Experimentally, image sensors measurements show a continuous development of in-field permanent hot pixel defects increasing in numbers over time. In our tests we accumulated data on defects in cameras ranging from large area (<300 sq mm) DSLR's, medium sized (~40 sq mm) point and shoot, and small (20 sq mm) cell phone cameras. The results show that the rate of defects depends on the technology (APS or CCD), and on design parameters like imager area, pixel size (from 1.5 to 7 um), and gain (from ISO100 to 1600). Comparing different sensor sizes with similar pixel sizes has shown that defect rates scale linearly with sensor area, suggesting the metric of defects/year/sq mm, which we call defect density. A search was made to model this defect density as a function of the two parameters pixel size and ISO. The best empirical fit was obtained by a power law curve. For CCD imagers, the defect densities are proportional to the pixel size to the power of -2.25 times the ISO to the power of 0.69. For APS (CMOS) sensors the power law had the defect densities proportional to the pixel size to the power of -3.07 times the ISO raised to the power of 0.5. Extending our empirical formula to include ISO allows us to predict the expected defect development rate for a wide set of sensor parameters.


Chitin fiber (CHF) and chitosan (CS) 3D composite rods with layer-by-layer structure were constructed by in situ precipitation method. CHF could not be dissolved in acetic acid aqueous solution, but CS could be dissolved due to the different deacetylation degree (D.D) between CHF and CS. CHF with undulate surfaces could be observed using SEM to demonstrate that the sufficiently rough surfaces and edges of the fiber could enhance the mechanical combining stress between fiber and matrix. XRD indicated that the crystallinity of CHF/CS composites decreased and CS crystal plane d-spacing of CHF/CS composites became larger than that of pure CS rod. TG analysis showed that mixing a little amount of CHF could enhance thermal stability of CS rod, but when the content of CHF was higher than the optimum amount, its thermal stability decreased. When 0.5% CHF was added into CS matrix, the bending strength and bending modulus of the composite rods arrived at 114.2 MPa and 5.2 GPa, respectively, increased by 23.6% and 26.8% compared with pure CS rods, indicating that CHF/CS composite rods could be a better candidate for bone fracture internal fixation.


This paper aims to measure Iranian consumers' attitudes towards products labeled "Made in Iran, "Made in Turkey" and "Made in China" in the apparel industry. In this research, a structured questionnaire consisting of 31 items is employed; overall, the results indicate that Iranian consumers have positive attitudes towards apparel labeled "Made in Turkey". Additionally, they are positive toward cognitive, affective and conative components of attitudes as well. In contrast, they do not have positive attitudes towards apparel labeled "Made in Iran" or "Made in China". Our findings indicate that Iranian and Chinese apparel manufacturers should pay more attention to Iranian consumers' interests providing they want to draw attention to their products. Turkish apparel manufacturers should also observe Iran's growing market. Hence, Turkish manufacturers should do more promotional activities in order to maintain their market share in Iran.


—With the deployment of MANET mobile networks, the failure link is problematic. Due to the characteristics of ad hoc mobile networks, the failure link is mainly due to the node mobility, energy consumption of the batteries and the radio link quality. Failure link causes loss of data packets and more traffic control for path repair. In this paper we propose an analytical model of the multi-criteria cost function for the selection of stable paths. This function is defined based on residual energy, degree of mobility, traffic rate and link quality. We have integrated this solution into the reactive multipath protocol AOMDV. Finally, the results of simulation show that our approach offers good performances and answers the concern of failure link.


Proliferation of handheld devices and growing interests in pervasive computing has led to the need for more flexible communication solutions where a single device integrates various wired and wireless communication standards e.g. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber loop (ADSL), Very high speed Digital Subscriber Loop (VDSL), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T/H) and 802.11. In this paper, such a flexible communication solution is presented, applicable to all useful FFT processor lengths: 2n (n=6, 7…13) and implemented on a flexible platform: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The solution is optimized ensuring an efficient implementation with respect to resource usage whilst ensuring that the solution meets the throughput requirements of the individual standards. The key features of the efficient design include: a conflict free in-place memory replacement scheme for intermediate data storage; a dynamic address generator scheme and the CORDIC (CO-ordinate Rotational Digital Computer) technique for twiddle factor multiplication.


In the titration of Dlm* of a diphtheria toxin it is necessary to use a large number of guinea pigs, for example, several tens as many guinea pigs for an accurate estimation. Therefore, it is natural that attempts have been made to find an alternative and less expensive method which would be of value, at least for a preliminary work. Jensen (1933) proposed a method by which a fairly precise estimation of Dlm* was thought to be possible. His method was to compute Dlm from (DRM)m* actually measured by the intracutaneous rabbit method, basing on the evidence obtained in his experiments that the Dlm/DRM* ratio of diphtheria toxin of every kind was constant. Lately, Pope (1954) offered an opinion that the intracutaneous method was an alterna tive for the subcutaneous method in the titration of diphtheria toxin and was advantage ous in the point that many titrations might be made on one animal. Gerwing (1957) recently proposed a more reasonable method of Drm* titration, in which the parallel line assay method was introduced, saying that the minimal reacting dose was preferable to the Dlm to define a Schick test dose. However, they declared nothing as to the Dlm/DRM or Dlm/Drm* ratio. A good number of experiments carried out in our laboratory with various kinds of diphtheria toxins have shown that the assumption that the Dlm/DRM or Dlm/Drm ratio of diphtheria toxin of every kind was constant did not hold in the majority of cases; particularly with fresh toxins, the Dlm/DRM ratio frequently being proved to be far from constant (Kurokawa, Kondo and Kondo, to be published). Therefore, it is clear that the method proposed by Jensen cannot be used as a method estimating Dlm. As we were compelled to do a good number of fairly accurate titrations of Dlm in experiments pursuing the factor or factors concerning the Dlm/DRM ratio of diphtheria toxin (Kurokawa, Kondo and Kondo, to be published), an alternative method, less expen sive and fairly precise, for the classical subcutaneous guinea pig method was looked for. Two methods which may meet this demand are found in the literatures. Frobisher and Parsons (Frobisher and Parsons, 1940; Frobisher, 1942) reported that mice inoculated intracerebrally with living culture of toxigenic diphtheria bacilli or toxic


Using associated trees, we construct a spectral triple for the C$^*$-algebra of continuous functions on the ring of integers $R$ of a nonarchimedean local field $F$ of characteristic zero, and investigate its properties. Remarkably, the spectrum of the spectral triple operator is closely related to the roots of a $q$-hypergeometric function. We also study a non compact version of this construction for the C$^*$-algebra of continuous functions on $F$, vanishing at infinity.


Interlaboratory inconsistencies in antiphospholipid antibody (aPA) solid phase assays have prompted controversy in clinical laboratory testing for aPA. We found that the aPA ELISA can be influenced by the type of microtiter plate utilized and by the conditions in which the plates are stored. By exposing 96‐well, flat‐bottom polystyrene microtiter plates to short wave UV light (254 nm), the aPA ELISA signal decreased in a UV dose‐dependent manner. No effect was seen with long wave UV light (366 nm). These results were independent of the antibody isotype under study or the phospholipid (PL) antigen used: anionic phosphatidylserine (PS) and cardiolipin (CL), or zwitterionic phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Purified human β2‐glycoprotein I (β2GPI), a known cofactor for anionic PL, and rabbit anti‐β2GPI antisera were used to demonstrate that β2GPI bound equally to UV treated and untreated microtiter plates. In contrast, recognition of β2GPI on an anionic PL surface was decreased on UV treated plates, suggesting that UV exposure alters the lipid binding properties of the microtiter plate. To determine whether UV exposure inhibited PL binding directly or caused a change in the way the PL was bound, the amount of PL bound to UV treated and untreated plates was measured by using fluorescent labeled PS and a fluorimeter. PS binding was decreased by 53% in UV treated wells as compared to untreated wells. These data show that short wave UV exposure reduces PL binding to polystyrene microtiter plates, thereby reducing the amount of β2GPI bound to PL coated ELISA plates. Thus by using UV exposed microtiter plates, decreased or false‐negative aPA ELISA results may be obtained for aPA positive plasmas. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The physical morphology of the periurban belt consists of a series of conglomerations, airports, shopping centers, residential zones, infrastructures for leisure activities, multiscreen cinemas, as well as simple concentrations of different types of buildings alongside streets, motorways, stations and other services. The periurban belt appears as a non-place characterized by a lack of any symbolic, relational and historic identity values typical of "historical places", while at the same time being a producer of a "new place" in the metropolitan system offering new forms of identity, relations and history. Could all this lead to situations of social vulnerability?


— CV. X works in manufacturing such as produce paving, concrete brick, road curb, concrete buis, culvert, udith, and panel that located in Cilegon, Banten. The commonly problem faced by CV.X is found some waste in process of paving production such as waiting and transportation. Production pprocess of paving are stirring, printing, drying, and watering process. The aim of this study is to know the score of Process Cycle Efficient (PCE), the level of sigma paving hexagon. In this research, the researchers used Lean Six Sigma and FMEA method. According to analysis of data, known that the initial Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) is obtained at 8,94%, the sigma level of paving hexagon is 4.02, and waste found waiting, transportation, invention, and defect. The improvement conducted for better condition of Lean, it is increasing the score of Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) by changing value stream and decreasing or deleting the waste activities. The result of improvement got the Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) score is increasing becomes 96.94%. from analysis of FMEA, type of waste defect with type broken paving become repairing priority firstly because have high value of RPN that was 270 and repairing priority continuously to reduce waste of transportation, defect by type of cracked paving, and waiting .


Based on design features and technical requirements of top head,by analyzing stamping process plans,the blanking-drawing-punching-curling compound die which could complete synchronously four procedures of blanking,drawing,punching and curling in the same working station was designed reasonably.The die working process and main design points were introduced detailedly.The technology problems of the position of sheet metal,guiding,stripping,pushing and the optimization of die structure were resolved.After the actual production,it was found that this die greatly improved the production efficiency and the shape and the size of top head were ensured by the reasonable die structure.The economic efficiency of company was increased.


Abstract A new prediction approach for summer (June–August) rainfall in China was designed by considering both preceding observations and numerically predicted summer rainfall through a multivariate linear regression analysis. First, correlation analyses revealed close relationships between summer rainfall in parts of China with the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), the Arctic Oscillation (AO), and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the preceding winter (December–February). The Huang-Huai Valley, two subregions of the Jiang-Huai Valley, the southern Yangtze River, south China, and southeastern Xinjiang were then chosen as targets for their regional climate characteristics. Following this, an extraseasonal (one season in advance) regression prediction model for regionally averaged summer rainfall was constructed by using these three climate factors and a 3-month lead-time forecast of summer rainfall, undertaken by an atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) forced by observed SSTs, as predictors region by re...


A series/shunt switching type sample and hold (S/H) CMOS IC for direct RF under sampling reception is presented. The series/shunt configuration enable lower loss of S/H circuit and lower leakage of RF signal into the S/H output. The optimum transistor size of switches is selected by using circuit simulation. The timing of series/shunt switching is discussed and delay circuit using 1-stage inverter is added to the shunt switch control circuit to satisfy the required delay time. The proposed and designed S/H circuit is fabricated in 90nm CMOS process. The measured results using 1 GHz-band RX signal show good agreements with simulation.


Between autumn 2003 and summer 2004, the icebreaker CCGS 'Amundsen' occupied a station in Franklin Bay, Beaufort Sea. Two microcosm experiments were carried out in spring, while the water column was covered by sea ice, to test whether phytoplankton assemblages sampled from ice-covered (spring) surface waters would be able to bloom when exposed to increased light and to what extent this bloom would be limited by light or nutrients. Two additional experiments were car- ried out during a sea-ice free period in summer. For the spring experiments (April 2004), surface water collected through an ice hole was distributed into 10 l Nalgene bottles and subjected to differ- ent photosynthetically available radiation (PAR; 5 to 60 µmol photons m -2 s -1 ) and nutrient addition treatments. A similar setup was repeated in July and August 2004. In the spring experiments, chloro- phyll a (chl a) concentration showed an initial decline, probably reflecting a combination of autotrophic cell losses and photoacclimation effects. After about 2 wk, chl a started to increase expo- nentially at PAR above 10 µmol photons m -2 s -1 , due to the proliferation of autotrophic nanoflagel- lates. In summer, chl a increased immediately after enclosure, mainly due to diatom (Thalassiosira/ Porosira) growth. In spring, nutrient addition had no effect on the net rate of chl a accumulation, while phytoplankton increased faster and reached higher biomass in the nutrient-amended bottles in summer. The relationships between nutrient consumption and production of chl a and particulate organic matter in our experiments suggested an important utilization of dissolved organic nutrients.


Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) based on laser sensors has been widely adopted by mobile robots and autonomous vehicles. These SLAM systems are required to support accurate localization with limited computational resources. In particular, point cloud registration, i.e., the process of matching and aligning multiple LiDAR scans collected at multiple locations in a global coordinate framework, has been deemed as the bottleneck step in SLAM. In this paper, we propose a feature filtering algorithm, PFilter, that can filter out invalid features and can thus greatly alleviate this bottleneck. Meanwhile, the overall registration accuracy is also improved due to the carefully curated feature points. We integrate PFilter into the well-established scan-to-map LiDAR odometry framework, F-LOAM, and evaluate its performance on the KITTI dataset. The experimental results show that PFilter can remove about 48.4% of the points in the local feature map and reduce feature points in scan by 19.3% on average, which save 20.9% processing time per frame. In the mean time, we improve the accuracy by 9.4%.


Proposed research, shows implementation of EX_OR SUM OF PRODUCT - REVERSIBLE PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC ARRAY (ESOP-RPLA) using Reversible Logic based Dwivedi Rao Gate2 (DRG2) and DRG4 gates. DRG2 is N×N (N input - N output) Gate and is capable of implementing ESOP and Code Conversion operations. 3×3 DRG2 is Parity Preserving Gate and universal gate designed for implementation of all Logical, 2:1 MUX and Addition & Subtraction Operations. This design uses only 12 gates, thus showing improvement of 02 gates w.r.t its counter parts. Based on only DRG2 and DRG4 gates its VLSI implementation is simple, cost effective as compared to its counter parts, which are using more than 03 different types of gates.


The analysis of fixed manufacturing cost includes:the analysis of absolute cost and the analysis of profits from the cost.The former can be analyzed by directly comparing the practical cost with budget cost,the latter,by the principle of cost profit,be analyzed by comparing practical profit index with budget profit index.


. For the evaluation of the teaching effect of the course Supply Chain Management Training, collecting and sorting based on the evaluation index, from three aspects of the experts, students and colleagues collected data samples, application of rough set reduction of the evaluation index, to determine reasonable weights by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), followed by fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to establish evaluation model of classroom teaching quality. Examples show that the application of teaching are excellent.


Laboratory spray tests of 4 insecticides (Imidan 1-E, Orthene 75S, FMC 33297, Decis) in water were conducted on cut shoots of Jeffrey pine heavily infested with penultimate and last stage Jeffrey pine needle miner. The shoots were collected in Snow Valley in the San Bernardino National Forest, California, and held in a greenhouse until used. For treatment, each shoot was placed in the bottom of a stainless steel laboratory spray chamber and sprayed until run-off. Each was held for 3 days post-treatment with the cut end in water. Needles from each shoot were then removed and individually inspected over a light table for the presence of an insect. Insects were prodded with jeweler's forceps to determine whether they were alive or dead. Data were subjected to an analysis of variance.


This essay problematizes dominant theorizing about proactive communication in public relations and issue management. Current literature promotes proactive stakeholder engagement to prevent reputational damage rather than harm reduction to prevent crises from occurring. In practice this approach legitimizes a paradoxical corporate strategy framing crisis responses as proactive. Such framing attributes corporate improvements to voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) rather than external sources such as activist and regulatory challenges. An ethnographic study of a "good neighbor" environmental health campaign targeting a chemical plant found that the discursive construction of proactivity was significant because it (a) played a central role in public sensemaking about organizational legitimacy and responsibility and (b) influenced perceptions about the sources of corporate innovation and change.


The Ferrovial Group intervention in the project of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum consisted in contracting concrete and metallic structure works, interior coatings and installations, and finally the urban planning. In another hand, Ferrovial Conservation (Ferconsa) will carry out the whole maintenance of the Museum.


1 Lignocaine (1 mg kg−1 min−1 infused intravenously for 30 min) greatly reduced the incidence of ventricular ectopic beats that resulted from acute coronary artery ligation in anaesthetized greyhound dogs. However, the incidence of ventricular fibrillation was only slightly reduced by this treatment which caused significant myocardial depression. 2 There is no good evidence from this study that lignocaine is a particularly effective prophylactic in acute myocardial infarction.


Abstract Legumes and grasses are widely grown in mixtures throughout the United States and Canada. This study was conducted to determine the changes in chemical composition of herbage that occur as proportion of legume and grass change in the mixture. Composition of mixtures of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were studied after their herbage had been mixed by weight into seven different proportions: 100% alfalfa ‐ 0% orchardgrass, 80% ‐ 20%, 65% ‐ 35%, 50% ‐ 50%, 35% ‐ 65%, 20% ‐ 80%, and 0% ‐ 100%, respectively. The forages were grown in rows of pure alfalfa or pure orchardgrass spaced 45 cm apart on fertilized Dodge silt loam (Typic Hapludalf). Alfalfa was at late bud and orchardgrass was a few days from the appearance of the first anthers when harvested on May 29, 1975. Four replications of each of the mixtures were prepared, and the mixtures were made after tissues had been ground to 40‐mesh size. No significant differences among mixtures were found for S, Cu, tot...


The choice of film-screen combinations for mammography is a compromise. Extremely low patient doses may be recorded for instance with 3M Type MS film and Kodak Min R screens. However, the image quality of this combination is reduced and the final result has a large amount of quantum mottle and exhibits a poor modulation transfer function.


Taking into account the current cultural globalization process, the aim of the present article is to provide a critical evaluation of cross-cultural research on social psychology. It begins with a conceptualization of cultural globalization, followed by a critical review of some basic assumptions of cross-cultural research on social psychology. The article ends with some examples of research on this area, which attempt to overcome the traditional model of cross-cultural research, and highlight the need of its reformulation.


Dyspnea can be described as shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Not always an unpleasant sensation, it becomes so when a small amount of exertion leads to a disproportionately large increase in ventilatory needs. The causes of dyspnea can vary from physical exercise to pulmonary, cardiac,


This research generally aims to develop a model of children's language skills based on digital literacy in Pondok Benowo Indah RT 03 RW 08 Babat Jerawat, Pakal Surabaya. First, to determine the process or stages of learning language skills using narrative stories or fairy tales from a YouTube application that is watched by them and is accompanied by their parents. The two processes or stages of developing language skills are by retelling stories or fairy tales that they see with their parents and writing moral messages in the stories or fairy tales. The method used in this study is quantitative-qualitative (mix method). The data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The data will be analyzed through the following steps: 1) classifying the data, 2) displaying the data, 3) interpreting the data, and 4) drawing a conclusion. The study intends to create and develop a role of language skills for the children who mostly like their devices compared to playing together with their peers outside the home. For parents, this model of language skills can later be applied at home when they are together and interact with their children. For children, this is a diversion from the gadgets they often hold when they are at home.


A study of the main potential contributions to the residual surface resistance of niobium-coated cavities is reviewed. They are the formation of hydride precipitates, the contamination by sputter gas atoms and the presence of macroscopic defects in the film, induced by defects in the substrate. It will be shown that residual resistances as low as those obtained for bulk niobium can be achieved, together with a very small dependence on the amplitude of the RF field.


Environment Canada undertook a preliminary comparative toxicity assessment of selected materials that may be utilized in construction projects located in the aquatic environment. That project involved introducing Fahlstrom sized test stakes (3.9x0.54x26.4 cm) to both fresh and salt water for toxicity testing. Rainbow Trout, Daphnia magna and Microtox testing was conducted in freshwater and Threespine Stickleback were utilized for the salt water testing. Test protocols followed the Environment Canada Acute Lethality Tests 19901992. This preliminary assessment utilized untreated Hemlock, Plastic Wood, Wood treated with Life Time Wood Treatment, Bois Ecotherm, and stakes treated with CCA, Creosote or ACQ. Prior to introduction of the test organisms, the test materials were submerged in tanks of various sizes, using glass as a counterweight for 24 hours. The toxicity results suggest that Plastic Wood, Untreated Hemlock, Ecotherm Wood and wood treated with Lifetime Wood Treatment are generally non-toxic to the test species in the freshwater or the marine environment. The other three treatments (i.e. CCA, Creosote, ACQ) were toxic in varying degrees, and the testing indicated that Creosote and CCA are less toxic than ACQ treated wood. This report has been prepared to release the data in a timely fashion. The testing program is on-going, and the report will be released in a revised version as results of tests on additional treated and untreated wood samples and other construction materials are obtained.


The good strain of lower higher alcohols was got by compound mutation of UV-DES with triplication screening. The fermentation conditions were optimized by using response surface analytical method and the optimization fermentation parameters were got. The beer with lower higher alcohols and good sense and physical and chemical indicators were got by pilot beer fermentation.


Novel zinc oxide (ZnO) microprisms doped with Mg have been synthesized on Mg (NO3)2‐coated Si (111) substrates successfully by a thermal chemical vapor deposition method. The as‐prepared Mg‐doped zinc oxide single‐crystal microprisms were characterized with X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and photoluminescence (PL). The results show that the microstructures consist of hexagonal pyramids tips and hexagonal prisms. The whole structure is a perfect single crystal and has preferred growth along the [0001] direction. PL reveals ultraviolet (UV) emission at 388 nm and a strong green light emission peak at 500 nm. Mg‐doped microprisms will provide an improvement for novel electronic and optical devices. In addition, the growth mechanism of the special Mg‐doped ZnO microstructure is proposed based on a solid–vapor approach.


Abstract The present study aims to explore the effects of an adapted classical dance intervention on the psychological and functional status of institutionalized elder people using a Bayesian network. All participants were assessed at baseline and after the 9 weeks period of the intervention. Measures included balance and gait, psychological well-being, depression, and emotional distress. According to the Bayesian network obtained, the dance intervention increased the likelihood of presenting better psychological well-being, balance, and gait. Besides, it also decreased the probabilities of presenting emotional distress and depression. These findings demonstrate that dancing has functional and psychological benefits for institutionalized elder people. Moreover it highlights the importance of promoting serious leisure variety in the daily living of institutionalized elder adults.


This quality improvement study compares blood transfusion rates among patients at a single tertiary care hospital before and after the implementation of a transfusion training model completed by incoming resident physicians.


Within the framework of the generalized linear sigma model with glueballs recently proposed,[Formula: see text] we study the schematic spectroscopy of scalar and pseudoscalar mesons in the SU(3) flavor limit and explore their quark and glue contents. In this framework, for both scalars and pseudoscalars, the two octet physical states are admixtures of quark–antiquark and four-quark components, and the three singlet states contain quark–antiquark, four-quark and glue components. We identify the two scalar octets with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] and the two pseudoscalar octets with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We show that, as expected, the light pseudoscalar octet is made dominantly of quark–antiquarks whereas the light scalar octet has a reversed substructure with a dominant four-quark component. The case of singlets is more complex due to surplus of states up to around 2 GeV. We consider all 35 permutations for identifying the three pseudoscalar singlets of our model with three of the seven experimental candidates. Our numerical simulation unambiguously identifies the lightest and the heaviest pseudoscalar singlets with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively, and favors the identification of the middle singlet with either [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] (or, to a lesser extent, with [Formula: see text]) and thereby allows a probe of their substructures. We then estimate the quark and glue components and find that the three pseudoscalar singlets (from lightest to heaviest) are mainly of quark–antiquark, four-quark and glue substructure, while the corresponding three scalar singlets (from lightest to heaviest) are of four-quark, quark–antiquark and glue contents. The masses of pure pseudoscalar and scalar glueballs are estimated around 2.0 and 1.6 GeV, respectively.


Web applications are abundant in the World Wide Web as well as in the private networks. Organisations resort to using Agile Scrum development to shorten their time to deliver their products rapidly. In less mature Agile organisations, testing is typically done in manual way, with lack of test automation practices at unit, integration, and acceptance levels. Lack of documentations for expected behaviours of existing features is also prevalent. These practices cause long delays in testing for new features and regression testing for existing features. Manual testing consumes a lot of time and may cause some tests to be skipped under time constraints. Undocumented existing features also require back and forth discussions among team members to determine the correct behaviour of the product. We propose to adopt the usage of Robot Framework, a Keyword-Driven Testing (KDT) tool along with Selenium2Library. The framework is to be integrated with existing Jenkins Continuous Integration tool. Leveraging Keyword-Driven Testing framework into Continuous Integration architecture provides a maintainable, reusable, understandable test assets that can be run automatically every time a new build of the product is deployed to multiple target environments. This integrated automated infrastructure allows regression testing to be executed rapidly, without sacrificing test coverage. Rapid feedback from the tests and self-documenting test assets will further improve the productivity and efficiency and ultimately, the quality of the delivered product.


The methodology of development of software oriented by tests (TDD) is taking force in the design and development of systems; its ease of implementation and product quality makes it an excellent model to adopt by companies. In this work we propose the development of an advertising platform, created under the TDD methodology, evaluating the quality of the product, taking into account the characteristics of the quality model of the ISO / IEC 9126 standard, to determine the level of aptitude of the platform, and give proof that said methodology can be adopted in the software development by the companies. For the development of the research, the frameworks XP (extreme programming), TDD (development oriented by tests) and the standard of ISO / IEC 9126 were used. The implementation of the model of quality to the software of advertisements (spot) shows a promising result in terms of the characteristics evaluated, however at the end of the investigation it was found that the tests of the TDD methodology only work in the business layer, but not in the user interface of the software.


Consolidation and harmonization of such approaches to strategic management as economic value added (EVA) and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a challenging problem to be solved in the valuation of a company. This compliance is usually made by simple inclusion of EVA in the financial component of the performance system. However, this solution does not give a synergistic effect of the combination of the two approaches into a single system, mutually reinforcing positive characteristics of each method. The aim of the article is to determine the structure of EVA and BSC consolidation interconnections in the company's value strategic assessment. EVA is a strategic benchmark in enterprise management, a reference to the interest of investors in the business. BSC includes parameters and indicators that characterize four aspects: the aspect of the client, i.e. customer satisfaction in key segments of the food market; the internal business aspect, i.e. identifying processes that can provide a company with exclusive competitive advantage; the aspect of innovation and learning, i.e. the processes that enable the company to achieve further improvement; the financial aspect, i.e. assessment of the company by investors, owners and senior management. A generalized scheme of consolidation of EVA and BSC was proposed, which makes it possible to: a) determine the financial performance indicators that reflect the key cash flows between consumers and the internal processes of the company; b) thoroughly form the guidelines for company development, i.e. strategic goals and objectives of the improvement of the technical and technological base, training personnel or maybe closing production, merging it with another business or selling it; c) assess EVA taking into account data on intangible resources that are generated in the work with consumers and in the internal processes. Division of the aggregate intangible assets into three components was grounded: goodwill relating to the client component of the BSC; intellectual property rights relating to internal processes of the BSC; structural capital, which correlates with the development of the BSC personnel.


THIS INCREASED LOAD of studies placed on the student no doubt leads to an increase in tension, fatigue, and emotional upsets. It is typical to find a child to have a migraine attack the night before an examination. However, the majority will have the migraine attack after the examinations are over. This is typical of tension; the actual headache usually comes in the relaxed phase when there is vasodilation, not during the actual tension phase when vasoconstriction occurs. The schools have geared up their programs to such an extent that they are creating many nervous personalities amongst their students. What is to be gained by rushing these youngsters through various courses in grade school which normally were taken at the high school level is hard to realize.


Reference stress-based approximate J estimation of elbow with intrados circumferential through-wall cracks under in-plane opening bending are reported in this paper. To find the reference stress-based approximate J, non-linear three-dimensional finite element analyses using elastic-perfectly plastic materials are performed. Then validity of that estimation of circumferential through-wall cracked elbow under given condition is evaluated. Also, effects of the elbow geometry and crack lengths are systematically investigated. Results are presented in the failure assessment diagram(FAD) space. If optimized reference moment was taken into consideration, reference stress-based J values are closed together with slight dependency on not only elbow geometry but also crack lengths.


The influence of St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises on Descartes' work, including the Meditations, has been recognized and discussed by many historians. I just mention a few fairly recent and easily accessible instances. In The Metaphysics of Descartes (Oxford: Clarendon 1965), J. L. Beck suggests that the literary form of the Meditations is most likely due to the Ignatian meditations to which Descartes had been exposed during his training at the Jesuit college of LaFlèche (31). Arthur Thomson in 'Ignace de Loyola et Descartes' traces some elements in Descartes' method and psychology to Ignatian sources, mainly focusing on the Discourse.


This book forms one of a series of small monographs in the Academic Press's Behavioural Development Series. It is an impressively clear and concise account of research undertaken by Howe into the beginnings of conversation between mothers and their children. In attempting to examine children's initiation into conversational forms, this study provides links between research on the importance of mothers in language acquisition and ethnomethodological approaches to conversational analysis. The study itself consists of the recording of twenty-four mother-child pairs playing with toys, when the children were aged between 20 and 22 months and later between 23 and 25 months. This activity was chosen because it was found to be the most frequently occurring one between mothers and young children of this age. Howe therefore felt justified in using this fairly limited range of activity as the basis for general statements about conversation.


For a prime power $q$, we show that the discriminants of monic polynomials in $\mathbb{F}_q[x]$ of a fixed degree $m$ are equally distributed if $\gcd(q-1,m(m-1))=2$ when $q$ is odd and $\gcd(q-1,m(m-1))=1$ if $q$ is even. A theorem in the converse direction is proved when $q-1$ is squarefree.


In light of the significance of software to society and of software engineering to industry, this note approaches software engineering education from multiple perspectives of management. These perspectives are salient, but are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and occur commonly in teaching and learning. In doing so, it also considers a renewed understanding of these perspectives brought upon by a 'revitalization' of e-learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.


Pedestrian priority at two pedestrian crossings at Kingston-upon-Hull has been introduced in an attempt to reduce accident rates. It was decided that the signals should be reversed to give pedestrians the default green signal so that vehicles had to stop before being detected. Details are given of the technology introduced to make this change to pedestrian priority possible. From monitoring the accident rate, the total number of traffic accident injuries has been reduced by 36%, including a 67% reduction in child accidents. It is considered that the success of the scheme represents value for money as the measures have paid for themselves within three months. Hull is now said to be developing new initiatives within its safety strategy within the local transport plan.


Mixtures of (phen)PdMe2 (2a) and HBAr'4 (3a) or (phen)PdMe(Cl) (2b) and NaBAr'4 (3b) [phen = 1,10-phenanthroline; Ar' = 3,5-C6H3(CF3)2] catalyzed the cyclization/hydrosilylation of functionalized 1,6-dienes to form silylated cyclopentanes in good yield and with excellent trans selectivity about the newly formed C−C bond (typically >50:1). A range of tertiary hydrosilanes were employed in the procedure although unhindered trialkylsilanes provided the most consistent results. The protocol tolerated a range of polar functionality including esters, ethers, amides, sulfones, and cyano groups. 4,4-Disubstitution on the diene backbone promoted cyclization, and a homoallylic ester, ketone, or ether directing group was required for efficient cyclization. The procedure tolerated dienes which possessed a single trans-substituted olefin and also tolerated allylic substitution. These substituted dienes underwent cyclization/hydrosilylation to form carbocycles resulting from transfer of the silyl group to the less hind...


In this study, simulations of a possible oil spill events in the Gulf of Iskenderun and the Eastern Mediterranean between Anatolia and Cyprus were performed in order to estimate the fate and behavior of spilled oil in marine environment and to assess impact of the spills. The simulations were carried out by SINTEF Marine Environmental Modeling Workbench (MEMW) or specifically its Oil Spill Contingency And Response modeling tool known as OSCAR[1].


Coal seams are usually in a state of gas-water coexistence and for coal-bed methane (CBM) reservoirs, coal permeability is essential to the extraction process of CBM. The purpose of this study is to experimentally analyse the coal permeability characteristics under different water content conditions and to propose a permeability model for gas flow in coal seams. Experiment results show that when the pore pressure is fixed, the gas adsorption decreases with the increase of water content. Similar behaviour is also found for the adsorption deformation which can discourage the coal permeability. In the process of increasing pore pressure, under the control of sorption-induced deformation and slippage effect, the permeability of coal shows a trend of decreasing first and then tending to be gentle. In addition, based on gas flow experiments, an improved permeability model considering water content and slippage effect is established based on the classic matchstick model. We also proposed a calculation model of slip factor considering the influence of water content. Wherein, the slippage factor showed an increasing trend under the combined effect of water content and pore pressure.


Author(s): Liang, Zhangrui | Advisor(s): Kang, Mo K | Abstract: The translation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) transplantation into clinic practice is hindered by the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) approval for in vitro autologous DPSC expansion. In order to circumvent the laboratory procedure, we proposed an unprecedented approach for regenerative endodontics – direct dental pulp tissue grafting. This study has demonstrated that cells directly migrating out from dental pulp tissue explantation (DPTE), functioning as the putative cell source in our approach for tissue regeneration, exhibits stem cell properties such as elongated lifespan as well as multi-potent differentiation in vitro as equivalent to DPSC. Additionally, our data from ex vivo tissue engineering with either porous biodegradable scaffold (poly-L-Lactic acid) or injectable self-assembly scaffold (PuraMatrix Hydrogel) suggests that dental pulp tissue fragments are survivable and proliferative in three-dimensional culture, generating stem cell population with odontogenic differentiation potential as well as mineralization capacity. Consequently, this preliminary investigation has established the fundamental rationale for the utilization of direct pulp tissue grafting in pulp-dentin complex engineering, charting out a blueprint for subsequent studies of a brand-new technique for regenerative endodontics.


Dr Persaud's observations on the impact of the media on mental health policy development raise some interesting issues. He clearly does not much like the fact that voluntary organisations such as The Zito Trust have played an important part in setting the agenda and pursuing reform — more


Summary:  Purpose: Headache is often ignored as a symptom of epileptic seizures. The purpose of this prospective study was to analyze frequency, classification, and characteristics of seizure‐associated headache (SH) according to the criteria of the International Headache Society.


This study aimed to examine the effect of firm size, profitability, and the proportion of women in the audit committee on audit report lag. either directly or indirectly through audit fee on companies listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange. audit report lag is one of ways to look at the timeliness of financial reporting which it is one of the qualitative characteristics of the relevant financial reporting.
The data that used in this research is secondary data, that the financial statements and annual reports of 33 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010-2015. To prove the hypothesis, regression testing was used to see the direct effect, and the path analysis with Sobel test to see the indirect effect. However, before hypothesis test, this research had done classical assumption test and the result is that the regression model meet the classic assumption test.
Simultaneous testing concluded that all independent variables together influence the dependent variable. Partial test results show that profitabilty, the proportion of women in the audit committee, and audit fee directly affect audit report lag. While based on the path analysis and Sobel test showed that only firm size have the indirect effect on audit report lag, through the audit fee.


PurposeThe literature mostly investigates the business cycle transmission of the United Kingdom (UK) and France as a part of a wider group (e.g. European Exchange Rate Mechanism or G7), despite their historical links and regional significance. Thus, herein paper aims to analyse the inter-dependence of these economies and how a shock from one of them affects the other for the data since 1978 to 2019.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, first, preliminary statistics were calculated in order to describe the historical relationship between these countries. The econometric part estimates the vector auto-regression model (VAR) to assess the inter-dependence of the economies. VAR model allows further to inspect the impulse response functions that shows the shock dynamics from one country to another. In order to verify if a shock from one of the economies is important to another, the study uses granger causality test.FindingsThe study establishes a strong link between these countries. A business cycle is transmitted significantly between the economies of France and UK, with a single standard deviation shock from France resulting in a long term effect of 0.4% change in gross domestic product (GDP) of UK and 1% vice versa. Additionally changes in GDP of both of the countries significantly Granger-cause change to GDP of the corresponding economy.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study investigating the business cycle transmission between France and UK and providing a quantitative assessment of their inter-dependence.


The paper examines the economic role of modelling information on the decision problem of an exporting firm under exchange rate risk and hedging. Information is described in terms of market transparency, i.e., a publicly observable signal conveys more information about the random foreign exchange rate. We analyze the interaction between market transparency and the ex ante expected utility of the exporting firm. It is shown that more transparency on the foreign exchange market may result in higher or lower export production. JEL-Classification: D81, D83, F11, F31


An ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric(UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of the 110 pesticides in six Chinese herbal medicines.Pesticides were extracted with acetonitrile,cleaned up by PSA solid phase extraction column and then separated with UPLC and detected with MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode via positive electrospray ionization(ESI+).The method was validated at three fortification levels(LOQ,5 LOQ and 20 LOQ) in Panax ginseng C.A.Mey.,Astragali radix,Perilla leaf,Chrysanthemum,Motherwort herb and Chinese magnolivine fruit.The average recoveries of the 110 pesticides at three fortification levels were between 70.1%-95.7%,with relative standard deviations(RSDs) between 0.8%-13.7%.The standard calibration curves for 110 pesticides all showed good linearity over the range of 1/2 limit of quantification(LOQ) and 50 LOQ.The LOD of all the 110 pesticides in ginseng were between 0.1 μg/kg and 8.0 μg/kg,LOQ were between 2.0 μg/kg and 100 μg/kg.It was indicated that this method is easy,sensitive and can achieve a good cleanup effect.The sensitivity,accuracy and precision of the method were all acceptable,and it can meet the requirements of the multiple pesticide residues analysis.


Control of inter-particle interaction forces can be achieved through prudent choice of solution chemical conditions. In this work the focus is on colloidal particles in aqueous solutions. The influence of concentration and type of salts, polymers and surfactants as well as temperature are discussed. The particle interactions influence suspension and emulsion behaviour such as dispersion stability, aggregation, settling rate, viscosity, compressibility and permeability. For instance, long-range repulsive inter-particle interactions generally produce stable dispersions of individual particles, that have low viscosities and pack to high densities at low pressures. On the other hand, strong attraction results in aggregation, rapid sedimentation, high viscosities, yield stresses and low density packed structures even under considerable applied consolidation pressures. Several examples are presented to demonstrate how intelligent control of the suspension properties, via the solution conditions, results in innovative processes in a range of different fields. The key is to insure that the inter-particle interaction forces are optimised for each step of the process. In some cases it is necessary to switch from attraction to repulsion or visa versa. The use of 'smart' polymers can be particularly helpful. Three applications are discussed in detail. Near net shape advanced ceramic components can be produced by creating a low viscosity suspension, filling a mould and gelling the polymer solution between the particles to create an elastic, shaped ceramic component. Water can be more efficiently and sustainably used in the mineral processing environment, by employing a stimulant sensitive flocculant, which allows for both rapid sedimentation and low sediment bed moisture. Finally, a novel emulsion method for production of tissue scaffolds is presented.


By analyzing criticism of "bagu spirit"and "test - orientation" in Ye Sheng Tao's idea on composition teaching and combining the changes of recent Caokao composition, this paper points out that Ye Sheng Tao' s idea on composition teaching stili has strong pertinence and practical guide values.


In gravity exploration,the middle layer and topography correction must be done in Bouguer gravity anomaly computation.The computation may,however, be inaccurate because of the irregular terrain.In this article,in order to simplify the topography correction,the authors have applied the digital image technology to the correction.Storing the shape and density information of the geological volume into digital image,we can use computer to calculate the gravitational field caused by the geological volume at any position.When the topography correction is conducted,one can use the measurement field value to minus the gravitational field caused by the geological volume at the measurement position,which is calculated by computer based on the digital images of geological volume.Therefore,the middle layer and topography corrections,as an all,will be processed simultaneously.The authors have given an example to testify the validity of the topography correction method.


The present invention, activated alumina, cerium / zirconium complex oxide and comprising palladium, a first layer in direct contact with the inert catalyst support, which is applied to the first layer, in direct contact with the exhaust gas to be purified, active and a second layer comprising alumina and rhodium, a two-layered three-way catalyst on an inert catalyst support, wherein the second layer does not contain nor cerium-containing substance of cerium, two-layer type three the original catalyst, of this type of catalyst, the use for purifying an automobile exhaust gas equipped with a gasoline engine, and to a flue gas processing system comprising such catalysts on the upstream side of the gasoline particulate filter (GPF).


We proposea transistor sizing method that downsizesMOSFETs insidea cell to eliminate redundancyof cell-based circuits asmuch aspossible.Our method reducespower dissipation of detail-routed circuits while preserving interconnects.The effectivenessof our method is experimentally evaluated using 5 circuits. The power dissipation is reducedby 77% maximum and 65% on averagewithout delay increase.


American communities are currently confronted with several public safety challenges: homeland security, violent crime, illegal drugs, property crimes, and calls for service. This is also apparently true for many other countries around the world. Law enforcement resources are being stretched thin in every community in attempts to deal with these issues. Traffic law enforcement has been given a lower priority despite the fact that traffic crashes result in more deaths, injuries, and societal costs in most communities than any of the other problems. Specific traffic law enforcement strategies have been shown to be effective in reducing impaired driving. In 2003, the Fresno, California, Police Department increased impaired driving enforcement from 1 or 2 operations per year between 1998 and 2002, to 32 in 2003 and almost 130 in 2010. Not only were alcohol-related crashes reduced by 17 per cent, but burglary rates and motor vehicle theft rates per capita declined by 17 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, between 2003 and 2011. This is compared to another city in California (Simi Valley) that did not change their traffic enforcement over that same period (2003-2011), conducting 3 impaired driving operations in each year. Burglary rates per capita increased 5 per cent while motor vehicle theft rates per capita decreased only 3 per cent during that period. Employing high-visibility traffic enforcement, such as the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, is known to raise the perceived probability of apprehension for impaired driving, but may also raise the perceived risk of being arrested for other criminal activity. If it can be demonstrated that increased traffic enforcement reduces other crime in the community, police departments in the United States and other countries may be more willing to use resources to implement that strategy. Countries that already use high visibility traffic enforcement in terms of random breath testing (RBT) and automated enforcement (speed and red light cameras) should analyse other crime rates associated with those activities.


Subsurface drainage was known as an effective method to solve salinity problems, in this paper, two different subsurface drainage systems were designed to study how the system affect the surface soil EC(electric conductivity), besides, the economic benefits of the system were evaluated. Results showed that: under the drainage system, the surface soil EC was in a trend of fluctuant reduction, the desalination ratio of T1.1, T1.2, T2.1, T2.2 and CK was 13.5%, 11.2%, 14.8%, 12.6%, and 6.0% respectively; the surface soil EC would present an rising trend in an irrigation cycle on account of the evaporation and the groundwater level, compared with CK, the drainage treatments could better suppress the soil resalination; the calculation results of economic indexes proved that both T1 and T2 could gain favorable economic benefits, and T2 was preferable with higher EIRR (16.4%), ENPV (4536$/hm2) and EBCR (1.48). The results also suggest that the subsurface drainage system was practicable from ecological and economic angle.


Inconel 617 is a solid solution, nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloy with an exceptional combination of high temperature strength and oxidation resistance. The combination of high strenth and oxidation resistance at temperatures over 1800℉ makes Inconel 617 an attractive material for such components as ducting, transition liners in both aircraft and gas turbine. In this study, the weldability and weldment characteristics of Inconel 617 are considered in GTAW associated with the two welding current and with back shielding gas using or not. After GTAW with 120A and 150A current, microstructures and hardness test, bending test, tensile test on room and elevated temperature for the determination of optical welding condition.


ABSTRACT Studies on the nitrite uptake capability of a mutant ofSynechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 lacking the ATP-binding cassette-type nitrate-nitrite-bispecific transporter revealed the occurrence of a nitrite-specific active transport system with an apparent Km(NO2−) of about 20 μM. Similar to the nitrate-nitrite-bispecific transporter, the nitrite-specific transporter was reversibly inhibited by ammonium in the medium.


The work aimed to study the evolution of the Holocenic coastal barrier of the beaches of Gamboa and Guarda do Embaú, related to sea-level changes during the Holocene. The beaches are located in the County of Paulo Lopes SC and belong to the central geomorphological sector of the Coastal Province of Santa Catarina. It represents the emergent portion of the Pelotas Basin and comprises transitional deposits composed of alluvial fans and lagoon-barrier systems. The geomorphology underwent several modifications due to climatic changes and transgressive-regressive cycles during the Quaternary. The hypothesis tested considers the retrogradation of the barrier-lagoon system even after 6 ka, when sea-level reached its maximum elevation in the Brazilian southeast coast, which would result in a seaward position of the shoreline during that period. In order to test the hypothesis, some steps were taken. Pre-field stage was aimed at material acquisition, target definition and development of the georeferenced project, using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. In the field stage geophysical data were acquired with ground penetrating radar (GPR) with antennas of 80 and 270 MHz. The post-field stage counted on geoprocessing and interpretation of the radar profiles and radarfacies in order to understand the behaviour of the barrier. The results showed a retrogradational stacking of coastal deposits, thus corroborating the hypothesis of shoreline transgression even after the relative maximum sea-level has been reached. This result represents a contribution to the knowledge of the coastal geology of Santa Catarina, helping with the understanding of the evolution of adjacent beaches such as Pinheira, which should have been influenced by the behavior of the Guarda and Gamboa barrier. In addition, this knowledge can subsidize coastal management, since the geological and evolutionary characteristics should be considered in the planning of the use and occupation of these regions.


Emotional intelligence has undoubtedly made my work as a library manager more effective and more enjoyable. While not always easy, developing trusting relationships with employees often leads to more productive environments and employees who support and contribute to the overall mission of the library. Successful library managers can use these skills to interact productively in all types of professional situations and among diverse personality groups, ultimately making them more valuable to their institutions. In the modern world, managers must possess a certain degree of emotional intelligence so that they can cope with rapid changes in their environment. With this in mind, it seems that emotional intelligence is an evolved form of human focus and modern equipment for managers to manage crises and help members of the organization achieve their goals. This study aims to study the influence of Emotional Intelligence on Crisis Management in small and medium companies in Tehran. After a review of literature, we formulate one main and four supporting hypotheses. The data required for the study are collected using questionnaire filled out by managers of those companies. The data are analyzed using SPSS 18.0. The results indicate that emotional intelligence as well as its components, excludin g social awareness, has a significant positive impact on crisis management capabilities in managers.


The method averages the minimum TRMM PR and Ground Radar (GR) sample volumes needed to match-up spatially/temporally coincident PR and GR data types. PR and GR averages are calculated at the geometric intersection of the PR rays with the individual Ground Radar(GR)sweeps. Along-ray PR data are averaged only in the vertical, GR data are averaged only in the horizontal. Small difference in PR & GR reflectivity high in the atmosphere, relatively larger differences. Version 6 TRMM PR underestimates rainfall in the case of convective rain in the lower part of the atmosphere by 30 to 40 percent.


At present the need for integrated data communication has become a major need for an office, especially at this time it tends to have many branch offices to support its business processes. Problems will arise if the head office has a branch office in a different city. Such as more costs in building network infrastructure to connect between headquarters and branches. One solution is to use Ethernet Over IP (EoIP) Tunnel. That is one of the tunneling features of the Mikrotik that provides an efficient solution to this problem. Network tunnel that is built between Mikrotik devices over TCP / IP. In running EoIP tunnel simulation using IPv4 to communicate with each other. Ethernet Over IP (EoIP) is a proprietary protocol, which is only owned by MikrotikOS. The routing protocol used in the EoIP tunnel is OSPF. Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is one dynamic routing protocol (Dynamic Routing) that is able to maintain, manage and distribute routing information between networks following any dynamic network changes. Then the quality of service is observed with throughput and packet loss parameters. The results of throughput parameters, the performance of video streaming services reaches 280.45 kbits / Sec. In the video streaming communication service, the average OSPF EoIP Tunnel packet loss reaches 0.92%.


The variation of fine structure constant with the variation of velocity of light has been studied considering contribution to the permeability and permittivity of the vacuum and incorporating contribution of fractal potential originated from the non-differentiability of fractal fluctuation. The time variation of $\alpha$ is found to depend on the complex velocity field characteristics of fractal nature of space time.


Composting is one of the technologies of integrated waste management strategies, used for the recycling of organic materials into a useful product. It can be defined as the biological decomposition of waste organic matter into a humus-like, stable product under controlled, aerobic conditions. The term "controlled" indicates that the process is managed and optimized to decompose potentially putrescible organic matter into a stable product that may be used for soil improvements, and to disinfect organic wastes from pathogens and weed seeds (Epstein E., 1997). The application of compost to agricultural land is a practice which is gaining importance particularly due to its beneficial properties in improving soil fertility and plant growth, and reducing the potential of erosion and desertification.


The purpose of the present study was to explore the sports infrastructure & facilities in schools of Rohtak district (Haryana). The study was descriptive in nature and the data was collected through comprehensive survey method. The sample of the study was 20 schools (government, government aided & public school) selected through random sampling technique. Percentage method was used to analyse the data. Conclusion:Schools of the Rohtak district are ahead in availability as well as in providing of facilities to the sports person/students for the promotion of games and sports. INTRODUCTION The infrastructure is the basic foundation or underlying framework of an organization or system. In your house, the infrastructure is the system of beams, weight-bearing walls and the foundation that keeps it standing. In India, sports is organized, managed, marketed and supported mainly by the Government and private industries. No doubt there is abundance of sports infrastructure yet there are various reasons of Indians are unable to make remarkable impact in any sport because Participation of sports depends on availability of sports infrastructures and equipment too. When human movement is combined with the universal drive of play the combination forms one of the most powerful education media. Man has invented games primarily as a means to meet socially with others, to display skills and physical prowess and to entertain or offer excitement. Most of the games involve some form of running, throwing and jumping acrobatics, all of which developed from basic hunting skills. Many early cultures combined religious and political elements into their games, but there was always a desire for recreational play that eventually inspired the codification of early games and the invention of new ones. Because early man relied heavily on running to hunt prey, footraces naturally developed and became formalized into track events. With the advent of the ball and bat, running became the basis for a wide range of modern games such as association football (soccer), lacrosse and field hockey. The ability to throw a killing implement far and accurately was transformed from a survival skill into a game skill like javelin or discus throwing. Although no modern team game is based on jumping. In practical terms "sport" has been operationally defined by its social interpretation as well as its strong association with physical exertion and performance measures. Many Governments invest in "sport" with an aim to leverage the positive societal, economic and cultural benefits for individuals and their communities. Therefore, it is appropriate that some definition of "sport" (in its many different contexts) will evolve in a similar way the definitions for "health" or "personal wellbeing" have changed in our society. Cale (2000) showed that schools varied in the amount and nature of physical activity opportunities they provided. It was concluded that while most teachers were working hard to promote physical activity in some areas of the school, and a lot other avenues for physical activity promotion were being overlooked. Sports have a prominent role in modern society. It is important to an individual a group a nation indeed the world. Sports have always ever reflected developments in society. Sports indeed have been a mirror of a society. The essential component of sports is competition the striving attitude to achieve a prescribed goal (Rajbil 2010). Gallardo (2011) revealed significant relationship between the degree of economic development in each Spanish region and the level of sports infrastructure resources. Insufficient investment in sports infrastructure leads to fewer opportunities for physical education and activities by the population. The International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM) ISSN: 2455-6211, Volume 4, Issue 8, August2016, Impact Factor: 2.287 86 present study was directed towards investigating the sports infrastructure among government and private schools in Kashmir valley. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY The first and foremost thing is the availability of sports infrastructure without infrastructure it is much harder to make an improvement in any field especially in physical education were infrastructure is unavoidable, nothing can be done without sports infrastructure as every activity needs ample infrastructure. Because physical education provides the rationally required foundation for each individual to enable to develop their personality domains on the concept of all-round development. Physical education provides significant contribution to become an integral part of the total educational development process which aims for the development of physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and socially fit citizens through the medium of physical activities. The current investigation will be beneficial in the context of sports infrastructure, facilities and sports activity among government, government aided and private schools in Rohtak district. In addition it will help to guide and improve the standard of sports infrastructure in Rohtak district and the outcomes of the study will further open the new avenues for sports person in choosing their carrier. Hence the paucity of research and the greater concern for the people of Rohtak with respect to offering them a better quality of life and life skills, so as to cope up with 21st century needs and the challenges inspired to investigator to undertake the present study. OBJECTIVES To explore the sports infrastructure, facilities and sports activity in schools of Rohtak district in relation to games and sports. To assess the contribution of the institutions Government, government aided and private for the promotion of games and sports in Rohtak district. METHOD The study was descriptive in nature and the data were collected using questionnaire through survey method. The sample of the study was selected through random sampling technique 20 schools were selected as a sample of this study. MEASURE In this study ques t i onnaire of sports infrastructure was used to collect the data. This questionnaire was prepared by parmar (2001). It embraces different aspects of sports programs and faci l i t ies available in the inst itut ions. Information sheet is divided into two parts one part containing questions about availability of grounds with in schools and the second part containing questions regarding providing of Different facilities to sports persons/students. PROCEDURE Survey method was used for the study as it is the only method and means through which instructions and other data can be obtained. The present study was based on Government, government aided and Private educational institutions of Rohtak district. 20 schools were selected using random sampling technique. The investigator ensured the administration that information provided by them would be kept confidential. STATISTICAL DESIGN The appropriate statistical technique was used for analyzing the data. Data collected from different respondents were analysis in terms of percentage and were also present in the table. wherever considered helpful to do so. RESULTS After the data was accumulated the research objectives were analysed using percentage. The results are presented in following tables: International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM) ISSN: 2455-6211, Volume 4, Issue 8, August2016, Impact Factor: 2.287


Along with rapid development of tourism, the research of the driving force of the regional tourism has become more and more important. The urgent request is to learn about the factors which impel the regional tourism development, and what are the main factors? What is the relationship between the tourism income and these factors? And how are the factors organised? The driving factors vary as the different types of tourism regions, and even the same types of different regions, its driving factors importance vary. Based on the system elements of Xinjiang Tourism development impetus, the authors did a pilot study of the driving factor systems of tourism development finding out the bottleneck of the development of Xinjiang tourism, establishing the tourism dynamic factors system of Xinjiang, studying the relations between these driving factors and tourism income and predicting which investments are more important in the future development of tourism in Xinjiang. The Conclusions are drawn as follows. (1) The driving factors of tourism development in Xinjiang are: Social economy, facility, talented person condition, tourism resources, and the open condition of trade as well. (2) The international tourism income has the most remarkable relevance to the factors of social economy, facility, talented person condition. But the domestic tourism income has remarkable relevance with the four kinds of social economy, facility, talented person condition and tourism resources, port and the open condition of trade.(3) Clustering situation reflects the development of Xinjiang's tourism is mainly in accordance with the socio-economic, human resources and location. Also, clustering is more in line with the development of tourism in Xinjiang actual situation. (4) The tourism resources and traffic condition affect the tourism development of Xinjiang, but the socio-economic, personnel and other factors played the greater role in it. The sum up, the main feature of this paper is the quantitative analysis of the driving factors of the regional tourism. The meaning of all quantities are well investigated and sufficient examples are explored to support the model calculation. This paper is a remarkable progress in study of the driving force of the regional tourism.


A study by a team from Cornell University finds the tasks that students choose to do in inquiry-based lab sessions could be due to biases and different levels of confidence among men and women.


Polypropylene oligomers were used to formulate two-stroke (2T) engine oil for once-through lubrication systems, to enhance the exhaust emission characteristics of two-stroke engines. The oligomers alone are suitable from a stability viewpoint, but must be reinforced with polyol-ester components to have good load-carrying capability. Both ash-forming and ash-free commercial additive packages can be used to formulate the end-product. The exhaust stream includes the unburnt portion of the fuel:oil mixture. The lubricating oils formulated on polypropylene oligomer base do not contain polynuclear aromatics, the sulphur-dioxide emission is due to the sulphur content of the fuel and additive (if any). On a bench test, the hydrocarbon emission was significantly lower using polypropylene oil, in comparison to using a commercial mineral-oil-based composition.


Objective To investigate the related risk factors of cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD).Methods Three hundred and sixty-two cases with CKD were divided into group A(with cardiovascular events) and group B(without cardiovascular events).The age,past medical history,homocysteine(Hcy),Hb,fasting blood glucose level,blood fat,blood pressure and case fatality of the two groups were compared.Results The level of age of group A was elder than group B(P﹤0.05).History of hypertension,history of diabetes,history of coronary heart disease,history of CVD and smoking,drinking were increased in group A(P﹤0.05).The level of Hcy,fasting blood glucose,TG,HDL-C and DBP of group A were higher than those of group B(P﹤0.01).The level of Hb and LDL-C of group A were lower than those of group B(P﹤0.01).The case fatality of group A was higher than group B(P﹤0.01);The independent risk factors for cardiovascular events were age,history of coronary heart disease,level of Hcy,Hb,and fasting blood glucose level.Conclusion There are many independent risk factors of cardiovascular events in patients with CKD.Intervention these risk factors might improve the prognosis of CKD and decrease the incidence and fatality of cardiovascular events.


These accounts of Muriel and Betty Box draw upon extensive research on their work and status in British cinema. These two
pioneers of British popular cinema have largely been neglected by histories of British cinema. The encyclopedia in which these
accounts appear is the most comprehensive reference book on British cinema history to date


This paper is to present an experimental study of the impact of surface hardening on the high-cycle fatigue behavior of an isotropic beam. The beams made from low carbon steel (St 44-2). Surface treatments used are pack carburizing and carbonitriding. The experimental work included mechanical test, surface heat treatment, fatigue test and Microscopic inspection. The surface hardening was done by using pack-carburizing process at a temperature of 925°C holding time variation (2, 4, and 6hr) followed by quenching and tempering process, and using the carbonitriding process at a temperature of 800°C and for periods (0.5, 1 and 1.5hr) then quenching directly in water. The fatigue test was carried out by a cantilever rotating-bending system. The results of an experimental fatigue test indicate that various behaviors depend on surface heat treatment and time soaking. The findings indicate that carbonitriding has a greater impact on the fatigue strength and life than the specimen has been treated with pack carburizing. In addition, as the time soaking increase, the fatigue life will increase for both types of surface heat treatments. It was found that the specimens that were hardened using the carbonitriding process achieved a higher surface hardness as the hardness increased to 1644.62HV, while the untreated specimens were 293HV. Compared with the hardening using the pack carburizing


Objective:In order to develop strategies on woman reproductive health care in rural by studying the status of reproductive health care and the knowledge,attitude,practice of reproductive health among married reproductive age women in rural of Anhui province.Methods:624 married reproductive age were questionnaired in three rural areas of Anhui province.Results:617 women had the history of pregnancy among 624 married reproductive age women,the number of average gravidity and birth living-child were 2.31±1.119,1.90±0.868.Among of those women,9.6% were educationed by high school,19.4% were illiterate.The rates of knowledge,attitude and practice of reproductive health have significance difference in different level of culture among those women(P0.05).More than half of those women enjoyed gaining the knowledge about infection of genital meatus,pregnancy and nursing by doctors and the TV.Conclusion:The culture level and the knowledge,attitude,practice of reproductive health among married reproductive age women in rural should be improved.The medical service department should take effective and direct method to publicize reproductive knowledge.


Objective To explore the detection rate,common location and clinical significance of intracranial artery fenestration by a large sample cases.Methods From October 2009 to March 2011,25 of 2 036 patients enrolled three dimensional time of flight(3D-TOF) magnetic resonance angiography(MRA) were,diagnosed artery fenestration(fenestration group),male 14,female 11,aged 30-81 years old,mean age 60.5 years old.The reconstructed images were processed by maximal intensity projection(MIP) and volume rending(VR) techniques.The imaging feature of intracranial arteries fenestration and correlation between aneurysm were analyzed.Results Twenty-five(1.23 %,25/2 036) fenestrations of intra and extracranial artery were detected.In 25 fenestrations,11 were located in basilar artery,4 in intracranial vertebral artery,6 in anterior communicating artery,3 in middle cerebral artery,1 in posterior cerebral artery.Six cases combined with aneurysms,4 were located in intracranial internal carotid artery and 2 in anterior cerebral artery.Conclusion It is demonstrated that 3D-TOF MRA could diagnose and display accurately the intracranial artery fenestration.


Field Sampling was conducted for volatile chemicals and for particles generated from laser-machining of various graphite-composite materials. We collected gaseous samples in a liquid-nitrogen trap. Chemical species were isolated and identified by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy; we also performed quantitative analysis of the identified chemicals. Particles collected on filters from air sampling during the machining process were chemically extracted and analyzed to determine if significant absorption of the volatile species had occurred onto these particles. Portions of this extract were also evaluated for mutagenicity using the Ames test. The majority of the chemical species we identified were aromatic compounds, ranging from single-ring to polynuclear species. Exposure limits have been established for only a few of these identified compounds, and a toxicological review reveals various acute and chronic effects, ranging from irritation to carcinogenicity. The Ames test indicates that extracts of the ...


This work was an address to the Spanish National Royal Academy of Medicine on clinical oral manifestations and family situations of pediatric AIDS patients and includes commentary. 115 children regularly followed at three hospitals in Madrid comprised the sample. Lesions observed in the oral cavity included condyloma acuminata caused by HPV. Candidiasis pseudomembranosa was undoubtedly the most frequent lesion and very easy to diagnose. Candidiasis erythematosis is as frequent as candidiasis pseudomembranosa but harder to diagnose often requiring culture. At least 75% of the patients had some form of clinical candidiasis. A third group of lesions--mucus ulcers--are large bleed to the touch are deep and unclean last 1-2 months and are capable of spreading throughout the digestive tube. A fourth group of lesions ulcers secondary to herpes simplex virus infection are very common. Gingival hyperplasia is sometimes associated with poor oral hygiene. Some cases of dental pathology involving very large lesions were also observed. Parotid hyperplasia is more frequent in children than in adults. No cases of Kaposi's sarcoma epidermoid carcinoma of the oral mucosa or gingival lymphoma were observed. The early observation that the sample children were seldom accompanied to appointments by their parents was probably a result of the high incidence of drug addiction and other problems affecting the parents.


This study aims to determine the influence of the atmosphere existing services at PT. Coffee Toffee Indonesia in Surabaya, which may directly affect word of mouth and indirectly mediated by the interaction among the customer or commonly referred to mediation. This study were drawn based on those 100 customers of Coffee Toffee tested using judgment sampling. Data was collected using a questionnaire first tested on validity and reliability. The analysis is used path analysis to test equipment SPSS 17. The hypothesis that the two received significantly where there are significant positive direct effect between a friendly at the service of the word of mouth and for the second hypothesis that the influence of the atmosphere to the service of word of mouth that is mediated by the interaction between the customers . Implications of further research, Coffee Toffee should be led to a positive atmosphere in the service and could be felt all its customers, in order to appear the interaction between the customer could be generate positive word of mouth. The key for success of a company is how companies can serve customers well and can create a positive interaction was also positive word of mouth.

Keywords: atmospheric service, customer to customer interaction, word of mouth


Communication, especially voice communication, continues to play an ever central role in improving business efficiency, customer service, and worker productivity. Technologies such as SIP and Web Services are transforming communication applications by providing primitives that can be integrated into business process flows. Meanwhile, enterprises present dynamic complex environments with strict requirements for communication solutions. In this talk, we examine the interplay between technologies and communication needs.


In this paper, a fixed point theorem under F-contraction mapping was considered and proved in complete quasi-metric space. This theorem was considered by Piri and Kumam in [1].
Subject Classification : 30C45; 30C10; 47B38

 http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.24.2019.037


The development of technologies gave a very rapid progress. It can be seen from the number of people using renewable technologies that can helps users in completing their work. Application of the technology itself can be done anywhere, including in agriculture, pest control. The use of manual tools are generally directly kills the target, authors think they still lack effective to use. This thesis aims to create a prototype of rodent traps (pest) microcontroller-based Arduino Uno. It is expected this tool can be used to assist users, so they can save time and energy use efficiency. The design of this tool used testing methodology to that used sensors and programming with IFELSE function. The trap is designed to provide information to the user that the animal had entered into a tool that has passed through several sensor as a detector of the situation. Information signal will be sent from the microcontroller arduino to a device that has been connected. When the trap was working and capture the results, then the information will be sent from the module arduino keperangkat predetermined (mobile users), so the user knows that the trap is successfully work, and the user knows how many catches with ease.


The theoretical foundations of direct foreign investment are considered. The interpretation of the essence of the concept of "foreign direct investment" is analyzed. A comparative analysis of the attraction of direct foreign investment in the construction


The only available theoretical model explaining the natural development of lakes is a set of assumptions underlying the so-called lake aging concept (LAC). It incorrectly states that with time, lakes age and are inevitably and unidirectionally subject to eutrophication processes. In its most radical version, it misidentifies eutrophication, i.e., an increase in productivity resulting from enrichment in nutrients, with progressive disappearance of lakes over geological timescales due to the filling of the basin with sediment. To this day, LAC assumptions are referred to in various sources, including scientific articles, the Internet, official government documents, as well as teaching materials, all despite a critical approach to this concept presented in several publications, including limnology textbooks. This article, for the first time, presents the history of creation of LAC and an analysis of its main assumptions. A new alternative approach to explain lake ontogeny is also proposed, based on the current knowledge from several environmental sciences, including limnology, physical geography, and paleoecology.


ocal legislative appropriations and local option taxes directed to arts and L culture are estimated to be approximately $800 million in fiscal 2001'a figure that has grown annually over the past ten years (see table 1). Although one of the smaller pieces of the overall arts funding pie, local public funding has been the largest and most stable form of government support, compared with state and federal. Local government support of the arts accounted for 3. I percent of all revenues in the national survey of the Profiles Project. This figure does not, however, reveal the entire picture of how local governments invest in the arts. Previous work by Americans for the Arts and others has documented that non-arts agencies of city and county governments support arts and cultural programming through, for example, youth arts programs funded by police departments, public art and performances in airports, and nonschool arts programs funded by school districts.2 The $800 million estimate of local arts support noted above does not include such activities. In this article, I outline the forms and extent of support of the arts by non-arts local government agencies. I discuss why agencies such as law enforcement, economic development, or social services direct a portion of their budgets to the arts, and assess the challenges in collecting these types of data.


While collective intelligence is not a new phenomenon, the internet and digital media have greatly extended the possibilities of remote collective collaboration. The joint effect of a networked public, digital platform and open organisations are allowing knowledge to emerge from truly novel forms of social interaction. However, not all collective digital projects are successful in engaging people and generating significant outcomes. It is therefore important to understand what are the mechanisms that underlie co–operative processes of knowledge exchange and development.


In this paper, we present and discuss the latest experimental results from the investigation of the operational performance of a 0.8 THz double-beam gyrotron, which has been developed and manufactured recently in the framework of an international research project led by IAP-RAS and FIR UF. After the initial tests, the current experiments have been focused not only on the study of the operation at the design mode TE8,5 (at the second harmonic of the cyclotron frequency) but also of several other modes the generated radiation of which could be appropriate for various other applications besides the envisaged 1.2 GHz DNP-NMR spectroscopy. The obtained results give a deeper insight into the specifics of the operation of the double-beam gyrotron and especially on its capability to provide an improved mode selection and therefore a single mode second harmonic operation.


available at http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31935026 Editorial Comment: Patients commonly ask whether dietary modification mediates prostate cancer progression. While clinical practice guidelines endorse consumption of vegetable rich diets, there remain few high quality data supporting this recommendation. To this end, the MEAL (Men's Eating and Living) study randomized men with low risk prostate cancer on active surveillance to telephone based behavioral intervention promoting consumption of 7 or more daily vegetable servings or to a control group given written information about diet and prostate cancer. The investigators found no significant difference in time to progression among intervention and control groups (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.24). Likewise, there was no significant difference in progression-free survival at 24 months between the intervention and control groups (43.5% vs 41.4%). Patients randomized to intervention reported significantly higher vegetable intake than controls and were found to have higher serum carotenoids at 12 months, confirming the intervention effect. These data suggest that a telephone based behavioral intervention produced sustained increases in vegetable intake among men with low risk prostate cancer, although this intervention did not mediate the risk of cancer progression. Despite the negative study result, we all must keep the study question in mind when considering whether/how to implement these findings into practice. The majority of men with low risk prostate cancer will die of other causes. While adding nutritional counseling to our prostate cancer discussions might not mitigate the risk of cancer progression, it could have other intended effects to reduce the risk of other cause mortality in this population enhanced for favorable prostate cancer outcomes. Matthew J. Resnick, MD, MPH, MMHC 608 SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS, UROLOGICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PRACTICE PATTERNS Copyright © 2020 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.


This paper first reviews the 12 articles concerning the systematic studies about technological innovation published in Journal of Systematic Dialectics.Then it proposes some ideas about the future studies on technological innovation.It holds that the systematic study of technological innovation subjects is essential to deepen the systematic study of technological innovation.


Although high self-esteem has historically been associated with superior performance and goal setting, some evidence suggests that individuals with high self-esteem are prone to maladaptive reactions to ego threat (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1993). In a military training situation, we tested the hypothesis that high self-esteem individuals would overreact to ego threats and predispose themselves to failure. Cadets were given false feedback from a leadership test and subsequently attempted grenade tosses in which they selected the distance they would try. Consistent with expectations, an interaction appeared between self-esteem and ego threat such that high self-esteem cadets who received ego-threatening feedback selected more difficult targets than low self-esteem cadets, leading to marginally reduced accuracy. When not receiving an ego threat, results suggested relatively equal performance by high and low self-esteem cadets.


Aliphatic copolyester aromatic comprising the following repeating units comprising a dicarboxylic component and a dihydroxy component: - [- O- (R11) -OC (O) - (R13) -C (O) -] - - [- O - (R12) -OC (O) - (R14) -C (O) -] - in which the dihydric component comprises -O- (R11) -O- and -O- units (R12) -O- derived from diols, wherein R11 and R12 are identical or different and are selected from the group comprising alkylenes C2-C14, cycloalkylene C5-C10 oxyalkylene C2-C12, heterocycles and mixtures thereof, wherein said diols comprise at least , 50 mole% 1,4-butanediol to the total diol content, wherein the dicarboxylic component comprises units -C (O) - (R13) -C (O) - derived from aliphatic diacids, and units -C (O) - (R14) -C (O) derived from aromatic diacids, where R13 is selected from the group comprising C0-C20 alkylene and mixtures thereof, wherein the aromatic diacids comprise between 2,5 -furanodicarboxi lic from renewable sources and wherein the mole percent of said aromatic diacid is more than 90% and less than 100% of the dicarboxylic component.


Introduction 1. Morgenthau, Agency and Aristotle 2. 'The Twilight of International Morality'? Hans J. Morgenthau and Carl Schmitt on the end of the Jus Publicum Europaeum 3. Carl Schmitt and Hans Morgenthau: Realism and Beyond 4. The Image of Law in Politics Among Nations 5. Realism, Tragedy and the Anti-Pelagian Imagination in International Political Thought. 6. The balance of power in Politics Among Nations 7. Hans Morgenthau and the Cold War 8. Hans Morgenthau and the World State Revisited 9. Morgenthau Now: Neoconservatism, National Greatness and Realism 10. Texts, Paradigms, and Political Change


Based on strengthened construction technology of lateral tensioning and anchoring carbon-fibre reinforced plastic(CFRP) sheet with wave-shaped-gear,theoretic analysis is made for the losses by material relaxation of CFRP sheet and strengthened member,the losses by temperature changing and the losses by action between screw bolt in wave-shaped-teeth grip and strengthened member.And pre-stress loss tests of CFRP after lateral tension are employed for eight members in two types of experiments(four for steel beam pedestal and four for concrete T-beams strengthening test).Based on test and analysis,a design value of total pre-stress loss is proposed for CFRP sheet lateral tensioned and anchored by wave-shaped-gear.


No-one who hears Guido Penzhorn talk about prosecuting corruption could doubt for a moment that he comes from missionary stock. His zeal for the subject reminds me of a religious fervour, and even though we are supposed to be a secular society this is one article of faith we should all share: that the corrupt should be tracked down and prosecuted, whoever they are, briber and bribee alike.


The dose delivery from dry powder inhalers is dependent on user inhalation technique, particularly the peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR). Non-contact acoustic methods have recently been employed to objectively measure PIFR during inhaler use. This study aimed to further inhaler acoustics research by extracting acoustic features from inhaler inhalation sounds using non-contact and tracheal microphones and correlating these features with PIFR. This study also investigated the repeatability of the position of the peaks and troughs of the inhaler inhalation power spectral density (PSD) profile across patients. The effects of PIFR, inhalation duration, age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and lung function on the PSD profile were also investigated. Fifty three patients (asthma (n = 26), COPD (n = 14) and other respiratory conditions (n = 13), such as obstructive sleep apnea and chronic cough) were recruited for this study. Each patient was asked to inhale at maximal flow rate through a Diskus™ inhaler while non-contact (5 cm from the inhaler mouthpiece) and tracheal microphones recorded the inhalation sounds. A gold standard measurement of PIFR of inhaler inhalations was also measured simultaneously using a spirometer. It was observed that the Shannon entropy (H) of inhalation sounds generated the strongest correlation with PIFR in the non-contact recordings (R2 = 0.82, p < 0.001). The average power (Pave) of inhalation sounds generated the strongest correlation with PIFR in the tracheal recordings (R2 = 0.29, p < 0.001). It was found that the position of peaks and troughs in the PSD profile of inhaler inhalations were more repeatable at an intra-patient level (p < 0.001) and that PIFR, inhalation duration and age had weak significant effects on the inhalation PSD profile (p < 0.01). Non-contact acoustic methods show promising opportunities to objectively monitor patient inhalation technique and respiratory health remotely which may greatly benefit both patients and healthcare professionals.