IT as an enabler, by obtaining benefits to an organization, was the coherent apprehension behind the purchase of the Enterprise Resource System R/3 by Ericsson in 1997. Public Networks, a 33.000 worker's division at Ericsson, have had profitability problems during the recent years prior to the purchase. By integrating R/3 with an organizational change, the management aimed to obtain foreseen benefits, such as headcount reduction and shorter lead times. This thesis shows in theory as in practice difficulties and obstacles in reaching and calculating benefits of IT. Through analyzing the system along with the business processes targeted by the integration project, a list of Key Performance Indicators was brought to the stakeholders of the organization. Through numerous interviews and meetings throughout the division the indicators were discussed, depicted and analyzed. In a consensus driven organization as Public Networks, the integration project withholding the largest Enterprise Resource Planning systems had to work politically with communication to be able to gain approval for its benefits. In failing to win the process against different views and stakeholders, benefits was to be at risk and more importantly, later shown to be impossible to measure.


This working paper presents the initial findings of a SKOPE study exploring graduate
migration from Wales. The paper seeks to establish the extent to which Wales retains its
graduate labour in employment; and secondly, to estimate the labour market outcomes for
'Welsh' graduates (i.e. those born in Wales) and to investigate whether and how these may
change and what factors may become more significant over time. In so doing, the paper
focuses on analysing the location and employment outcomes of successive 'young' graduate
cohorts since the 1992 expansion of Higher Education. It does this by augmenting the
widely used graduate first destinations data produced by the Higher Education Statistics
Agency (HESA) with detailed analysis of Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population
Survey (APS) data to provide new insights into the patterns of and returns to graduate
mobility.


Disputes & cases and the recently-issued Tort Liability Act in China have induced the reflections over the reasonable limits of security obligations. The Palsgraf case of last century best illustrates what is implied in the reasonable duty of care in British and American Law. Based on this case, the paper makes a contrastive study, discussing the definition of the reasonable limits of security obligations in our country, analyzing its application in current China's judicial system, such as the role of occupations in security obligations, reasonable restrictions and tolerance on reasonable limits, and principles of the regulations between the care of dangers and permission of dangers, and care distinction when the rules of reasonable limits are applied in practice.


DISTRIBUTOR WITH BODY WITH AT LEAST 1 OF PORT P INLET PRESSURE MEDIUM OF A HOLE T BACK TO FLUID RESERVOIR, TWO HOLES CONNECTION, BA HYDRAULIC EQUIPMENT AND COMPONENT AND A DRAWER 3 ACOULISSER OWN IN A BORING 4 DISTRIBUTOR BODY. 3 DRAWER IS MADE OF AT LEAST TWO PARTS 3A, 3B rigidly assembled ONE TO ANOTHER AND SWITCH PRESSURE HAS HAS INSIDE THE DRAWER, THIS PRESSURE SWITCH WITH TWO ENTRIES 16, 17 AND EXIT 19, 22, AND ARE CLEAN TO COMPARE THE TWO PRESSURE ON ITS INPUTS AND PROVIDED ON ITS OUTPUT PRESSURE HIGHEST, OF THE BEING CONNECTION MEANS IN THE DISTRIBUTOR OF BODY AND IN THE TRAY FOR LINKING BOTH INPUTS 16 17 SELECTOR RESPECTIVELY TWO HOLES CONNECTION B, A DISTRIBUTOR AND FOR LINKING THE EXIT 19, 22 SELECTOR LEAD TO A CHANNEL OUTDOOR DISTRIBUTOR BODY.


Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) is the centre of Indonesia equity market. This study empirically tests Fama and French three-factor model in Indonesia equity market characteristic which is influenced by Indonesia economic condition. Furthermore, new proposed model is also tested in this equity market where three-factor model is combined with earnings yield to explain variation on stock excess return. The result shows that stock excess returns is not affected by only market return but also by size and market to book ratio. Moreover, earnings yield helps three-factor model to capture more variation in stock excess return. The empirical results are consistent with Fama and French three-factor model and also four-factor model. In addition, involvement of earnings yield also is proved empirically improve efficiency of three-factor model.


The mechanical effects of association between pendant ionic groups are investigated in series of butadiene–lithium methacrylate copolymers, butadiene–methyl (2-methyl-5-vinyl)-pyridinium iodide copolymers, and mixtures of these polyelectrolytes. Thermal and mechanical tests reveal a new transition above Tg in the pyridinium copolymers, designated Tt*. Below this temperature the materials behave like covalently crosslinked elastomers. The complex between the metal carboxylates appears thermally dissociable at all temperatures. The mixing of the oppositely charged polyelectrolytes leads to the formation of more stable intermolecular pyridinium carboxylate links.


In mycobacteria, polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) produce complex lipidic metabolites by using a thio-template mechanism of catalysis. In this study, we demon- strate that off-loading reductase (R) domain of mycobacterial NRPSs performs two consecutive ½2 þ 2� e − reductions to release thioester- bound lipopeptides as corresponding alcohols, using a nonproces- sivemechanismofcatalysis. The firstcrystalstructure ofanR domain from Mycobacterium tuberculosis NRPS provides strong support to this mechanistic model and suggests that the displacement of intermediate would berequiredforcofactorrecycling.We show that 4e − reductases produce alcohols through a committed aldehyde intermediate, and the reduction of this intermediate is at least 10 times more efficient than the thioester-substrate. Structural and biochemical studies also provide evidence for the conformational changes associated with the reductive cycle. Further, we show that the large substrate-binding pocket with a hydrophobic platform accounts for the remarkable substrate promiscuity of these domains. Our studies present an elegant example of the recruitment of a canonical short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family member as an off-loading domain in the context of assembly-line enzymology.


The end of the Cold War led to a large drop in world military expenditure, rising fixed costs of developing weapons because of technological changes and a reduction of national preference for domestic weapons. Alongside these developments has been an increase in concentration in the world arms industry, which at the end of the Cold War had been very unconcentrated with concentration ratios close to the Sutton lower bound. This paper provides an empirical and theoretical analysis of this process. It examines the dynamics of the evolution of concentration and then shows that a trade model with optimal procurement decisions can capture the main features of this empirical analysis.


Background: The simplest of the parameters in anthropometry, including, height, weight, length, thickness and widths of various parts of the body vary from tribe to tribe and from one race to the other. On the other hand, these measurements also differ amongst different age groups and between the two sexes as well.
Design: A retrospective study of the measurements of Bony External Auditory Meatus (BEAM) was undertaken using normal lateral skull radiographs of Nigerians examined in the department of Radiology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, from 2002 to 2004.
Methodology: All available lateral skull radiographs of subjects over a 3-year period from 2002 to 2004 were retrieved from the Radiology Department of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto for the study. Radiographs were mounted on the viewing boxes and BEAM diameters were measured.
Results: A total of 202 subjects were involved in this study. Of this figure, 148 (73%) were males, and 54 (27%) were females (m: f ratio =2.7:1). The age range of all the subjects was 1-60 years (mean 24.6, SD 15.6 years). The vertical diameter ranged from 3mm to 14mm, and the horizontal diameter ranged from 2 to 11mm. The mean BEAM diameters obtained from all the radiographs of the subjects studied were 10.2mm (+-1.7) for vertical and 7.0mm (+-1.6) for horizontal diameters. The BEAM diameters for males were greater than those of their female counterparts, and the differences were statistically significant (p Keywords : Diameters, Bony External Auditory Meatus (BEAM), Plain radiographs, Northwestern Nigeria, Sokoto) Sahel Medical Journal Vol. 10 (4) 2007: pp. 107-110


In India, Pulp & paper industries have been large uses of portable water and consequently large generator of waste water. Anaerobic treatment of paper processing waste water has a distinct advantage of recovery of inherent energy in the form of methane gas with much less sludge production. A hybrid reactor that capitalizes on the positive features of anaerobic filter(AF) and up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). The main objective of this thesis is to find out the start up of the hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (HUASB) reactor for treatment of pulp & paper mill waste water. The study was conducted using Lab-scale HUASB reactor of volume 4.3Lit at ambient temperature with packing materials in the top one third of the reactor. The reactor was made of PVC material with internal diameter of 9.5cm and height of 61cm. The reactor was initially filled with 2Lit of cow dung. Remaining volume is filled with seed sludge and paper mill waste water at the ratio of 1:2, with a low organic loading rate (OLR) of 1 kg COD/m3.d and 24 hours hydraulic retention time (HRT).The initial characteristics of the paper mill waste water were studied. Reactor was designed and fabricated. Start-up was done and waiting for the steady state condition to be reached. Further study on different loading by reducing HRT will be done after obtaining the steady state.


Organization of time delay in channel of dynamic object control is considered with the use of the Volterra equation with variable limits of integration (integrated hereditary procedure of delay). An integral formula is obtained which allows for setting a control law depending on the time delay value. The formula is derived by an iterative approximation procedure in the scheme of the Volterra integral equation of the second kind.


What is a foreign independent tour? Foreign independent tour components. The FIT client/agent booking process. Initial itinery planning. FIT client types. The FIT client analysis. Air vendor selection. Hotel vendor selection factors. Selecting ground operators. The booking/confirmation process. Pricing. Documents, records, insurance, and money. Client contact.


To enhance the rate of argon–oxygen refining of ferroalloys, this article is based on the physical and chemical reactions of the smelting process as well as the actual smelting data. A mechanistic model of the rate of change of oxygen supply and carbon content in the smelting process and the temperature of the reaction fluid in the furnace is established. An expert internal model control framework with furnace temperature and carbon content as output and oxygen supply rate as input is constructed. An adaptive parameter adjustment mechanism is added to the control framework by combining data on the maximum gas supply rate and temperature threshold of the stage in the actual production process. The method improves smelting speed and smelting accuracy compared to the general method. It is also able to adjust the furnace temperature according to the actual smelting situation. The actual smelting was carried out according to this method, the improved method reduced the smelting time by 12.79% compared to the general method, and the furnace temperature was controlled below 1950 K.


In 1967, film critic Stanley Kauffmann reflected on "the end of a decade that had seen the rise of a Film Generation around the country" (1968, 274). Yet, this rise of a Film Generation happened at a time when the theatrical box office suffered its lowest attendance: In 1971, the smallest number of tickets was sold in American film history — 16 million per week (Cook 2002, 14). How do we make sense of this apparent contradiction between the decline in theatrical film-going and the rise of a "Film Generation"?

Keywords:

film culture;
cinephilia;
film exhibition;
film audiences;
art cinema;
experimental film;
education;
campus film societies;
film criticism;
film studies


A new study into asymmetric flows in stilling basins with trapezoidal cross sections could help make spillway designs more efficient and less prone to overflows. By Jose L Sanchez Bribiesca and Jesus Gracia Sanchez, Instituto de Ingenieria, UNAM Coyoacan, CP 04510 Mexico, DF.


Recognition of the Anthropocene and that it is human activity that is driving these perturbations to Earth's nature systems, suggests that the response lies in modifying this collective human behaviour. Societal behaviour change is challenging because it requires simultaneous alteration of individual and societal behaviours. I have framed this process as a Cultural Transformation. This transformation employs a systems approach to influencing the complex adaptive system of human society. An overview of theory, methodology and practice of Cultural Transformation will be given with particular emphasis on governance as both a focus for transformation and a driver of this change. I suggest that a mixed participatory and group representative democracy model of governance best results in regulating the aspects of culture that are harming the ecosystem, and provides the optimum way to achieve social and environmental justice. Such a model of democratic government means decision are taken by those most affected by them, and builds in a method for the less advantaged in society, as well as other species and future generations to have their voices heard. Such a model permits the burdens and benefits of both the situation and the transformation to be equitably distributed. While challenging to create and operate, this form of governance is best able to take the adaptive governance approach necessary.


In this paper,the Gauss-Seidel iteration convergence conditions are discussed,and a more streamlined test for spectral radius of a matrix being less than 1 is provided.Using the result,we prove further the convergence of the Gauss-Seidel iteration and the convergence of the SOR method for arbitrary flabby factor 0ω2.


Diagnosing can be understood as the purposeful collection and evaluation of information for the purposes of uncertainty reduction to make a clinical decision. In medical education, students can be introduced to this task through simulations: Case-based learning has long been an important part of medical education [1]. In most curricula and in many exam situations, it is essential to work with clinical cases. Clinical cases are also used in medical education research for training and measurement of diagnostic competence. In studies, standardized cases in the form of virtual patients [2], [3] are used frequently. To improve diagnostic skills, learners are supported in case-based learning with virtual patient cases through various prompts (so-called scaffolds). Examples of scaffolds are structured reflection [4], feedback in different forms [5] or representation prompts [6]. However, the results of these studies regarding the effectiveness of the various interventions on diagnostic competence are contradictory. One reason for this could be that the degree of complexity of the used cases varies and therefore, the different scaffolding methods are of different value.

The term complex (Latin: complexus, Part.adj. to Latin complecti "embrace") means comprehensive, diverse, intertwined, multi-layered [https://www.dwds.de/wb/komplex, last accessed on 18.11.2018]. Complexity refers to systems with many components that can interact in different ways. In common usage, complexity is often equated with difficulty. In the diagnostic context, however, we propose a clear separation of the two terms (see figure 1 (Fig. 1)):

Open in a separate window

Figure 1

Differentiation: complexity and difficulty

An example: A arithmetical problem (for example, a task in which Bayes's theorem has to be applied in order to solve the task correctly) can be of varying complexity. For example, there are Bayesian tasks as 1-test cases [7] (e.g., breast cancer is diagnosed by mammography) and 2-test cases [7] (e.g., breast cancer is diagnosed by mammography and ultrasound). 2-test cases are more complex than 1-test tasks, because they consist of more levels and are thus more complex, they have more features. The difficulty is not synonymous per se with complexity. Bayesian tasks, whether they are 1-test cases or 2-test cases, are easy to solve for math students - they are not difficult for this group of people. For medical students, on the other hand, Bayesian tasks can hardly be solved - regardless of whether they are 1-test or 2-test cases. The tasks are difficult for medical students and easy for math students. The task itself has a certain degree of complexity (1-test-case=simple/non-complex and 2-test-cases=complex), the probability of solution and thus the difficulty depends on the recipient [8]. The pre-knowledge of the person trying to solve the task influences the level of difficulty much more than the complexity does.

Complexity relates solely to features of the clinical case and is independent of the person diagnosing. It can be defined as the complexity of the clinical problem. Difficulty, on the other hand, can be understood as a dynamic concept, since it depends directly on the person diagnosing: There are several factors that contribute to the difficulty: In addition to the prior knowledge and experience of a person [9], for example, a case with the diagnosis Endocarditis is probably difficult for a medical student in the first clinical year, but possibly very easy for a cardiologist with several years of working experience – also the motivation, the nature of the day and ultimately pure coincidence is crucial. If the doctor has recently seen a similar case, the clinical problem may be very easy for him to solve [9]. Comparative studies of different rating systems are already available [10] to assess the difficulty of the case.

Causes that can contribute to the complexity of a patient's therapy have been studied in several studies [11]. The general increase in the complexity of medical roles in increasingly complex care systems has also been discussed extensively [12]. However, there is no applied system to determine the complexity of a case-based learning scenario. This raises the problem that study results due to different or not clearly-defined case complexity are comparable only with restrictions; and also the implementation of scientific findings in teaching practice is difficult. Even a differentiated use of cases of different degrees of complexity for different levels of expertise cannot be done without a quantification of the complexity.

The purpose of this article is to answer the following question: How can the degree of complexity of a clinical case be determined in a practicable and standardized way for simulation environments?


Objective: To study the possible in vitro release mechanisms of chitosan microcapsules prepared by various methods.Methods: The in vitro release degree of microcapsule was detected by the directly release method,the medicine releases equation curve was fitted,and the appraisal to the related influencing factors was conducted.Results: When the accumulating in vitro release curve of chitosan microcapsules prepared by various methods was fitted with Weibull equation,the ideal result was received.Some regulations between microcapsule structure and the release property were explored preliminarily.Conclusion: The study on the possible in vitro release mechanisms of chitosan microcapsules prepared by various methods enriches the study on the sustained-release microcapsules delivery system with chitosan as carrier.


Keyword: Kata Kunci : Sistem Informasi Geografis, Quantum GIS, Pendidikan Kota Depok. Abstrack: ABSTRACTTechnology GIS (Geographic Information System) / Geographic Information System (GIS) is a technology of which has been highly geographically developed. When this has been known to the terms Desktop GIS, WebGIS, and Spatial Database which is a form of technological developments System Geographic Information to provide solutions to various problems can only be answered with GIS technology. This writing will discuss the site manufacture Information Systems Geographic Education Depok using data obtained from the Department of Education as well as from the Internet. WebGIS application is made using QuantumGIS applications, MapServer, PostgreSQL / PostGIS and Chameleon as frameworknya. While programming languageused are PHP, HTML, Javascript, and CSS With this WebGIS application, users are expected to become easier in getting information about the means of Education, the Education Office in the city of Depok. APLIKASI SISTEM INFORMASI GEOGRAFIS PENDIDIKAN KOTA DEPOK BERBASIS WEB MENGGUNAKAN QUANTUM GIS


This paper presents a checklist of the reef fish fauna of the Anchieta Island State Park, a no-take zone in which no extractive activities are allowed, in Ubatuba, Southeastern Brazil. Data was obtained between 2011 and 2013, mainly through underwater observations with snorkelling and SCUBA, and secondarily using scientific fishing (trawling). Published and unpublished data were also verified and compiled. A total of 103 reef fish species, distributed in 78 genus and 50 families was recorded. Haemulidae was the richest family (n=7 species), followed by Epinephelidae (n=6), Pomacentridae, Carangidae and Tetraodontidae (n= 4 each). Haemulon was also the most speciose genera (n=5), followed by Stegastes, Acanthurus and Mycteroperca (n=3 each). Sixty-nine species (67%) are included in global and regional Red Lists. Twenty-five species (24.2%) are within the categories Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU) and Near-Threathened (NT). The network of Marine Protected Areas in Southeastern Brazil is still incipient, and the considerable number of threatened species in the Anchieta Island State Park clearly indicates the importance of the study area for the conservation of coastal and reef fishes.


The inhomogeneous morphology of magnetic fluid may appear in the presence of an external magnetic field, which shows the structure controllability of magnetic fluid and will lead to anisotropic thermal transport inside the magnetic fluid. Based on the microstructure of magnetic fluid and considering the effect of nanolayer, a model for the thermal conductivity of the magnetic fluid has been developed. The anisotropic thermal transport inside the magnetic fluid is investigated by the present method. The results show that in the presence of an external magnetic field the particles form chainlike clusters along the magnetic field direction, which leads to an increment in the thermal conductivity along the field direction and little change in the thermal conductivity perpendicular to the magnetic field direction. The thermal conductivity of magnetic fluid presents an anisotropic feature. With the increase of the magnetic field strength the chainlike clusters in the magnetic fluid becomes more obvious and the anisotropic feature of heat conduction in the fluids becomes more evident. Comparisons show that the results predicted by the present method are well coincident with the experimental data.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


From his place as a one-man grand jury, Professor Leach indicts property law of a series of misdemeanors. His charges hardly reach the level of felony. Indeed the bill of particulars makes it appear that the offender is really only subject to petty offense jurisdiction. Professor Leach does not look to the heart of property law for his allegations, but rather chips away at the ornaments on the fringes. The indictment was originally prepared as the Stephens Lecture at the University of Kansas. The substance appears unchanged-prepared for the ear, not the eye-but the Professor has added footnotes to his text. As Dean Logan of Kansas writes in a brief introduction, "Connoisseurs of Leachiana frequently run through the footnotes before bothering with the text."1 The footnotes provide an interesting addition with anecdotes 2 and poetry.3 The burden of the Professor's message remains in the text. Professor Leach concentrates his attack on a few of the seemingly absurd rules of property law. He attacks-certainly not for the first time4-the more unreal parts of the Rule Against Perpetuities, the narrow interpretation of wills and trusts, and the current conveyancing system in the United States. He has a two-fold plan of action for reform: (1) the promotion, drafting, and passage of remedial legislation, and (2) the judicial overruling of certain "bad" decisions of the past. It is a peculiarity of the American legal system that legislative change cannot affect the already-vested rights of individuals.5 A property right


Introduction: Trauma quality improvement (TQI) strategies put their focus on complications during patient hospitalization, considering that its prevention may improve patient outcomes. Materials and methods: We carried out a retrospective observational research using de-identified data of prospectively recorded patients in the Trauma Registry hosted by Fundacion Trauma in eight hospitals located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These cases were included if fulfilled inclusion criteria (hospitalized >23 hours or transferred out, elopement or died in the first 23 hours). Complications were studied according to 163 pre-established definitions, including general (GC) and procedure-related complications (PRC), which were also classified as early (EC; <72 hours) and late complications (LC; >72 hours). Results: Around 4521 complications were voluntarily reported in 1883 patients (22%), accounting for 1 (1–3) complication per patient (median, IQR). 79% (n = 3586) were GC and 21% (n = 935) were PRC. General complications were more frequent in the first 72 hours (GC vs PRC: 69 vs 49%, p < 0.001). The most common GC were cardiorespiratory arrest (8.6%), ventilator associated pneumonia (5.6%), delirium (4.7%) and intracranial hypertension (4%). The most common PRC were administrative: either in device provision (64%) or in the transfer-out procedure (14%). Global mortality was 5.5%. Mortality in patients with EC was 29.4% as compared to 1.5% in those without EC. Odds ratio (OR) for mortality in EC group was increased five times that of LC group. After eliminating interactions and variables not significantly associated to outcome, a regression model integrated by age < 20, an injury severity score > 8, shock at admission and Glasgow coma scale < 9 was associated to an OR of 11.5 (95% CI 8.8–15.0) of having an EC (area under ROC curve 0.75). Conclusion: In a sample of hospitalized injured patients from a 4-year period in eight Argentinian hospitals, we identified a specific profile with a higher risk for suffering EC. The detection OriginAl reseArch 1-5,7,8Fundacion Trauma, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina 6Ministry of Health, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Corresponding Author: Jorge Neira, Fundacion Trauma Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina, e-mail: email@example.com 10.5005/jp-journals-10030-1131 Perfil de Complicaciones Tempranas en la Atención del Paciente Traumatizado 1Ezequiel Monteverde, 2Laura Bosque, 3Betina Lartigue, 4Emilio Maciá, 5Cristian Barbaro 6Claudio Ortiz, 7Enrique Ginzburg, 8Jorge Neira Paper presented in General Research Competition in PTS Congress, Panama City, Panama, Nov 2014. Ezequiel Monteverde et al 166 of patients with this profile early at admission may reveal useful for TQI programs.


The published Mount Wilson Doppler-shift measurements of the solar velocity field taken in 1967–1982 are revisited with a more accurate model, which includes two terms representing the meridional flow and three terms corresponding to the convective limb shift. Integration of the recomputed data over the visible hemisphere reveals significant variability of the net radial velocity at characteristic time scales of 0.1–10 years, with a standard deviation of 1.4 m s−1. This result is supported by independent published observations. The implications for exoplanet detection include reduced sensitivity of the Doppler method to Earth-like planets in the habitable zone, and an elevated probability of false detections at periods of a few to several years.


This paper innovatively proposes a Two-Stage GARCH model to measure the regional financial integration.This model distinguishes the regional and global integration trends through a bivariate GARCH model at the first stage.Then the estimated innovations were used as inputs for the second-stage volatility spillover model,with function of proxies for global and regional shocks.This paper establishes two indicators for measure the level and process of financial integration:the sensitivity of local assets' returns to regional news,and the percentage of the returns' volatility which could be explained by regional shocks.Based on this model,the paper also analyzes empirically the financial integration in the region of Guangdong and Hong Kong.


We prove that the Hall algebra U^-_n of the cyclic quiver of type A^(1)_{n-1} decomposes as a direct product of the quantum negative nilpotent subalgebra U_q^-(\hat{sl}_{n)) and C[q,q^{-1},z_1,z_2...]. We use this to prove a conjecture of Varagnolo and Vasserot in math/9803023 relating the canonical basis of U^-_n and the canonical basis of the level 1 Fock space representation of U_q(\hat{sl}_n) introduced by Leclerc and Thibon. This yields a proof of the positivity conjecture of Lascoux, Leclerc and Thibon, and a q-analogue of the Lusztig character formula for simple modules of the quantum group U_q(sl_n) at a root of unity.


Center for Social Economy Learning and Workplace, University of Toronto. -- York Center for Asia Research, York University. -- Indiana University Bloomington.


Malaysia was ranked 16th and 10th in mathematics based on the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1999 and 2003, respectively while its neighbor, Singapore, used to be a part of Malaysia until 1965, was ranked first in both years. Hence, it is the aim of this study to investigate what makes Singaporean students better in mathematics performance compared to Malaysian students using TIMSS data. Factors examined in this analysis include characteristics of students, teachers and schools, educational aids and resources as well as students' attitudes towards mathematics learning. It is hoped that the findings from this study will provide useful inputs to improve mathematics learning among Malaysian students.


Fabrication processes for precision mechanical surfaces, such as fixed abrasive grinding, have been applied to a variety of hard materials. The resulting surfaces are smooth and flat with a characteristic surface finsh. On hard steel surfaces, the surface finish is typically on the order of 0.5 pm cla , however, significantly better finishes can be obtained for a small infeed rate as during a spark-out pass made without changing the depth of cut. For these conditions, surface finishes of less than 0.05 pm cla are possible. For applications to optical surfaces, mechanical strength is not an important consideration and the materials tend to be much more brittle. The surfaces produced by fixed abrasive grinding of these materials are characterized by considerable subsurface damage on the order of the abrasive grain size. This damage is typically removed by loose abrasive grinding followed by polishing with a friable abrasive such as cerium or aluminum oxide. However, the figure accuracy built into the original ground surface is often compromised as a result of this polishing operation. The objective of the work at the Precision Engineering Center at North Carolina State University is to study precision material removal processes to define the parameters that influence the transition from ductile to brittle material removal. This involves the identification and measurement of the material properties of interest, geometrical analysis of the material removed, and characterization of the cutting tool and the machine dynamics.


There have been reports that nerve block treatments, in addition to the WHO―recommended drug therapy, are useful for pain relief and QOL improvement. In order to gain insight into the general perception of the usefulness among doctors involved in palliative care medicine as well as to obtain constructive feedback, a survey was conducted targeting those doctors who are considered influential in the field of palliative care. Among the doctors, thirty percent responded that they would consider nerve block treatments after providing drug therapies. They also have high regard for subarachnoid or epidural continuous infusion and expressed expectations regarding anesthesiologists, role in the practice. Overall, it was suggested anesthesiologists should actively educate doctors in other medical fields on various aspects of the nerve block treatment including situations where such treatment may be indicated.


Fuel storage basins associated with the 105-KE and 105-KW reactor buildings are currently being used to store irradiated fuel rods from past operations. Each reactor building contains a basin that holds approximately 1.3 million gal of water. The water provides a radiation shield, as well as a thermal sink for heat generated by the stored fuel. Some of the fuel rods stored in the K-East basin have damaged cladding and are stored in open canisters, allowing contact between the metallic uranium fuel and basin water. The interaction results in radionuclides being released to the basin water. Various exchange columns and filters associated with a closed-circuit circulation system are in place to reduce radionuclide concentrations in basin water. Tritium cannot be removed by these methods and is present in K-East basin water at a concentration of several million pCi/L. In contrast, K-West basin, where only fully encapsulated, undamaged fuel is stored, exhibits tritium concentrations at much lower levels--several hundred thousand pCi/L. The water budget for the basins includes water losses resulting from evaporation and possibly leakage, and the addition of make-up water to maintain a specific level. Water loss calculations are based on water level decreases during time intervals when no more » make-up water is added. A calculated loss rate beyond what is expected due to evaporation and uncertainty in the calculations, is assumed to be leakage to the soil column. Given sufficiently high leakage rates, and/or a preferential pathway for downward migration through the soil column, basin water may contaminate groundwater flowing beneath the basins. « less


Objective To explore the expression of NF-κB and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein and their relationship in gastric cancer and atypical hyperplasia. Methods The expressions of NF-ΚB and VEGF were determined by Power Vision immunohistochemical analysis in 84 cases of gastric cancer and 54 gastric atypical hyperplasia. Results The positive rates of NF-κB(59.52%)and VEGF (61.90%) were significantly higher in gastric cancer than in gastric atypical hyperplasia (P0.05). The overexpression of NF-κB in gastric cancer was related to tumor size (P0.05), and that of VEGF was related to lymph node metastasis, tumor size and the invasiveness of gastric cancer (P0.05). Positive correlation was found between the expressions of NF-κB and VEGF. Conclusion NF-κB plays an important role in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer by up-regulating the expression of VEGF.


Pressure injuries (PIs) are one of the most common complications related to immobility, especially in hospitalized patients, which lead to increased morbidity, infection and overall decreased quality of life. Arginine supplementation may prevent the development of PIs. This study has summarized the findings of studies on the effect of arginine supplementation on PI healing.


"C-radiolabelled dissolved organic carbon (DO14C) produced in a Thalassiosira tumida culture was aged in the dark for 8 mo and irradiated for 15 h at a UV intensity of 40 W m-2 at 350 Â 20 nm. Comparison with control bottles showed no evidence of DO^C decrease. Fractionation with XAD-2 resin before and after irradiation indicated no changes in the humic fractions. This suggests that a pool of autochthonous marine DOC might be relatively resistant against natural UV radiation.


This article discusses the use of electromagnetic levitation with a tracking system as a quality management mechanism in the electric power industry, and other related methods of magnetic levitation. The analysis of existing magnetic levitation devices, both analog devices and digital control, was also carried out. The existing electronic circuit of a levitron based on the interaction of 6 electromagnets with each other was considered, the pros and cons of this circuit were described. The novelty of the article lies in the proposed modified electrical circuit with the replacement of radio components, as well as in the creation of electromagnets with proper quality control. In the schematic diagram, field-effect transistors, operational amplifiers were replaced, and 2 variable resistors were added, connected to the inverting input of the operational amplifier to control the location of the levitating magnet, and a 200uf field capacitor for more stable operation of the circuit. 2 inductors, an operational amplifier and a number of related electronic components have also been removed. The solenoids were developed taking into account the national standard GOST R IEC 1007–96 "Transformers and inductors used in electronic equipment and long-distance communication equipment" in accordance with paragraphs 4.2 "External inspection", 4.2.1"Position of the protective screen". The main characteristics and photos of the developed solenoids are also presented.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cross-country differences in pensionable age explain such differences in economic activity of people at near-retirement age.

Design/methodology/approach
The empirical study uses regression models for macro-panel encompassing 21 European countries in the period 2008–2014.

Findings
Empirical results indicate that pensionable age is a determinant of cross-country differences in employment rate in the near-retirement age group, and less a factor differentiating average effective retirement age. It turns out that other factors matter, including salaries and wages as percentage of GDP (treated as a proxy for the occupational composition of populations across the countries studied), self-employment, participation in education and training, or self-perceived health.

Social implications
The problem of economic activity at the near-retirement age is complex and cannot be limited to legal regulations concerning pensionable age. The policy aiming at stimulating the economic activity of the near-elderly should include actions on many sides including labour market, pension system, education, training, or health care.

Originality/value
The results complement studies based on the single-country approach and demonstrate that pensionable age does not account for cross-country differences in terms of average effective age of retirement when controlling for other factors. Moreover, factors differentiating effective retirement age and employments rates across countries studied are not similar.


Recommendation systems provide an intelligent way to navigate through an ocean of options available at users' disposal and present information that they perceive to be useful and worth trying out. Recommender Systems (RS) are assistance in the form of software, tools or algorithms that may guide a target user in making decision by proposing him recommendations based on his interests. In conventional recommendation system we have active elements on one side (Person) and passive elements in others side (Products). Success is determined by only one side (user–side) who is seeking recommendation, but the other way is not possible. Reciprocal recommendation is a special case of recommendation system where both sides we have active participants (people) and their mutual agreement is mandatory for a successful relation. Many social websites' core task is to recommend people


Ectromopsis merkli sp. n. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini) is described from Central Anatolia (coast of Eğirdir Lake). The species is the most similar to E. tantilla Ménétriés, 1848 from the Caspian depression (European Russia, West Kazakhstan) and differs in the body shape, structure of genae, the shape of pronotum and elytral punctation. Brief information about a relic type of distribution, trophic associations and adaptations of Ectromopsis spp. are given, as well as a key to species from the eastern part of the range. With seven figures.


In order to select successfully for complex traits involved in drought resistance, several requirements are necessary. The first objective of this work is to identify wheat lines that differ in the level of osmotic adjustment capacity using a method with which breeders can test rapidly and fairly accurately a large number of entries. The second objective was to analyse the relationship between osmotic adjustment and yield under drought stress. A spring bread wheat nursery of 144 genotypes was grown in the field under water stress and non stress conditions. The same genotypes were screened for Relative Water Content (RWC) at solute potential (Pi) of -2.5 MPa in a greenhouse experiment. An other methodology was tested in growth chamber to obtain a direct measurement of osmotic adjustment capacity. The results obtained show that (1) osmotic adjustment occurs in spring wheat in the field during drought (2) there is a genotypic variability within the nursery for solute potential at flowering (3) the correlation between yield and RWC at Pi = -2.5 MPa is low (4) the methodology of determination of osmotic adjustment capacity in growth chamber is more suitable than in the greenhouse because of the environmental effects. Furthermore, the growth chamber methodology allow the distinction between constitutive or adaptative characteristic of the osmotic adjustment. In this context, the research of molecular markers linked to osmotic adjustment capacity could be improved using this methodology. (Resume d'auteur)


When a food item might be genetically modified (GM) and divergent information about risks and benefits exists, do U.S. consumers value information provided by a label? This paper addresses this question by designing and conducting an experimental auction to elicit consumers' willingness to pay for both GM-labeled and standard-labeled foods. The evidence gathered for vegetable oil, tortilla chips, and potatoes shows that labels matter, and in particular, consumers werewilling to pay about a 14 percent premium for food items they perceived as non-GM. We found that women and men have similar reactions to the GM-food labels, butthe sequencing of food labels, i.e., seeing GM-labels first orsecond, was statistically significant. If consumers bid onfoods with GM-food labels in the first oftwo rounds ofbidding, they on average reduced their bids.


A new Phosphate based glass composition was formulated and used as a host matrix for preparation of glass materials. Titanium oxide doped phosphate glasses were prepared at low melting temperature. The doping of TiO2 was varied form 0.1 mol % to 1.0 mol% during the glass formation. The effect of TiO2 content on the optical properties have been investigated. The presence of varying titanium oxide results in spectroscopic changes aroung Ti3+ ion and is explored to optical absorption, IR and EPR spectra. The EPR spectra exhibit resonance signals characterstic of Ti3+ ions in octahedral sites with tetragonal distribution. The results from IR showed the presence of trigonal and tetrahedral PO4, PO3 groups within the host network structure. With the introduction of TiO2 into the glass network, two bands are appeared due to TiO4 and Ti-O-Ti symmetric stretching vibrations of TiO6 structural units. In optical absorption spectra two absorption bands identified due to electronic transitions of Ti3+ ions as B2g→B1g and B2g→E.


ABSTRACT: Contemporary social movements act as modifiers of socio-spatial relations, often assuming the role that should be the State's, acting with the less favored populations, indicating other paths, in addition to marginalization and social exclusion. This article presents reflections on an occupation organized by the Movement of Homeless Workers (MTST), more precisely the Tereza de Benguela camp, located in the Village Campestre II Complex, located in the Cidade Universitaria neighborhood, in the city of Maceio, Alagoas. In this one, the way the campers relate to the space is analyzed, discussing the importance of the movement in the struggle for housing and for the dignity of its members. The objective here is to discuss the legitimacy of the existence of the Tereza de Benguela camp, to understand the territorial formation of the occupation, the strategies used by the campers to organize themselves, the difficulties that the movement faces and the importance of women's work within the MTST. With a qualitative approach, the article had as methodological route the accomplishment of bibliographic research; technical visits in order to experience the day-to-day life of those who lived and / or frequented the occupation; and conducting semi-structured interviews. From the collected information, it can be systematized and the relevant reflections. The occupation Tereza de Benguela, is one of the MTST camps existing in the state of Alagoas, the movement's actions intensely mark the geographical space, leading to the construction of a specific and unique territory, whose permanence will depend on the correlation of forces involved in the process.
KEYWORDS: MTST; Fight for Housing; Social organization.


Viewed as a whole, the Constitution of the Philippines reflects the iFilipino, Spanish, and American antecedents which have made the Filipino people what they are. The instrument is colored by the ideas which have become current in the United States since 1933 as well as by our traditional political philosophy. It bears the imprint of the revolutionary changes which have swept over many parts of Europe and reversed the political trend in Japan during the past twenty years. In form and substance it reveals the possession of a high degree of political capacity by those who drafted it. Although a product of the past, it is conspicuously an instrument of government for the troublous present and the uncertain future. Above all, it is a Filipino and not a foreign instmment and provides the constitutional foundation for a genuinely Filipino government.


In this review, we focus on two key questions about the nature of emotional intelligence (EI). First, we consider what the different parts of EI might be, suggesting a taxonomy that builds on the well-known hierarchical four-branch model to include six narrow abilities (emotion perception, emotion expression, emotion attention regulation, emotion understanding, emotion regulation of self, and emotion regulation of others). Second, we review evidence for the interrelations between these six narrow abilities. The interrelationships of the EI narrow abilities are a key criterion for viewing EI as a kind of intelligence, rather than a typical way of behaving. Our review concludes that the six narrow abilities comprising EI are all positively interrelated—the component parts of EI converge to form a whole. In addition, the level of interrelationships shows that emotion expression and emotion perception are clearly separate, with weaker evidence for the separation between emotion regulation of self versus emotion regulation of others. Using the older research tradition of emotion recognition (which predates EI), we present a detailed overview of the relationship between emotion perception and other narrow abilities of EI. We conclude that the narrow facets of EI converge with each other, providing one form of evidence to support the validity of EI as a type of intelligence.


This commentary threads the ideas about accompaniment in the lead paper (Markman, this issue) with linked areas of thinking. It looks at synchrony, musicality, and the importance in therapeutic technique of achieving a healthy balance right between closeness and distance. It looks at some of the neurobiology which sheds like on musicality, improvisation as well as thinking about trauma and hyper-vigilance, as well as what developmental capacities need to be in place, or developed, for a healthy accompaniment to take place on a therapeutic journey.


ABSTRACT We propose a format for presenting experimental results that combines a graph's strength in facilitating general-pattern recognition with a table's strength in displaying numerical results. The format supplements a conventional bar graph with additional text labels and graphics but also can be based on a dot plot. The resulting enhanced bar graph conveys general patterns about treatment effects; displays point estimates and confidence intervals for all key quantities of interest relevant to testing hypotheses (e.g., first differences in the mean of the dependent variable); and clarifies the interpretation of these quantities as treatment effects. Presenting information in a single figure avoids the need to devote scarce journal space to both a graph and a table. Moreover, an enhanced bar graph prevents readers from having to move back and forth between a graph and a table of numerical results—thereby reducing their cognitive load and facilitating their understanding of the findings.


Background: Many studies done in past literature focuses on gonadal toxicity of Cyclophosphamide, but very less studies are done on the epididymis post exposure to this drug. Hence a sincere attempt is made in present study to look into the cellular changes in the epididymis through histology and TUNEL Assay. Subjects & Methods: Healthy male Swiss albino adult mice, were obtained from Central Animal Research Facility, Manipal were used for the study. The as well as prepubertal male mice were divided into control and test groups. In test group, the mice were injected with at variable doses. each group no. of mice was sacrificed on different days. A control group was for each interval. The epididymal tissue was then extracted and used in histological and Tunnel Assay study. Results: Even though there was no significant change in the number of basal cells, the apical cells decreased marginally at higher doses of CP. A TUNEL assay was performed in the epididymal sections to understand its effect on the DNA integrity. Up to 100 mg/kg, CP did not induce any significant increase in the TUNEL positive tubules. However, at 200 mg/kg dose and above, there was an increase in the number of tubules with TUNEL positive cells indicating its DNA damaging effect. However, this increase was statistically not significant Conclusion: The present study highlights the need for looking into the cellular damage of the cells after exposure to one of the commonly used anticancer drug- cyclophosphamide.


Component failures in complex systems are often expensive. The loss of operation time is compounded by the costs of emergency repairs, excess labor, and compensation to aggrieved customers. Prognostic health management presents a viable option when the failure onset is observable and the mitigation plan actionable.
As data-driven approaches become more favorable, success has been measured in many ways, from the basic outcomes, i.e. costs justify the prognostic, to the more nuanced detection tests.
Prognostic models, likewise, run the gamut from purely physics-based to statistically inferred. Preserving some physics has merit as that is the source of justification for removing a fully functioning component. However, the method for evaluating competing strategies and optimizing for performance has been inconsistent.
One common approach relies on the binary classifier construct, which compares two prediction states (alert or no alert) with two actual states (failure or no failure). A model alert is a positive; true positives are followed by actual failures and false positives are not. False negatives are when failures occur without any alert, and true negatives complete the table, indicating no alert and no failure.
Derivatives of the binary classifier include concepts like precision, i.e. the ratio of alerts which are true positives, and recall, the ratio of events which are preceded by an alert. Both precision and recall are useful in determining whether an alert can be trusted (precision) or how many failures it can catch (recall).  Other analyses recognize the fact that the underlying sensor signal is continuous, so the alerts will change along with the threshold. For instance, a threshold that is more extreme will result in fewer alerts and therefore more precision at the cost of some recall. These types of tradeoff studies have produced the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.
A few ambiguities persist when we apply the binary classifier construct to continuous signals. First, there is no time axis. When does an alert transition from prescriptive to low-value or nuisance? Second, there is no consideration of the nascent information contained in the underlying continuous signal. Instead, it is reduced to alerts via a discriminate threshold.
Fundamentally, prognostic health management is the detection of precursors. Failures which can be prognosticated are necessarily a result of wear-out modes. Whether the wear out is detectable and trackable is a system observability issue. Observability in signals is a concept rooted in signal processing and controls. A system is considered observable if the internal state of the system can be estimated using only the sensor information.
In a prognostic application, sensor signals intended to detect wear will also contain some amount of noise. This case, noise is anything that is not the wear-out mode. It encompasses everything from random variations of the signal, to situations where the detection is intermittent or inconsistent. Hence, processing the raw sensor signal to maximize the wear-out precursors and minimize noise will provide an overall benefit to the detection before thresholds are applied.
The proposed solution is a filter tuned to maximize detection of the wear-out mode. The evaluation of the filter is crucial, because that is also the evaluation of the entire prognostic. The problem statement transforms from a binary classifier to a discrete event detection using a continuous signal. Now, we can incorporate the time dimension and require a minimum lead time between a prognostic alert and the event.
Filter evaluation is fundamentally performance evaluation for the prognostic detection. First, we aggregate the filtered values in a prescribed lead interval n samples before each event. Each lead trace is averaged so that there is one characteristic averaged behavior before an event. In this characteristic trace, we can consider the value at some critical actionable time, tac, before the event, after which there is insufficient time to act on the alert. The filtered signal value at this critical time should be anomalous, i.e. it should be far from its mean value. Further, the filtered value in the interval preceding tac should transition from near-average to anomalous.
Both the signal value at tac as well as the filtered signal behavior up to that point present independent evaluation metrics. These frame the prognostic detection problem as it should be stated, as a continuous signal detecting a discrete event, rather than a binary classifier.
A strong anomaly in the signal that precedes events on an aggregated basis is the alternate performance metric. If only a subset of events show an anomaly, that means the detection failure mode is unique to those events, and the performance can be evaluated accordingly.
Thresholding is the final step, once the detection is optimized. The threshold need not be ambiguous at this step. The aggregated trace will indicate clearly which threshold will provide the most value.


Geomagnetic survey satellites are extremely important tools in geomagnetic measurements.They have some advantages such as wide covered range,high precision data collection and procession in real-time compared to general geomagnetic survey instruments.In terms of launch times,this paper orderly introduces POGO,Magsat satellite during early periods;more attention has been paied to describe Oersted and CHAMP satellites which are still working recent years as well as Swarm constellations which will be launched in 2012,respectively.Meanwhile,the main structures,working principles and significant magnetic measuring instruments of these magnetic satellites are also depicted.Finally,we present in brief applications of satellite datas to all fields.


Young soccer players undertake anthropometric measurements for directing the effectiveness of training programs. However, the use of the eight-electrode electrical bioimpedance method is increasingly being used for the body composition evaluation. The purpose of this study was to compare and correlate body composition, using anthropometric predictive equations, with the use of electrical bioimpedance. Thirty Brazilian high-performance men, players of the U-20 category, participated in the study, while their position in the field was recorded. Anthropometrics were assessed using the predictive equations of Faulkner, Yuhasz, Carter, and Slaughter and electrical bioimpedance. There were no significant differences between methods for anthropometric evaluation, while traditional body composition analysis and bioimpedance showed moderate correlations with respect to the anthropometric protocols, Faulkner (r = 0.63, p<0.01), Yuhasz (r = 0.64, p<0.01), Carter (r = 0.64, p<0.01) and Slaughter (r = 0.53, p<0.01). According to the present investigation, bioimpedance with eight electrodes can be a reliable tool for the assessment of body composition in young soccer players.


Flash floods are considered one of the most devastating and frequent extreme climatological natural hazards in the world. El Minya is one of the most vulnerable areas in Egypt for flash flood problems. It was affected by several hazardous historical flash flood events. These events could lead to both catastrophic losses of life and severe damage to the infrastructures of the study area. The study area is located in the middle of Egypt, about 240 km south of Cairo. It is situated along the Limestone Plateau facing El Minia governorate. The main objective of this study is to assess the risk of flash flood hazard on the human activities in the study area. Integration of remote sensing; geographic information systems, analytical hierarchy process, and the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques were applied in this study. Eight different significant effective factors collected from multisource geospatial data, including lithology, hydrology, topography, soil type, land cover, and rainfall data, were selected to evaluate the flood risk map. Remote sensing imagery was used for land use/cover mapping to detect the vulnerable human activities. ArcGIS-based weighted overlay modeling was used to combine the criteria to calculate the final decision map.


With the neo-classical perspective of Lewis and others in mind, Mr. FrimpongAnsah has selected the failing economic policy, one of the dominating facts in the contemporary history of Ghana, as a case-study to discuss both theory and practice of development. His objective is to link common characteristics of the post-independence period (1957-present) with the colonial era, in determining long-term causes of some of the major structural problems the economy of Ghana is facing. This approach offers the reader a direct view of the elements at the base of the economic course of action. On the eve of independence, being a country rich in natural resources, Ghana seemed to have a promising future. But nir. Frimpong-Ansah explains that signs of weakness were already obvious. A very limited amount of public services and a fragmented primary sector could never support economic growth sufficiently. Tragically, during the years of Nkrumah's leadership (19571966), initial development focussed on the idea that export products produced by the primary sector, such as the single dominant crop, cocoa, should finance industrialisation. As a consequence the 'Vampire State' was created. Tax policy squeezed farmers' incomes excessively under guise of development, to fund inefficient government actions and uneconomic state expenditures. Thus the cocoa industry was at the core of political and economic decline. The last part of the book concentrates on cocoa production, being the principal sector of the economy, and gives an in-depth analysis of economical decline and proper conditions for future economic recovery. Post-Nkrumah governments of the 1966-1983 period, did not recognise the destructive effect the collapse of the cocoa production sector had on the country. When the threat of total economical and political disintegration in 1983 finally became evident, the government, since 1981 headed by flight-lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, was left no choice but to drop radical socialist ambitions. The only possible solution to cope with the many structural problems was to turn to multilateral institutions for aid. Rehabilitation programmes, financed by external capital, prescribed strict monetary stabilisation measures. The government was aware of the fact that survival depended on economic recovery. By initiating internal reform and launching the pragmatic Economic Reconstruction Programme in 1983, the regime managed to keep some initiatives in IMF and World Bank negotiations. In maintaining methods to deal with shortto mediumterm recovery problems, the government showed a perseverance uncommon to African standards. Economic policy was supported by all means, while pluralistic tendencies were restricted. This excellent, well-documented book, can be considered an important contribution to a new phase in the development debate. Analysing internal problems critically, without any ideological burden, can clear the road for specialists from developing countries to initiate realistic economical management. Natalie Everts


Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a promising carrier material for oral delivery of biomolecules such as proteins and drugs. Ways to increase the loading of such molecules on HA will lead to better nanomedicine. This study reports the surface functionalisation of HA particles using the mussel inspired molecules dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (DOPA), in order to increase protein loading. The adsorption mechanisms are discussed based on the adsorption isotherms, zeta potential, thermal analysis and theoretical models. Results show that DA functionalisation enhanced the loading, while DOPA functionalisation was ineffective.


We report the thermal spin injection and accumulation in crystalline CoFe/MgO tunnel contacts to n-type Si through Seebeck spin tunneling (SST). With the Joule heating (laser heating) of Si (CoFe), the thermally induced spin accumulation is detected by means of the Hanle effect for both polarities of the temperature gradient across the tunnel contact. The magnitude of the thermal spin signal scales linearly with the heating power, and its sign is reversed as we invert the temperature gradient, demonstrating the major features of SST and thermal spin accumulation. Based on a quantitative comparison of the thermal and electrical spin signals, the thermal spin injection through SST is suggested as an effective route to inject the spin accumulation.


This paper analyzes the implementation of e-government strategies in Sardinia. with the aim to modernize, make public administration more efficient and transparent, improve the quality of services granted to citizens and businesses, reduce community costs, as well as to assist public administration in the facilitation of economic development within the country. Nonetheless, full egovernment implementation is still far from being complete. E-government and the digital divide, which have been relatively disconnected research areas, have important parallels and potential intersections. These parallels may be useful in understanding e-government projects and policies in a more comprehensive way and, consequently, for developing effective digital strategies. Introduction Digital innovation is the use of innovative information and communication technologies capable of creating great social value in terms of quality of life and social and civil progress, the dissemination among all citizens of culture and knowledge, the provision of essential services and the enhancement of new opportunities in areas such as employment, health, education, social relations and institutions. In particular, digital government services include public administration management procedures and access to information resources by making them easily available through the use of digital interfaces. A widespread use of e-government, also entails the use of services which satisfy openly declared or implicitly granted citizen and firm requirements. (see Papadomichelaki, Magoutas, Halaris, Apostolou, & Mentzas, 2006) Proper digital service quality is mandatory feature in order to satisfy the needs of citizens and enterprises and favour the acknowledgement of the importance of information and communication technology in our lives and the improval of "government management."In this context, e-government refers to the "use of ICT in public administrations combined with organizational changes and new skills in order to improve public services and democratic processes and strengthen support to public policies" (Commission of the European Communities, 2003, p. 7). These technologies allow governments to enhance both the delivery of government services to citizens and the interaction with the business and the industrial world. The introduction of e-Service solutions within the public sector has primarily been concerned with the moving away from traditional information monopolies 1 Faculty of Economics, University of Cagliari, Italy, 2 Faculty of Economics, University of Cagliari, Italy


The invention provides a method and device for providing website certification data for a search engine. The method comprises the following steps: receiving the website certification data from a plurality of certification data sources; storing the website certification data; when a request that the search engine retrieves the website certification data is received, sending the stored website certification data to the search engine. According to the method, the search engine can quickly retrieve the complete website certification data, and the method can ensure that the search speed of the search engine is increased.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the attitudes of young children on Korean traditional cultures and the differences according to sex and age variable. The subjects of this study were 58 five and six-year-olds kindergarten children in Chungbuk and Kangweon region. The attitudes of young children on Korean traditional cultures were measured by rating scale constructed by researcher. The rating scale consists of 18 questions in three factors. Results found in this study were as follows: First, the level of young children' attitudes on Korean traditional cultures was a little above the average on all 3 factors. Second, the difference of sex variable on all 3 factors was significant, but that of age variable was not shown on all 3 factors. Girls have shown more positive attitudes than boys on Korean traditional cultures. Third, the reasons for negative attitudes on 3 factors were various.


Summary

The goal of this paper is to optimize energy consumption, with minimum consumer interaction, and least impact on his/her life style, comfort and convenience. In the literature different demand side management (DSM) schemes are employed for consumer demand management. Till now, to the best of our knowledge none of researchers considered the consumers preferences, priorities, ease of use, grid stability, deviation minimization, demand curve flattening and implantation cost, collectively in a single management scheme. In this paper we proposed an innovative, cost-effective solution, to overcome most of the shortcomings of the previous solutions. In addition, it would also provide consumers' privacy as it would mask the energy usage pattern that combines psychological incentives in addition to economic benefits. The proposed Smart Energy-consumption Management System Considering Consumers' Spending Goal (SEMS-CCGS) can be used for optimized electricity consumption at any premises (residential, enterprise, commercial, etc.). The preliminary simulations showed 25.6% of electricity cost saving using SEMS-CCGS. The proposed system is appraised valuable by the utility companies whose focus is to shave peak loads. It also plays an important role in grid stability by improving the diversity factor and deviation of consumers load profile from available load curve. The simulation shows that deviation is minimized up to 45%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present a systematic study of $\Lambda_c^+ \to {\cal B}_q \ell^+ \nu_\ell $ with ${\cal B}_q = (\Lambda, n)$ and $\ell =( e, \mu)$, examining all the possible decay observables based on the homogeneous bag model (HBM) and lattice QCD (LQCD). With the HBM, we find that the branching fractions and polarization asymmetries of the daughter baryon $\Lambda$ are ${\cal B}(\Lambda_c^+ \to \Lambda e^+ \nu_e, \Lambda \mu^+ \nu_\mu, n \ell ^+ \nu_\ell ) = (3.78 \pm 0.25, 3.67\pm 0.23, 0.40\pm 0.04 )\%$ and $\alpha_\Lambda (\Lambda_c^+ \to \Lambda e^+ \nu_e,\Lambda\mu^+ \nu_\mu ) =(-82.6,-82.3)\%$, respectively. From the LQCD, we obtain that $\alpha_{\Lambda}(\Lambda_c^+ \to \Lambda e^+ \nu_e, \mu^+ \nu_\mu ) = (-87.4\pm 1.0,-87.2\pm 1.0)\%$. We also explore the time-reversal asymmetries due to new physics beyond the standard model. All our results are consistent with the current experimental data, while some of them are accessible to the experiments at BESIII and Belle II.


Based on ten years (1993-2003) of research on managerial behaviour in industries from banking, software, consulting etc., the authors present their eclectic findings in two sections and nine chapters. The individual level action taking behaviour was researched at Lufthansa, the German based aviation group, when it was restructuring. Of special mention is the climb 99 program that looked at the middle-level talent pool, while at Conoco, U.S. Oil company the study was replicated. The issue of marshalling willpower which is a decisive driver of implementation of change was further researched at Goldman Sachs, Sun Microsystems and Oracle in North America; British Petroleum, Hilti Group, McKinsey, Micro mobility systems, namics, Siemens Nixdorf informations systems (SNI), and Swissair in Europe; LG group, Sony and Infosys in Asia; and Natura and WEG in Latin America. Sometimes similar to Argyris' (1991), Teaching smart people how to learn, the authors question how talented executive loose valuable time and speed, get lost into the stream oftheir action-non-action.


The behavior of helium in reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic steels was investigated systematically with positron annihilation Doppler broadening measurement and thermal desorption spectroscopy. Specimens were irradiated with helium ions with different energies to various fluences at different temperatures. A threshold fluence was observed above which the rate of formation and growth of helium bubbles dramatically increased. Irradiation at higher temperature could suppress the formation and growth of HenVm clusters with low binding energies and enhance that of helium bubbles and HenVm clusters with high binding energies. Different changes of S parameters were observed in various depth after the irradiation temperature was increased from 523 K to 723 K. Irradiation of 18 keV-He+ enhanced the growth of HenVm clusters and helium bubbles compared with 100 keV-He+ irradiation. A possible mechanism is discussed.


The discipline of total hip arthroplasty has continued to evolve with new information and controversies. Some of the most important developments involved manufacturers' recalls of specific devices due to early failure and the biological reactions to the metal bearing and at the modular taper junction. We have reviewed the relevant publications and abstracts from the major orthopaedic journals and international conferences. We have organized the information into several sections: (1) clinical outcome, (2) metal bearing wear and corrosion, (3) implications of device recalls, and (4) complications.


While research on affect in organizations has flourished, affect has tended to be approached in a piecemeal or asymmetrical fashion. Traditionally, researchers have focused on potential benefits of positive affect or potential downsides of negative affect. This paper suggests that both positive and negative affect are functional and adaptive and should be considered in tandem or from a dual-tuning perspective (George & Zhou, 2007). Positive and negative emotions are automatically and adaptively triggered in response to stimuli that have implications for well-being. Evolutionary psychology, the social-functionalist perspective, the nature of organizing, antecedents of emotions, emotional ambivalence, and the positivity offset and negativity bias all suggest that positive and negative emotions should be considered from a dual-tuning perspective. The effects of positive and negative mood on cognitive processes, motivation, and effort support a dual-tuning approach to mood. Implications of a dual-tuning approach for understanding affect in organizations are discussed.


Objective To investigate the difference and relationships of serum VCAM-1and P-selection levels in different subtype of coronary heart diseases and explore the potential predicting factors for the acute coronary syndrome(ACS).Method The levels of serum sVCAM-1 and sP-selection in 21 cases of acute myocardial infarction(AMI),23 cases of unstable angina pectoris(UA),22 cases of stable angina pectoris(SA) and 20 cases of normal healthy control subjects were measured by ELISA method,comparing the values of sVCAM-1 and sP-selection among different group.Result Serum sVCAM-1 and sP-selection levels were significantly higher in the ACS group compared with normal group.For ACS,the sensitivity was 73.4 %,specificity was84.2 %with serum sVCAM-1 and sP-selection levels.Conclusion The elevated VCAM-1 and P-selection levels suggested an obvious relationship with pathogenesis of ACS,which may be a potential markers of plaque instability and may be newly sensitive markers for identifying patients with ACS.


Industrial production as the basis of the real sector of the economy, the most important component of the social structure and the key sphere of human activity is discussed. The role of enterprises and labor collectives in the life of modern society is shown. Through the labor collective, a person's potencies in the public space, his knowledge and skills are realized, and a person becomes a real and useful member of society. The importance of broad public coverage of Russian achievements and engineering potential, demonstration of the importance of the domestic scientific and industrial complex and the contribution of Russian researchers and scientists to world science is considered. The necessity of revising basic social concepts and solving the problem of cognitive sovereignty, which determines the quality of engineering and national technological independence, is argued.


This paper presents a novel terahertz (THz) on-chip antenna design for high-T _c superconducting (HTS) heterodyne receiver frontends. The antenna includes a two-element ring-slot array in conjunction with a hemispherical lens, which generates highly-directional dual radiation beams with stable angular separation, thus significantly facilitating the quasi-optics design for coupling radio-frequency (RF) and local oscillator (LO) THz signals. Besides, a double-layered band-pass frequency selective surface (FSS) is designed, and integrated in the THz on-chip antenna to filter out external interferences other than 300-GHz band for maximizing the HTS receiver frontend's noise performance. Numerical simulation shows that the antenna achieves a coupling efficiency of -3.5 dB and a realized gain of 13.5 dB at 300 GHz, and exhibits very stable radiation performance over the whole operating bandwidth of 283 to 316 GHz.


With the rapid increase of portion of large capacity arc furnace load in power system,voltage flicker has become a serious problem. In order to develop solutions to the problem,accurate and fast measurement of voltage flicker is required. But voltage flicker measurement method recommended by IEC can only provide statistical assessing indices such as short time flicker severity and long time flicker severity,which can't explain features of voltage flicker. A novel flicker detection method based on Mathematical Morphology(MM) filter and Hilbert transform is proposed in this paper. Compared to traditional digital filters,MM Filter has higher calculation speed and easier hardware realization,which can filter out impulses,white noises and high frequency noises contained in flicker signal and at the same time keep the original characters of flicker disturbances. Then to the filtered flicker curves,a track method based on Hilbert transform is adopted to get voltage flicker's envelope,which is the base of attaining relevant parameters of voltage flicker. Simulation experiments validate the proposed method's superior performance.


Filtering of sounds through head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) remains the most reliable method of producing spatialized virtual audio on headphones. The main difficulty in using HRTFs is their high dependence on the listener, that is, on the shape of his or her ears, head, and torso. A system was designed to measure personalized head-related impulse responses (HRIRs) efficiently for over one thousand locations around a listener in a relatively short time (about 10 min). The measurement procedure was specially targeted at visually impaired persons, as the reported work is part of a larger project aimed at constructing an electronic travel aid (ETA) for the blind. Verification trials measuring the accuracy of users attempting to localize virtual sound sources were conducted. The average errors in azimuth localization ranged from 6° to 14°, while for elevation they ranged from 9° to 24°, depending on the source's spectrum, its motion, and the listener. Thanks to the participation of blind volunteers it was possible to test the influence of the disability on localization errors and assess the capabilities of the designed ETA.


generations (young gilts in age of 5 and 9 months) was observed. The alteration of some biochemical characteristics of blood serum in transgenic pigs comparing to control animals was detected. The differences in correlation relationships between some biochemical characteristics of transgenic and con-trol pigs were established. Keywords: transgenic pigs, growth hormone, biochemical characteristics, correlation.


Betaine-aldehyde dehydrogenase(BADH) gene was transferred into Populus×euramericana 'Neva' by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in order to enhance the salt tolerance.Twenty-five buds survived after antibiotic screening of 650 leaf discs,the following PCR analysis proved that the BADH gene had been integrated into plant genome in 10 of the 25 buds.The salt tolerance test suggested that the transgenic buds grew better in root inducing medium containing 50 and 100 mmol/L NaCl in compare with nontransformed buds.In addition,the transgenic plants showed better integrity of cell membrane than wildtype in the same condition of salt stress,which were demonstrated by relative conductivity determination.


Schalock, H. Del; And Others Notes on the Design and Development of Instructional Systems, Appendix I. Vol. II, A Plan for Managing the Development, Implementation and Operation of a Model Elementary Teacher Education Program. Oregon Coll. of Education, Monmouth. Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of esearch. BR-9-0506 Feb 70 OEC-0-9-47050E-4029(010) 15p. Supt. of Docs., Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 2040,7 (HF5.87; M72/V2, Appendixes A-P, $2.25)


The microstructure, texture and tensile properties of a deformed AA7085 alloy during solution treatment were investigated in the temperature range of 350 to 500°C with heating rates of 1 and 600°C/min. The results show that the alloy sheet solution treated with rapid heating rate exhibits a finer grain structure and narrower grain size distribution compared to the alloy sheet solution treated with slow heating rate, indicating that driving force is more important than sub-boundaries coalescence and mobility during rapid heating process. Heating rate affects the qualitative recrystallization textures, whereas it has no significant changes on the quantitative texture of the individual components. After two-stage ageing, the samples with low heating have slightly higher tensile properties than those with high heating rate. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2018337]


Conservation of ungulates is vital to protect the viable population of tiger, leopard and dhole as ungulates are the principal prey species of carnivores of conservation importance. The objective of this study is to determine the distribution and habitat utilization by ungulates in Royal Manas National Park in southern Bhutan. The study area was stratified into four habitat types and a total of 53 sample plots of 20 x 20 m were surveyed to enumerate pellet groups and habitat variables such as canopy cover, ground cover, elevation, slope and aspect. A total of 80 pellet groups were recorded in 53 plots with a mean pellet of 1.51 per plot with a detection probability of 0.8. Among ungulates, Sambar pellet showed highest relative abundance (23.8%) and mostly ungulates detection probability is high in elevation zone less than 1000masl. The study concludes that RMNP could be one of the hotspot areas for tiger conservation through forest habitat conservation and protecting ungulates habitat.


In this paper, we propose a method for pose and facial expression invariant face identification using the affine simulated local descriptors. Although the currently studied approaches present the higher recognition rate for face verification, the performance of face identification are still low. The proposed method consist of four step, we first normalize the face image using the face detector and eye detector. In second step, we apply the affine simulation for synthesizing various viewed face images. In third step, we make a descriptor on the overlapping block-based grid keypoints. In final step, a probe image is compared with the reference images in a gallery by calculating the number of nearest neighbor keypoints. To improve the recognition performance, we use also the keypoint distance ratio and false matched keypoint ratio. The proposed method using the affine simulated local descriptors showed the better performance than that of cosine similarity metric learning (CSML) method in terms of true acceptance rate, false rejection rate, false acceptance rate, and Rank-1 recognition rate.


Abstract The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University has a long tradition of promoting and maintaining high standards of care for their collection of more than 13 million objects. Recently, an analysis of the current environmental conditions in the three primary museum buildings— Peabody Museum of Natural History, Kline Geology Laboratory, and the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center—showed that the stability of environmental conditions and efficiency in air-handling systems are poorly constrained. An analysis of energy use in climate control showed that the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center, the most modern building of the complex, is the least energy-efficient of the three and one of the least energy-efficient museum buildings at Yale University. The Yale Peabody Museum, in collaboration with the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, evaluated the current climate control strategy with an eye toward achieving a more practical and responsible approach, which considers the historic character of the buildings, high cost of climate control, and sensitivity to energy sustainability. This is a key mission of the University, as outlined in the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025. The main element in the transformation to a new strategy of climate management is the assessment of climate-related risks to collections. Our assessment indicates that degradation of chemically unstable polymers is the process that dominates loss of value of those collections due to climate- related risks. It is estimated that chemical degradation processes have approximately two orders of magnitude larger impact on collection value than the degradation of pyrite and pyrite-containing materials and even more than pest damage. Other climate-related processes are relatively negligible in effect. These findings allow us to change the strategy of climate control, giving priority to maintaining low temperature in rooms housing collections made of organic materials and relaxing the range of allowable relative humidity parameters. The new strategy includes a shift from climate control to climate management, including: dual set-point (deadband) controllers to reduce energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions, nightly shutdowns of the air-handling system serving dry collections in a modern building, broader thermal criteria, and a reduction of the amount of fresh air introduced to the buildings. These will be implemented sequentially. Progress and outcomes will be the focus of a subsequent article.


One-directional weakly conditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (WCS-FDTD) method is extended to solve electromagnetic problems in linear dispersive media by virtue of piecewise linear recursive convolution (PLRC) technique. This proposed method provides similar accuracy to PLRC alternating direction implicit (ADI) FDTD approach, yet consumes less computational time and less memory. This proposed method is particularly suitable for solving problems in linear dispersive materials with fine features along two spatial directions.


ABSTRACT : This thesis discusses the design and development of chat applications on the mobile phone (cell phone). This application is able to send and receive text messages at a distance of ± 10 M by using the Bluetooth feature on the phone. Development using the programming language Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME).


The average starting current can be reduced when adopting the PWM chopping methods for starting.The MOSEF may be destroyed by the great transient impact current when the chopping frequency was not considerate.The BLDCM model and the calculations of its inductance and electro-magnet time are studied and analyzed.The appropriate PWM chopping freqiemcu,which can restrain the transient impact current efficiently,is obtained by simulating the BLDCM starting course.


According to the theory of modernization,a person's modernization is not only an important component of the whole modernization, hut an essential factor restricting the whole modernization,while the transformation of opinions is the decisive factor of a person's modernization. This article discusses the path of development in areas of Buyi Minority from the angle of the transformation of opinions.


Generalized Pustular Psoriasis (GPP) is one of the rare variants of Psoriasis vulgaris. It can be life-threatening, especially in pregnant women or in a setting of multiple co-morbidities. The pathophysiology of chronic plaque psoriasis is well known, however, that of GPP has been the subject of debate and research until recently with the identification of certain genetic mutations and inflammatory mediators. Traditionally, the same treatments for Chronic plaque psoriasis have been used to treat GPP, with variable success, which led to investigations into the pathobiology of GPP. The recent identification of the role of interleukin-36 and its receptor has led to an understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. This knowledge has allowed the development of novel biologic treatments that target interleukin-36 inflammatory pathways and could revolutionize how dermatologists manage GPP. In this review, we discuss the role of interleukin-36 in GPP and its treatment.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the clinical condition of inappropriate regulation of blood sugar by insulin, with resulting elevation of blood glucose and several other metabolic derangements. DM is comprised of two distinct entities: DM type 1 (DM-1), affecting the minority (5%–10%), is characterized by the destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic β cells, leading to an absence of insulin. DM type 2 (DM-2), also called adult-onset DM and affecting 90%–95% of patients with diabetes, is characterized by peripheral defects in the response to insulin. Much work has focused on the underlying pathophysiology of these two diseases, related by a common metabolic defect—an absolute or functional loss of insulin action—but differing widely in pathogenesis. [For a recent review, see Saltiel (25)]. Insulin, as an anabolic hormone, acts to promote the clearance of glucose, chiefly in muscle through the stimulation of translocation of GLUT4 from intracellular pools to the plasma membrane; in liver by the inhibition of glycogenolysis and the enhancement of glycogen synthesis; and in adipose tissue by the uptake of free fatty acids (30) and its storage as fat. In adipose tissue, insulin also inhibits the breakdown of triglycerides and the resultant release of fatty acids by inhibiting hormone-sensitive lipase. The prevalence of DM-2 has continued to increase in recent years, with the number of patients in selected areas of the United States increasing 3-fold over an eight-year period (3), and is matched by a striking rise in childhood DM-2 (13). This increase has paralleled an increase in obesity, highlighting the intimate connection of these conditions. This link has been described in both the developed and increasingly in the developing world, demonstrating the influence of lifestyle on pathogenesis. However, strong genetic links between obesity and diabetes have also been described, and these links have been supported at the basic science level as well. In particular, derangements in lipid metabolism are a hallmark of DM-2. Much of the morbidity associated with obesity may be directly or indirectly associated with diabetes, as poorly controlled diabetes and obesity lead to a constellation of symptoms that are together known as the metabolic syndrome, or syndrome X (7,11,12). The term "the deadly quartet", coined by Kaplan (11), refers to the abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension found in the metabolic syndrome. Clearly, there are many factors underlying the development and progression of these two related conditions, and developing methods to counter them has become a major goal of contemporary medicine. Recent work has shown that adipose tissue, while long known for its capacity to store fat, has an additional important role as the source for a number of hormones and paracrine mediators, including resistin, adipsin, leptin, and TNF-α. Many groups are studying the physiologic role of these molecules and their connection to DM-2. Here we discuss a recently identified hormone produced only by adipocytes, Acrp30 (also called adiponectin), that may be central to the development of DM-2 and the metabolic syndrome. Acrp30 (adipocyte complement-related protein of 30 kDa) is a serum protein produced exclusively by adipose tissue. First identified in 1995 (28) in a subtractive hybridization screen to identify genes induced during differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes to adipocytes, Acrp30 is up-regulated over 100-fold during adipocyte differentiation. Subsequently, other groups have identified the human homolog, called Apm1 (20). The predicted amino acid sequence (Figure 1) contains an amino-terminal signal sequence, followed by a nonconserved region of 28 amino acids, 22 collagen repeats, and a carboxyl-terminal domain with homology to the globular complement factor C1q. This segment is also homologous to Hib27, a member of a family of proteins found in the serum of animals capable of hibernation, but only when the animals are in the active state (15,28). Bacterially expressed full-length protein forms trimers, hexamers, and higher-order structures (31); similar species are also seen in serum, where the protein is found at high concentration, on the order of 5–10 μg/mL (1,28). The significance of these different species is further described below. The crystal structure of the globular head alone, expressed in bacteria, has similarity to TNF-α (29), forming a homotrimer with characteristic topology; the amino terminal and carboxyl termini are located in close proximity. Post-translational modifications include the addition of disialic acid residues (26) and hydroxylation and glycosylation at conserved lysine residues in the amino-terminal region of the molecule. Though the functional signifi-


This article describes the research and development efforts of five major tire companies. The present challenge is to develop new tires that will significantly help improve fuel economy on the 1978 cars. The auto companies have indicated that the profitable operation of the Detroit companies hinges on how large a car they can provide to the public, while still meeting the rapidly climbing mileage standards. It is noted that the greatest opportunity for improving a car's fuel economy is through tire design. Once a car achieves steady state operation on the highway, 15 to 25% of the fuel is consumed by the tires. The tire companies are now carefully and repeatedly examining each component of the tire--the carcass, the bead and the tread--to see how their weight can be reduced without reducing the tires performance. Although it is felt that the bead cannot be changed, the other components can be made lighter by improving manufacturing controls so that these components can be made very accurately in the millions, eliminating the need for "padding" the material. Power consumption by tires can also be reduced by going to larger sized tires because they deflect less under the same load, even though they are heavier. The five major tire companies are now preparing to produce small, high-pressure spare tires for intermediate and compact cars. These wheels will be an inch larger than the car's regular wheels, but the overall circumference will be almost four inches less. The ultimate spare tire is the "no spare". The most popular one now appears to be the tire with a fiberglass stabilizer inside the casing.


This article introduces an open architecture for arc welding robot controller with self-defined Harting-bus structure. Each sub-board composes the controller and is connected to a bus base-plate through unified electrical interface (Harting-Terminal). Each module is flexible and it can be customized to further promotion of the controller so that non R&D personnel can be able to cut or extend the controller function according to specific engineering requirements. In the swing welding control stage, a track interpolation algorithm that gives priority to analytical method is applied to arc welding robot controller. The algorithm can be applied to the swing welding of straight line, and also to the sinusoidal-swing welding that takes spatial smooth curve as the baseline. Preliminary experimental results show that the arc welding robot controller can realize the motion control of 6 degree-of-freedom with industrial welding operation, and particularly it can achieve good results for sinusoidal-swing welding along with spatial circular arc and quadratic curve.