompted by the AR objects. This book would be a good source as a learning tool during this last 2 years of the pandemic period. AROS application is evaluated via User Acceptance Test and an Observation Study. The findings show that the application has effectively aided online learning and make the learning environment more interesting and engaging. It is hoped that AR education books will assist online education in this pandemic period while at the same time offering students with the sense of excitement they desire.


Broiler houses are often referred to as livestock houses with the highest concentrations of organic pollutants (bioaerosols) in the air. This is particularly assumed for the last week of the fattening period. Fact is, however, that conditions are changing considerably in the course of a production cycle and that the season has also an important influence on the level of pollution. This paper reports on concentrations of inhalable and respirable dust, endotoxins in both dust fractions and of the total microbial count in the air of a forced ventilated broiler barn during 6 fattening periods, 2 in summer and 4 in winter time.


The paper studies an experimental conflict in a repeated game and tests the robustness of communication as an intermediate conflict resolution instrument. The results show a strong and persistent impact of communication. Most conflict parties refrain from conflict expenditures even after the opportunity for communication has expired. Third party involvement with punishment options do not enhance this effect while the indivisibility of the contest prize reduces it. The initial intensity of the conflict has a small but long-term negative impact on conflict resolution.


The Reciprocal-Wedge Transform (RWT) facilitates space-variant image representation. In this paper a V-plane projection method is presented as a model for imaging using the RWT. It is then shown that space-variant sensing with this new RWT imaging model is suitable for fixation control in active stereo that exhibits vergence and versional eye movements and scanpath behaviors. A computational interpretation of stereo fusion in relation to disparity limit in space-variant imagery leads to the development of a computational model for binocular fixation. The vergence-version movement sequence is implemented as an effective fixation mechanism using the RWT imaging. A fixation system is presented to show the various modules of camera control, vergence and version.


There exists a long association between services for people with learning disabilities and the science of genetics. Before chromosomes were known to exist Edgar Langdon Down proposed that some kind of genetic mechanism might lead to the occurrence of what is now called Down's syndrome. The discovery of DNA in  was a crucial step in being able to explore the genetic origins of a range of inherited conditions. By , some 50 years later, it is expected that the work of the Human Genome Project will be completed with the publication of a complete sequence of genes of the human genome. This editorial outlines how developments in our understanding of genetic information may raise new challenges for people with learning disabilities, their parents, other family members and staff working in learning disability services. It concludes by highlighting some key aspects professionals need to consider if they are to effectively support people who receive personal genetic information. Developments in genetic research have received considerable attention over the past few years. Much of this interest has arisen with the developing Human Genome Project. Frequent media reports, with varying degrees of complexity and emotion, have brought to the fore some of the developments or perceived possibilities arising from our increased understanding of genetic inheritance.The content of such media reports has ranged from largely factual information to sensational claims that cures or more effective medication for a range of chronic diseases will arise, together with stories that genes have been identified for a number of attributes, such as sexual orientation and intelligence. In addition, the idea has been mooted that it will become possible to be selective about desirable attributes of future children, which has led to speculation about 'designer babies' and


Using a highly spatially resolved mechanical properties microprobe, the elastic, plastic and time dependent mechanical properties of sapphire and a 1.9 {mu}m amorphous alumina film on a sapphire substrate have been studied. Young's modulus, hardness, and stress-exponent data are reported. The technique for characterizing time dependent properties via indentation (hardness versus displacement rate/displacement) are directly compared to standard uniaxial compressive techniques (stress vs strain rate) for a bulk Pb-In alloy to further quantify the relationships between the two techniques.


On April 28,2001,the revision bills of Law of Marriage has been passed by the 21st conference of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress,in which the payment system of divorce errors has been added.This system is more prinicipled in legislature.This article aims to analyse and explore this system and its other problems.


Background: Hypocalcemic child is the presence of low serum calcium levels in the blood. Normal blood calcium level is between 8.5 to 10.5mg/dLin children. Calcium is the most important abundant mineral in the body which is important for growth bons, teeth and their skeleton. Purpose : To investigate the effect of aerobic exercise versus calcium supplementation on serum calcium level in hypocalcemic children. Subjects and Methods: This study was carried out on 36 hypocalcemic children of both sexes, subdivided into two groups, eighteen in each group. Their ages ranged from 2442 months old. Results: Serum free total calcium, gross motor function measure 88score of standing and walking domain measured for all children before and after 12 weeks of intervention. Group (A): Were participated in aerobic exercise program in the form of bicycle ergometer training program 3 time/week for 12 weeks in addition to balanced daily diet calcium supplement. Group (B): Children were be treated by calcium supplementation in form of calcium carbonate (lactose) which was given once daily. Non significant difference in gross motor function measure 88 scoreing of standing and serum calcium level but there was significant increase in gross motor function measure 88 scoreing of walking in Group (A) compared with Group (B). Conclusion: This study concluded that aerobic exercise has benifical effect on walking ability and serum calcium level in children with hypocalcemia.


Objectives— Bone marrow (BM)-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and vascular smooth muscle progenitor cells (VPCs) contribute to neointima formation, whereas the angiotensin II (Ang II) type 1 receptor (AT1)-mediated action on BM-derived progenitors remains undefined. Methods and Results— A wire-induced vascular injury was performed in the femoral artery of BM-chimeric mice whose BM was repopulated with AT1-deficient (BM-Agtr1−/−) or wild-type (BM-Agtr1+/+) cells. Neointima formation was profoundly reduced by 38% in BM-Agtr1−/− mice. Although the number of circulating EPCs (Sca-1+Flk-1+) and extent of reendothelialization did not differ between the 2 groups, the numbers of both circulating VPCs (c-Kit−Sca-1+Lin−) and tissue VPCs (Sca-1+CD31−) incorporated into neointima were markedly decreased in BM-Agtr1−/− mice. The accumulation of aggregated platelets and their content of stromal cell–derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) were significantly reduced in BM-Agtr1−/− mice, accompanied by a decrease in the se...


Background: Feline panleukopenia virus and canine parvovirus infections are highly contagious and serious enteric diseases of cats and dogs with high fatality rate. Canine parvo viral enteritis (CPV) is caused by CPV-2 antigenic variants (CPV-2a, 2b, 2c) is frequently reported in dogs worldwide leading to morbidity and mortality Infection in cats by canine parvo virus variants causes clinical signs similar to feline panleukopenia virus. CPV-2 variants have recently acquired the feline host rage, allowing it to infect both cats and dogs. Feline Panleukopenia virus is not the only parvovirus species affecting cats, in addition to Mink enteritis virus, the new variants of canine parvovirus, CPV-2a, 2b and 2c have also penetrated the feline host-range, and able to infect and replicate in cats, causing diseases indistinguishable from feline panleukopenia. The present study was taken to identify the canine parvovirus variants among domestic cats in Chennai and its role in transmission of CPV-2 between dogs through Amplification refractory mutation system. These findings suggest that species jump of CPV from dog to cats as well as CPV had presumably started a new process of readapting in feline hosts and confirmed the importance of viral host switching as a mechanism for the emergence of new viruses. Methods: In this study around 166 cat faecal swabs were collected during 2020-2022 in and around Chennai which were brought with the clinical signs of vomition and diarrhoea. Collected faecal samples were subjected to DNA extraction and Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction and 50 cat samples showed positivity towards canine parvovirus infection. Result: Of 166 faecal samples, 50 samples showed positive for the CPV-2a variant. By ARMS-PCR In this case, the 50 samples responding to outer forward and inner reverse primers and yielding a 492 bp amplicons in addition to the 631 bp common outer product as CPV-2a/2. This study suggested that CPV infection in cat showed that CPV has started a new process of readaptation in the feline host and confirming the importance of viral host switching mechanism as a mechanism for the emergence of new viruses. The introduction of CPV into the feline population raises concern about the efficacy of FPV-based vaccines in preventing CPV infection and point out the necessity for intensifying surveillance of parvovirus infection in cats.


An exact solution is obtained for the Einstein field equations of a columnated, time varying beam of light. The beam is circular in cross section, infinite in path length, and is considered in the geometrical limit. The beam is described in a retarded time coordinate system. The flux density is dependent on the radial coordinate and on the retarded time. The solution is sufficiently general so as to describe a single pulse of light traveling through a vacuum. It also allows the description of acceleration fields which propagate in the direction of the beam at the speed of light. Geodesics are considered in order to test the interpretation of the solutions and the stability of the time varying beam.


The World Wide Web is increasingly being used to allow both educators and learners to more easily locate desired information, as well as to support integration of related materials from different sources. This paper reports on an ontology constructed for the Network Community for Software Engineering Education (SWENET) and represents a teaching perspective on software engineering material. The addition of semantic mark up to teaching modules based on the SWENET ontology would allow instructors and learners to access material in the manner that best fits their educational needs, increase reuse of teaching materials and support integration with existing learning objects.


We develop a method to model the microwave transmissivity of row crops that explicitly
accounts for their periodic nature as well as multiple scattering. We hypothesize that this method could eventually be used to improve satellite retrieval of soil moisture and vegetation optical depth in agricultural regions. The method is characterized by unit cells
terminated by periodic boundary conditions and Floquet port excitations solved using commercial software. Individual plants are represented by vertically oriented dielectric cylinders. We calculate canopy transmissivity, reflectivity, and loss in terms of S-parameters. We validate the model with analytical solutions and illustrate the effect of canopy scattering. Our simulation results are consistent with both simulated and measured data published in the literature.


Aim: Estimating the strength of niche conservatism is key for predictions of invasion risk. Most studies consider only the climatic niche, but other factors, such as human disturbance, also shape niches. Whether occupation of human habitats in the alien range depends on the native tolerances of species remains unexplored. We assessed niche conservatism in climatic and human spaces for bird species showing different responses to humans in native ranges and evaluated whether considering anthropogenic niche variables affects invasion predictions. present Methods: We assessed niche conservatism by comparing the native