This paper presents a reflectarray antenna working at 28 GHz with polarization independent characteristics. The unit cell is composed of three circular rings optimized to achieve linear phase characteristics with the variation of the unit cell size. The array is composed of 400 unit cells of variable size arranged in a square shape aperture in order to direct the reflected wave in a direction normal to the reflectarray surface. The simulation results of the array with CST software show a directive beam with a low side lobe level, a gain of about 25 dB, and an efficiency of 58% at 28 GHz, which makes this array suitable for 5-G applications that may work at 28 GHz.


Objective
To evaluate the necessity and feasibility of low-dose dual-source CT coronary angiography imaging in the evaluation of high body mass index (BMI) patients.

Methods
Sixty patients with BMI ≥28 kg/m2 and heart rate 65-90 beats/min were selected, and they were divided into prospective electrocardiography gated scanning group and retrospective electrocardiography gated scanning group by random digits table method with 30 cases each. The image quality, CT dose weighing index (CTDI) and dose length product (DLP) were compared between 2 groups.

Results
There was no statistical difference in the score of coronary image quality between retrospective electrocardiography gated scanning group and prospective electrocardiography gated scanning group: (3.47±0.61) scores vs. (3.18±0.94) scores, P>0.05. The CTDI and DLP in prospective electrocardiography gated scanning were significantly lower than those that in retrospective electrocardiography gated scanning: (32.44±10.18) mGy vs. (45.86±15.34) mGy and (458.00±95.27) mGy/cm vs. (532.15±154.43) mGy/cm, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05).

Conclusion
For high BMI patients, different low-dose dual-source CT scanning, especially prospective electrocardiography gated scanning, can guarantee image quality and reduce the radiation dose and the radiation damage at the same time.

Key words:
Tomography, X-ray computed; Body mass index; Radiation dosage


Given that the term sustainability is, and always will be, a problematic one (since it clearly does not imply that we shall all live forever), whatever "it" is cannot be brought about by a simple policy fix. Clearly, educators and others must address the ways in which we interact with our environments as sentient and reasoning human beings if, as a species, we are to stand a better chance of thriving, along with other species, on this planet.


In recent years, medical students from Brazil have obtained poor performance in the CREMESP (Regional Medical Council of São Paulo State) exam. Although the most recent assessment shows improvements, they still perform poorly in specialties such as clinical cases, diabetes, and myocardial infarction. In this context, several strategies emerge to improve the teaching and learning of medical students, one of which is serious games. However, there is a problem with trying to train medical students in clinical cases through a game because there are so many diseases, and processing a database containing those diseases is laborious. This paper describes an intelligent module of a serious game for training medical students. This module has a website for data dissemination, management and expansion. The information is made available for serious game through a web service. We used databases of a clinical case, heart disease and diabetes. These databases are rated by the machine learning ensemble classifiers. The smart module was validated by F-measure using percentage division and cross-validation. With the results found, it was provision that the intelligent module can manage the of serious game data, because it has a whole structure for this purpose.


A suturing system (500) configured to position suture in the tissue, where the suture system comprising: a tool (50) comprising a head (56) having a proximal portion (112) accommodating a needle (62) and a distal end (64) spaced from the proximal portion (112) by a groove, the needle (62) can move through an output port of the needle (123) formed in the proximal portion (112) of the head (56) to a cavity (134) formed in the distal end (64) of the head (56); and a suture assembly (502) comprising a length of suture (506) connected to a tubular guide (504), wherein the tubular guide includes: an annular wall (520) extending between an inner surface (524) and outer surface (522), a fastener (512) having a first portion (530) disposed between the inner surface (524) and the outer surface (522) of the annular wall (520) and a second portion (514) which extending outward of the annular wall (520) and is adapted to secure the suture (506) against the annular (520) wall; It characterized in that the tubular guide (504) is dimensioned to be positioned in the cavity (134) formed in the distal end (64) of the head (56) and the needle (62) is configured to bind with the inner surface ( 524) of the tubular guide (504) to extract the tubular guide (504) of the cavity (134) and take it to the output port of the needle (123).


The anisotropy of fracture toughness of PZT- and barium titanate-based piezoelectric ceramics was studied using doubletorsion and indentation methods. The influence of elastic anisotropy and the piezoelectric effect in calculating the Kc value are discussed. The fracture toughness in the polarization plane is greater than that in the perpendicular plane. A model is suggested to explain the observed anisotropy; it is based on assumption of a stress-induced domain reorientation zone near the crack tip.


Microelectronics technology major is a strong professional and practical engineering specialty in higher vocational colleges, which involves the design and manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and integrated circuits and other related professional knowledge, and has higher requirements for practical teaching conditions. Therefore, higher vocational colleges are facing certain challenges in the teaching process. With the deepening of education reform, engineering case teaching is gradually becoming mature, especially in this kind of typical engineering specialty with significant teaching effect. This paper mainly discusses the engineering case teaching practice of microelectronics technology specialty in higher vocational colleges. Starting from the characteristics and functions of engineering case teaching, it explores a practical and effective engineering case teaching mode, actively introduces typical engineering case teaching, and continuously optimizes the course teaching mode, as well as improves the quality and effect of engineering case teaching for microelectronics technology specialty.


Background
Vertebral fracture after posterior arthrodesis and instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis is a rare occurrence with limited reported cases in the literature.

Case Presentation
A 16-year-old female patient surgically treated for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with T2-L1 posterior spinal fusion was in a low-energy fall resulting in fracture of L1 and new kyphosis and scoliosis of the thoracolumbar spine at the distal aspect of the fusion. The fracture was initially managed conservatively, however pain persisted and thus she was indicated for extension of the fusion and correction of the post-traumatic kyphosis.

Conclusions
Fractures after posterior spinal fusion for idiopathic scoliosis are rare and evidence for the appropriate management remains limited in the literature.Level of Evidence: V.


A comparative analysis of the plasma concentrations of soluble Fas-L (sFas-L) and their correlation with he- moglobin levels and malaria severity was carried out in cohorts of P. falciparum-infected patients from Gabon and India. Young patients from Gabon had plasma levels of sFas-L that increased with disease severity. In contrast, in Indian adults plasmatic sFas-L levels were more elevated in UM and SNCM than in CM. In both Gabonese and Indian subjects, sFas-L concentrations were negatively correlated with haemoglobin rates, which were lower in SNCM than in UM or CM in both populations. We also observed a positive correlation between the level of plasmatic sFas-L with the level of circulating IL-2 receptor in the Indian patients. All these observations suggest a paradoxical role of sFas-L in CM pathogenesis when comparing Gabonese and Indian patients, while a similar role was found to be associated with severe anaemia.


Health care in developing countries are not prepared to provide services to adolescents due to inadequate awareness of adolescent health needs and are identified as a vulnerable and under-served population group. The aim of the study was to assess awareness and perceived need of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services among the adolescents (15-19 years) in higher secondary schools in post disaster setting in Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal. The descriptive cross-sectional study was based on a structured, self-administered questionnaire with a representative sample of 542 taken from 16 (30%) higher secondary schools of Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal by applying multistage-clustered sampling. Descriptive data was used to summarize the dependent variables. Bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis was done to find out the factors associated with awareness and perceived need of SRH services. Forty-seven percent of the adolescents have inadequate knowledge of SRH service. Nineteen percent of the students had ever felt the need to access SRH services. Grade XI students OR (0.34, 95% CI, (0.24, 0.5)), faculty p< 0.001, being male OR (0.66, 95% CI, (0.45-0.97)), age group 15 to 16 OR (0.46 (0.32-0.67)), near to family OR (0.42(0.28, 0.63)) were associated with SRH knowledge. Being male OR (2.12, 95% CI (1.3- 3.3)) and being poor OR (2.17 95% CI (1.2-3.7)) were associated with perceived need of SRH services. Adolescents have inadequate knowledge of SRH services. One fifth of the study subject who had perceived need, majority did not seek SRH services. For majority of adolescents' privacy and confidentiality, feeling of shyness played as a major perceived barrier.


Carbon fibers have increasing application in modern composite materials due to its especial chemical and mechanical characteristics. In order to lead this valuable material in daily life civilian application, many researches carried out to produce it more economically. In this article the consequences of a pilot study on producing low price carbon fibers based on fully available locally lower price precursors were called Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers reported. Due to variation in mechanical property of produced carbon fibers; by using Plackett-Burman as a well known screening design method in design of experiments (DOE), a verified multivariate nonlinear regression model was achieved and optimum conditions and process setting procedures were attained which showed more than 15.7% improvement in the end product quality specification.


The invention discloses a method for preparing an ultraviolet light absorber UVT-150. The method is composed of the following process steps: (1) carrying out an aryl amination reaction, namely adding methyl p-aminobenzoate and an organic solvent into a reactor, heating, slowly dripping cyanuric chloride, maintaining the temperature and reacting, distilling, and crystallizing so as to obtain an intermediate methyl triazone; and (2) carrying out an ester exchange reaction, namely adding methylbenzene, a catalyst and isooctyl alcohol into the reactor, heating, dripping a toluene solution of the methyl triazone, maintaining the temperature and reacting, distilling, and crystallizing thereby obtaining the product, namely the ultraviolet light absorber UVT-150. The method disclosed by the invention is simple in process route, readily available in raw materials, convenient to operate and high in yield, and the industrialized production is easily realized.


Objectives 1. To study the imaging features of Focal hepatic lesions on Ultrasound, Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging(DWI sequence) in correlation with histopathology findings. 2. To characterize enhancement patterns of various hepatic lesions on Contrast enhanced triphasic Computed Tomography. 3. Correlation between type of arterial enhancement and histopatholgy. 4. To assess cut off value between benign and solid malignant lesions. 5. To assess cut off between infective and cystic malignant lesions.


# Risk and Risk Perception for Low Probability, High Consequence Events in the Built Environment (R Corotis) # Risk Acceptability Based on the Life Quality Index (R Rackwitz) # Performance Evaluation of Infrastructures (M Chowdhury) # Reliability-Based Performance Design (Y K Wen) # Reliability-Based Calibration of Design Codes (A Nowak) # Reliability of Bridges (M Ghosn) # Stochastic Response of Fixed Offshore Structures (Q S Tong) # Dynamic Reliability Evaluation Using Finite Elements -- Steel Structures (J Huh & A Haldar) # Mesh-Free Finite Element Methods for Probabilistic Analysis (S Rahman) # Application of Reliability Methods for Fatigue Analysis and Design (P Wirsching) # Probabilistic Models for Corrosion in Structural Reliability Assessment (R Melchers) # Structural Health Assessment (H Katkhuda et al.) # Reliability Analysis Using Information from Experts (J Mohammadi & S DeSantiago) # The Renewal Model in Reliability-Based Optimization (R Rackwitz)


At present,there are some common problems in the management of human resources in the enterprises run by the local people,for example,no systematic realization;no scientific and practical methods;lack of training;unperfect control and encouragement system;workers' qualities and so on.The problems resulted from workers' qualities,family-style system and imaginary success in the past,etc.To solve these problems,we must strengthen self-education and selfmanagement of the enterprise itself,traiming the workers and perfect encouragement and control system,etc.


In this paper, we illustrate the decision making intrinsic that was followed while designing for the users of a music archive. The archive at stake is the Ionian Music Archive, an on-line service at refinement phase that holds records of the characteristic music of the Ionian Islands in Greece. The main challenge was how to best engage user adaptation on a system with certain attributes such as a high variation on users' music knowledge. We propose a two-folded decision making process for its design. The one side of the process lies on design rationale techniques at earlier stages and the other side is akin to formal multi-criteria approaches and is applied on every high-level decision to further weigh the user adaptation attributes that are included in the system. The initial feedback we collected is very encouraging, setting the basis for future implementations.


We show the effect of simultaneous variation of i) the NaOH/AGU (anhydroglucose unit) stoichiometric ratio (r), ii) added [NaOH], and iii) mercerization time, on the degree of cellulose substitutio ...


The succession community arises from the moment of the opening of the heritage, if there is a legacy inherited by at least two heirs. In legal theory and jurisprudence, the dominant view is that the succession community ceases by adopting a decision on inheritance. However, the form of property in matters determines the possibility of its transfer. The author defends the view that, from the opening of the inheritance to an ideal or real division of items that make up the legacy, the co-heirs acquire a common property. On the basis of the decision on inheritance (except when an ideal or real division is performed), which has a declaratory character, the co-heirs do not acquire a co-property. Therefore, they can transfer the hereditary parts to the co-heir only. After executing an ideal or real division, the co-owned part or a real-life exclusive part of the successor may be transferred to third parties.


Submitted for the MAR11 Meeting of The American Physical Society Some Statistical Measures and Analytical Results of Quantum Walks under Weak Measurement and Weak Values Regime DEBABRATA GHOSHAL, George Mason University, MARCO LANZAGORTA, ITT Corportation, SALVADOR VENEGAS-ANDRACA, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Estado de México (ITESM-CEM) — Motivated by experimental results on quantum weak measurements and weak values as well as by the need to develop new insights for quantum algorithm development, we study the behavior of quantum walks under the regime of quantum weak measurements and weak values of preand post-selected measurements (QWWM hereinafter). In particular, we investigate the limiting position probability distribution and several statistical measures (such as standard deviation) of a QWWM on an infinite line, and compare such results with corresponding classical and quantum walks position probability distributions and statistical measures, stressing the differences provided by weak measurements and weak values with respect to results computed by using canonical observables. We start by producing a concise introduction to quantum weak values and quantum weak measurements. We then introduce definitions as well as both analytical and numerical results for a QWWM under Hadamard evolution and extend our analysis to quantum evolution ruled by general unitary operators. Moreover, we define a 2-walker QWWM on an infinite 2D lattice and explore its behavior on limiting probability distribution, standard deviation and degree of entanglement between walkers. Debabrata Ghoshal George Mason University Date submitted: 30 Nov 2010 Electronic form version 1.4


Colorectal cancer is known as one of the most common types of cancer which the prevalence is increasing. According to reports, malignancies of the large intestine have highly broken out in Iran. Several studies have shown the correlation between the CD34 cell surface markers and some cancers. In the present study, the relationship between the protein expression and clinico-pathologic characteristics was evaluated. In this study, 40 paraffin blocks belonged to patients with colorectal cancer referring to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz during 2003-2013 were studied by immunohistochemistry method. From 40 samples, 22 were males and 18 females. Their mean age was 56±17.9 years and ranging from 22-87 years. The mean tumor size was 5.1 cm ranging 11-1.5 cm. The most common site of involvement was in the right colon (45%) and the rarest site in the transverse colon (10%) and 75% was in poorly-differentiated state in terms of tumor grade. Generally, marker expression was positive in 13 cases and negative in 27 cases. The CD34 expression was significantly correlated with tumor size, tumor depth, degree of differentiation as well as lymphatic, vascular and neural invasions. A positive correlation was observed between the marker expression and pathological characteristics. Therefore, CD34 marker expression can be effective as a marker in the diagnosis of pathological characteristics of colorectal cancer. However, further studies with a large population are recommended.


Based on scanning electronic microscope(SEM) analysis and isothermal adsorption of low temperature nitrogen experimentation of mudstone samples,microstructure morphological characteristics and distribution laws of pore-fracture of coal measures mudstone were studied systematically,and the influence of distribution characteristics of mudstone pore-fracture on absorption softening disintegration was researched.The research results are as follows:① Pore-fracture types of mudstone include inter-granular pores,inter-stratum pores,granular edge shrink pores,blowholes,corrosion pores,mineral casting pores and fractures etc.② Degree of development and inter connectivity of pore-fracture of mudstone is poor,and it occurs in implicit fracture form in the natural state.③ The pore-fracture of mudstone is dominated by clay mineral inter conglomeration pores and inter large granules that compose the mudstone skeleton pores,and inter large granules pores accounts for a little more than 20% of total pores volume.④ The absorption softening disintegration of mudstone is caused by adsorption effect of micropore-fractures on the basis of macrostructure damage and disturbed,the natural absorption and soften disintegration mechanism difference obviously differ in composition of substance.


Abstract : The data documented in this series (TD 391-417) consist of measurements of the relative phase difference of signals from various pairings of Omega stations, or lines of position (LOPs), as observed at several monitoring sites around the world. The data have been categorized according to both receiving site location and mode of transmission operation being used by the Omega Navigation System at the time. Most of the volumes in the series cover the 'absolute' mode of operation used from 1966 to 1970 (and to the present, but not documented here). The remaining volumes cover the 'synchronized' mode used from 1960 to 1965. Much of the data being documented was obtained at monitoring, or 'synchronizing,' sites located within about 30 kilometers of each transmitter and at NELC. The monitoring configuration was such that the observed phase difference would be increased by a decrease in phase delay of the second designated station (usually the local transmitter). In the synchronized mode, a master-slave relationship was used wherein the slave stations acted as in-phase reflectors of the received master signals. The local synchronizing sites observed all signals and controlled the phase of the quartz oscillators at the nearby transmitters. LOPs were recorded as slave minus master at all sites. When the master signal was observed at its local site, the resulting LOP represented the 'roundtrip' phase delay over the propagation path to the particular slave station.


Hydrogen sulfide generation in oil production is a constant cause of concern. In several cases this phenomenon occurs due to the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria. Various methods, including biocides and nitrate addition, have been used to control the activity of these microorganisms, but they are expensive and have side effects. Other inhibition methods, such as the use of molybdate, have received much less attention. This study performed a kinetic test for the inhibition of sulfate reduction, and short-term tests to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration of molybdate in liquid medium containing 10.4 and 20.8 mM of sulfate (1000 mg L-1 and 2000 mg L-1), respectively. An inoculum was prepared from a microbial consortium of sulfate-reducing bacteria dominated by Desulfovibrio vulgaris enriched from produced water from oil wells of the Reconcavo Basin, Brazil. The indicators of bacterial activity used were: sulfate reduction, sulfide production, culture medium color, pH, and redox potential. The tests show that, regardless of the concentration of molybdate, sulfate reduction is inhibited after the first hours of the start of the test. The conversion of sulfate in the kinetic experiment without molybdate is 78%, whereas the average conversion in the experiment with molybdate is approximately 30% in 216 h. The short-term test results show that 0.08 mM (12.8 mg L-1) molybdate, a molar ratio molybdate/sulfate of 0.004, is sufficient to inhibit the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria for 168 h.


The holotypes of Arhodia egenaria Walker, 1866 and Cicinnus primolus Schaus, 1928, syn. n., were examined. Both names are junior synonyms of C. melsheimeri (Harris, 1841). Cicinnus melsheimeri (as Perophora egenaria), sensu Hampson, 1904, is a misidentification of C. bahamensis St Laurent & McCabe, 2016.


Image processing is the method that will be used in this system. A surveillance camera will be mounted at an optimal position so that it could detect the vehicles efficiently. The Foreground Detector and Blob Analysis make up the techniques that will be used to identify an object as a vehicle in a video sequence. The Mixture Model, specifically Gaussian must have an initialized Foreground Detector that has sampled a video frame before it can be used. After initializing Foreground Detector, Blob Analysis would be used to detect vehicles and place bounding box. Image processing used in detecting vehicles is used in determining the weather condition. The only difference is that histogram would also be used. Since it will operate in real-time, it is capable of detecting the density of vehicles on the lane even in various conditions like raining or changes in illumination.


On the basis of heat treatment tests,the effects of Alumina micro powder on the properties of bauxite gunning refractory were studied.The results show that the alumina micro powder with smaller grain leads the system to form more mullite at 1 300℃,so the P.L.C of the system is smaller.However,at 1 500℃,the P.L.C of the system becomes bigger.The alumina micro powder with smaller grain also causes higher B.D、M.O.R and C.C.S under different heat treatment temperatures.


For legacy cities, population decline and economic restructuring contributed to the challenges facing their built environments including low demand, oversupply, and high rates of vacancy and abandonment. Amidst this backdrop, there is intense pressure for demolition, yet legacy cities also possess rich stocks of historic resources that can potentially serve as physical assets for community development. Market-based historic preservation incentives such as historic rehabilitation tax credit (RTC) programs are important tools for facilitating reinvestment in legacy cities. These tools are also criticized for primarily benefiting the real estate developers spearheading these projects or creating inequitable neighbourhood change. This research analyzes federal historic RTC projects in two St. Louis, Missouri neighbourhoods – Lafayette Square and Midtown Alley – between 1997 and 2010 and asks: in what ways do investments supported by historic tax credit programs function as a tool for legacy city community development? Through interviews and document analysis, I find that historic tax credit projects support neighbourhood stabilization by minimizing vacancies and shifting redevelopment approaches away from demolition and towards preservation. These projects help build capacity among real estate developers to take on historic preservation redevelopments in other neighbourhoods. However, residents and community-based organizations are often disconnected from these projects, limiting their usefulness as a community development tool.


Urbanization brings with it impacts pertaining to mental health and problem behaviour. There is strong evidence that urban people were much more likely to report mental illness and depressive symptoms than non-urban. Mental health problems in urban context, such as depression, aggression, anxiety, sadness, substance abuse, and personality disorders are caused by poverty, fear of crime and ethnicity. Behavioural problems such as sexual, gambling and corruption behaviour occur more frequently among people in urban areas. These impacts of urbanization affect the entire gamut of population, especially the vulnerable section: elderly, children and women.


In this article the traditional ritual activities connected to European Good-Luck Visits will be analyzed. These are performances that take place across much of Europe during the winter and spring. In them we find that the actors often utilize different types of plant-based materials to make their costumes. Symbolically, these objects form part of a larger class of objects and actions whose purpose is to ensure the health and well-being of those whose households are visited as well as to contribute to the fecundity and health of their domestic animals. As we shall see, the integration of natural plant-based materials in such traditional performances is not limited to the employment of these items as props with symbolic value. Rather vegetation, specifically, various types of straw (wheat, rye, oats, spelt or pea-straw) have been used, quite literally, to construct the very costumes worn by a specific class of bear performers, known collectively as Strohbären, that is straw bears. Whereas utilization of straw in the confection of these costumes is commonly associated with the bear actors of Bavaria, similar costumes are found in other parts of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland.As will be demonstrated, in addition to straw, many other types of plant material have been used to construct the costumes, for example, moss, leaves, twigs, and pine boughs. And, less exotically, the bear costume can consist of a real bear skin and the head of a real bear, as is still the case of performances held in certain villages in Rumania. As has been noted by other researchers, the actors, often called 'men of the forest'—as were bears themselves—were frequently identified as 'wild-men'. In this study we will examine the wide variation in the costumes as well as the variety of plant materials, animal furs and horns that have been utilized to create them. In addition, the role of these bear actors will be discussed, especially in reference to the traditional performances of Bavaria. Questions related to the way that St. Nicholas got added to the mix of actors are also addressed.


This study aims to describe the forms of and responses to racial hegemony and the Afro-American ethnic group's self-identity in Hughes's poems. It employed the qualitative descriptive approach. The data sources were Hughes's poems entitled "I, Too, Sing America", "Let America be America Again", and "Theme for English B". The data were analyzed by means of the postcolonialism theory, enriched by historical, socio-cultural, and political information during the post-civil-war era till 1960s in the United States of America. The findings are as follows. First, racial hegemony appears in the form of the negative stereotype of the Afro-American ethnic group. The negative stereotype leads to the marginalization of the Afro-American ethnic group, reflected by the injustice and tyranny by the majority ethnic group. Second, responses to racial hegemony are manifested in the Afro-American ethnic group's awareness of dignity, self-esteem, and self-confidence as foundations to demand equality and to show their existence amid the white people ethnic group's domination. Third, the pride of ethnic identity is actually a potential to realize Amerian ideals as a nation highly respecting equality and diversity as aspired by the founding fathers.


As greater professionalism attaches to the role of security analysts, increased attention is being paid to nurturing analysts' creativity and imagination. These changes have had profound effects on the investment industry and will continue to pose daunting but rewarding challenges to money managers and people managers.This presentation comes from the Equity Investing: Value and Growth conference held in New York, New York, on February 15, 1995.


For entrepreneurial narratives to be effective, they need to be judged as plausible and have to resonate with an audience. Prior research has, however, not examined or explained how entrepreneurs achieve plausibility and resonance. In this paper, we therefore address this question and do so in a novel way by connecting narrative entrepreneurship studies with research on argumentation. This conceptual combination allows us to explain through an empirical study of entrepreneurial pitches how the plausibility and resonance of an entrepreneurial narrative is a function of the strength and use of certain types of arguments. 48 3.1 Introduction New ventures are uncertain investment opportunities, because information about their activities is investors face is exacerbated by the information asymmetry between them and the founders of the venture (Shane, 2003). Prior research found that investors are more willing to provide resources to entrepreneurs who have the right social ties (e. possess certain quality signals, like a good track record and endorsements by third parties (Sine et al., These studies have been criticized for not explaining the mechanisms by which entrepreneurs use their social ties or indicators of their venture's quality to mobilize others to support their project (Martens et al., 2007; Pollock and Gulati, 2007). In response to this criticism, entrepreneurship research has – like organization studies in general (Phillips and Oswick, 2012) – increasingly turned to narrative approaches (Steyaert, 2007). Narratives can be a powerful means of persuasion because they impose a logical structure upon equivocal happenings (Czarniawska, 2004), such as evaluating a new venture's potential (Aldrich and Fiol, 1994), and thereby reduce uncertainty amongst stakeholders (Lounsbury and Glynn, 2001). Narratives are also persuasive because they implicitly convey a message (Sillince, 1999). This allows entrepreneurs to generate interest without providing demonstrable proof (Czarniawska, 1995) – proof they are either not able to provide (Aldrich and Fiol, 1994), or that can be scrutinized by their audience (Martens et al., 2007). Due to the lack of proof, narratives cannot be evaluated based on external criteria like truthfulness (Aldrich and Fiol, 1994; Czarniawska, 2004). Narrative researchers discuss two factors that effective narratives have in common: verisimilitude, which is defined as a narrative's 'perceived plausibility or acceptability as an interpretation of events' (Bartel and Garud, 2009: 111), and fidelity: a narrative's 'resonance with the beliefs of the target audiences' (Lounsbury and Glynn, 2001: 553). Most work on narratives focuses on the overall structure and meaning of …


The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global information network consisting of Internet-connected objects, such as Radio frequency identifications, sensors, actuators, as well as other instruments and smart appliances that are becoming an integral component of the future Internet. Over the last decade, we have seen a large number of the IoT solutions developed by start-ups, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, academic research institutes (such as universities), and private and public research organizations making their way into the market. In this paper, we survey over one hundred IoT smart solutions in the marketplace and examine them closely in order to identify the technologies used, functionalities, and applications. Based on the application domain, we classify and discuss these solutions under five different categories: 1) smart wearable; 2) smart home; 3) smart city; 4) smart environment; and 5) smart enterprise. This survey is intended to serve as a guideline and a conceptual framework for future research in the IoT and to motivate and inspire further developments. It also provides a systematic exploration of existing research and suggests a number of potentially significant research directions.


Abstract In the present world, nuclear energy is a must need for various purposes. The main cause of nuclear energy is because of the increasing energy demand, which is not possible to provide by using convenient energy generation. Bangladesh is a lower income country and the energy sector is not so developed here though there is a very high demand for energy. Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is the only one nuclear generation plant which can provide this kind of huge energy within a very short time. This paper mainly depicts the ins and outs of this plant and discusses it's feasibility in Bangladesh. It also focuses on the worlds various power generation methods and comprises it with nuclear energy generation. A detailed technical brief is presented in this paper along with advantages, location selection, financial and environmental impacts. This will help researchers to do further researches about nuclear energy in Bangladesh.


This dissertation is the result of exploring the phenomenon of the adoption of a service innovation, in particular mobile telecommunications service, with the goal of informing the design of mobile health services. A grounded research study led to the finding that older adults may not abandon a legacy service, such as landline telecommunications service, when they adopted mobile telecommunications service. To further understand the results of the first study, a multidisciplinary literature review was undertaken and resulted in a typology of the factors of individual-level innovation adoption that can be applied by human factors professionals in the field. The three categories of factors included macro environmental, innovation-specific, and human factors. A research analysis of a study done by a county health department provided insights into what older adults contributed to the service production process in healthcare services including which common proxies do not accurately reflect the situations of older adults. A three-state process model of individual-level innovation adoption, which incorporated the role of a legacy system, was developed using the adoption patterns of mobile telecommunications services. In this model, individuals move from a state of using a legacy system to adopting a innovative system while still using the legacy system. After a period of time, the individual moves from the state of dual use to fully abandoning the legacy system and using only the innovative system. A compartmental mathematical model is developed to allow the model to be simulated and future service demand needs can be better predicted. Two decision-making processes were identified to be employed by individuals in the abandonment of a landline telecommunications services. Finally, recommendations for the design of mobile health services are provided. AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ADOPTION OF MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE MOBILE HEALTH SERVICE DEVELOPMENT by


Objective: To examine whether more intensive or goaldirected physiotherapy increases motor function and performance in children with cerebral palsy. Participants: A convenience sample of 56 children with bilateral cerebral palsy classified at level 3 or below on the Gross Motor Function Classification System (Palisano et al. 1997) aged between 3 and 12 years and living in the community. Method: Following 6 months baseline observation the children were stratified and randomized into four treatment groups. A 2 x 2 factorial design was used to compare routine amounts of physiotherapy with intensive amounts, and to compare the use of generalized aims with specific, measurable goals negotiated with each child, carer, and teacher. After the 6-month treatment period there was a further 6month period of observation. Measures and results: Changes in motor function and performance were assessed by a masked assessor using the Gross Motor Function Measure (Russell et al. 1993) and the Gross Motor Performance Measure (Boyce et al. 1998) at 3month intervals. There was no statistically significant difference in the scores achieved between intensive and routine amounts of therapy or between aim-directed and goal-directed therapy in either function or performance using analysis of covariance in which the covariate was the mean of the three baseline assessments. Including additional covariates of age and severity levels in the anaylsis did show a trend towards a statistically significant difference with an estimated effect of 2.5 points (p=0.056; 95% C1 -0.06 to 5.2) in gross motor function in participants (n =28) receiving intensive therapy during the treatment period. This advantage declined over the subsequent 6 months when therapy reverted to its usual amount. Conclusion: The results of the trial suggest that for children aged 3 to12 years with bilateral cerebral palsy at level 3 or below on the GMFCS, altering their routine physiotherapy by increasing its intensity for a period of 6 months has very little effect upon outcome at the end of this time; any slight advantage which might occur is likely to be lost over the subsequent 6 months if treatment reverts to its usual amount. Differences in goal-setting procedures have not been shown to produce a statistically significant effect. Session F: Physical Therapy


A closed-loop controlled torque start-up is proposed to obtain the rotor initial position using initial incremental motion, which allows the start-up with the optimal high torque in severe starting conditions with the least possible motor current. With the initial position, the sensorless control of a surface permanent magnet synchronous machine (SPMSM) is achieved by a new scheme of model reference adaptive system (MRAS). The H-norm of the transfer function is applied to assign the poles for achieving robust position and speed estimation. The experimental results show that the proposed method is very effective.


Bio-mineralization material is made up of the natural biological and bio-ceramic polymer composites with the life-support system.Compared with natural and synthetic materials,the bio-mineralization material has a special structure and well ordered.The study of biological material is focused on calcium carbonate also now.In this review,the interaction between matrix and calcium carbonate is discussed from the aspects of growth orientation,nucleation induction and growth habit.


Agricultural sector get the especial priority in the effort economic development because this sector represent the dominant sector in Indonesia, either from contribution of national earnings, supply of employment, resource of stock-exchange etcetera. New approach in development ought to base on the fact that farmer have experienced of the process dinamisasi and modernize, so that farmer have more rational, have recognized the modern agriculture technology and recognize various high valuable agriculture commodity. Most of all farmer, including small businessman, have got the benefit from program of Bimas or green revolution, with adopting modern technology at paddy look like at growth rate high production until start a decay 1990-an. Food resilience do not only short-range, but long-range more important, that is how can create the situation able to push the stable production by trend mounting. This matter will concern some problem to determine the policy of concerning institute, produce, self sufficiency, stabilization of price and support price. Pprotection gets the efficiency, but protection needed a commodity which not yet ready to compete globally, to protect the emulation which do not fair, to protect the farmer, and to protect long-range food resilience.


Based on the current situation of coal industrial cluster development in Xinjiang,through the GEM model,the paper obtained the result that its competitiveness is below the national average level,and accordingly built an evaluation index system of competitive influencing factors.By using Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP),and combining expert advice,the paper calculated the weight of each indicator system and analyzed the factors affecting the competitiveness of coal industry cluster in Xinjiang.The paper concluded that Xinjiang coal industry should make use of its advantages of abundant coal reserves to develop wheel-type industrial clusters.The paper also put forward proposals to develop coal industrial cluster in Xinjiang.


The weathering zone of the pegmatite of Kobokobo (Kivu) is locally characterized by a quite high radioactivity (mean value 0.5% U/sub 3/O/sub 8/). This radioactivity is due to minute particles of a secondary uranium mineral dispersed between oxides (goethite and lithiophorite) and between the phosphates. Uranium and aluminum fluorescent phosphates, ceruleolactia, and evansia are closely associated. The last mineral shows a very high uranium conant (more than 5% U/sub 2/O/sub 8/). (auth)


Aim:To investigate the effects of photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid at different concentrations and laser irradiation at different doses on the survival of human colorectal cancer cell in vitro.Methods:LOVO human colorectal cancer cells were routinely cultured and then treated with ALA, a kind of photosensitizer, at various concentrations followed by laser irradiation (25.0 J/cm2);another cultured LOVO cells were collected and treated with 1.0 mmoL/L 5-ALA followed by different doses of laser irradiation.Blank and negative controls were set. The survial rate of the cells was determined by MTT assay.Results: With the same irradiation dose (25.0 J/cm2), the survival rates of cells gradually decreased with the increase of the ALA concentration during 0.25~2.0 mmol/L(F=259.36, P0.001) ,but the survival rates of cells did not increase during 2.0~4.0 mmol/L (P0.05). With the same ALA concentration, the survival rates of cells gradully decreased with the increase of laser irradiation dose(F=222.25,P0.000 1). Alone light or ALA did not kill cells.Conclusion: The ALA-induce PDT appears to be a promising therapy for colorectal cancer. In a certain concentration, effect of ALA increases with the increase of its concentration and has saturation, and lethality to cells is correlated positively with laser doses.


Neuroinflammatory is a pathological condition in which neuronal cells experience progressive loss of function, one of which is due to estrogen deficiency. Phytoestrogens are compound that has structure and function similar to 17β-estradiol, the most potent natural form of estrogen. Semanggi (Marsilea crenata Presl.) is known to contain phytoestrogens which can replace the function of 17β-estradiol in maintaining organ homeostasis, so that is potential to be developed as an anti-neuroinflammatory drug. This study was aimed to prove the anti-neuroinflammatory effect of the n-hexane and ethyl acetate fraction of Semanggi leaves on HMC3 microglia cells, by measuring the expression of major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II). Both fractions with a concentration of 62.5; 125; and 250 μg/ml were administered to HMC3 microglia cells which had been induced by interferon gamma (IFN-γ) for 24 hours. Measurement of MHC II expression were using immunocytochemistry (ICC) methods and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) instruments. The results showed that n-hexane fraction could reduce MHC II expression at concentrations of 250 μg/ml with p<0.05, and showed a non-monotonic dose response (NMDR) pattern, while ethyl acetate fraction could reduce MHC II expression at all concentrations with p<0.05. Based on the results of the correlation test, the best anti-neuroinflammatory activity on HMC3 microglia cells is showed by the ethyl acetate fraction of Semanggi leaves.


A method of operating a system for generating as a function of the subscriber's profile, and the system a notification signal monitors the broadcast content is disclosed. According to one embodiment, it is possible to identify the content of the special events in a plurality of broadcast streams, each of the plurality of broadcast content stream monitoring system having a content attribute detectable introduced. The monitoring system, (i) a change in content in that at least one of a plurality of broadcast content streams sensed as a function of the detectable content attributes, the special event content (ii) the broadcast content stream of detected as a function of the sensed content changes, operates to selectively generated as a function of (iii) a special event content and subscriber profile a notification signal has been detected as described above.


The Berry phases for coherent states and squeezed coherent states of Landau levels are calculated. Coherent states of Landau levels are interpreted as a result of a magnetic flux moved adiabatically from infinity to a finite place on the plane. The Abelian Berry phase for coherent states of Landau levels is an analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Moreover, the non-Abelian Berry phase is calculated for the adiabatic evolution of the magnetic field B.


The present paper discusses human interferences with the natural morphological development. Examples of negative impacts such as erosion, sedimentation or degradation of water quality in rivers, estuaries and coastal zones are presented. Further, examples are given, where human activities in sensitive environments have been successfully introduced. The examples are explained and documented using numerical models; however, emphasis in this paper is on the overall description of the morphodynamic processes.


The capacity for storing random patterns in a diluted neural network is determined following the method of Gardner (1988). The non-zero coupling coefficients are restricted to take on the Ising values +or-1. Different degrees of dilution are considered. The maximum values alpha c=1.17 for the storage capacity is obtained when each neuron is connected to 63% of the other neurons.


Liver cirrhosis is associated with extensive alternations in hemostatic functions. Among these alternations, von Willebrand factor (vWF) is found to be elevated. However, its clinical significance is not well established. To demonstrate the relation between vWF level and platelet function and its relation to portal hypertension in patients with liver cirrhosis of different severity. 70 patients with liver cirrhosis were compared to 20 healthy control subjects. For all participants; vWF antigen (Ag) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. von Willebrand factor: ristocetin cofactor activity (vWF:RCo) –a measure of ability of vWF to interact with platelet glycoprotein Ib-was measured by agglutination technique. Ratio between vWF: RCo to VWF Ag which reflects the functional capacity of vWF was calculated (RCo/Ag ratio). Portal hypertension (PH) was assessed in patients group by portal vein duplex, congestion index and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). vWF Ag and vWF:RCo are significantly increased in patients group compared to control (31.6μg/ml and 94.5% compared to 9.4μg/ml and 65.3% respectively) while RCo/Ag ratio is significantly lower in patients group compared to control (4.2 and 8.6 respectively) indicating a reduction in the functional capacity of vWF. There is a significant positive correlation between vWF Ag and Child Pugh score of the patients and a strong positive correlation between vWF Ag and severity of PH. vWF level at cut off value 14.85μg/ml can predict PH with 98.1% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity. vWF Ag and vWF: RCo are increased in patients with liver cirrhosis. Their increase is positively correlated with severity of liver cirrhosis and partially compensate for reduced platelet count. vWF Ag is sensitive and non-invasive predictor of PH.


FCT (Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU for financial support through research project
PTDC/AGR-ALI/11 0062/2009, PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011 CIMO strategic project and L. Barros
grant (SFRH/BPD/4609/2008), and to Serbian Ministry of Education and Science for financial
support (grant number 173032).


Objective:To study the related factors of hyperuricaemia in patiens with primary hypertension and to investigate the relationship between hyperuricaemia and the target organ damage.Methods:During March 2007 to December 2008,306 cases of hypertension were divided into 2 groups,according to their serum uric acid levels,then the relationship between serum uric acid and morbidity rate of the target organ damage.Results:There was a positive relationship between SUA,triglycerides blood tension,the aggravating of the pathological change in carotid and the worsing of retinopathy(P0.05);and if the patients complicated the left ventricular hypertrophy,the incidence of cerebrovascular diseases and/or the hypertensive injure of kidney,the level of SUA also increased significantly(P0.05).Conclusion:The level of SUA is associating with the target organ damage in hypertension patiens,with the increasing of SUA,the severity was aggravating of target organ damage;the level of SUA is higher with more target organ damage,indicated that uric acid played an important role in the genesis and developmant of hypertension.


Setting reinforced concrete constructional column is a kind of measures to enhance the earthquake resistance of high rise brick masonry structure building. This method has been widely adopted. But many sided quality problems exited in construction. Some have become common faults. Those problems influence the safety of structure, so they should be paid more attention. Because in construction some managers did not understand the principle of constructional column clearly, this cause the action of constructional column is not played completely and the aim of earthquake resistance cannot be acquired. The treatment measures must be studied to enhance the engineering quality of constructional column.


We derive a performance comparison between the conventional time-multiplexing training based scheme and the most-recently proposed data-dependent superimposed training scheme, when using linear receivers. For both schemes, we derive an approximative closed-form expression for the Bit Error Rate (BER) and determine the optimal power allocation between pilot and data that minimizes the BER. Simulations are conducted to assess the accuracy of the provided expressions and to determine contexts for which it is more interesting to opt for the data-dependent superimposed training scheme.


LIMMS, Laboratory for Integrated Micro Mechatronic Systems, is a joint laboratory between French CNRS and The University of Tokyo with special support from JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science). CNRS researchers and French postdoctoral fellows supported by JSPS come to LIMMS and perform research with their Japanese counterparts in 16 hosting laboratories. They typically stay around two years. Their total number exceeds 130 from the creation of LIMMS in 1995. They have written 221 journal papers and presented 327 conference papers. The collaboration was extended from French-Japanese to EU-Japanese in 2011 when we obtained an EU-FP7 project for 4 years. Latest development of LIMMS aims to create a similar joint laboratory in France. This paper overviews its historical development and current status. Two examples of current research, the molecular tweezers and the TEM in-situ measurement system, are also described.


The electrical resistivity parallel and perpendicular to the NbS2 layers was measured on single crystals of the ternary layered copper dichalcogenide Cu1/2NbS2 in the temperature range 1-300 K. At about 268 K the authors observe a 30% step in the otherwise linear temperature dependence of the resistivity both parallel and perpendicular to the layers exhibiting a hysteresis of 10 K in width. There are no significant changes of the electrical anisotropy and the Hall coefficient in the transition region. A model is proposed that explains these observations in terms of scattering of charge carriers induced by Cu disorder.


Enterococci are the most common cause of urinary tract infections. The frequency of isolation of Enterococci from urinary tract of patients has risen. Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci along with other multidrug resistant bacteria are the main concerns for physicians. Enterococci may also act as vehicle for spread of resistant genes. The objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Enterococci spp. isolated from urine samples. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Microbiology Dr. Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College and Hospital, Karakonam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Thirty six Enterococci isolated from UTI cases were processed from August 2019 to October 2019. In-vitro drug-susceptibility tests of Enterococci isolates were performed on Mueller Hinton agar. A total of 36 urine specimens yielding growth of Enterococci were studied. Among these only 19.99% samples were from OPD, from the IP patients (80.56), out of that 24.14% from ICU's and rest were from wards (75.86%). Females (83.33%) were found to be more prone to Enterococcal infection as compared to males (16.67 %). High prevalence of Enterococcal infection was seen in the age group 61-70 years (25%) followed by 51-60 and 71-80 (16.67%) age groups. Enterococcus strains showed 100% sensitivity against vancomycin and linezolid. 50% of the isolates showed resistant towards high level aminoglycocides. Apart from the above sensitivity pattern the urinary isolates were observed with Nitrofurantoin (88.88%), Ampicillin (55.55%), Penicillin (52.77 %) and Norfloxacin (16.66%). In this study shows highly sensitive towards Nitrofurantoin. These data may aid health professionals in choosing the appropriate treatment for patients with Enterococcal UTI in the region and hopefully will prevent the misuse of antibiotics.


According to the complicated structure of the side slot of the rapid connector,a side core-pulling mechanism combining a moving cam driver and a slanted slide block is designed.The characteristics of the core-pulling mechanism and its calculation are introduced.


"The Thesis of an incommensurability of theories of Kuhn-Feyerabend" warns the hasty and superficial criticism of theories without due comprehension of the bases and limits of the given criticism. This thesis defends originality of any theory which criticism is possible only on the basis of principles ontology and a historicism.


Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) computing is an emerging eld wherein the biological properties of DNA are used to carry out computation. As DNA can also be used as a building material with movable parts, the combination of those two aspects allows scientists to design nanomachines easily. However, one main concerns is the lack of automation of existing mechanisms. This limits their potential applications as it is not possible to use nanomachines in a non- controlled environment that is, almost anything that is outside of a test tube. The goal of this work is thus to design a completely automated mechanism that will reduce the amount of operations required from the user. We have designed a nite state transducer that can eliminate the need to add control strands to the solution, one of the most common external operations. Our transducer uses polymerase to generate the output described by the input strands present in the solution. As it can work at a wide range of temperatures our transducer can facilitate the design of more complex nanomachines while making the ex- isting ones, that rely on control strands, more autonomous. Moreover, as it can generate a wide variety of outputs, our transducer can also be useful to DNA mechanisms that are computation-intensive. For example, with nondeterministic polynomial (NP)-complete problem solvers, it can generate test strands when needed instead of having all of them crowding the solution.


So far, the diffracted SAW field generated by an IDT with finite aperture on a piezoelectric crystal surface is usually analyzed phenomenologically by angular spectrum theory. The main approximation of this scalar theory is ignoring the vector nature of the field and assuming that the wave field can be represented by a scalar as in optics. In this paper, the rigorous vector theory developed previously of the surface excitation of elastic wave field in piezoelectric crystal is used to obtain the SAW diffraction field strictly. As an example, numerical results for YZ-LiNbO3 are calculated and compared with those obtained from angular spectrum theory.


Abstract The management strategies of a firm are inevitable affected by individual behavior preferences. The effect of individual preference on the evolutionary dynamics for supply chains is studied by employing replicator dynamics. Each firm has three behavior preferences: selfishness, fairness, and altruism. Firstly, the case that the strategy set of manufacturers and retailers including two pure strategies is considered and the effect of preference parameter on the equilibrium outcome in the short-term interaction is discussed. Secondly, the equilibrium state in the short-term is always disturbed because the change of the environment, firm's structure, and so forth. Using the replicator dynamics, the evolutionary stable strategies of manufacturers and retailers in the long-term interaction are analyzed. Finally, the extend case that the strategy set of manufacturers and retailers include three pure strategies is investigated. These results are found that the strategy profile in which both manufacturer and retailer choose fairness or altruism, or one player chooses fair or altruistic strategy and the other player chooses selfish strategy may be evolutionary stable, the stability of these equilibria depends on the the preference parameters.


Multiple gravity-capillary, solitary waves of a three-dimensional type spatially separated are treated to give a ratio of length scales normal each other, and relation between dimensionless decay time (life time) and dimensionless wave scale. In addition, decay time corresponding to various boundary conditions is given.Multiple gravity-capillary, solitary waves of a three-dimensional type spatially separated are treated to give a ratio of length scales normal each other, and relation between dimensionless decay time (life time) and dimensionless wave scale. In addition, decay time corresponding to various boundary conditions is given.


Abstract A comparison is made between the first-order transitions that occur in ferroelectric BaTiO3, metastable NiS, and superconductive La1.85Sr0.15CuO4. In BaTiO3, the cation subarray is cooperatively displaced relative to the anion subarray below a ferroelectric Curie temperature Tc ; in NiS, if quenched from high temperature to retain the B81 nickel-arsenide structure, a dilatation of the lattice marks an anti-ferromagnetic ordering below a Neel temperature TN as well as a semiconductor-metal transition. In the mixed-valent compound La1.85Sr0.15CuO4, there appears to be a dynamic disproportionation into antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and superconductive regions below a critical temperature Tc . The importance of a first-order change in the ionic/covalent component of the metal-nonmetal bonding in each case is discussed.


FIELD: oil-and-gas industry. SUBSTANCE: proposed method comprises injection of polymer water composition into near-well zone or into pipeline length. Said composition comprises water solution of polymer from the group including: copolymer or pyrrolidone or caprolactam, thermo polymer based on N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, polyacrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, hydroxyethylcellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, hydrolysed polyacrilonitrole, polypropylene glycol, polyoxipropylenepolyol, polyvinyl carboxylate, polyacrylate, polyvinyl caprolactam, acrylamidomethyl propansulfonate, polyacrylamide, hypan, polyoxipro in polymer oil from the group including: polyacrylamide, carboxymethyl cellulose, oxymethyl cellulose ether, polymetacrylate, polyvinyl acetate or polyvinyl alcohol or their copolymers and, additionally, carbamide formaldehyde concentrate CFC and waterproofing additive at the following ratio of components in wt %: said water solution or emulsion - 0.05-5.0, CFC - 0.1-5.0, waterproofing additive - 0.1-5.0, water making the rest. Note here that prior to injecting said composition, CFC oil ring is injected in amount of 0.1-5.0 wt % of the composition bulk and held for at least 3-5 h. Invention is developed in dependent claim. EFFECT: higher inhibiting capacity. 2 cl, 19 ex, 2 tbl, 1 dwg


The present invention relates to an automatic aiming system and method for a mobile game and, more particularly, to an automatic aiming system and method for a mobile game capable of enhancing the ease of aiming at a target in a mobile game which is operated on the basis of a touch input to a mobile terminal. The present invention prevents a decrease in a user's interest in a game by enabling automatic aiming by means of a touch movement at the time of automatically aiming at a target image in a game, thereby ensuring a certain level of aiming difficulty compared to a method in which the target is immediately aimed at by a user directly touching the target. Furthermore, the present invention has the advantageous effect of precisely responding to a touch movement with respect to a target at which a user seeks to aim, thereby increasing the accuracy of aiming at a target and significantly improving responsiveness to a touch input.


Dipolarizing flux bundles (DFBs), magnetotail flux tubes with stronger, more dipolar magnetic field than the background magnetotail plasma, which are led by dipolarization fronts, typically propagate earthward within bursty bulk flows. Although DFBs are localized (typically 1–3 RE) in the cross‐tail direction, many of them may combine to cause global effects, such as the substorm current wedge. Knowledge of how this local‐to‐global coupling happens is crucial for understanding magnetotail dynamics. We investigate how the coupling happens using multipoint observations from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission. Our results show that most DFBs expand in the cross‐tail direction as they propagate earthward. Through such expansion, azimuthally localized DFBs can cover a wide region to cause global effects when they arrive at the inner edge of the plasma sheet.


The main problem of this research is the Role and Position of sub-district heads in the administration of regional government according to law number 23 of 2014, The next problem is, how the role and position of sub-district heads in the administration of regional government according to law number 23 of 2014 and what factors influence leadership camat in carrying out its functions, duties, and authorities according to law number 23 of 2014. This research is a normative legal research that is prescriptive and technical or applied in nature. The research approach uses the law approach and case approach. The type of research data is secondary data with primary and secondary legal materials. Data collection techniques such as literature study and data analysis techniques used are deductive. The results of this study explain that the Role and Position of the Camat in the administration of regional government according to Law Number 23 of 2014 is that the Sub-district is no longer a unit of governmental authority, but rather as a unit of work or service area. The status of the sub-district is now a district / city regional apparatus equivalent to regional offices and technical institutions and even kelurahans. The Camat accepts the delegation as the authority of the Regent / Mayor to handle it as a matter of regional autonomy (delegative authority), the Camat also carries out general governmental duties in accordance with Law No. 23 of 2014. (Attributive authority). Districts are formed as implementing the principle of decentralization.


We appreciate the comments of Tartiere et al on our study1 and agree that these are valid concerns about the noninvasive estimation of systolic vascular and ventricular stiffness. As acknowledged in our paper, "Although total vascular load and indirect measures of vascular stiffness were obtained here, further study is needed to evaluate more direct and perhaps regional measures of vascular stiffening and other assessments of arterial impedance and its impact such as characteristic impedance, wave reflections, and pulse-wave velocity." Whereas effective arterial elastance, derived from …


In this study, the main goal was to look into the effect on concrete's compressive strength by the addition of used PET bottle pieces & wrapper strips collected from waste generated on railway stations. To achieve the target compressive strength for M50 grade concrete, strips were cut from waste wrappers and shredded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pieces from PET bottles were used. Waste wrapper strips were cut down in three different aspect ratios and four different proportions, along with differing proportions of shredded PET bottle pieces. After 28 days of curing, compressive strength was determined and it is observed that the compressive strength of concrete was decreased by the inclusion of wrapper strips &PET bottle pieces in different ways. Mix ID M4 i.e. 5 × 30 mm, 7.5 gm wrapper &50 gm PET bottle pieces offer better performance relative to the other Mix IDs as compared to the control mix at 28 days. Therefore, 5 X 30 mm size strips of wrappers along with 50gm of PET bottle pieces are the best mix for the compressive strength of concrete compared with other mixes. In the case of proportioning different sizes of shredded wrappers used along with PET bottle pieces, improved results are obtained relative to all other Mix IDs as relative with the 28- day control mix. Multiple size strip of (PET) wrapper with a mixture of (5 × 20 mm, 2.5 gm), (5 × 30 mm, 3 gm), (5 × 40 mm, 2 gm), and 25 gm of broken bits of PET bottles is the better combination for concrete compressive strength than any other combination.


What effect has forced acculturation had on Native American people? This presentation will present ideas on ethnocentrism, Manifest Destiny, and the issues between indigenous cultures and dominant institutions. Participants will be invited to ask questions and participate in a discussion about how strengthened partnerships between different cultures might help to bridge institutional gaps. Jeff G. Hart Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln What effect has forced acculturation by white dominant United States institutions had on Native American people? This session will consist of a presentation and discussion about the challenges of "fitting in" and being part of the dominant white institutional society. The presentation is based on a 2-year qualitative research study with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, but will also present ideas on ethnocentrism, Manifest Destiny, and the issues between indigenous cultures and dominant institutions. Participants will be invited to ask questions and participate in a discussion about bottom line issues and how strengthened partnerships between different cultures might help to bridge institutional gaps. The Research: The research explored leadership with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, its history, culture and traditions, and how the tribe has been affected by acculturation from the dominant society. The findings were developed from an ethnographic design consisting of observations, conversations and interviews with Winnebago tribal people over a twoyear period. Traditional tribal leadership, tribal leader characteristics, and tribal interventions and acculturation emerged as major theme areas from the findings. Winnebago tribal leadership is a shared leadership, organized by the clan system, guided and sustained by elders and a Tribal Council through the teaching of language and telling of stories. A true Winnebago leader has vision for the future, knows traditional ways, shares and develops leadership, serves and protects the tribal community, develops trust and shows respect for all tribal people. Non-tribal organizations, institutions and individuals must know and understand that true Winnebago tribal leadership is centered on culture and spirituality, language and stories. It is not centered on elections, money, politics or religion, and certainly not the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Knowing these things and understanding all the dominant society interventions that contributed to forced acculturation can help to develop trusted partnerships and relationships with Winnebago people. Imagine if a group of people forced themselves upon you, took away your home and your land, moved you to an unfamiliar place, forced you to speak another language and not your own, changed what you eat and how you dress, tried to save your soul by creating new religions for you, and forced you to exist under a new form of leadership and government. What would you do? Manifest Destiny was and still is a killer disease. It has an effect on all indigenous people. It takes away their land, language and culture. Manifest Destiny, inflicted by the white dominant society, annihilated 70% of the indigenous tribal people in the area renamed the United States (Pevar, 1992). Acculturation has been forced by the dominant society. Tribal people, because of their desperate need to survive, have also accepted acculturation to some extent. There are many factors that have caused this acculturation and cultural destruction of traditional tribal leadership, mostly due to one identifiable source, the white dominant culture. Boarding schools provided education, but it was the white man's education. Churches provided a place for tribal people to gather, but it was the white man's religion. Commodity food was provided and alcohol was cheap, but it has created many negative health conditions. Money was given to tribal members based on blood quantum, but there were very few jobs and there was not much acceptable educational job training. Finally, the dominant society allowed the existence of a tribal government with a tribal leadership organization. But the structure of this new government was mandated with strict compliance requirements and the local Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent approved most business decisions before 1970. A Tribal Council made up of tribal members is now in control, but there is still a fear that tribal members are only in that leadership position because of receiving the most popular votes in the tribal election. It is important for other cultures, and especially dominant educational institutions, to know this information and to understand what is means to be acculturated by many negative interventions from an outside culture. Continuing to live under these circumstances becomes a matter of survival, holding on to who you are and having the vision to pray for seven generations into the future. The Challenge: Most educational institutions, what they teach and the tools they used to teach, have been influenced by a dominant society. The current dominant society in the United States consists mostly of white, second and third generation, "Americans". The real challenge is how can changes occur that will decrease the ethnocentric views of this dominant society and its institutions and allow for more diversity in educational institutions with respect to people, curriculum, programming and methods of instruction. Presenter Education Dr. Jeff G. Hart, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Ed. D. in Human Sciences and Leadership, UNL; and Bachelors and Master degrees in Education, UNL. Professional Career Areas: elementary, secondary and post-secondary teaching; workforce development & job training; federal grant administration and juvenile justice; governmental and university liaison with tribal governments and tribal colleges; 1862 land grant institution Extension Educator. Additional Professional Training: proposal writing-UNL Research/Grants/Contracts, early childhood education, juvenile justice, family preservation & support, health promotion & education, developmental disabilities, child & adolescent behavioral health, gangs & youth violence, career & employment counseling, grant management, Tribal government relations, evaluation & budgeting, community development, facilitative leadership, alternative education, self esteem & goal setting, asset development, peer mediation/conflict resolution, diversity issues, institutional review board.


Abstract: Every year, the world produces millions of tons of waste. Nowadays the production of waste material is increasing day by day. Disposal of these waste materials is very difficult. Recycling garbage also requires energy and emits pollutions. Thus need to find some alternative coarse material that can be used as replacement of coarse aggregate. In this study coconut shell is using in place of coarse aggregate. It is easily available in nature in low cost. It is a agricultural waste which pollute the environment. Coconut shell has their own potential to use as a construction material in construction industry. A large amount of coconut shell is generated in India from temples and industries of coconut product. It's non degradable material. It takes 100- 200years to dispose in nature. In this study coconut shell is taken as a greener concrete. Greener concrete can be defined as concrete which is made up of waste of material. Coconut shell is easily available in nature. It's eco friendly and cost effective material. According to laboratory test result carried out using coconut shell as a replacement of coarse aggregate used in concrete. In this particular study M20 grade of concrete was prepared by using coconut shell as coarse aggregate. In this study for experimental work coarse aggregate is replaced by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% of coconut shell. Keywords: Coconut shell, Greener concrete.


Hetero-structured lumpy nanoparticles, combining the scattering effect of dielectric nanoparticle and near field light concentration of metallic nanoparticles, are placed on top of a-Si. 84% absorbance enhancement is achieved with the optimized design.


The paper describes fifty years of research activities in regional science of the Southwestern Regional Economics Institute (IERSO, Bordeaux University), first regional economics institute founded in France by Joseph LAJUGIE in 1951. Section 1 underlines the specificities of the approach in research developed by the IERSO and describes the institutional evolution of the centre within the local, national and international academic and political context. Section 2 analyses the main contributions of this institute to the production of new knowledge in regional science. Classification JEL : R10, R290.


Device comprises a decoder including the extractor, the predictor, and the selector switch. The predictor is adapted to extract a first plurality of parameters from the received input signal. The input signal corresponds to the encoded audio signal. Predictor is configured to perform blind SBR by and in the input signal band information and to independently generate a second plurality of parameters. A second plurality of parameters may correspond to the high-band part of the encoded audio signal. The selector is configured to select a particular mode of a plurality of high-bandwidth mode and a second mode using the first mode and a second plurality of parameters using a first plurality of parameters. Switch is constructed on the basis of the selected particular mode so as to output a first plurality of parameters or the second plurality of parameters.


Peliosis hepatis‐like blood‐filled cavities are frequently observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Peliotic change (PC) is commonly seen in moderately differentiated HCCs and rarely in well‐differentiated HCCs. We conducted clinicopathological analysis of well‐differentiated HCC with PC (PHCC).


Aguilera, Giovanny A., M.S.M.E, Purdue University, August 2016. Characterization of Particle Emissions from Desktop 3D Printers: A Look at the Effect of Part Design and Build Pathing. Major Professor: Dr. Fu Zhao, School of Mechanical Engineering. 3D Printing has been heralded as a revolutionary technology that can change manufacturing and design in the foreseeable future. One of the most popular forms of 3D printing is fused deposition modeling (FDM) where plastic filament is heated to a temperature where it is softened enough to be extruded to build a part, layer by layer. This technique is found in most commercial desktop 3D printers today. Despite the great potential that 3D printing possesses, research studies have shown that ultrafine particles are being generated during the printing process on the order of 1.0 1.5 x 10 #/cm. These ultrafine particles pose a health risk to owners and operators of 3D printers because their small size, less than 100 nm, allows them to penetrate deep within the lungs' airways. Adding to the potential risk, it is not yet fully understood what the chemical composition of these particles is or how exactly they are being formed during printing. The research covered in this study took a closer look at the FDM 3D printing process and tried to shed some light on what may be generating these particles. The heating of the plastic filament during printing was identified as the possible cause for the creation of these ultrafine particles and thus examined in-depth. A strong correlation between the


This article uses data from the Annual Population Survey collected between April 2011 and March 2012 which includes measures of personal well-being. It describes the results of regression analysis – a statistical technique which analyses variation in well-being outcomes by specific characteristics and circumstances of individuals while holding all other characteristics equal. This allows for a better understanding of what matters most to personal well-being than when different factors are considered separately.


The method for associating the network device to the network is started. The method may include forming at least part of the beam after the step of reception of a beacon and to allocate resources for the stage, the beam form for receiving a beacon from a source by the antenna array. Beamforming may be accomplished before receiving the acknowledgment signal in response to the association request and prior to expiration of the Association Request. Thus, using the omni-directional transmission, and transmitting at least part of the association request, it may send an acknowledgment signal corresponding to the association request.


ABSTRACT This article develops the concept indigenous human security to highlight consequential contestation over the meaning and deployment of the concept of human security towards indigenous populations. Using the case illustrations of Peru and Chile, we show how state policies may at times work in congruence with the human security of the general population, but create distinct and often overlooked insecurities for indigenous populations. We find states selectively implement human security to preserve existing governance and development patterns by utilising laws, policies, and state institutions that were not completely dismantled as part of the country's democratisation efforts.


The electronic medical record is an essential technology tool to improve the quality of care. In present study we reported on the design and feasibility of electronic medical records in Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Ward. Our main goal was documentation with the least possible missed data, evidence-based decision making, documented active patient follow up and increasing patient's satisfaction. The Electronic Registry System of Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (Vali e Asr Hospital, Tehran, Iran) was designed in mid 2014 and tested till March 2015. The software description was designed based on previous paper questionnaire used in this ward. The electronic questionnaires were filled in upon hospitalization and thereafter including follow ups. The questionnaire included 10 demographic and 15 main questions. A digital analog scale (1 - 10) in each part quantified the effects of problem on patient's quality of life and also the effects of interventions as well. Entered information in each step was available for those with defined access. Reporting design was dependent on the needed data. Our supervised data entry was a guarantee to the quality of information with the least errors. Access to all para clinical data made rapid and evidence-based decision making. Patient satisfaction was achieved because of unified approach. The most interesting part was access to evidence-based results and data to be used in research projects. This study showed that EMRs in Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Wards could provide valuable information, improve the quality of care and increase patient's satisfaction.


The paper examines heat-related mortality in the population of South Korea between 1991 and 2005 and examines the extent to which the 1994 heat wave was unusual in terms of mortality impacts and recurrence probability. Most summer heat waves are found to be associated with enhanced mortality. However, the July to August 1994 heat wave was clearly exceptional, with the total death toll exceeding 3000 in South Korea. This value represents net excess mortality, as no displacement effect appeared after the hot summer season. Significantly elevated mortality occurred in all age groups, and an estimated 45% of victims were persons under 70 yr of age. The relative increase in mortality was larger in children up to 14 yr than in any other age group, and the mortal- ity response was stronger in males than females, although males were less vulnerable during 'aver- age' heat waves. The very large death toll ranks the 1994 heat wave over East Asia as among the worst weather-related disasters in this region. A climatological analysis reveals that the July to August 1994 heat wave might be considered an extremely rare event if temperature time series are assumed to be stationary. However, under a more realistic assumption of gradual warming related to global climate change, the recurrence probability of an event analogous to the 1994 heat wave is sharply rising for near-future time horizons. This emphasizes the need for an efficient heat-watch- warning system in this area, in order to reduce the human mortality impacts of heat waves.


Integral test of neutron and gamma-ray production data for the latest version of Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library, Version 3.3 (JENDL-3.3) has been performed by using shielding benchmarks. An evaluation scheme for shielding benchmark analysis established in Japanese Nuclear Data Committee (JNDC) was applied to the integral test for medium-heavy nuclei such as Aluminum, Sodium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chromium, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Niobium and Tungsten. Calculations were made based on a continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP4B/4C and multi-group discrete ordinates codes ANISN and DORT. The latest version of NJOY99 was employed to generate cross-section libraries for these transport codes. Calculations with JENDL-3.2, ENDF/B-VI, FENDL-1 and FENDL-2 were also made for comparison. In the present study, benchmark results of neutron and gamma-ray production data are shown for Sodium, Iron, Vanadium, Tungsten, Nickel, Titanium, Chromium, Niobium and Cobalt


The propagation characteristics of hybrid modes in the circular cylindrical and coaxial line gyrotropic chirowaveguides are studied using the technique of separation variables. First, the transverse components of electric and magnetic fields are expressed in terms of the longitudinal components of E and H~. Then, numerical results are presented for the dispersion behavior and cut-off frequencies as well as the field distributions of hybrid EH/sub 0,1/ and HE/sub n,1/, with the effects of different electromagnetic parameters of gyrotropic chiral material taken into consideration. It is shown that the process of mode bifurcation also takes place in the gyrotropic chirowaveguides; this is similar to the cases of reciprocal chirowaveguides. But, gyrotropic chirowaveguides are nonreciprocal bianisotropic devices. >


Based on the principle of goats climbing cliffs, this paper proposes a new quadruped robot climbing strategy from the aspects of mechanical structure and behavior modes. The characteristics of connecting rods are utilized to keep steady of robots between opposite cliffs, which eliminates the need of foot-end suction and clamping mechanism.


The utility model discloses an automatic sample injector and aims at providing an automatic sample injector which can simultaneously inject sample through a plurality of channels, has high detection efficiency and is convenient to be used. The automatic sample injector includes a frame (1), a movable platform arranged on the frame (1) and a displacement transmission device connected with the movable platform; the movable platform includes at least two sampling devices in sliding fit with the frame (1); a clearance adjusting device is arranged between the at least two sampling devices; the movable platform is driven above a plurality of test tubes by the displacement transmission device to take sample from the test tubes; then the movable platform is moved to be above and inside a microtiter plate through the displacement transmission device; and the clearance adjusting device is adopted to adjust the distance between the sampling devices and implement sample injection through a plurality of channels. The automatic sample injector can be extensively applied to the field of sample injector.


Bug localization can effectively reduce software maintenance costs. Recently, deep learning-based bug localization (DLBL) has demonstrated its effectiveness in bridging the lexical gaps between bug reports (BRs) and source code files (SFs). Deliberate feature selection that considers the unique characteristics of SFs can boost DLBL. Using the various features of SFs, we propose the following three methods to identify the features that can improve DLBL 1) text token restriction, 2) program graph construction, and 3) projection. First, the text token information of SFs is used to avoid selecting a text token that can become a noise feature. Second, we propose a five rules to construct a program graph that can supplement the textual features. Our program graph can highlight the difference between buggy and non-buggy SFs while preserving the individual characteristics of each SF and interleaved relationships of SFs. We treat the entire program of the project as a knowledge graph, whose subgraphs are SFs. Even if the features of the SFs are presented well by existing approaches, these approaches have a limitation in that they choose parts irrelevant to the bug as a feature, because the same features represent the SF for all of the different input BRs. Therefore, we propose projecting the SF feature vectors onto the BR feature vectors to highlight the BR-relative features of the SF for different BRs. We evaluated our proposed method on widely used open-source Java projects. The experimental results on 1,928 BRs from 10 Java projects showed the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method can improve bug localization accuracy by an average of 34%.


It is shown that by using the nucleon pole and a sum of direct-channel resonances, a reasonable fit to both the differential and total cross sections, for the process ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\eta}+n$, is obtained for incident-pion laboratory kinetic energies (${T}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$) between threshold and 1.3 GeV. Inelastic branching ratios for the $\ensuremath{\eta}n$ channel are predicted with results consistent with experiment. The $\ensuremath{\eta}$-nucleon coupling constant is found to be $\frac{{{g}_{\ensuremath{\pi}\mathrm{NN}}}^{2}}{4\ensuremath{\pi}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$. By assuming the spin and parity of the $N(2650)$ to be ${J}^{P}={\frac{11}{2}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, agreement with the polarization data near the $N(2650)$ is obtained. However, this model can not give a good fit to the differential cross-section data at ${T}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}=2.41 \mathrm{and} 2.93$ GeV.


We present calculations of multiphoton ionization of inert gases using an improved version of the R-matrix Floquet method. We use a new radial basis for the R–matrix internal region which avoids the use of non-variational corrections to the calculated R-matrix. This provides the freedom to choose either the length or velocity gauge to describe the laser–atom interaction in this region. Differences between results calculated using length and velocity gauges are discussed. We present new results for argon at 248 nm, the fundamental mode of the KrF laser.


Cloud computing has been shown promising in enabling various analyses over large-scale genomic data integrated across multiple data sources. However, outsourcing data to remote cloud servers raises data-privacy concerns, therefore demands secure computing measures over the data analyzing process on the untrusted cloud servers. Due to the scale of genomic dataset and the length of each genomic sequence, it is challenging to evaluate data-analysis functions on outsourced genomic data securely and efficiently. In this work, we study the secure similar-sequence-query (SSQ) problem over outsourced genomic data. To address the challenges of security and efficiency, we propose a set of two-party computing protocols in mixed form, which combine secure secret sharing, garbled circuit, and partial homomorphic encryptions together and use them to jointly fulfill the secure SSQ function. Moreover, our scheme supports the fusion of genomic data from multiple data owners to generate a deduplicated-joint genomic dataset, therefore reduces the redundancy in the dataset. The performance improvements of our scheme are validated through extensive experiments on a commercial cloud platform over a real-world genomic dataset.


In this work a laser-produced plasma (LPP) source was used to create low temperature plasmas. An extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray (EUV/SXR) radiation pulse was used for ionization of molecular gases, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the EUV/SXR pulse. Energies of photons exceeding 100 eV were sufficient for dissociative ionization, ionization of atoms or even ions. The resulting photoelectrons had also enough energy for further ionizations or excitations. Time resolved UV/VIS spectra, corresponding to single charged ions, molecules and molecular ions, were recorded. For spectral lines, corresponding to radiative transitions in F II and S II ions, electron temperature was calculated based on a Boltzmann plot method. Numerical simulations of the molecular spectra were fitted to the experimental spectra allowing for determination of vibrational and rotational temperatures.


H. L. Mencken was one of the leading literary, social, and cultural critics of the 1910s, '20s, and '30s. However, very few of his literary reviews have been reprinted in any form prior to their appearance in this volume. H. L. Mencken on American Literature presents a comprehensive selection of Mencken's reviews of the leading American writers of his time. Manifestly interested in establishing a canon of American literature, he took great pains to vaunt writers such as Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, and James Branch Cabell as the most accomplished authors of the day. At the same time, be found deficiencies in the work of such highly regarded figures as Edith Wharton, W. D. Howells, and Ambrose Bierce, placing them only in the second rank of American writers. Mencken also considered it his function to demolish the popular work of now-forgotten best-selling writers, demonstrating in his inimitably scathing manner the degree to which their catering to a mass audience rendered their work hollow and subliterary. Mencken's reviews are a vast and untapped source for his provocative analyses of the best and the worst in American literature. They are presented here in a scrupulously edited and annotated edition.


Traditional wastewater treatment methods have become aged and inefficient, meaning alternative methods are essential to protect the environment and ensure water and energy security worldwide. The use of microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) for wastewater treatment provides an innovative alternative, working towards circular wastewater treatment for energy production. This study evaluates the factors hindering industrial adoption of this technology and proposes the next steps for further research and development. Existing pilot-scale investigations are studied to critically assess the main limitations, focusing on the electrode material, feedstock, system design and inoculation and what steps need to be taken for industrial adoption of the technology. It was found that high strength influents lead to an increase in energy production, improving economic viability; however, large variations in waste streams indicated that a homogenous solution to wastewater treatment is unlikely with changes to the MEC system specific to different waste streams. The current capital cost of implementing MECs is high and reducing the cost of the electrodes should be a priority. Previous pilot-scale studies have predominantly used carbon-based materials. Significant reductions in relative performance are observed when electrodes increase in size. Inoculation time was found to be a significant barrier to quick operational performance. Economic analysis of the technology indicated that MECs offer an attractive option for wastewater treatment, namely greater energy production and improved treatment efficiency. However, a significant reduction in capital cost is necessary to make this economically viable. MEC based systems should offer improvements in system reliability, reduced downtime, improved treatment rates and improved energy return. Discussion of the merits of H2 or CH4 production indicates that an initial focus on methane production could provide a stepping-stone in the adoption of this technology while the hydrogen market matures.


Some recent studies underline a positive impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and of new work practices on firms' productivity. But as is well known in the principal-agent literature, agents are predisposed to shirk, so, in order to obtain productivity gains firms need to provide workers with sufficient incentives and to encourage motivations. Our econometric results are obtained with data at the individual level collected in the Euro-zone countries of the 2005 wave of the EWCS (European Working Conditions Survey). Our main results indicate that offering the access to Internet to workers permits to create an enriching work environment that positively influences intrinsic motivations of workers. These intrinsic motivations, are crowded in when the firm provides positive incentives and crowded out when the firm resorts to monitoring or time pressure. In addition, in the whole population, the use of Internet is positively correlated with the team spirit that can generate shame if the level of effort is insufficient and should lead to a highest level of employees' effort. Concerning reciprocity, the results underline a positive link of Internet use on the feeling of being well paid for the work done.