Since no empirical research regarding cultural intelligence has yet been done in Croatia, the objective of this paper is to determine the basic metric characteristics of the Cultural Intelligence Scale – CQS by Van Dyne et al. (2008), as well as the applicability in research on a sample of N=144 subjects, namely, students attending schools of foreign languages from three different countries: Croatia, Ireland and Serbia. The reliability of the scale was verified using the Cronbach alpha coefficient, while the validity was assessed by factor analysis. The results of the study show the cultural intelligence of the subjects through four factor dimensions, like in the original instrument, but with different factor loadings. Thus, the Cultural Intelligence Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring cultural intelligence with the possibility of practical application on different subject samples.


The visit upon which this report is based was undertaken under the aegis of the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China, which is jointly sponsored by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Social Science Research Council, and the American Council of Learned Societies. The delegation was in China from May 21 through June 9, 1979. The formal host in the People's Republic was the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Atomic Energy also played an essential role in organizing the activities. Topics discussed are as follows: Organization of research and higher education activities in China; Overview of current trends in science and education policy; Overview of Chinese nuclear science activities; Visits to educational institutions; Visits to research institutes; Visits to industrial institutions; and General comments on industrial development and miscellaneous impressions.


The invention, and the chamber temperature is set to less than 39 ℃ throughout the process, to a in the container can be sterilized effectively without significant loss or attempt to disassemble the activity of the temperature-sensitive material, the hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization method comprising a temperature-sensitive material . Hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization method, fibrin adhesive, temperature-sensitive biological material, a brush as Bacillus stearate Russ


Abstract Purpose Decompressive craniectomy remains controversial because of uncertainty regarding its benefit to patients; this study aimed to explore current practice following the RESCUEicp Trial, an important study in the evolving literature on decompressive craniectomies. Materials and methods Neurosurgeons in New Zealand, Australia, USA and Nepal were sent a survey consisting of two case scenarios and several multi-choice questions exploring their utilisation of decompressive craniectomy following the RESCUEicp Trial. Results One in ten neurosurgeons (n = 6, 10.3%) were no longer performing decompressive craniectomies for TBI following the RESCUEicp Trial and two fifths (n = 23, 39.7%) were less enthusiastic. Most neurosurgeons would not operate in the face of severe disability (n = 46, 79.3%) or vegetative state/death (n = 57, 98.3%). Neurosurgeons tended give more optimistic prognoses than the CRASH prognostic model. Those who suggested more pessimistic prognoses and those who use decision support tools were less likely to advise decompressive surgery. Conclusions RESCUEicp has had a notable impact on neurosurgeons and their management of TBI. Although there remains no clear clinical consensus on the contraindications for decompressive craniectomy, most neurosurgeons would not operate if severe disability or vegetative state (the rates of which are increased by such surgery) seemed likely. Whilst unreliable, prognostic estimates still have an impact on clinical decision making and neurosurgical management. Wider use of decision support tools should be considered.


To extract parasitic capacitances in wiring structures of integrated circuits the authors developed the two- and three-dimensional finite element program SCAP (Smart Capacitance Analysis Program). The program computes the task of the electrostatic field from a solution of Poisson`s equation via finite elements and calculates the energies from which the capacitance matrix is extracted. The unknown potential vector, which has for three-dimensional applications 5000-50000 unknowns, is computed by a ICCG solver. Currently three- and six-node triangular, four- and ten-node tetrahedronal elements are supported.


This study compares final fuel production costs of multiple biomass-to-liquid production facilities. Process economics are estimated for four different high moisture feedstocks, four different biomass supply chain pathways and three different conversion and upgrading technologies. Two biorefinery capacities are examined, small (200 tonne per day) and large (2000 tonne per day). Corn stover, corn silage giant miscanthus and sweet sorghum are the feedstocks considered for conversion via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and anaerobic digestion (AD). Final product finishing is done by hydroprocessing of the HTL biocrude and either Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis or methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) conversion of the AD biogas. Water footprints are estimated for blue, green and grey water consumption during the entire biofuel production process for each scenario. In efforts to decrease the production costs, moisture and size reduction steps are omitted during the biomass supply chain stage. Multi-pass and single pass harvesting scenarios are considered along with wet and dry storage techniques. These steps lead to an estimated delivered feedstock cost ranging from $63.84-$86.19 per tonne; comparable with recent literature. Conversion and upgrading pathways were chosen based on ability to handle high moisture feedstock. Capital investments were estimated for each technology scenario and ranged from $424-$545 MM for the 2000 tpd biorefinery, within a degree of uncertainty; HTL resulted in the lowest estimated capital costs. Final fuel production costs ranged from $2.00-$6.55 per gallon for all feedstocks and all conversion pathways, with stover and sorghum resulting in the lowest. The total water footprints were estimated to range from 5.92-23.21 Lw/Lb and 5.58-14.89 Lw/Lb for the conservative and optimal blue water scenarios, respectively. The green and grey water footprints ranged from 232.30-2,568.27 Lw/Lb and 296-526 L, respectively. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Why is Energy a Concern? Climate change and sustainability have become large concerns of recent decades among governments, companies, international organizations and the general population. These concerns have stemmed from weather changes, including global temperature rise, ocean temperature rise and a tendency for more severe weather conditions [1]. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has defined climate change as: "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variably observed over comparable time periods" [2]. Anthropogenic or human impacted climate change has been attributed to how humans have used the earth's resources. According to Collins et al. [1], the atmosphere has held a relatively stable concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides for roughly 10,000 years; in recent decades those concentration levels have increased at alarming rates. The accelerated increase in atmospheric concentration levels have been primarily blamed on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel production and consumption. Fossil fuels: coal, petroleum and natural gas, were formed by intense heat and pressure from being compacted by layers of earth for millions of years. Fossil fuels are comprised entirely of hydrogen and carbon, have relative high energy densities compared to other energy sources and are used heavily for transportation, heating, electricity generation and in the manufacturing of commodity products. The vast consumption of fossil fuels have left the environment in a state of diminishing health, requiring action to mitigate or reverse the negative effects of these resources.


The present invention relates to a driving method and apparatus of the electroluminescence display panel, which can be driven during the aging operation. The driving method of the electro-luminescent display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of light emission of organic light emitting cells formed for each intersection of the plurality of scan lines and a plurality of data lines and the scan period; Characterized in that it comprises the step of aging - the aging period immediately after the self-scanning period of the organic light emitting cell has a voltage difference between adjacent data lines while floating the plurality of scan lines.


In automotive, aerospace, building and many other industrial applications the increasing usage of lightweight material components pushes research towards new experimental and numerical methods to accurately determine and predict the Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) performance of innovative lightweight solutions. The inherent high stiffness to mass ratio of lightweight structures provides huge benefits in material and energy savings, but often has a detrimental effect on the structure's NVH performance. The present work discusses a procedure to identify the vibroacoustic properties of structural components based on a new measurement setup, specifically developed for the experimental investigation of the noise reduction characteristics of lightweight structures. The test stand consists of a concrete cavity of 0.83 m 3 , particularly shaped to ensure a desired distribution of the acoustic natural frequencies in the low frequency region. At its front wall an opening can be made to host test specimens of different sizes and variable thickness. The setup allows the evaluation of the acoustic Insertion Loss (IL) in a wide frequency range, typically extended from 50 Hz to 20 kHz. The experimental procedure necessitates two measurements of the sound power to determine the IL, i.e. once in the open cavity configuration and once when the panel is set to enclose it. In the latter case the coincidence frequency can also be identified with good accuracy. Furthermore, the simplicity of the geometry allows accurate numerical modelling. A Wave Based (WB) model can easily be prepared to this end to overcome the limitations of standard numerical techniques (FEM/BEM) at higher frequencies. The test stand shows to be a reliable and powerful tool to develop and test new materials and lightweight components. The design of the setup is explored and some first experimental and numerical applications on homogeneous metallic plates are presented.


A block of evaporite rock containing the mineral assemblage halite (88%) - polyhalite (8%) - sylvite (4%) was machined into a cylinder one meter in diameter and one meter high, and was fitted with an axial heater, thermocouples and an off-gas collection system. After about 100 days of heating, identification of mineral efflorescences at the heater hole (carnallite and bischofite) showed that a significant portion of the 111 grams of water recovered (out of around 8500 grams available in the rock) migrated as a liquid, not as a vapor. A microscopic examination of rock slices from within 15 cm of the heater hole (where the temperature was 100 to 200/sup 0/C, and the gradient was 3 to 15/sup 0/C/cm) revealed that: (1) fluid inclusions had migrated, but rarely across grain boundaries; (2) fluid inclusions had not been mobilized at distances greater than about 15 cm from the heater hole; and (3) intergranular liquid had been conspicuously mobilized within 15 cm of the heater hole.


Splenic pseudocyst as result of pancreatic ductal leak is not uncommon. Endoscopic drainage of splenic pseudocyst is generally not preferred because of risk of bleeding and dif fi cult location to access endoscopically. Percutaneous drainage (PCD) and surgery are associated with high mor-bidity and can result into fi stula formation. In this case report, we have demonstrated endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage of splenic pseudocystcommunicating with pancreatic duct (PD)


It is important for philosophy to face up the reality and embody the prospect of the reality.The Frankfurt school that inherited and developed the spirit of critic in philosophy of Marxism formed a kind of penetrating social critical theory by its uncompromising thinking attitude and academic courage.It not only embodies the grasp of epoch conditions but also embodies the profound percipience of the kernel of philosophy of Marxism.All these reflect a kind of distinctive comprehension and embody a kind of new latitude to transform philosophy of Marxism.


History subject, as one of the topics with the capacity to mold the nation's character, should stress mentality or emotional intelligence as well as knowledge or academic intelligence. This study employs the Library Research approach, which entails gathering information and data from existing book sources such as Malay history and culture books, past journals, and historical knowledge books. This is part of the Malay culture's character, and character building in the Malay community may be used in any learning topic, particularly history subject. The goal of this study is to demonstrate how Riau Malay culture is being included into history classes. The problem in the area is that the Malay character is not accommodated in school learning; it is doubtful that this generation in Riau Province would conduct in accordance with the Malay personality. Otherwise, Malay culture is implemented or used in every subject, particularly history instruction. However, implementation Malay culture of Riau into history education may be an input and source of information where instructors can apply character development to pupils while also developing historical education understanding.


The objective of this study was to explore satellite-based vegetation phenology to characterize ecosystem variability in the northern China steppes. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite data set from 1982 to 1990 was used to detect the onset of vegetation green-up for the steppe ecosystems. Our findings show a strong linkage between onset of green-up and climatic factors in the region. An Ecosystem Variability Index (EVI) was derived using the coefficient of variation for date of onset of green-up. The EVI showed the meadow steppe/forest ecosystems to be least ecologically variable and the desert steppe to be most variable. Large areas of typical steppe, near the desert steppe ecotone, exhibited similar EVI values to those of the desert steppe, suggesting greater ecosystem variability in this typical steppe area. This suggests that large expanses of typical steppe in this region are undergoing ecosystem changes that could result in lower grassland productivity and eventual changes in land use practices.


Two neonates with diaphragmatic paralysis following thoracotomy are reported. The first was treated by prolonged endotracheal intubation with recovery of function of the paralysed diaphragm, although the baby eventually died. The second case was not much distressed by the paralysed diaphragm and therefore did not require specific treatment. The purpose of this paper is to indicate that non‐operative management of post‐thoracotomy diaphragmatic paralysis in neonates is feasible and that operative treatment, as recommended by some authors, is not always necessary.


This paper shows an analysis of the order for the approximation and roundoff errors in combined numerical scheme with recorrector strategy of Adams–Moulton– Bashfort family. These methods are used for the numerical solution of the estimation problem in models defined by dynamical ODE. Our interest is avail oneself of "family or kind" of methods which will be efficient or at least competitive for the numerical solutions of this type of problems. This strategy is consistent with the present tendency in the use of models with minimal square objective function for the adjustment via optimization algorithms with and without constrained and explicit, semi-explicit or implicit numerical methods. Keywords: Recorrector strategy numerical methods, multi-step, stiffness, roundoff errors.


A conformally coupled Abelian gauged Q ball is studied in curved space. The mass of the Q ball is calculated in terms of the conserved Q charge and the parameters in the lagrangian and a brief discussion is given on the effects produced by the conformal couplings.


We present 2 yr (October 2008 to September 2010) of in situ measurements of molecular hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) sampled at the tall tower of Trainou, France (47.96°N, 02.11°E, 131 masl, sampling height: 50, 100 and 180 m). Radon-222 (222Rn) measurements were added in May 2009. Background seasonal cycles, based on afternoon values, exhibit an amplitude of 45 and 60 ppb for H2 and CO, respectively, for the three different heights (50, 100 and 180 m above ground). The vertical gradient also shows seasonal variations with a maximum (during the night) of 20 and 45 ppb for H2 and CO, respectively.We also observe diurnal cycles for H2 and CO for the three different heights. In the afternoon, the mixing ratios at the three different heights are similar and are comparable with maritime background stations, such as Mace Head (Ireland). The diurnal cycle of 222Rn follows the boundary layer height variations, with maximum values in the morning. Throughout the year but especially in summer and autumn, the H2 mixing ratio shows nighttime depletion, with the lowest values at 06:00 UTC, due to soil uptake and the low boundary layer height. Using a simple box approach and the Radon-Tracer-Method, the H2 deposition velocity is calculated for the catchment area of Trainou.We find a mean value for the H2 deposition velocity of 2.6 ± 0.9 10-2 cm-2 s-1. During wintertime, H2 and CO are sometimes strongly correlated leading to a H2/CO ratio around 0.25. This ratio is lower than the ratio from traffic emissions, thus highlighting the mixing of sources in this area.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of group B streptococcus (GBS) isolated from antenatal genital screening cultures.

STUDY DESIGN
One hundred thirty-five sequential GBS isolates underwent susceptibility testing by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion to a variety of commonly used antibiotics.

RESULTS
All isolates were susceptible to cefazolin, chloramphenicol and vancomycin. Resistance to clindamycin and erythromycin, the currently recommended alternative antibiotics for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis in penicillin-allergic women, was found in 8.2% and 9.6% of GBS isolates tested, respectively.

CONCLUSION
These findings raise concerns regarding the need for both confirmation of a history of penicillin allergy in pregnant women and performance of antibiotic susceptibility testing on GBS isolated in genital screening cultures from penicillin-allergic patients.


A side wall base contact structure used to fabricate 84ps ECL and 320ps I2L circuits with gate areas of 3500μm2and 112μm2will be covered.


Climbing Like an Ape Recently, studies of several early human leg and foot fossils have implied that in some early species—even after humans became bipedal—climbing may have still been important. Shoulder bones, which would provide i mportant complementary information, are scarce, however. One of the few examples is from Australopithecus afarensis skeleton (DIK-1-1), which includes both scapula. Green and Alemseged (p. 514; see the Perspective of Larson) provide an analysis of the fossil's shoulders and show that, unlike modern humans, they retain several traits that are common in climbing apes, which may indicate that A. afarensis was an active climber. The shoulder of Australopithecus afarensis implies that, although bipedal, this early human was an active climber. Scapular morphology is predictive of locomotor adaptations among primates, but this skeletal element is scarce in the hominin fossil record. Notably, both scapulae of the juvenile Australopithecus afarensis skeleton from Dikika, Ethiopia, have been recovered. These scapulae display several traits characteristic of suspensory apes, as do the few known fragmentary adult australopith representatives. Many of these traits change significantly throughout modern human ontogeny, but remain stable in apes. Thus, the similarity of juvenile and adult fossil morphologies implies that A. afarensis development was apelike. Additionally, changes in other scapular traits throughout African ape development are associated with shifts in locomotor behavior. This affirms the functional relevance of those characteristics, and their presence in australopith fossils supports the hypothesis that their locomotor repertoire included a substantial amount of climbing.


An internal combustion engine with a counterrunning piston structure adopts a reciprocating piston structure and belongs to the technical fields of engine manufacture and energy saving and emission reduction. Two pistons are symmetrically arranged in each cylinder, and a double-crankshaft power take-off structure and a single-crankshaft power take-off structure can be adopted. An intake valve, an intake valve seat, an exhaust valve, an exhaust valve seat, an ignition plug of a petrol engine and the like are arranged in the middle of the side wall of each cylinder. During operation, the two pistons symmetrically move in opposite directions to drive a crankshaft to rotate in one direction. The structure of the internal combustion engine provided by the invention is similar to that of a common reciprocating piston internal combustion engine, and the conventional production line and technology can be used for processing. The invention is suitable for various reciprocating piston internal combustion engines including petrol engines, diesel engines and the like. As the efficiency is greatly improved, the internal combustion engine can play an important role for automotive industry development and energy saving and emission reduction.


This paper outlines a methodology for implementing pipelined IIR digital filters that considers both how much pipelining to use and what fixed-point precisions are required. The methodology is applied to an example second-order IIR filter implemented on a field programmable gate array; the results show that the methodology allows exploration of the trade-offs between hardware size and throughput while ensuring that the implemented filters deliver a consistent quality of output.


This study aimed to develop and implement an invention education program rooted in design
thinking principles that integrates various subjects and encourages problem-solving, creative thinking,
collaboration, and empathy. The study sought to assess the impact of this program on elementary
school students' development of a creative convergence mindset. The findings of the study are as
follows.
First, a curriculum comprising 13 lessons for integrated invention education programs was
developed. This program is built upon the principles of design thinking, with an emphasis on
identifying issues within the school and its surroundings, pinpointing user discomforts, and crafting
prototypes with creative ideas.
Second, after implementing the program, statistically significant effects were observed across all
areas of empathy, creativity, affirmation, cooperation, and convergence, which collectively make up
the creative convergence mindset.
This confirmed that the design thinking-based curriculum-integrated invention education program
positively enhanced elementary school students' creative convergence mindset. Consequently, there is
a need to leverage a variety of design thinking-based curriculum-integrated invention education
programs to foster a creative convergence mindset among students who will be part of the future
society.
In addition, expanding invention education within elementary schools through subject integration
in curriculum redesign will open up opportunities for research and development in teaching and
learning methods that can encompass various disciplines and values within the realm of invention
education.


A new generation of optical networking services and technologies is rapidly changing the world of communications. National and international networks are implementing optical services to supplement traditional packet routed services. On September 12-14, 2005, the Optical Network Testbeds Workshop 2 (ONT2), an invitation-only forum hosted by the NASA Research and Engineering Network (NREN) and co-sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), was held at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. The aim of ONT2 was to help the Federal Large Scale Networking Coordination Group (LSN) and its Joint Engineering Team (JET) to coordinate testbed and network roadmaps describing agency and partner organization views and activities for moving toward next generation communication services based on leading edge optical networks in the 3-5 year time frame. ONT2 was conceived and organized as a sequel to the first Optical Network Testbeds Workshop (ONT1, August 2004, www.nren.nasa.gov/workshop7). ONT1 resulted in a series of recommendations to LSN. ONT2 was designed to move beyond recommendations to agree on a series of "actionable objectives" that would proactively help federal and partner optical network testbeds and advanced research and education (R&E) networks to begin incorporating technologies and services representing the next generation of advanced optical networks more » in the next 1-3 years. Participants in ONT2 included representatives from innovative prototype networks (Panel A), basic optical network research testbeds (Panel B), and production R&D networks (Panels C and D), including "JETnets," selected regional optical networks (RONs), international R&D networks, commercial network technology and service providers (Panel F), and senior engineering and R&D managers from LSN agencies and partner organizations. The overall goal of ONT2 was to identify and coordinate short and medium term activities and milestones for researching, developing, identifying, evaluating, and implementing the services, technologies, and interoperability mechanisms required. The roadmaps were formulated and presented not so much to reconcile the roadmaps with each other but rather to provide a means to compare the major ongoing and planned optical networking activities in the R&E community, organized by categories of activities and communities of interest. In addition, a 5-15 year network research perspective was provided by Panel E, which presented a report on two recent National Science Foundation workshops that examined long term research goals and directions, and industry perspectives on forthcoming optical networking technologies and services were presented in Panel F by representatives from optical technologies and network services industries. The report, "Mapping a Future for Optical Networking and Communications" is available on the NSF website (www.nsf.gov), and the industry perspectives will be available on the ONT2 website. « less


Interest in more sustainable construction has grown in recent years. Evidence indicates that larger societal trends and the economic climate have an impact on the transfer of new technologies in the construction sector from university to industry. The transition to sustainability and concerns regarding climate change represent pressing issues to innovate in the sector. In order to decrease CO2 emissions from cement production, strategies have been developed to reduce the environmental burdens, such as the use of smart materials. The goal is to use more durable materials. Significant research has been performed into the development of self-healing technologies for concrete as a smart material. The advantages of self-healing concrete are many and can be significant to all stakeholders, including researchers, companies and end users. In spite of the progress made by past research, the commercialisation of self-healing concrete is still in its infancy. To fulfil this need, our study examines the commercialisation of self-healing concrete as a process complicated by divergent barriers. By carrying out semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, this study generates its contribution: the development of the self-healing concrete value chain identifying the commercialisation barriers as well as the analysis of these barriers that the innovation encounters along its value chain.


The color of the gingiva has an important role in determining the esthetics of an individual. There are many etiological factors responsible for gingival pigmentation. Depigmentation of the gingiva can be done by various procedures which include scalpel surgery, cryosurgery, bur abrasion, laser surgery and electrosurgery. Among these procedures, laser depigmentation is the most comfortable method.


Subtitle: There servicing of airliner escape slides is just one area of concern in a study of incidents arising directly out of poor maintenance.


Various energy conservation practices and DSM programs are in effect in the Japanese electric utility industry at this time. These include tariff driven conservation, electric hot water storage and thermal storage air-conditioning. It is expected that these activities have the potential of significantly altering the load shape of these electric utilities, and thus improve their load factors. However, since many of these programs are very new, there are no long-term historical data to carry out statistical predictions. A methodology is presented which can be used to estimate the impact of energy conservation and demand side management (DSM) activities on the system load shape. The load shape impact can then be analyzed for capactiy savings. This methodology is based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which relies on expert opinions and mathematical analyses. The AHP technique is discussed in this paper. Then a conceptual framework is provided showing how the available data at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), for example, can be used to estimate the long term load shape impact. The load shape impact can then be studied to determine their influence on future capacity needs.


The synthesis, isolation and structural characterization of the sulfite polyoxomolybdate clusters a-(D3h)- A20H44N)4{a-A18O54A3)2)}·A3CN and b-(D3d)A20H44N)4Ab-(Mo18O54- A3)2)}·A3CN is presented. Voltam- metric studies in acetonitrile (0.1 m Hx4NClO4 ,H x 4N = tetra-n-hexylammo- nium) reveal the presence of an exten- sive series of six one-electron reduction processes for both isomers. Under con- ditions of bulk electrolysis, the initial (Mo18O54A3)2) 4� /5� and (Mo18O54- A3)2) 5� /6� processes produce stable (Mo18O54A3)2) 5� and (Mo18O54- A3)2) 6� species, respectively, and the same reduced species may be produced by photochemical reduction. Spectroe- lectrochemical data imply that reten- tion of structural form results upon re- duction, so that both a and b isomers are available at each of the 4-, 5-, and 6-redox levels. However, the a isomer is the thermodynamically favored spe- cies in both the one-and two- electron- reduced states, with b!a isomerization being detected in both cases on long time scales (days). EPR spectra also imply that increasing localization of the unpaired electron occurs over the a- and b-(Mo18O54A3)2) 5� frameworks as the temperature approaches 2 K where the EPR spectra show orthorhombic symmetry with different g and hyper- fine values for the a and b isomers. Theoretical studies support the obser- vation that it is easier to reduce the a cluster than the b form and also pro- vide insight into the driving force for b!a isomerization in the reduced state. Data are compared with that ob- tained for the well studied a-(Mo18O54- A4)2)) 4� sulfate cluster.


Simple Summary Benign and intermediate bone tumours are often treated by intralesional curettage together with local adjuvants in order to the reduce risk of local relapse. However, the role of different adjuvants used is still discussed controversially. In the present systematic literature review, altogether 3316 cases of benign/intermediate bone tumours were summarised with regards to the use of local adjuvants, as well as their respective impact on local recurrence. Overall, 32 different combinations of local adjuvants were identified. Although some tumour entities may benefit from the addition of a local adjuvant, the main treatment step remains thorough curettage of the lesion. Abstract Local adjuvants are used upon intralesional resection of benign/intermediate bone tumours, aiming at reducing the local recurrence (LR) rate. However, it is under debate whether, when and which local adjuvants should be used. This PRISMA-guideline based systematic review aimed to analyse studies reporting on the role of adjuvants in benign/intermediate bone tumours. All original articles published between January 1995 and April 2020 were potentially eligible. Of 344 studies identified, 58 met the final inclusion criteria and were further analysed. Articles were screened for adjuvant and tumour type, follow-up period, surgical treatment, and development of LR. Differences in LR rates were analysed using chi-squared tests. Altogether, 3316 cases (10 different tumour entities) were analysed. Overall, 32 different therapeutic approaches were identified. The most common were curettage combined with high-speed burr (n = 774; 23.3%) and high-speed burr only (n = 620; 18.7%). The LR rate for studies with a minimum follow-up of 24 months (n = 30; 51.7%) was 12.5% (185/1483), with the highest rate found in GCT (16.7%; 144/861). In comparison to a combination of curettage, any adjuvant and PMMA, the sole application of curettage and high-speed burr (p = 0.015) reduced the LR rate in GCT. The overall complication rate was 9.6% (263/2732), which was most commonly attributable to postoperative fracture (n = 68) and osteoarthritis of an adjacent joint during follow-up (n = 62). A variety of adjuvants treatment options are reported in the literature. However, the most important step remains to be thorough curettage, ideally combined with high-speed burring.


This paper is a follow up of [1], it particularly presents further evaluation for the partial state model reference adaptive control approach proposed in [2]. This evaluation involves suitable benchmark examples that have been proposed in [3] to illustrate the essence of today's adaptive control design techniques. A particular emphasis is put on the ability of the considered adaptive controller to accomodate state disturbances, sensor noise and unmodelled dynamics.


Combinations of oscillations with incommensurate periods are utilized to generate discrete planar structures with non-crystallographic symmetries. Some previously known tilings and results are reconsidered in this context. A new kind of decagonal tiling, its relations with the Penrose tilings, and some experimental reports are discussed.


Article title: Consumers' willingness to pay for safer vegetables in Tamale, Ghana Authors: Mensah Tawiah Cobbinah, Samuel Arkoh Donkoh & Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah Journal: African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2018.1519062 When this article was first published, the Acknowledgement and Funding sections were incomplete. Specifically, the following information has been added to make each section more comprehensive: Acknowledgement We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Loewenstein and Ms. Christina Seeger (Ruhr University Bochum), Sub-Project 7 of the UrbanFood Project, for giving us the opportunity to be part of their survey on the elicitation of consumers'willingness to pay for safe food in Tamale. We are grateful for the provision of ideas, concepts, methods, empirical instruments and raw data. We are also grateful to Dr. Hannah Karg (University of Kassel), Sub-Project 8, for providing us with the sampling scheme that we used for data collection.


A simple, specific, accurate and precise reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatographi c method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Levofloxacin hemihydrates and Cefixime trihydrate from tablet dosage forms using C18 column ( Grace Smart (250mm x 4.6mm, 5 µm). The sample was analyzed using 0.08 M Potassium dihydrogen phos phate : Aceton itrile in the ratio of 60:40 (% v/v) pH adjusted to 6.5 with triethylamine, as a mob ile phase at a flow rate of 1.0ml/min and detection at 254 nm. The retention time for Cefixime trihydrate and Levofloxacin hemihydrates was found to be 2.19 min a nd 3.6 0 min respectively. The method can be used for estimation of combination of t hese drugs in tablets. The method was v alidated as per ICH guidelines. The linearity of developed method was achieved in the range of 20 - 120 μg/mL (r 2 =0.9995) for Cefixime tri hydrate and 20 - 120 μg/mL (r 2 =0.9995) for Levofloxacin hemihydrates and assay of tablets were between 98.0 - 102.0%. Due to these attributes, the proposed method could be used for routine quality control analysis of these drugs in combined dosage forms. Keywor ds: RP - HPLC Method, LEVO and CEF, Levofloxacin hemihydrates and Cefixime trihydrate .


There is an increasing appreciation of the ability of natural killer (NK) cells to inhibit adaptive immunity. We previously found that NK cells inhibit antiviral T-cell responses and antibody production during acute virus infection in mice. NK cells also inhibit follicular helper (Tfh) T-cell and germinal center (GC) B-cell responses following immunization with alum-adjuvanted NP-KLH. Of note, NK-cells are linked to a reduced frequency of immunoglobulin heavy chain mutations and impaired affinity maturation of NP-specific GC B cells, indicating that NK cells are important modulators of both the magnitude and the quality of the humoral responses. As a successful HIV vaccine putatively requires more extensive and efficient affinity maturation of HIV-specific immunoglobulin sequences than has been achieved in vaccine efforts to date, we hypothesize that NK-cell suppression of Tfh and GC responses represents a promising target to enhance HIV-specific vaccine responses. To test this hypothesis, we administered a HIV envelope (Env)-expressing vaccinia virus (VACV-Env) to mice depleted or not of NK cells. The absence of NK cells was associated with increased frequencies of HIV-specific GC B cells and elevated production of Env-specific immunoglobulins. The enhancing effect of NK-cell depletion at both priming (VACV-Env) and boosting (Env protein) immunizations was robust. These results are consistent with recent demonstration of an association between NK-cell dysfunction and development of bnAbs in HIV-infected individuals. Thus, NK cells are important regulators of affinity maturation and of HIV-specific antibody responses, suggesting that interventions targeting this NK cell activity could enhance HIV vaccine efficacy.


12 Angiosperms (flowering plants) are strikingly diverse. This is clearly expressed 13 in the morphology of their pollen grains, which are characterised by enormous 14 variety in their shape and patterning. In this paper, I approach angiosperm 15 pollen morphology from the perspective of enumerative combinatorics. This 16 involves generating angiosperm pollen morphotypes by algorithmically 17 combining character states and enumerating the results of these combinations. I 18 use this approach to generate 3,643,200 pollen morphotypes, which I visualise 19 using a parallel coordinates plot. This represents a raw morphospace. In order to 20 compare real-world and theoretical morphologies, I map the pollen of 1008 21 species of Neotropical angiosperms growing on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), 22 Panama, onto this raw morphospace. This highlights that in addition to their 23 well-documented taxonomic diversity, Neotropical rainforests also represent an 24 enormous reservoir of morphological diversity. Angiosperm pollen morphospace 25 Page 1 of 37 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/prsb Submitted to Proceedings of the Royal Society B: For Review Only


The roots of the neoliberal program are found in the late 19th century. The growth of large corporations, trade unions, and government programs surrounding social insurance ran counter to classical liberal ideology that centered on private property, market competition and laissez faire. In the 1930s, specifically in response to Keynes' call for more government intervention, liberals, led by Lionel Robbins and Friedrich von Hayek, began to organize a modified liberal program that attempted to meet the "socialist" (so-called) challenge to liberal ideals while maintaining the core of classical liberalism. Contrary to most understanding, this neoliberal program was not of a singular nature.


Let G be a Lie group with a left Haar measure dg and L the action of G as left translations on Lp(G; dg). Further let H = dL(C) denote an m-th order subelliptic operator associated with L. We establish that for a large family of holomorphic functions f one can use the Cauchy representation to define functions f(H) of the operator H and that these functions are bounded operators if p E (1,00). Similar conclusions hold on the spaces formed with respect to right Haar measure, or in any unitary representation. As an application we show that the Cn-subspaces of the left regular representations, or the unitary representations, have natural interpolation properties relative to the complex method.


This paper analyzes how to introduce machine learning algorithms into the process of direct volume rendering. A conceptual framework for the optical property function elicitation process is proposed and particularized for the use of attribute-value classifiers. The process is evaluated in terms of accuracy and speed using different off-the-shelf classifiers (Decision Trees, Näıve Bayes, and Simple Logistic). The empirical results confirm the classification of high-resolution timevarying computerised tomography volume data as a challenging problem where an opportunity for further research emerges.


Objective
To investigate the morphological changes and proliferation of cholangiocarcinoma antigen sensitized DC-CIKs and to detect its antitumor activity.

Methods
DC and CIK were generated by culturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy blood donors. Adherent cells were collected to generate DC, and non-adherent cells were collected to generate CIK. After being matured with rhGM-CSF, rhIL-4 and rhTNF-α, DC were sensitized with RBE tumor antigen lysates. CIK was matured with rhIL-2, IL-1β. DC and CIK were co-cultured at the ratio of 1:10, 120, 140. The DC mature phenotype were analyzed by flow cytometry. The anti-tumor effect of the co-culture sensitized DC and CIK was evaluated by luciferase. The secretion of IL-12, IFN-γ were assayed by ELISA.

Results
The growth and proliferation of antigen-sensitized DC was more potent than non- antigen-sensitized DC and pre-induced DC cells. The antitumor activity of the antigen-sensitized DC-CIK group was not significantly higher than that of the non-sensitized DC-CIK group at the effective target ratio of 101. At the effective target ratio of 201 and 401, the antitumor activity of antigen-sensitized DC-CIK group was significantly higher than that of non-sensitized DC-CIK group (P<0.05). The expression of cytokines (IL-12, IFN-γ) in antigen-sensitized DC-CIK group was significantly higher than that in non-sensitized DC-CIK group (P<0.05) and CIK group (P<0.05).

Conclusions
Allogeneic cholangiocarcinoma antigen can effectively sensitize DC cell of healthy human and promote proliferation ability, maturation and phenotype. The antigen-sensitized DC-CIK had the stronger cytotoxic activity against RBE than that of non-sensitized DC-CIK and CIK.

Key words:
Bile duct neoplasms; Dendritic cells; Cytokine-induced killer cells; Tumor suppressor


This thesis holds that the holding restructuring of state-owned commercial banks is the key of the reform of commercial banks and is the root to enhance their competence.In order to attract foreign strategic investors,the commercial banks must carry on standardized holding restructuring and information of data should be transparent. The thesis also conducts a profound analysis on how the commercial banks to structure financial holding groups and to go public.On the basis of this analysis,the thesis proposes that going public is not the end of holding restructuring and going to public itself should not be the only purpose by the state-owned commercial banks.


-Fe(ClO,)3 solutions of different concentration and acidity were studied to search for the factors governing their appearance and stability during aging and to elucidate the mechanisms for the formation of amorphous and crystalline iron(III) hydroxides from slow hydrolysis. It was found that dilute solutions (0.001M or lower) rapidly hydrolyzed to clear sols after a brief induction period. With an increase in iron(III) concentration, one could notice gradual increases in the induction period, turbidity and particle size. Thus, solutions 0.006M to 0.01M in iron(III) developed into dense, cloudy, yellow suspensions impervious to light. The polymeric iron(III) species in the aged 0-02M solution were primarily large particles that settled under gravity, resulting in a suspension of low turbidity. It was also observed that in dilute solutions, the initial polymerization product was amorphous iron(III) hydroxide which yielded X-ray diffraction peaks for FeOOH only after prolonged aging or not at all. In 0.01 and 0.02M solutions, however, crystalline FeOOH was the major product from the very beginning of polymerization. The results suggest that the initial degree of supersaturation with respect to amorphous iron(III) hydroxide is the key factor governing particle size distribution, which in turn governs the appearance, stability and crystallinity of the hydrolyzed product during aging. The addition of HCIO, to dilute Fe(CIO,)3 solutions decreased, whereas the addition of NaOH to concentrated solutions increased, the degree of supersaturation and, thus, induced changes in induction period, appearance, stability and crystallinity of the hydrolyzed product accordingly.


The hanger often needs to be replaced many times during the operation period of hanger arch bridges. To ensure the safety of the hanger replacement in the construction process of pocket hanging, the structural response in the whole construction process needs to be precisely controlled. In this paper, aiming at half-through arches with a suspended deck by cable hangers, the precise displacement controlling method for hanger replacement of an arch bridge based on the pocket hanging method has been proposed. Firstly, the equivalent model of an arch bridge in the hanger replacement process is established, and the boundary conditions of the equivalent model are calculated precisely. Secondly, in the hanger replacement process, including old hanger demolition and new hanger installation, the precise displacement expressions of the suspended deck are derived on the basis of the equivalent model. Finally, the correctness and feasibility of the proposed precise displacement controlling method are verified by the hanger replacement engineering of an arch bridge. Through this research on the hanger replacement of an arch bridge, the equivalent model adopted in this paper has been proven accurate, and only partial boundary conditions need to be considered in practical engineering applications to get accurate results. Meanwhile, the calculation results are accurate enough through the practical engineering verification, and the precise displacement controlling method is feasible in the hanger replacement process of an arch bridge based on the pocket hanging method. It is also found that satisfactory results can be achieved using hanger demolition and installation by equal step length.


As the end of the semester nears and I confront writing a final examination that meets my standards, my anxiety level rises. In preparation, I review my course goals, my class notes, and student performance on previous examinations. It has become my practice and a matter of principle for me to write a final examination that covers material from the whole course, integrates topics, requires students to use higher order thinking skills, has quantitative and expository elements, incorporates data from relevant recent or classic articles, and represents a learning experience for the students. In the spirit of problem-based learning, I include a group part to the final examination in one of my courses. Needless to say, writing an examination that strives for these multiple elements takes time and never fully achieves its goals. As a student and as a young faculty member, I saw examinations primarily as a way to rank and grade students. However, after attending several teaching workshops on testing, my views of examinations were transformed into something with broader educational goals. Furthermore, I was introduced to nuances of assessment that caused me to analyze more closely the structure and mix of the questions I asked. The value system I developed caused me to frown on certain practices that seem to be fairly common. I would like to examine briefly several of these practices. Why do instructors say the following? What are the implications?


Antennas are customarily more directive, receiving and transmitting signal in one direction to another and alignment of the antenna is a very decisive operation to maintain the power of the wireless link. This paper describes an alternative method of prevailing the alignment process of the antenna. The system is capable to manipulate the antenna position for achieving the maximum receive signal level (RSL). The main perspective for this paper is the application of PID algorithm for automatic antenna alignment and this alignment is executed through a specific commute positioner and an exactly established algorithm provide the parameters to achieve the three-dimensional space. detection, processing, and choice of action. The system can enhance the signal's reliability and ensures the maximum power received at the end, correspondingly it generates the auto message to the service provider after accomplishing the process. The projected technique exposes its sensitivity to variations in the antenna directing precision and receiver calibration.


This essay is made with the purpose of evaluating the results of the strategic plan prepared in the company FRESKPAN LTDA presented in 2011, this evaluation will be carried out through the following tools which have helped to create the following action plan and to reformulate indicators of follow-up through an evaluation process, which has determined the following strategic plan in favor of an improvement of the company FRESKPAN.
The evaluation will allow a follow-up to the proposal put forward in 2011 and will determine if in the time of execution of this, I help the company to fulfill its objectives and goals set
Deepening the issue of strategic planning, it is said that it is the way to analyze, determine and organize by means of several indicators the current state of a company both internally and externally, thus allowing the decision making in order to improve with the creation of strategies that will allow a company to position itself in the market.


The authors regret the following errors in the original manuscript. (1) The original manuscript contained errors in Fig. 5b and 6a. Corrected versions of Fig. 5 and 6 are shown below. (2) The corresponding text in the ''Abstract'' section has been corrected as follows. Under the test conditions of 25 1C and 2.75–4.30 V, the first discharge specific capacity of a button cell at 0.1C (1C = 210 mA g ) reaches 209.7 mA h g , the coulomb efficiency is 91.19%, and the capacity retention is 99.56% after 100 cycles at a rate of 0.2C. (3) The corresponding text in the ''Results and discussion'' section has been corrected as follows. Next, CR2032 button cells were used for cycle testing, and the specific discharge capacity of the SC-NCM cathode decays to 199.81 mA h g 1 after 100 cycles at 0.2C rate, and the capacity retention is 99.56%, which is better than that of the N-NCM cathode (187.78 mA h g 1 and 89.86%, respectively) (Fig. 5b). These mistakes do not change the general scientific conclusion of the paper. Cite this: New J. Chem., 2021,


ABSTRACT Al2O3/MgAl2O4 directionally solidified eutectic ceramic (DSEC) rods with Φ 10 mm were prepared with induction heating zone melting (IHZM) method. The phase components of the DSEC were composed of MgAl2O4 phase growing along the preferred orientation 〈311〉 and Al2O3 phases growing along the preferred orientation 〈110〉. In the DSEC, the Al2O3 phase is the matrix phase mixed with part of MgAl2O4 phase and the other part of MgAl2O4 phase forms slice structure. Both the DSEC density and hardness decrease with the increase of the growth rate, due to the increase of micropores in DSEC with the higher growth rate. However, its fracture toughness improved due to the fine interface spacing toughening and the dispersion toughening. The highest hardness and fracture toughness of DSEC are 19.3 GPa and 3.74 MPa·m1/2, respectively, the toughening effect could be attributed to the crack deflection and bifurcation hindering the propagation of crack in DSEC.


In September 1958, the US African Studies Association (ASA) held its first annual meeting in Evanston, Illinois, just outside Chicago. Fifty years later, when the ASA reconvened in Chicago to celeb...


AbstractThe design of district metered areas (DMAs) in existing water distribution networks, especially in urban areas, involves a high number of decision variables, and the effects of implementing them in districts have to be evaluated in order not to affect the quality of the service to customers. A new methodology for designing a given number of districts in looped water distribution networks is proposed here. It is based on graph theory and takes into account some important DMA design criteria: the maximum and minimum size recommended for a district, the connectedness of each district to the water supply source, and the absence of links between the districts. Therefore, it allows the creation of DMAs that are independent from each other. A recursive bisection procedure has been applied to create districts, while an algorithm for graph traversal has been used to verify whether each district can be reached from the water source and connectivity between the nodes. The successful application of the propos...


Violation of human dignity by failing to regulate guarantees to accompany the adjudication of incapacity. A protective measure such as the adjudication of incapacity must be established only as an ultima ratio, since it is of extreme seriousness, involving the loss of civil rights as a whole. Each time, it should be carefully analyzed, including whether other measures have proved ineffective to support the person's civil capacity. Therefore, the State must not waive its positive obligation and must provide all necessary support to avoid such an extreme measure. (Decision no. 601 of 16 July 2020, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 88 of 27 January 2021)


By X-ray crystallographic means, structures of Ni(NCS)2(α-phenylethylamine)4[obtained from racemic (±) and enantiomerically-pure (+) aminel], have been found to be cis with respect to the –NCS groups; preparation of the NiII complex from the (±) amine in the presence of (±) s-butylbenzene results in the formation of a 1 : 1 clathrate in which the co-ordinated –NCS groups are trans to each other and the guest molecule is disordered.


West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito‐transmitted flavivirus, widely distributed throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East. WNV may cause epidemics of human meningoencephalitis. The unexpected emergence of WNV (New York, 1999) and its rapid spread throughout North America during the following years caused a number of blood transfusion‐ and organ transplant‐associated transmissions of WNV. In order to estimate the potential WNV threat for Central Europe, we analyzed the anti‐WNV prevalence and WNV‐RNA incidence among 14,437 and 9,976 blood donors from Germany. There was a high rate of initially anti‐WNV reactives (5.9%), but only a few cases (0.03%) were confirmed as anti‐WNV positive by neutralization assay. No WNV‐RNA positive blood donor was identified in this study. Whereas WNV‐RNA was frequently detected in manufacturing plasma pools from the US, none was detected in pools of European or Asian origin. Virus inactivation steps integrated into the manufacturing process of plasma derivatives were shown to be sufficient to assure the WNV safety of plasma derivatives. A well‐characterized WNV reference material was prepared, showing 340 WNV‐RNA copies per infectious dose. J. Med. Virol. 80:557–563, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


ABSTRACT The careful insights of Carl Schmitt's Die Buribunken resonate so strongly with the dominant post millennial Weltanschauung that it could be supposed that he was prophetic rather than merely philosophical. Indeed, the Buribunken project has so clearly established itself in the Lebenswelt that it would seem that world history is being written backwards. The 'heightened self-awareness' of a great life demonstrated by Ferker is now the model of the post-millennial, so that 'every single one of [their] seconds can be recorded' – not in an ink-written diary, but in a digital image. The temporal distortion of 'history' and 'present' should not disturb us – even though the ink immortalising Ferker's cremated remains will, in the course of time, be digitised and take its place among the modern artefacts of history (if this has not already been done). The surveillance facilitated by Schnekke to result in historico-philosophical self-reflection built upon ink to incorporate film, photographs, and certainly implicitly, ejusdem generis, digitisation. There is a paradox in Buribunkian success, however. This chapter will consider the negative space at the heart of Buribunkdom – the loss of the unrecorded moment.


Brain-inspired event-based processors have attracted considerable attention for edge deployment because of their ability to efficiently process Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) by exploiting sparsity. On such processors, one critical feature is that the speed and energy consumption of CNN inference are approximately proportional to the number of non-zero values in the activation maps. Thus, to achieve top performance, an efficient training algorithm is required to largely suppress the activations in CNNs. We propose a novel training method, called Adaptive-Regularization Training Schedule (ARTS), which dramatically decreases the non-zero activations in a model by adaptively altering the regularization coefficient through training. We evaluate our method across an extensive range of computer vision applications, including image classification, object recognition, depth estimation, and semantic segmentation. The results show that our technique can achieve 1.41 × to 6.00 × more activation suppression on top of ReLU activation across various networks and applications, and outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of training time, activation suppression gains, and accuracy. A case study for a commercially-available event-based processor, Neuronflow, shows that the activation suppression achieved by ARTS effectively reduces CNN inference latency by up to 8.4 × and energy consumption by up to 14.1 ×.


Smelting of SiMgREBa alloy with rare earth rich slag,barite and lime in electric-arc furnace is introduced in the paper.Process of SiMgREBa alloy smelting with barite is workability,but recovery ratio of Ba element is lower.The method can be used to smelt low-Ba alloy.


Based on modulated frequency stepped signal model, the interference phase which impacts the precision of the least burst error velocity measure method is analyzed in this paper, phase correction factor is given to improve the accuracy of the least burst error velocity measure method for moving targets, Anally the signal processing flow is given and the performance is verified by computer simulation.


The quantitative approach to landscape deseription has been a point of growing concem in the area of fluvial geomorphology, as a tool to use in land use planning. Following this line, we try to group the fluvial landscapes found in Madrid in morphologically homogeneous sets, on the basis of morphometric indexes and variables commonly used to study fluviallandforms, dealt with through multivariate analysis techniques. Another objective of the study is to find out which variables provide more relevant information in order to describe landscape geometry. Data were collected for 35 watersheds and measured at two different scales, 1:50.000 and 1:25.000. Five morphological sets of watersheds are defined, following three main gradients of variability, namely relief, watershed size and drainage network composition; the influence of the scale of maps from which data are collected is also analyzed.


The study was conducted to assess the soil fertility status and to prepare the fertility mapping at Honnvalli micro-watershed of Hassan district during 2019 by using GIS and GPS techniques. The 105 grid soil samples were drawn from an area of 420 ha each at 400 m intervals and analysed for surface soil physicochemical and biological properties. The results revealed that overall Honnavalli micro-watershed found acidic pH area (93%), low organic carbon (55% area) and normal EC (100% area), further the watershed area was low in available N (51% area), P2O5 (77% area) and medium in K2O (48% area). The exchangeable Ca and Mg were sufficient in 95 and 72 per cent of the watershed area, respectively. The 95 per cent of the watershed area has sufficient available Sulphur. The surface soil fertility maps of pH, EC, OC, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, exchangeable calcium and magnesium and available Sulphur were prepared through ArcGIS and thematic maps.


To practitioner and researcher alike, consumer values play an important role in understanding behavior in the marketplace. This paper presents a model linking perceived product attributes to values.


The authors propose a model for different ways in which clergy of diverse denominations ritualize pregnancy loss through excerpts from 23 interviews with Chicago-area religious leaders. These clergy either do not ritualize pregnancy loss at all, adapt existing rituals, or create new ones.


The welding quality is directly influenced by the speed control of welding dolly in the automation welding system. The couple closed-loop fuzzy control system and its algorithm for the speed of the welding dolly are researched based on the submerged-arc welding system. The experiment results show that the application of fuzzy control in the welding control system is feasible and the dynamic speed response of the welding dolly is prompt. The stability of the fuzzy control system is proved well and the accuracy of speed control is fine.


The world has been plagued by an unforeseen threat to public health by the appearance of COVID-19, which has impacted the world's economy and the worldwide supply chain. The unexpected pandemic (COVID-19) quickly spread across the world, leaving not a single country unaffected by the worldwide pandemic. At the start of COVID-19, several countries adopted social distancing and lockdowns due to the virus. The existing pandemic's discriminatory aspect has a negative influence on human health and the standard of living, as well as worldwide trade, supply chains, and major economies. COVID-19 has been shown to have an effect throughout the broader food supply chain, one of the largest significant sectors of any country, from the field to the consumers. There are currently substantial concerns regarding food production, manufacturing, delivery, and consumption in light of emerging issues within the food supply chain. Limitations on the mobility of workers, variations in consumer demands, the shutdown of food manufacturing industries, limited food trading regulations, and financial stress throughout the food supply chain are all results of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic (COVID-19) has changed consumer behavior and affected the business and economic sector. The purpose of this study was to explore the application of the Q-technique in the investigation of online consumer and manufacturer behavior in relation to end-user food purchases via digital marketing skills, supply chain possibilities, food purchaser and consumer happiness, and e-commerce infrastructure efficiency under the influence of COVID-19. The results show that in the crisis of supply chain management, clarifying the import food industry e-commerce supply chain crisis items, and determining their priority and strength can help enterprises make emergency decisions regarding supply chain operation; they can also be used as a reference for enterprises to use in responding to the crisis.


The communication questioned if the e-vote introduced recently into the companies listed on Euronext100 is the required result of a policy of corporate governance in favour of a better transparency of information and a stronger participation of the shareholders in the decisions. The results of the investigation carried out are first of all presented. It is found that these companies are rather of more important size but of performance generally worse. Then, we carried out comparative tests of some explanatory data, in term of corporate governance, with the quality of the practice of the e-vote. It is observed that these are companies whose capital is more diffuse and which there is not statistical differences in term of presence at the Annual General Meetings. The e-vote thus exceeds the simple stage of the improvement of the administrative process of the management of these meetings. Lastly, the discussion relates to the impact of new rules of transparency for the corporate governorship.


The story of California's history-social science framework, standards, and tests sheds light on how and why education reforms evolve and change, at times become inconsistent, and often produce unintended consequences.


The broaden reconstruction work of Taiyuan Shengli Bridge is introduced. According to current situations of old bridge the causes of quality faults and bearing capacity are analyzed, and the old bridge strengthening scheme is determined based upon those.


The concept of having an integrated circuit (IC) generate its own unique digital signature has broad application in areas such as embedded systems security, and IP/IC counter-piracy. Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are circuits that compute a unique signature for a given IC based on the process variations inherent in the IC manufacturing process. This paper presents the "rst PUF design speci"cally targeted for "eld-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Our novel design makes use of the underlying FPGA architecture, and unlike prior published PUFs, the proposed PUF can be naturally embedded into a designs HDL, consuming very little area, and does not require the use of hard macrosŽwith "xed routing. Measured results on the Xilinx Virtex-5 65 nm FPGA demonstrate PUF signatures to be both unique and reliable under temperature variation.


Summary The role of elevated renal phosphate-dependent glutaminase activity in enhancing ammonia excretion in response to an acute acid load was evaluated in adult rats. Although enzyme activity was approximately threefold higher in "adapted" rats, ammonia excretion rate during the 24 hr following administration of an acute acid load was not significantly greater than from rats with normal enzyme activity. This observation represents an example of dissociation between elevated phosphate-dependent glutaminase activity and ammonia excretion response to an acute acid load.


Hydrodynamics and oxygen transfer of typical internal circulation biological fluidized bed were studied according to different holdup of AC carrier with biofilm.It was found from experiments that the fluid circulating time and the fluid mixing time decrease with increase of gas velocity and carriers holdup,the circulating time decreases slowly with increase of water velocity.While the regular pattern of mixing time with the change of water velocity is'nt obvious.The gas holdup increases with gas velocity and carriers holdup,and the former play a more important role.Efficiency of oxygen transfer is effected by many factors increased slowly with increase of gas velocity and carriers holdup.


SIR,-I read witlh initerest, if witlh somewhat elastened feelings, the letter contributed to the BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL of January 27th by Professor Karl Pearson. The letter interests me in two ways, for I wrote the review in Nature of which he now complains, and I learn from it that-to use Professor Pearson's method of citin-g a sentence-" A. Keith represen-ts mediocrity." Since he has let my seclet out I do not see why I should n1ow keep his -namely, that on hiis own confession "44 P's braini-weight is essentially mediocre,"-the qualifying adjective making his case certainly worse tlhan mine. Thus in one point at least we are equal-we each brinig an approximately equal amount of brains to consider this question of the interpretation of brain-weights. It is strang(re that Professor Pearson, who has pilloried so many men for misrepresentation, should himself be guilty of a major offence in his letter to your columns. He has lifted part of a senitenice and quoted it as a completed sentence; he has omitted the paragraph of wvhich it is an intrinsic part; lie gives no reference, so that a reader cannot verify the statement; anid, on the partial senitence cited, he writes a long letter which totally misrepresents the statement and meaning of the reviewer. I crave space to reinstate in its context the words quoted by Professor Pearson-they are given in italicsbecause I can thus put briefly the point at issue, namely, Why the average Englishmani has a mean brain-weight of 100 grams more than the average Englishwoman: How far is the male preponderance due to greater body size ? The conclusions reached by biometricians are the following: "Differences in stature and age account for less than one-third of the observed sex difference in brain-weight " (Raymond Pearl). " On the whole, as far as present evidence goes, we can safely conclude that there is no sensible relative difference in the brain-weights of man and woman; the absolute differences observed are quite compatible with the differences which result from the relative sizes of the two sexes. . . While our results thus apparently contradict those of Pearl on p. 51 of this journaal 2 the contradiction is only on the surface, for we have been able to use a far more complete systemlof physical measuremiients " (Blakeman, Lee, and Pearson). Yet if the writer has rightly grasped the methods used, the difference between the results is due to the fact that in his calculations Pearl took into consideration merely age and stature, while the second group of workers ailded a third-namely, the diametrical product-a quantity which roughly represents the size of the head. To the writer, who is a professed anatomnist but not an expert mathematician, it seems that one must infer from these results that nearly two-thirds of the preponderance of the male brain is correlated with the greater size of the male head, while less than onethird is correlated with the greater size of the male body, uising stature as a criterion of size. Clearly, if the writer's interpretation is correct, the cause of the relatively greater weight of the male brain is still to seek, for it will be readily granted that a greater brain miiUst be correlated with a greater size of skull. The writer is prepared to believe that the relatively greater weight of the imale brain is not only correlated with, but actually dependent on, the physically greater development of the male body, for amongst the various genera of anthropoids the sexual difference in brain-weight corresponds very closely to the sexual differentiation in body size.3


N2-fixing casuarinas and acacias are indigenous components of the Australian flora, both families making significant contributions to the nitrogen economy of natural ecosystems. For the brigalow-belah dominated areas in northern Australia, their inputs of nitrogen allowed production of wheat using the high levels of NH4 + -saturated clay for many years. However, despite the centres of origin for both families being in Australasia, their potential in Australian farmforestry using rotations of less than five years has been little explored. Active applied research into the Casuarinaceae (Allocasuarina, Casuarina, Gymnostoma, Ceuthostoma) and its N2-fixing microsymbiont Frankia is largely restricted to India, China and France. Farmers in India are pioneering profitable farming of casuarinas for paper manufacture in 3-year rotational cycles with rice. We propose major investment in a new rural scheme to promote the application of casuarinas on Australian farms and to develop local rural secondary industries with strong cash flow, responsive to market forces. Large scale carbon sequestration (up to 20 tonnes dm/ha/annum) can theoretically be achieved, reducing N-fertiliser use and expanding farmers' product and cash flow options, using vertically integrated production to maximise their value. These forest products include wood and fuel pellets, paper pulp, charcoal for hydrogen production, N-fertiliser and volatile chemicals, even including ammonia and hydrogen. One million ha of casuarinas could produce $50 million of C-neutral N-fertiliser per annum as by-product, or adequate ammonia as stock for electricity generation or H2 production using the N2 fixation reaction for heat storage. This paper will examine the prospect for integrated uses of these underutilised genetic resources, planning the required applied research in profitable fire-resistant landscape design and community economic development, also confirming feasibility in terms of underlying principles of energetics and action thermodynamics.


This paper proposes a modified p-q theory based control of solar photovoltaic array integrated unified power quality conditioner (PV-UPQC-S). The fundamental frequency positive sequence (FFPS) voltages are extracted using generalized cascaded delay signal cancellation (GCDSC) which is used in p-q theory based control to generate reference grid currents for the shunt compensator. The solar PV (SPV) array integrated at the DC-bus of the UPQC, provides a part of active load power. The series VSC operates such that it shares a part of the reactive power of the load even under nominal grid conditions. The dynamic performance of proposed system is verified by simulating it in Matlab-Simulink using a combination of linear and non-linear load.


The main focus of this report is on a relatively new research area, namely airborne wind energy systems (AWES). The current stage of this research is still in the prototype testing phase. No commercial utility-scale product has been released to the market yet. Universities and companies are presently both involved. This area is promising as larger and more persistent wind speeds are found at these high altitudes (e.g. 200m 10km).


Objective: To assess the long‐term efficacy of canalith repositioning procedure (CRP) in the treatment of patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).


Vertebral fractures are more strongly associated with specific bone density, structure, and strength parameters than with areal BMD, but all of these variables are correlated.


Discussion and author's closure of paper 45–25 by Thomas James Higgins, presented at the AIEE winter technical meeting, New York, N. Y., January 22–26, 1945, and published in AIEE TRANSACTIONS, 1945, pages 385–400.


A numerical method is presented for effecting the transformation of a spherical harmonic expansion under an arbitrary rotation of the coordinate system. Included are results of numerical tests with expansions to degree and order 180. These results demonstrate the high accuracy of the algorithm.


The invention relates to a 3D printer set for quickly manufacturing a PCB (printed circuit board). The 3D printer set comprises three-dimensional drilling spray needle equipment, three-dimensional ink-jet character equipment and three-dimensional press fit equipment. Novel 3D printing equipment based on a digital inkjet technology uses materials such as nano liquid metal, photosensitive resin and the like to manufacture the PCB. The 3D printer set is integrated with punching, silver depositing, line spraying, coating and lettering, so that the whole producing and manufacturing process of the PCB can be completed by only needing one set of equipment, and therefore, the producing process is greatly simplified; ink-jet printing speed is greater than electroplating and etching speed by more than 20 times, so that total process time is saved by more than 60%, producing and manufacturing time is greatly shortened, and reliability is also remarkably improved; functional printing ink is used for jet printing so as to obtain a printed line, a resistance welding layer and a character layer for manufacturing the PCB, and therefore, a material utilization rate is close to 100%, energy consumption is lower, cost is lower, and green production is realized; and the functional printing ink is adopted to directly carry out jet printing on an insulated base plate so as to obtain the printed line, the resistance welding layer and the character layer, so that a printing ink utilization rate is close to 100%, and almost no-pollution emission is realized.


Dumbbell-shaped metal complexes have received great attention in material science and chemistry because of their high ISC quantum yield and relatively long-lived triplet excited states. However, the working mechanism of the "weight" and "bar" moieties are unclear and vary with structure. In this paper, a novel dumbbell-shaped platinum complex (weight) connecting with TPE (bar) was synthesized and studied by employing time-resolved spectroscopy methods. In this system, the platinum complex, is designed to interfere with the rotation of TPE by Pt•••Pt and π−π stacking interactions, and these interactions also serve as a spin convertor to facilitate the ISC process. A N^C^N PtII-TPE decolorized triplet excited state was successfully detected by transient absorption spectroscopy for the first time and a room-temperature phosphorescence with a lifetime around 1404 ns was also observed.


Assembling can be seen as process of joining manufactured parts to create final product-assembly. In Six Sigma terms, overall performance of final product is highly affected by design/manufacturing characteristics of each component. The key role for successful fitting plays the specified target of dimensions/tolerances of parts. Assembling parts are designed/studied using CAD/CAM systems, which are great for reducing design time but lack methods/functions to allow selecting optimal geometrical/functional parameters. This slows down the design for Six Sigma (DFSS) process. In this work, the following issues are addressed while elucidated through a case study: 1) method for Six Sigma designers to check for possible part defects which may present misalignment opportunities during assembly; 2) approach for evaluating part/assembly dimensions/tolerances while ensuring functionality; 3) corrective action approach for design changes which avoids endangering increasing of overall cost. The simple unified framework may aid Six Sigma designers assessing/making product-assembly decisions by offering more robust information.


It's proved that content of residual elements,especially copper,is the key factor of edge crack formation in Zhujiang CSP strips The edge cracks can be reduced or even eliminated by adjusting the composition of liquid steel,controlling the entry or exit temperature and residence time in reheating furnace


The development of active and/or passive systems for acclimatization of soldiers' uniforms is seen as an important tool to guarantee soldiers' comfort and, consequently, to improve their performance during military missions. Accordingly, this work aimed at the development of an innovative acclimatization textile system, comprising both active and passive technologies that can act as temperature regulators in response to environmental conditions and soldiers' body needs. This study presents the main results achieved on the performance assessment of the developed textile system, with emphasis on comfort assessment determined through characterization of the selected materials in terms of physical properties and functionalities in laboratory conditions, characterization of biophysical parameters of the clothing ensemble in a climatic chamber and preliminary field tests in non-controlled environments. This paper summarizes a part of the activities and results of EDA (European Defence Agency)'s ACCLITEXSYS project.


We propose a simple model to incorporate inelastic energy losses into molecular-dynamics simulations of high-energy radiation damage, which at the same time describes the metallic thermal conductivity by coupling the ions to a thermal reservoir. Both expressions are based on a local-density description of stopping power. We provide an empirical expression to describe the strength of the ion-electron coupling, which is a function of the local electronic density. The model is then adequate to those simulations where the ion-ion interactions are obtained from many-body potentials based on density-functional formalism.


Panchayati Raj was in existence since ancient India. After independence, Government of India was committed to set up Panchayati Raj system to provide real Swaraj to the people of rural areas to come out of abject poverty


Self-Help Group, Microcredit and Microenterprise as a triadic model proved to be worthwhile to promote women empowerment and community development in India. This paper attempts to study the success and failure of this model in India and also to explore the possibilities of applying this to the Roma communities in Hungary to improve their socio-economic condition.


The structural stability of vanadinite, Pb5[VO4]3Cl, is reported by high-pressure experiments using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD experiments were performed up to 44.6 GPa and 700 K using an externally-heated diamond anvil cell (EHDAC), and Raman spectroscopy measurements were performed up to 26.8 GPa at room temperature. XRD experiments revealed a reversible phase transition of vanadinite at 23 GPa and 600 K, which is accompanied by a discontinuous volume reduction and color change of the mineral from transparent to reddish during compression. The high-pressure Raman spectra of vanadinite show apparent changes between 18.0 and 22.8 GPa and finally become amorphous at 26.8 GPa, suggesting structural transitions of this mineral upon compression. The structural changes can be distinguished by the emergence of a new vibrational mode that can be attributed to the distortion of [VO4] and the larger distortion of the V–O bonds, respectively. The [VO4] internal modes in vanadinite give isothermal mode Grüneisen parameters varying from 0.149 to 0.286, yielding an average VO4 internal mode Grüneisen parameters of 0.202.


The invention relates to the iron removal process of potash feldspar. The iron removal process of the potash feldspar comprises the following steps of coarse grain ore washing, ore grinding, flotation and mica removal, magnetic separation and iron removal and filtering and drying. The Iron removal process of the potash feldspar is thorough in iron removal and produced feldspar concentrates are high in quality.


Construction related process-based simulation platforms have demonstrated strong capabilities in supporting decision makers in a volatile environment with many unknowns; however, their use has been limited at best. One of the main reasons can be attributed to poorly designed and non-intuitive software interfaces. With advancements in programming languages and their capabilities, various steps are being taken to address some of the interface challenges. This paper presents an innovative approach which facilitates the user definition of engineering equations for a construction simulation platform (SimFC).

A real life pile design exercise was modeled using SimFC to further illustrate the use of this modeling approach. It was found that the model produced using SimFC was valid and can be used for further engineering design modeling and estimation. Furthermore, the performance of the system was also compared against a hardcoded solution. It was found that although SimFC's runtime was slower, the performance degradation was not significant. The findings are of particular interest to construction engineers, designers, estimators, project managers and researchers who are interested in using and promoting simulation in engineering and construction.


The detection and parameter estimation of the time-varying amplitude chirp signals is focused in this dissertation, the detection method using the Fractional Fourier Transform(FRFT) was studied theoretically and the simulating analysis about the properties of the detect method is provided.


Jesus and his disciples spoke a form of Semitic speech known as Palestinian Aramaic. This does not preclude their acquaintance with other languages in use in first-century Palestine, such as Hebrew or Greek. It seems on the whole unlikely, however, that Greek was ever used by Christ as a teaching medium, but he may have used Hebrew as well as Aramaic, on such solemn occasions, for instance, as at the Institution of the Last Supper.


This paper presents a power electronics design for the piezoelectric actuators of an insect-scale flapping-wing robot, the RoboBee. The proposed design outputs four high-voltage drive signals tailored for the two bimorph actuators of the RoboBee in an alternating drive configuration. It utilizes fully integrated drive stage circuits with a novel highside gate driver to save chip area and meet the strict mass constraint of the RoboBee. Compared with previous integrated designs, it also boosts efficiency in delivering energy to the actuators and recovering unused energy by applying three power saving techniques, dynamic common mode adjustment, envelope tracking, and charge sharing. Using this design to energize four 15 nF capacitor loads with a 200 V and 100 Hz drive signal and tracking the control commands recorded from an actual flight experiment for the robot, we measure an average power consumption of 290 mW.


CASE An 85-year-old Caucasian man with no significant past medical history presented to an outside dermatology clinic with a 6-month history of rash on his hands and feet. The patient worked as a farmer for 30 years in rural Mississippi and retired 30 years prior. He denied any known trauma or penetrating injury, exotic exposures, or significant travel except to South Korea 60 years ago. Skin biopsy was performed on the right dorsal hand and revealed granulomatous inflammation on hematoxylin and eosin stain (HE stain). Acid-fast bacillus (AFB) stain was positive for numerous bacilli on both histopathology and on tissue submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory. However, mycobacterial cultures demonstrated no growth after 8 weeks of incubation. The skin lesions continued to progress despite 6 weeks of clarithromycin, which was stopped due to diarrhea, followed by 4 weeks of ciprofloxacin and minocycline. The lesions were associated with significant pain and swelling, prompting him to present to our medical center for further evaluation. On physical examination, the patient was in mild distress but afebrile, alert, and oriented. Skin examination revealed tender, erythematous plaques and diffuse edema on bilateral hands extending to the elbows (Fig. 1A) and on feet extending below the knees (Fig. 1B). C-reactive protein was 16.3 mg/dL (reference range, 0 to 0.50 mg/dL), the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 54 mm/h (reference range, 0 to 29 mm/h), and the white blood cell count was 5.6 cells/mL (reference range, 4.0 to 10.0 cells/mL). A tuberculosis interferon gamma release assay was negative. A computed tomography scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis did not show any abnormalities. A repeat skin biopsy was performed on the right forearm. Histopathology showed extensive granulomatous inflammation on HE stain (Fig. 2A), with Ziehl-Neelsen stain showing clusters of acid-fast bacilli throughout the dermis (Fig. 2B). There was no neural tissue involvement. In the microbiology laboratory, the specimen was positive for AFB by auramine-rhodamine fluorochrome stain, and a subsequent Kinyoun stain demonstrated.9 AFB/high-power field (Fig. 2C and D). Biopsy material was inoculated onto various media, including broth (Middlebrook 7H9; MGIT) and a Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) slant, both incubated at 37°C; additional LJ and chocolate slants were incubated at 30°C to optimize growth of some fastidious cutaneous mycobacteria. Differentials included Mycobacterium abscessus,Mycobacterium chelonae,Mycobacterium haemophilum, andMycobacteriummarinum as potential mycobacteria responsible for causing cutaneous infection. Curiously, no growth was seen on mycobacterial cultures after 6 weeks. Since the skin biopsy specimen showed abundant amount of organism, the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue block was sent for molecular identification to a reference laboratory (Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Editor Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Pattern Bioscience Copyright © 2022 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. Address correspondence to Tulip A. Jhaveri, email@example.com, or Samantha Williams, firstname.lastname@example.com. The authors declare no conflict of interest. For answers to the self-assessment questions and take-home points, see https://doi.org/10 .1128/JCM.00308-22 in this issue. Published 21 December 2022


The purpose of this study is to assess and model the relationship between intellectual emigration and innovative development of the country. The relevance of the research subject is confirmed by sociological data, according to which there are currently more than 5 million Ukrainians in Europe. Moreover, since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, mainly highly qualified and highly educated Ukrainians emigrated. The scientific novelty consists in modeling the relationship between the scale of intellectual emigration and individual components of the innovative development of the country. In the research process, the following scientific methods have been used: analysis and synthesis (when analyzing the latest research and scientific publications in the field of intellectual emigration), structural and dynamic analysis (to characterize the tendency of intellectual emigration from Ukraine), correlation analysis and economic-mathematical modeling (to evaluate relationships between intellectual emigration and innovative development of the country). To assess the level of intellectual emigration from Ukraine, the E3: Human Flight and Brain Drain Indicator in the Fragile States Index (hereinafter — the E3 indicator), which is used in the calculations of the State Fragility Index, is utilized. The analysis of the dynamics of the values of the E3 indicator for Ukraine demonstrates its steady growth over the past five years. Therefore, the values of the intellectual emigration indicator make it possible to position Ukraine as a donor country, i.e. one being a donor of intellectual migrants for other countries. The obtained values of Pearson's pairwise correlation coefficients demonstrate a close inverse relationship between intellectual emigration and innovative development of the country. The negative impact of the departure of highly qualified and highly educated persons abroad for employment on the innovative capacity of the country of origin has been proven. In order to detail the relationship between intellectual emigration and the innovative development of the country, an economic-mathematical model has been developed, which proves that as the values of the sub-indices «Human capital and research» and «Business sophistication» in the Global Innovation Index decrease, the value of the E3 indicator increases.


In the vast realm, of engineering literature there is a set of publications that is often unknown and certainly underutilized: engineering education periodicals and proceedings. These publications can easily be overlooked by engineering faculty, researchers, students, librarians or information professionals, and others who may not be fully aware of their existence or content. There has been a need for a definitive list of such publications for some time. This paper presents an initial list of these hems as the first step to make them more accessible to those in engineering education who may need them. The next step wil1 be to create a descriptive database of these items, briefly detailing their content, stating who publishes them, indicating what indexes or databases they are indexed or 'abstracted in and showing if they are available electronical1y. A, print-out of such a database could serve as an annotated bibliography, a finding guide, and as a checklist of engineering education periodicals and conference proceedings. Such a print-out could then be published by ASEE in its Guide to the Literature series or as an additional conference paper. As a result, the engineering education literature of ASEE and other organizations or publishers could be more easily identified and utilized by those who create it and by those who would benefit the most from it, namely engineering educators.


The possibilities of the development of regional economies and communities, as well as achieved standard of living, depends on the efficient operation and quality of regional institutions that exercise government authority. The aim of the article is to compare the quality of the government in the Polish regions (NUTS 2) and the spatial differentiation of access to basic public goods (education, health, security). The analysis of the quality of the government was based on the indicators of the quality of public institutions that exercise government authority in the regions of Europe. The study of accessibility to basic public goods in the Polish regions has been based on the key indicators characterizing the quantitative results of the implementation of public tasks in the field of education, health and security. The analysis shows that standards of living in the Polish regions vary not only because of disparities in GDP per capita and the supplied by the regional authorities amount of public goods, but also due to the significant differences in the quality of government in the regions.


The enhancement of the degradative behaviour of Flavobacterium sp. MH concerning the phenoxyalkanoate herbicides 2,4‐D, 2,4‐DP, 2,4‐DB, MCPA, MCPP, and MCPB, respectively, was achieved by the use of an inert polyurethane (PU)‐foam. In comparative batch‐degradation experiments with and without the addition of the PU‐carrier (1.25 % w/v), respectively, the advantages of the PU‐supply were demonstrated. When 2,4‐D, 2,4‐DP, and MCPP, respectively, was used as a growth substrate by strain MH the PU‐supply led to a reduced lag‐phase. In the case of the stronger toxic phenoxyalkanoates 2,4‐DB and MCPB, respectively, the inital substrate concentration (0.1 g/1) was significantly reduced to a minor toxic concentration due to a distinct adsorption to the PU‐carrier, thus enabling the biodegradation. Finally, the total initially supplied amount of the phenoxyalkanoates was detoxified as verified by thechloride balance. After several steps of subcultivation, even a five‐fold increased MCPB concentration (0.5 g/1) could be detoxified by strain MH in a PU‐supplied bubble reactor within several days.


Constrained learning is prevalent in many statistical tasks. Recent work proposes distance-to-set penalties to derive estimators under general constraints that can be specified as sets, but focuses on obtaining point estimates that do not come with corresponding measures of uncertainty. To remedy this, we approach distance-to-set regularization from a Bayesian lens. We consider a class of smooth distance-to-set priors, showing that they yield well-defined posteriors toward quantifying uncertainty for constrained learning problems. We discuss relationships and advantages over prior work on Bayesian constraint relaxation. Moreover, we prove that our approach is optimal in an information geometric-sense for finite penalty parameters $\rho$, and enjoys favorable statistical properties when $\rho\to\infty$. The method is designed to perform effectively within gradient-based MCMC samplers, as illustrated on a suite of simulated and real data applications.