Accurate parameter identification of a lithium-ion battery is a critical basis in the battery management systems. Based on the analysis of the second-order RC equivalent circuit model, the parameter identification process using the recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm is discussed firstly. The reason for the RLS algorithm affecting the accuracy and rapidity of model parameter identification is pointed out. And an improved RLS algorithm is proposed, an inner loop with the estimated parameter vector updated multiple times is inserted into the conventional RLS algorithm, so that the identification results are improved. The test platform of a single lithium-ion battery is built. The experimental results show that the improved RLS algorithm has better tracking ability, smaller prediction error and has a moderate computational burden compared with the conventional RLS algorithm and a variable forgetting factor RLS algorithm.


There is an absence of strong evidence supporting the recommendation that cumulative dosing of isotretinoin follow a reference range of 120 to 150 mg/kg. This points to the need for clinicians to treat their patients to achieve clearance of acne rather than adhere to this range.


A ferroelectric memory cell with an area of only 7.03 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ designed with a 0.5-/spl mu/m rule has been fabricated. It performs Vcc/2-plate nonvolatile DRAM operation: ordinary DRAM operation and automatic nonvolatile writing when Vcc is shut down. A non-separated plate electrode and a capacitor patterned by one-mask dry etching reduce cell area. Planarization of the poly-Si plugs and the use of H-less metallization/passivation processes retain the PZT capacitor characteristics (Pr=50 fC/bit) and achieves ferroelectric write/read under /spl plusmn/2.5-V operation in 4-K bit memory cell arrays.


FIELD: chemistry. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to organic chemistry and specifically to novel malonamide derivatives of formula and their pharmaceutically suitable acid addition salts, optically pure enantiomers, racemates or diastereomer mixtures, where A 1 denotes -CHR- or -C(O)-; A 2 denotes -C(O)-; and R 2 /R 3 independently denote hydrogen, lower alkyl, halogen, hydroxy or lower alkoxy; or A 2 denotes -O-C(O)-, and R 2 /R 3 independently denote hydrogen or lower alkyl; R denotes hydrogen or lower alkyl substituted with a halogen; R 1 denotes hydrogen, lower alkyl or -(CH 2 ) n -aryl, optionally substituted with halogen; R 4 denotes lower alkyl substituted with a halogen; n equals 0, 1 or 2. The invention also relates to a method of producing a compound of formula I, a medicinal agent based on the compound of formula I and use of the compound of formula I. EFFECT: obtaining novel malonamide derivatives of formula I, having inhibiting action on γ-secretase and are useful in treating Alzheimer's disease. 13 cl, 72 ex


The relationship between restraints on shrinkage and residual welding stresses has been investigated for multi-pass welds in StE 460 N steel. An extensometer was used for the shrinkage measurements, and a dissection procedure based on the use of strain gauges was used to measure the residual stresses. For the presentation of the results, a new method of perspective plotting has been adopted. It is shown that restraints have a considerable influence on the setting up of residual stresses.


The study investigated the impact of training on adoption of improved practices among cassava farmers in Oyo and Osun States of Nigeria. Survey data from 120 farmers from both trained and untrained respondents randomly selected from 8 villages were used for the study. Findings of the study show that majority of the farmers (55%) belonged to medium adoption level category. There was significant difference in the level of adoption of trained group and untrained group. Age, socio-economic status, motivation and use of mass media were found to have significant contributions in adoption of the improved practices by the trained group. In the untrained group however, socio-economic status and use of mass media were found to have significant contribution. There is need for more training programmes with adequate extension follow-up. Setting up of information centres where farmers could obtain information would improve the level of adoption. Keywords : impact, training, improved practices, cassava, farmers International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 6 2005: 34-38


Microangiography is valuable in research and has been recently used to an increasing extent. It is usually performed by filling the microvascular system of tissues with a fine-grained barium sulphate suspension. Histologic preparations from tissues that have been microangiographed enable routine histologic studies of the material to be made. Microradiography and histology together afford valuable information on the relationship between microscopic structures and the appearances of the capillary bed in the microangiogram. Unfortunately, identification of all capillaries is not achieved by the standard microangiographic methods now available (LUNDSKOG, BRANEMARK & LINDSTROM 1968). Although microradiograms well depict the filled vessels, even threedimensionally (BELLMAN 1953), only a rough estimate of the number and location of unfilled vessels is obtained. A histologic study is often helpful although careful examination of the distribution of filled capillaries is laborious because of the low contrast of barium sulphate grains in small capillary cross-sections. Certain routine histologic staining methods were therefore tried for identification of small filled blood vessels in microangiographed tissues of the testis and epididymis. Histochemical methods used for indicating acid mucopolysaccarides were also studied.


The Colville Study was developed in 1994 to identify and evaluate a series of management options for achieving ecosystem objectives in dense stands of small-diameter trees while also producing wood products. The Colville National Forest selected the Rocky II Timber Sale as an example of this type of stand that needed management to achieve the following goals: (1) create late successional forest structure, (2) decrease forest health risk from fire, insects, and disease, (3) improve wildlife habitat by providing large green trees and snags, and (4) improve stand aesthetics by decreasing stand density. The Colville Study was divided into four technical focus areas: Silviculture and Ecology, Forest Operations, Timber Conversion, and Economics. Results of each technical focus area indicate that (1) vegetative management activities are necessary to achieve the ecosystem goals, (2) there are alternative harvesting systems for removing the timber in an ecologically sound manner but costs need to be considered, (3) both species and material size are important in the recovery of wood products, and (4) financial analysis needs to incorporate all of these factors and many more to effectively evaluate the relative merchantability of different types of treatments.


Constructing supramolecular materials with tunable properties and functions is a great challenge due to the complex competition between multiple assembly pathways. Herein, we report dipeptide can self-assemble into aerogels with entirely different surface wettability through precisely controlling assembly pathways. Charged groups or aromatic residues are selected to expose on the surface of their nanoscale building blocks which result in either superhydrophilic or highly hydrophobic surface. With this special property, single component dipeptide aerogel can play diverse roles in medical care applications. This study suggests great promise in the synthesis of supramolecular materials with different targeted functions from the same molecular unit.


Photovoltaic-electric spring (PV-ES) is a promising topology to utilize widespread residential roof-top photovoltaic systems in demand-side management. Power control for an integrated configuration of photovoltaic-electric spring system to achieve dynamic supply-demand balance in power distribution networks is presented. Extraction of maximum power from PV panel using Perturb and Observe algorithm along with boost converter are designed. This power is given as input to the DC link of the Electric Spring. The modeling and design of the integrated system are detailed. Extensive simulations are carried out in MATLAB/Simulink to observe the performance of the PV-ES system. The effectiveness of the proposed topology was verified for changes in line voltage, PV irradiation, and reference power. It was confirmed that the proposed PV-ES precisely controls the active power consumption of the critical load, rigidly regulates the voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC), and follows the variations in reference power available for the smart load. Finally, the expansive performance of ES fed with a PV source was confirmed to be superior over an ES system fed with a DC source.


The aim of this study is to determine the levels of digital citizenship and social presence of the graduate students having distance education and to reveal the relationship between these two variables. The research was carried out with 50 women (35%) and 93 men (65%) graduate students enrolled in distance education master programs of Karadeniz Technical University. Individual Information Form, Social Presence Scale and Digital Citizenship Scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used in the study to determine the levels of digital citizenship and social presence of the students. Correlation analysis for the relationship between variables and linear regression for the predictive power were used. The results indicated that graduate students enrolled in distance education master programs had high levels in digital citizenship and social presence. Furthermore, the mentioned levels were comprehended to have significant and positive relationship among themselves. While the levels of digital citizenship and social presence didn't differentiate significantly in terms of gender, social presence levels differentiated in favour of Educational Sciences Insitute. Also the level of social presence for the graduate students was concluded to be significantly predictive for digital citizenship level.


In the present work, we use a miniature test procedure to investigate the tensile creep behaviour of the single crystal superalloy ERBO1. We test precisely oriented [0 0 1], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1] creep specimens and determine the stress and the temperature dependence of characteristic creep rates in limited stress and temperature regimes, where the stress and temperature dependence of characteristic creep rates can be well described by power law and Arrhenius type of relations, with stress exponents n and apparent activation energies Qapp. n-values increase with stress and decrease with temperature. Qapp-values, on the other hand, increase with increasing temperature and decrease with increasing stress. Creep curve shapes gradually evolve from the high temperature low stress to the low temperature high stress (LTHS) regime. This implies that there is a gradual change in elementary deformation and softening mechanisms, which is qualitatively confirmed using transmission electron microscopy. While at high temperatures different loading directions only have a moderate influence on creep, there is a very strong effect of loading direction at low temperatures. The [1 1 0] tests show the fastest deformation rates and the shortest rupture times. In the LTHS creep regime, we confirm the double minimum (DM) type of creep behaviour, which was previously reported but never explained. Further work is required to rationalise DM-creep. The implications of this type of creep behaviour on scatter and on extrapolation of creep data is discussed in the light of previous results published in the literature.


In the abstract the incentive is interpreted both as a psycholinguistic concept and a linguistic universal category; the components of the linguistic model and the functional structure of the incentive act are defined. The bidirection of the act of volition is emphasized. The volition (incentive) is identified as a kind of mental, speech activity, as a set of certain actions conditioned and motivated by the inner state of the speaker. The incentive action is aimed at meeting the communicators' needs and takes into account their interests. The example of vocative utterances shows how and under what conditions in specific communicative situations they are able to express an incentive modality. Linguistic means of enhancing the emotionally-expressive colouring of vocative utterances of incentive modality determined by the tasks of speech action are considered. It is established that the focus on the positive result of the incentive foresees the obligatory accounting of distinguished or assumed background knowledge, the usage of the single sign system for encoding and decoding information, conventions, communicative situation, etc.


In this paper, we propose a burst-mode EDFA for 40-Gb/s TWDM-PON supporting 100-km reach with 50-dB loss budget. Backward laser injection using a low-cost Fabry-Perot laser suppresses the burst surge whilst achieving low noise figure.


This progress report covers our work over the last grant period (1990-1993). Work has been in the following areas: semi-analytical studies of enhanced energy transport in natural convection due to time dependent body forces; large scale simulations of non-linear instabilities in porous media flow for situations of interest in petroleum recovery; analytical studies of `chimney` formation in unstable freezing mixtures; analytical and experimental studies of contact line dynamics for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids; and large scale numerical simulations of shear instabilities of viscoelastic fluids.


Abstract This paper examines the potential adoption of European legislation aimed at better addressing the issue of wellbeing at work. Initially, the scope for directives to be adopted is explored through an examination of the European Community's existing constitutional powers. Attention is then paid to the Community's programme of work on health and safety for the period 2002-2006, and the extent to which this provides for action to be taken in relation to stress at work, workplace violence, musculoskeletal disorders and psychological harassment. Finally, a concluding discussion considers the likelihood that legislative developments will occur in respect of these matters.


This article presents a panorama of the necessity the current Cuban society has to form high quality technicians in Computer science, and the social and historical conditions that compromise the existence of the subject "Language of Programming "inside its study plan, as well as the necessity to upgrade teachers who teach this subject, in Computer Science's Polytechnical School "Carlos Hidalgo Diaz" in Pinar del Rio province. Regarding the inadequacies there are in these programs, in the theoretical and methodological order, it is expected that with an intervention strategy consisting on an upgrading course this problem can be solved.


The main objective of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is to give a means to the human operator to control and to command a highly automated process. Supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA) are widely used in industries for supervisory control and data acquisition of industrial processes. It has also revolutionized the field of data sciences in a much inevitable manner. The communication between the control centre of SCADA and the remote station takes place by various communication channels such as optical fibre cables, microwave technology and power line carrier communication. The presence of such an efficient system give rise to certain faults results in malfunction of such systems. As the demand for wind energy continues to grow at exponential rate, reducing operation and maintenance costs and improving reliability have become top priorities in wind turbine maintenance strategies. Prediction of wind turbine fault before they reach a catastrophic stage is critical to reduce the operational and maintenance cost due to unnecessary scheduled maintenance. To this end, it is important to be able to perform maintenance before it's needed. Instead, by performing complex analysis of existing data from turbine's supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) system, valuable insights into turbine performance can be obtained at a much lower cost. This paper proposes a methodology of fault prediction for wind turbine based on stored SCADA data set using decision tree approach. Fault analysis and diagnosis of faults help in protecting both hardware and software of devices employed in SCADA based systems. On the basis of information received, the SCADA operator is in a position to take important decision related to smooth and faultless generation, transmission and distribution of power. The proposed research provides insight analysis for relationship ships of various attributes like rotor speed, turbine speed, wind speed, power and output of the dataset and also provides fault analysis using Decision Tree Data Mining approach on the said dataset care of various parameters.


This project evaluates Vehicle Mileage (VM) fees as a possible funding mechanism for meeting the State of Texas' long-term transportation needs. Researchers conducted listening sessions with the general public and stakeholders to gather input on the concept. Researchers also prepared a decision matrix that can aid policy makers in evaluating the various trade-offs in policy that will be encountered in vehicle mileage fee system development. This study identified both challenges and opportunities for implementation of VM fees: 1) most study participants viewed the implementation of mileage fees as unworkable; privacy, cost of administration, and enforcement emerged as the most commonly cited concerns; 2) the rationale for transitioning to mileage fees has not been adequately established with the general public; 3) a new funding mechanism will inherently raise fairness concerns among rural and low-income drivers; 4) despite concerns, research shows that the vehicle mileage fees are a logical, sustainable, long-term option to supplement or replace the fuel tax; 5) if pursued, simple implementation solutions will engender the greatest public and stakeholder support; 6) field demonstrations that illustrate the full spectrum of implementation aspects, including payment, administration, and enforcement, can show how the concept might work in Texas; and 7) effective policy design can address any major public acceptance issues. Finally, researchers recommend a demonstration approach that focuses on electric vehicles, tests all aspects of payment, administration and enforcement, and offers a low-technology deployment (using odometer readings) that would provide drivers with the option to adopt a high-technology alternative.


Objective:To study the effects of electroacupuncture(EA) on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3-K),serine/threonine kinase(Akt) path and apoptosis in rats brains following local cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.Method:Male adult SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:the sham-operated group,the model group and the EA group.The model of middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) was established by thread ligation method.Neurological system symptoms were evaluated at the 12thh,24thh,48thh after ischemia/reperfusion.Then the rats were sacrificed at the 12thh,24thh,and 48thh after reperfusion,and rats brains were taken for histopathological,TUNEL and immunohistochemistry examinations.Positive reacted cells of apoptosis,PI3-K and Akt were counted under light microscope at different time points after ischemia/reperfusion.Result:EA could significantly alleviate the damage of neurological system;histopathological examination showed that the cerebral ischemic damage in the EA group was significantly milder than that in model group.As compared with sham-operated group and model group,positive reacted cell amounts of apoptosis were greatly declined in EA group(P0.05).Positive immune reacted cell amounts of PI3-K and Akt were greatly enhanced in EA group as compared with model group and sham-operated group.Conclusion:The protective effects of EA therapy against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury might be associated with improving the positive expressions of PI3-K and Akt path.


We will extend Ostrowki's theorem from Q to the quadratic field Q(i). On Q, every nonarchimedean absolute value is equivalent to the p-adic absolute value for a unique prime number p, and the archimedean absolute values are all equivalent to the usual absolute value on Q. We will see a similar thing happens in Q(i): any non-archimedean absolute value is associated to a prime in Z[i] (unique up to unit multiple) and any archimedean absolute value is equivalent to the complex absolute value |a+ bi|∞ = √ a2 + b2. First we need some background about Z[i]. For α = a+bi in Z[i] (a, b ∈ Z), set the norm of α to be N(α) = a + b,


Abstract This paper derives innovative techniques for use in the trimming and stability analysis of advanced rotorcraft simulations. It begins by exploiting the symmetry of the rotor to produce an efficient definition of periodic trim which is applicable to rotorcraft simulations. This definition is then expanded to produce a trimming algorithm which is capable of concurrently ascertaining the initial conditions and control inputs necessary to trim latest generation simulation models to a specified periodic trim state. The algorithm is based on a periodic shooting approach with Newton-Raphson iteration and exploits the symmetry of the rotor to minimise computational workload. The definition of periodic trim is then further developed to produce a technique by which the stability characteristics of rotorcraft can be ascertained from advanced simulation models. This technique is based on a Floquet approach and again exploits the symmetry of the rotor to reduce computational burden. The paper concludes by presenting results obtained when the stability characteristics of a tiltrotor simulation model are investigated.


The direct-irradiation-induced grafting of acrylamide onto polypropylene films and polystyrene films with crosslinking epichlorohydrin (Epi) as a spacer was studied. The reaction of polyamide–Epi with cellulose and starch was carried out. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out before and after the enzyme was immobilized to confirm the characterization of the polymer and the α-amylase enzyme-immobilized one. The physicochemical parameters of the immobilized enzymes were measured, and the kinetics of the coenzyme–polymer-catalyzed reactions and stability were investigated. A direct comparison was made between the activities of the free and immobilized preparations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009


This paper studies several algorithms for constructing quasi-optimal GMW subfamilies in terms of minimized bit error rate under co-channel interference. The results show that performance of resultant sub-families is very sensitive to the algorithms applied and sub-family sizes. A new criterion based on combinational (even plus odd) maximum cross-correlation is introduced for code selection and the resultant highest-peak-deleting and most-peak-deleting algorithms are effective to construct the GMW quasi-optimal sub-families.


Taking the sulphurization process as the research object,a new type of control method was proposed which controls the disturbance and the system parameter variation respectively.The controlled variables were optimized by the genetic algorithm.Better robustness and stability of this control plan is indicated through the simulation by Matlab/Simulink,compared with the model reference adaptive control.The simple control plan could realize online setting and is suitable for promotion extensively in tire companies.


This paper took the collective forestland in the counties of Sha and Shunchang of Fujian province as an example and applied DEA-Mlamquist,Tobit two-step method as well as single factor variance analysis on the panel data from 2007~2009 after the forest tenure reform to examine the household forestland operating efficiency and further its influencing factors in the Southern Collective Forest Area.The results suggested that there is an inverse U shape curve relationship between the forestland operating scale and total factor productivity after the forest tenure reform rather than an simple positive or negative relationship as previously assumed.Factors such as forestry investment,level of rural household diversification and age of householder significantly influence the productivity efficiency while the rest have less significance.We also found out that forestland operation fall short in operation scale and forestland liquidity.It also has sever problem of efficiency differentiation.


Based on the deep analysis of the mathematical model of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), comprehensive considerations are given to the coupling effect of AUV's longitudinal velocity on the other degrees of freedom. In the meantime, discussions are made on the influence of residual buoyancy and restoring moment. A novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control (SMC) is hereby proposed in this study. The strengths of traditional S-plane controller including simple structure and easily adjustable parameters are maintained in the improved design while the weakness of unsatisfactory control effect at the time of high-speed operation is also overcome. Lyapunov function is introduced to make the stability analysis of the controller before it is successfully applied to the basic motion control of AUV-X. Then the comparative experiment test is carried out between the traditional S-plane controller and the novel S-plane controller. The effectiveness and feasibility of the novel S-plane controller established on sliding mode control in the AUV basic motion control is verified by the comparative analysis of experiment results.


Based on analysis of a semi-analytical heat transfer model with contact angle effect,it is found that the boiling heat transfer characteristics could be expressed as a function of wall superheat,contact angle and physical properties.A correlation for predicting the effect of contact angle on wall heat flux of pool boiling was deduced by using the graphical method.By analyzing the saturated water data on plane metal surface or its coated surface under different pressure conditions,an empirical correlation for predicting the wall heat flux of saturated water nucleate pool boiling under atmospheric pressure was obtained.Furthermore,a semi-empirical nucleate pool boiling correlation applying to various liquids under wider pressures was also proposed.The results show that predicted values of saturated water nucleate pool boiling under atmospheric pressure are in good agreement with the experimental results.


Four sites were drilled on the Bellingshausen Abyssal Plain and continental rise off Antarctica during Leg 35 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Site 322 penetrated 513 meters of lower Miocene (? Oligocene) to Holocene diatomaceous claystone, siltstone, and sandstone overlying basalt. A similar Neogene section at Site 323 caps 63 meters of upper Maestrichtian to (?) Oligocene brown nanno claystone and Fe-claystone bottoming on basalt. Site 324 penetrated 218 meters of Pliocene-Pleistocene terrigenous clay with interbedded silt layers interpreted as contourites, and 718 meters of lower Miocene-Holocene diatomaceous claystone grading downward into coarse sandstone were drilled at Site 325. The brown Fe-claystone at Site 323 and a similar, thin basal unit at Site 322 indicate pelagic deposition, largely from volcanogenic sources at rates <0.5 cm/1000 yr, from the late Maestrichtian to the (?) Oligocene. Abundant nannoplankton in lower Paleocene claystone suggest depression of the CCD at this time, in contrast to a shallow CCD in most other areas of the world's oceans. Significant bottom-current activity was not initiated until the latest Oligocene or early Miocene, probably in response to formation of deep gaps in the Drake Passage area. An apparent 35-40 m.y. hiatus in sedimentation (middle Paleocene-Oligocene) at Site 323 may represent erosion by Miocene bottom currents. The subsequent sedimentary record is dominated by turbidites derived from Antarctica and exhibits frequent reworking by bottom currents at Sites 322, 323, and 325. Silt and clay contourites, deposited from contour currents flowing west along the continental rise, are found at Site 324. The earliest firm evidence for Antarctic glaciation encountered on Leg 35 is ice-rafted debris in lower middle Miocene sediment at Site 325. Comparison of our drilling results with those of Legs 28 and 29 shows a clear latitudinal control on the earliest occurrence of ice rafting: late Oligocene to early Miocene at 65°-70°S ranging to late Miocene to Pliocene at 55°-60°S. The earliest ice-rafting is preceded in all cases by deposition of diatomaceous sediment which is taken to indicate the northward migration of the polar front zone. Analysis of sedimentary textures, composition, and rates of accumulation in Leg 35 cores suggests increasing glaciation of West Antarctica through the Miocene, culminating in a glacial maximum with grounded shelf ice near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. The timing of Pliocene-Pleistocene fluctuations in the glaciation of West Antarctica is not clearly defined in Leg 35 cores, but the ice sheet probably again reached extensive, but ungrounded, shelf-ice conditions several times during this period. 'Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, N.Y. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Sonoma State College, Rohnert Park, California. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.


The second-order sub-optimal sliding mode control (SMC), known in the literature for the last two decades, is extended by a control-off mode which allows for saving energy during the finite time convergence. The systems with relative degree two between the sliding variable and switching control with bounded actuation are considered, while the matched upper-bounded perturbations are not necessarily continuous. Detailed analysis of the proposed energy-saving sub optimal SMC is performed with regard to the parametric conditions, reaching and convergence time, and residual steady oscillations if the parasitic actuator dynamics is added. Constraints for both switching threshold parameters are formulated with respect to the control authority and perturbations upper bound. Based on the estimated finite convergence time, the parameterization of the switching thresholds is solved as constrained minimization of the derived energy cost function. The total energy consuming control-on time is guaranteed to be lower than the upper-bounded convergence time of the conventional sub-optimal SMC. Numerical evaluations expose the properties of the proposed energy-saving sub-optimal SMC and compare it with conventional sub-optimal SMC in terms of the fuel consumption during the convergence.


Not only illuminance but also color of light, color of interior surfaces and luminance distribution contribute to the visual environment which affects our mood as well as perception of brightness. In order to identify the effects of light color, surface color and luminance distribution on perceptions of brightness and atmosphere in living rooms, a subjective experiment using a scale model was carried out. The relationship between Bright–Dark sensation and NB value showed that average NB value in the space could not predict Bright–Dark sensation. A further study on the effects of the color of light and the color of the wall on Bright–Dark sensation is necessary. The CCT of the lamps had effects on "Natural–Unnatural", "Relaxing–Tense", "Comfortable–Uncomfortable" as well as "Warm–Cool". The 5200 K lamp gave a more comfortable and relaxing effects to the subjects than the 2800 K lamp.


PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or best known as PUBG is one of the most famous online multiplayer games nowadays. Being on the market only for a short period of time is enough to make it a big global success. One of the best features embedded on the game is the audio/ voice chat feature that enables the players to communicate verbally with their teammates. This feature not only makes the game more interesting


Undertaking the issues presented in the article indicates the importance of knowledge and leadership in management. The review of managerial competencies, including the comparison of the level of knowledge, skills and experience of managers, is the basis for competition mainly in the aspect of human resources through the management of their intellectual potential. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the importance of the competence of managers responsible for market building and development of IT enterprises. The authors presented the definition of competences, motivation of managers and the role of the sought competences in the international development of the organization. The research presented in the article shows which competences are most valued among managers responsible for the development of IT companies. They also show the plans and willingness of small and medium-sized Polish technology companies to further expand their activities on foreign markets. In this context, the concept of managers' competence and their motivation becomes crucial to international develop the polish companies.


Optical wavelength conversion or wavelength adaptation is a desired functionality for evolving WDM network architectures. The ability to perform routing and switching as a function of wavelength in a network can be achieved through wavelength conversion. The one feature necessary for all wavelength converters is the ability to provide a new wavelength which complies with the specified wavelengths in the system. We describe an optoelectronic wavelength converter in which the new wavelength is provided by an integrated electroabsorption modulated laser (EML) array suitable for low-chirp long haul transmission. The converter consists of a photodiode which converts the input optical signal to an electrical signal. This signal is amplified to drive an EA modulator which is integrated with a DFB laser array, passive optical power combiner and optical amplifier. Each laser in the array has a different grating and thus lases at a different wavelength in the 1550 to 1560 nm region. The transmitter can be configured to provide either selected fixed wavelength output or to switch between output wavelengths as determined by network control. We demonstrate the operation of the wavelength converter at 2.5 Gbits/s. The output wavelength is switched between compliant wavelengths spaced by 200 GHz through software control and bit-error-rate (BER) performance is measured.


The model of free charged Bosons in an external constant magnetic field inside a cylinder, one of the few locally gauge covariant systems amenable to analytic treatment, is rigorously investigated in the semiclassical approximation. The model was first studied by Schafroth and is suitable for the description of quasi-bound electron pairs localized in physical space, the so-called Schafroth pairs, which occur in certain compounds. Under the assumption of existence of a solution of the semiclassical problem for which the ground state (g.s.) expectation value of the current is of the London form, i.e., =− c|φ0(�)| 2 � A(� x), where c is a positive constant, � A the vector potential and φ0 the one-particle g.s. wave function, as well as some regularity assumptions, the magnetic induction may be proved to decay exponentially from its value on the surface of the cylinder. An important role is played by a theorem on the pointwise monotonicity of the ground state wave function on the potential.


Collecting databases, journals, and other e-resources for Elon's PA program within the School of Health Science. Access information for key PA professional journals


Objective: Cyclin D1 promotes cell cycle progression during G1 phase, a key event in G1-S transition. It is a positive regulator of cell cycle. Overexpression may lead to disturbance in normal cell cycle control and tumor formation. The objective of the study was to evaluate the expression of cyclin D1 in varying grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
Methods: Nine formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues were immunohistochemically analyzed for the expression of cyclin D1 in varying grades of OSCC.
Results: Expression of cyclin D1 was more in poorly differentiated OSCC than moderately and well-differentiated OSCC.
Conclusion: Increased expression of cyclin D1 was seen in poorly differentiated OSCC and thus can be used as a biomarker for the aggressiveness of OSCC.


It is a basic issue that Andalusia does not miss the new opportunities offered by the current political situation. The situation today is a favorable one, due to the adoption of several specific policies. However, it is necessary to count with the coordination of the different societal and economics agents, as well as with the coordination of the local and governmental institutions, together with a de-centralization and the civic service. In addition, there is a solidarity compromise that must involve, among other issues, a proper approach to the problems derived from migrations.


Possible scenarios of post-crisis development of Russian agriculture: inertial, intensive-technocratic, natural-innovative, are examined at the article. Dull imitation of the west type of agricultural production development, aimed at large-scale use of chemicals and other factors of intensification, is shown to be inappropriate. The possibility of native agriculture keeping based on technologies close to natural ways of foodstuffs` production is analyzed. The notion of rent income from products manufacture in natural conditions is introduced.


The Metropolitan Museum departs from its cacity. It is impossible to say which had the usual custom in turning over its galleries to harder task-the Juries of Admission, which Artists for Victory, Inc., for them to select and had to try to keep a fresh eye and an even install a comprehensive showing of the constandard while marshaling the countless works temporary art of the United States. The into the ins and the outs, or the Jury of Museum has awarded Award, which had to


The UFAD effect on the large building indoor environment is analyzed through testing the library,numeral stimulation,comparing with traditional air conditioning methods.The result shows that UFAD in large space reading room can not only provide satisfactory indoor air quality environment,but also has significant economic benefit.


The need for internet availability today is very important and greatly improved, people are now so dependent on the role of information technology that it has a very important impact. For that purpose there must be a good and efficient internet service provider system that should be economical. The Internet has had a huge effect on the dissemination of information, so that more and more people are accessing data over the Internet. These problems can be solved using MikroTik as a regulator of Internet data bandwidth and filtering sites that can interfere with computer network connectivity and interfere with job performance in accordance with established rules. This research was conducted using several steps, among others: process analysis to determine the traffic flow through the filtering process using Layer 7 Protocols, design to get the most effective and efficient way to implement router, implementation and testing by direct test to the web page or website with web browser. Based on research that has been done using MikroTik Routerboard whose result can fulfill system requirement specially in doing application filtering according to user requirement.


Abstract This paper explores teachers' decision making by examining the topics that 11 history teachers from 10 schools in England chose to teach and how they approached teaching these topics. Data were gathered from curriculum documents and semi-structured interviews in which teachers' topic choices and approaches to history were explored. Most teachers adopted a disciplinary approach to history teaching but one focused on analytical structures rather than processes. Additionally the findings suggest a large degree of uniformity in the topics chosen despite the freedom provided within the policy documents for history teaching in England. Few teachers had given much consideration to approaches that demonstrate the 'usability' of history for young people. This suggests a need to engage teachers more fully in robust curriculum debates given their central role in enacting curricula.


In spite of the loads of hardcore punk and extreme metal works weve covered in recent years, 2017 proved an astonishing year for experimental prog and ...


Abstract: We concentrate on investigating the existence of positive solutions for the system of second order singular semipositone m-point boundary value problems in this article. We emphasize that the nonlinear term may take a negative value and be singular. By the properties of Green's function and applying fixed point theorem in cones, existence results for positive solutions are obtained. Also, we provide an example to make our results clear and easy for readers to understand the existence result.


[reaction: see text] The free-radical hydrostannation of 1 with Ph(3)SnH and catalytic Et(3)B in PhMe has been mechanistically probed. At high Ph(3)SnH concentrations, the O-directed hydrostannation pathway dominates, and 2 is formed with good selectivity (ca. 11.1:1). Substantially lower stannane/substrate concentrations increase the amount of tandem 5-exo-trig cyclization product 3 that is observed.


Michael Patrick Ryan ("Mike") studied at the London School of Economics and graduated BSc in economics with first class honours in 1959. Many of us will consider it our good fortune that he did not long pursue what could have been a promising career in economics Instead he started all over again as a medical student, graduating at Oxford in 1968. After junior hospital appointments, he went into general medical practice in Oxfordshire and then in Lincolnshire.

In 1974 he boldly moved north with his family to take up a conjoint appointment in Livingston. At that time, the Scottish Home and Health Department was actively promoting the Livingston scheme to bring the various parts of the NHS closer together. We were all enthusiastic and mostly quite young.

Joining our …


Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is the one of interest for ultrahigh temperature applications due to its high melting point (~3550, respectively), solid-state phase stability, and good thermo-mechanical and thermo-chemical properties.[1] And it has typical faceted carbides with NaCl-type lattice structure, which exhibits many exceptional properties, such as high specific strength and hardness, high wear and corrosion resistance, as well as higher temperature tensile and creep strength. [2,3] Furthermore, these carbide particles are good obstacle for dislocation movement and can increase recrystallization temperature and hinder grain growth of tungsten matrix, which result in strength increment at elevated temperature.[4] Tungsten, due to its high melting point, is an ideal material for high temperature applications. In recent years, tungsten based composites with improved properties were developed. The W–ZrC composites present great erosion resistance and lower density. ZrC as the


The unusual occurrence of two psychosomatic papers (pages 13 and 16) in a single issue of this Journal might suggest that they are of special interest, exceptional importance or exemplary design — or perhaps that the Journal simply has become more receptive to such contributions. Unfortunately, none of these seem to be the case. Rather, the articles are typical of certain psychosomatic studies that from time to time appeal to editors because they seem "more scientific" than usual. Indeed, they may even inspire editorials on their exceptional scientific quality and praise for scholarly refutation of earlier claims of psychosomatic relations. . . .


An axisymmetric finite element model of a restored lower molar was used to examine the effect of interface parameter changes on the stresses within the restored tooth. The resulting principal and equivalent stresses and displacements were evaluated and plotted throughout the model. It was found that changes in amalgam-tooth interface parameters resulted in noticeable changes in the stress distribution.


The paper systematically analyzes the connotative construction of Wei Yuanguang's ideology of technical education.It contains theoretical principle,means of implementation,educational policy,constitutional system,the principle and idea of running a school,and the building of school spirit.


Adaptive systems are self-adjusting and seek the optimum in a continuous way, thus becoming less dependent on a priori knowledge. However, the input signal statistics play an important role in selecting the appropriate cost function optimization. Recently, the error entropy criterion with nonparametric estimator for Renyi's quadratic definition has been proposed as an alternative for mean square error (MSE) in supervised adaptation by Principe, Erdogmus and coworkers. For instance, minimum error entropy (MEE) had been shown as a more robust criterion for dynamic modeling and an alternative to MSE in other supervised learning applications using nonlinear systems.
The major goal of our research was to extend their work, improving the MEE algorithm and demonstrating its superior performance in many practical applications that concern adaptive signal processing. We proposed four new algorithms: minimum error entropy with self adjusting step-size (MEE-SAS), normalized minimum error entropy (NMEE), fixed-point minimum error entropy (MEE-FP) and fast minimum error entropy with fast Gauss transform (fast MEE with FGT) and improved fast Gauss transform (fast MEE with IFGT).
First, MEE-SAS provides a natural "Target" that is available to automatically control the algorithm step size. We attribute the self adjusting step size property of MEE-SAS to its changing curvature as opposed to MEE which has a constant curvature. Therefore, MEE-SAS has faster speed of convergence as compared to MEE algorithm for the same misadjustment. However, in the case of a non-stationary environment, MEE-SAS loses its tracking ability due to the "flatness" of the curvature near the optimal solution. We solved this problem by proposing a switching scheme between MEE and MEE-SAS algorithms for non-stationary scenario which effectively combines the speed of MEE-SAS when far from the optimal solution with the tracking ability of MEE when near the solution.
Second, NMEE, which aims at minimizing the weight change subject to the constraint of optimal information potential, performs better than MEE with respect to three major points: it is less sensitive to the input power and the kernel size, and converges faster.
Third, the MEE-FP utilizes the first order optimality condition of the error entropy and the fixed-point iteration. Since this algorithm is the second order update similar to recursive least square (RLS), this is suitable to speed up convergence irrespective of the eigenvalue spread of the input correlation matrix.
The original error entropy criteria estimated using Parzen windowing have higher computational complexity of O(N 2) when compared with MSE, where N is the number of samples in the training set. Therefore, the fourth algorithm is the fast MEE methods with FGT and IFGT which help alleviate this problem by accurate and efficient computation of entropy using the Hermite expansion and the Taylor expansion in O(pN), where p is the order of the expansion approximation.
Although the MEE cost function is particularly applicable to nonlinear signal processing, in our research we used linear system problems to demonstrate the convergence properties of the new entropy based algorithms and to compare them with the MSE counterparts. In the application chapter we addressed the two main application domains of the proposed algorithms: linear or nonlinear model fitting in the presence of impulsive noise and nonlinear system identification.


1. Since 2002, Statistics New Zealand has been working on integrating data supplied by various government agencies, including its own. Several independent projects successfully linked these datasets where each linked dataset answered specific questions. These linked datasets can provide more information other than what they currently deliver if they can all be linked together. Linking these datasets in a single environment will allow us to use and analyse data across the different datasets as part of research, official statistics, or special queries. However, when pulling the individual data together, difficulties can arise in the environments where these linked datasets are created and stored.


BackgroundPaBing-II Formula (PB-II) is a traditional Chinese medicine developed to treat Parkinson's disease (PD). However, due to the complexity of PB-II and the difficulty of culturing human dopaminergic neurons (DAn) in vitro, the mechanism of PB-II to treat PD remains unclear. MethodsWe established the human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and derived DAn from hiPSCs to study the protective effects of PB-II on DAn after oxidative stress, which plays an important role in PD pathogenesis. ResultsWe found that serum derived from rats that had ingested PB-II significantly protect hiPSC-derived DAn from reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, PB-II dependent serum can activate nuclear erythroid-derived factor 2 (Nrf2) responses, which are required for the neutralization of ROS. In addition, PB-II can activate the Nrf2/ARE signal pathway of midbrain dopaminergic neurons of PD rats induced with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) injury, rescue DAn cells, and improve the symptoms of PD rats. ConclusionsPB-II significantly protects the DA neurons from oxidative stress by activating the Nrf2 pathway.


Reinforcing cord of the present invention is a reinforcing cord for reinforcing a rubber, and a plurality of glass fiber strands which are arranged around the carbon fiber strand (11) and the carbon fiber strand (11) (12) including. According to the present invention, which has a sufficient tensile strength to reinforce rubber products, dimensional stability and high bending fatigue resistance reinforcing cord can be obtained.


With the rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies, vehicular networks that communicate with each other will have an innovative application in traffic safety and congestion. This study describes a preliminary study on an automated on-ramp merging control algorithm for vehicles on freeways under condition of Internet-connected vehicles. On the basis of vehicular operation characteristics during the merging process analysis, a cooperative driving algorithm based on Internet of vehicles was designed to achieve ramp merging without collision. Then two on-ramp merging cases, including one vehicle and two vehicles merging into the platoon on main lane, were discussed in detail. Simulation works were carried out and the results proved that the on-ramp merging algorithm was effective, but the vehicle following the leading vehicle on ramp lane is disturbed seriously by the leading vehicle. At the same time, the simulation results also showed the scenario that merging a platoon into the two vehicles on main lane affects the traffic flow more seriously than letting each individual vehicle on ramp lane consecutively to merge in between the two vehicles in the main lane under the same initial condition.


This paper introduces the geographical position of Pingshang Reservoir and the layout condition of its spillway, and analyzes the relationship between the water level of spillway and the discharge flow, and expounds the calculation of the water surface profile and energy dissipation by trajectory jet.


Faunistic records of six Palaearctic species of the subgenus Gonolochus Foerster (genus Tersilochus Holmgren) are provided. Many new country records are given, e.g. first findings of four Gonolochus species from Russia. Tersilochus caudatus (Holmgren) is abundant Trans-Palaearctic species, while five other species are mainly occur in Europe. Tersilochus stenocari (Gregor) is recorded as parasitoid of the weevil Phrydiuchus topiarius (Germar) for the first time.


Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal which is not essential for human body. Cadmium enters into human body mainly through food consumption. Besides industrial wastes, phosphate fertilizers contain Cd which accumulates gradually in agricultural lands. To produce high quantity of food for about 160 million people of Bangladesh, agricultural lands need to be applied huge amount of fertilizes including TSP which add Cd to soils. It has been reported that in rice grains the cadmium concentrations were the highest in Bangladesh and Srilanka where the per capita rice intake is high, from a survey on four continents of 12 countries. The intake of these Cd containing foods may ultimately increase the Cd concentration in human kidneys and livers which might be related to the enhanced kidney patients in Bangladesh. There is lot of toxic effects of excess Cd on humans. The present review illustrates the urgency of further studies of Cd in Bangladesh.
J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 11(1-2): 227-234 2018


The significance of inland wetlands to Australian waterbirds has been overlooked until recently. One important area identified from regular aerial survey centres on the Paroo River in north-western New South Wales. Between April 1983 and December 1985, a period covering a major flood, waterbird populations were estimated on five wetland systems associated with the Paroo during 14 trips. Fifty- three waterbird species were recorded with the anatids, Anas gibberifrons and Malacorhynchus membranaceus, accounting for 75 per cent of total estimated populations. Most breeding events were observed in those wetlands dominated by Muehlenbeckia florulenta (lignum). Breeding accounted for shifts in waterbird populations between wetland systems. A model of waterbird usage of the five wetland systems in relation to a complete flood event is described. The importance for waterbird conservation of wetlands used for breeding and maintenance of populations between flood events, and threats to the integrity of these wetlands are discussed.


The Geographical Society sponsored an undemanding walking tour of Kiama on Saturday, May 12, 2012. It was an educationally unpretentious event, after which no examination was required. Despite predictions of a cold day (who really needs weather forecasters when half those present were in the grip of arthritis?), the sun shone and the sky was blue and the sea was relaxed. Despite the moon's being at its perigee, the king tides had retreated, leaving only minor festoons of beach gravel and dwarf kelp along the promenade.


Depending on the changing business environment in the traditional markets are experiencing a lot of difficulties. In order to enable traditional markets has been to the brink of a variety of studies in progress. Accordingly, the government has a budget to support the massive effort to modernize its traditional markets. However, traditional market is changing, but the bottom line is the actual appearance of solving performance was still little. Based on these issues, awareness of the current research conducted in this desirable market and the traditional market for the traditional differences in the recognition of the discovery. Recognition of these differences based on the traditional attractions market direction and composition of the present strategy.


American Journal of Philology. XLVii. i. January-March. 1926 The Res Gestae Diui Augusti as recorded on the Monumentum Antiochenum. A complete text, based on the results of the excavations of 1924, with commentary and illustrative plates, intended primarily to record divergences from the text of the Ancyranum. Tenney Frank, The Inscriptions of the Imperial Domains of Africa. With relation only to the small area (25 x 30 Roman miles) ' north and south of the middle Bagradas river,' attempts to explain the conditions depicted in the inscriptions by a study of the history of the district and its climatic and economic conditions and peculiarities. Helen M. Johnson, A New Account of the Relations between Mahavira and Gosala. Summarizes the story which is presented in Sargas III . , IV., and VIII . of Hemacandra's Mahavlracaritra, arguing that it represents a substantial Jaina tradition, and should therefore be used to supplement the Bhagavati Sutra. G. B. Dolson, Did Caxton translate the De Consolatione Philosophiae of Boethius ? Collects evidence to show that this persistent tradition is an error, and traces it to its source in Richard Morris' edition of Chaucer's translation, or in that by Caroline Pemberton of Queen Elizabeth's Englishings.


Information technology (IT) is one of the most important means by which companies can win an advantaged position in drastically competed market. It has a positive effect on the advancement of the corporation's technical innovation. The application of IT can promote the communication among subordinates of a corporation or group, reduce explicit boundaries of the subordinates, and boost the ripple effect of technical innovation of the subordinates. Not only does any subordinate company within a corporation need to assess both technical and economic benefits brought to the corporation itself by technical innovation, but also it should thoroughly analyze how the ripple effect of technical innovation among subordinate companies plays a significant role in the boosting value of the corporation as a whole. In this paper, a scientific approach to assessing technical innovation of a subordinate company is proposed through


By 2031 the number of people aged 65 and over in the UK is expected to be more than 15 million—nearly a quarter of the population (Office of National Statistics, 2010). Caring for older people has always been one of the top priorities for hospitals, yet it requires special expertise (Royal College of Nursing, 2004). In this article, Claire Lowther focuses on how age can affect a person's health and recovery, with particular reference to enhanced recovery and stoma care.


The objective of the research is to describe the argument structure of transitive sentence (ASTS) in Toba Batak Language (TBL). The data is analyzed by distributional method as suggested by Soedaryanto (1993) and Mahsun (2011). With the use of the oral and written data, as well as the observation method, this research has found that the argument structure of indirect object is placed preceding the verb and argument structure of direct object which becomes the subject itself, is followed by the indirect object. In bi-transitive sentence, there is one oblique argument which is marked by preposition /tu-/. Each of the verb then forms the transitive and bitransitive sentence which are of course marked by different affixes.


A simple and rapid method for gas chromatographic determination of ethiofencarb, dieldrin and captan in onion was developed. The objective of this report was to demonstrate the applicability of the freezing treatment method which was proposed in the previous paper to FPD (S)-GC and ECD-GC.First of all, the sample to be analyzed was frozen to inactivate enzymes. The sample was cut into pieces, placed in a mixer cup containing dilute phosphoric acid and then homogenized. Pesticides in the homogenized sample were extracted with aqueous acetone. The extract was concentrated in vacuo, diluted with NaCl solution and reextracted with hexane. Ethiofencarb in the hexane extract was determined by FPD (S)-GC using a capillary column of ULBON HR-1. For dieldrin and captan analysis, a part of the hexane extract was further cleaned up by Florisil column chromatography and the pesticides were determined by ECD-GC using the same column described above.No interfering peak was found on the gas chromatograms of onion extracts. The recoveries of the pesticides from onion were more than 84%.


This paper presents an improved method of generating response distributions by using a covariance fit for the surfaces, enabling manufacturing distributions to be more accurately predicted. Response surfaces and distributions are compared for covariance and polynomial models for both a known response and for actual simulation data and the improvements in the predicted distributions highlighted.


The present invention relates to a device to assist the opening of a covering element pivotably mounted relative to an edge of a frame. According to the invention, an assistance cylinder (6) includes a hollow shaft (7), a guide pin (10) inserted in the hollow shaft (7) and of which the end thereof opposite the end wall (8) comprises a yoke (11), a spring (13) inserted in the hollow shaft (7) surrounding the guide pin (10) and mounted pre-stressed when unloaded between the end wall (4) of the hollow shaft (7) and the yoke (11) of the guide pin (10), and a means (14) secured to the end of the guide pin (10) and engaging with the end wall (8) of the hollow shaft (7) for keeping the pre-stressed spring (13) in the released state thereof. The invention is useful in the field of road systems.


Italian Undergraduate Students Comprehending Economics and Business Texts in English as a Foreign Language. A Case Study of Language-Conceptual Transfer and Strategies used in Reading Domain-Specific Texts. Christina Muriel Samson (February 2009) This study, within the Vygotskyian constructivist socio-cultural developmental framework, investigates the interdependence of general and domain-specific conceptual knowledge, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, attitude, motivation and context in the process of bidirectional Italian↔English transfer in Italian undergraduates comprehending domain-specific texts in the Faculty of Economics, University of Florence, Italy. The method adopted is primarily qualitative, with quantitative support. From October 2004 to April 2005, subjects wrote pilot multiple choice question tests on basic and advanced Italian economics texts. The same subjects underwent tests in Italian and English, containing translation equivalent or similar concepts in English economics and business texts. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics, sensitive to monotonic relationships between performance and proficiency test scores as variables, measured the differences between tests taken under matched circumstances. Using an item difficulty analysis, the scores were interpreted qualitatively by textual analysis, using Geeian and Hallidayian approaches. Their purpose was to investigate construal and derivation of meaning in different genres and texts types. In April 2005, the subjects answered a cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies questionnaire; in May 2005, they completed a attitude and motivation questionnaire. The data were triangulated with information from interviews of Faculty members in May 2005. The findings show undergraduate level transfer is not an automatic process. It is influenced by several variables operating synchronically and synergistically, calling for a multi-perspective view of transfer which I have defined as contextual syncretism. Within syncretism, variation in any of the variables impacts significantly on reading performance and proficiency. The data show transfer is affected by the undergraduates' capacity to reframe domain-specific concepts when applying them to novel domains in Italian and in English. Hence transfer is interrelated with learning strategies and pedagogy, as well as the Italian and English curricula. All these issues are linked to contextual factors regarding Faculty management and planning decisions impacting on the Faculty of Economics' EFL course. Due to its small size, this study cannot provide generalisations. It provides, however, opportunities for further research. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn


In the three-dimension seismic data processing,displaying the post-stack seismic data of adjacent lines in the longitudinal direction may save plotting paper and reduce processing cost.The paper presents the seismic data processing method to create 3D seismic plotting data which can be displayed in the longitudinal direction.The method introduces that the drawing data set can be created by separating 3D post-stack data set,prolonging data record lengths,modifying the line number and merging 3D post-stack data set.Through real plotting,post-stack seismic sections of different lines may be displayed in the longitudinal direction.Therefore the processing method saves paper greatly and reduces processing cost.


A large germplasm prospecting expedition was carried out in different ecoregions in ten Brazilian States in order collect and characterize Psidium guajava L. and another Psidium species, known as araca. Ecogeographic sampling areas were defined based on eco-geographical zoning and vegetation maps. The accessions were characterized for 40 descriptors, according to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants guidelines. One hundred and nineteen guava accessions and 40 araca accessions araca were sampled and characterized in 35 different Brazilian ecoregions. The most invariable descriptors for both guava and araca were color of young shoots, leaf pubescence on lower side, leaf blade length and width, leaf variegation, fruit surface relief, fruit longitudinal ridges and grooves and evenness of fruit flesh color. The large majority of araca accessions presented widely spaced leaf veins, contrasting with the guava accessions that presented medium to close spacing. Most fruits of araca accessions were classified as small, while most fruits of guava accessions were grouped into the class of medium size. For the fruit flesh color, 91% araca were grouped as cream and white, while 58% guava accessions presented pale pink, pink and dark pink coloring. These fruit differences among wild Psidium species and guava suggested that the fruit traits have been the most altered trait by artificial selection.


Noble gases have played a key role in our understanding of the origin of Earth's volatiles, mantle structure, and long-term degassing of the mantle. Here we synthesize new insights into these topics gained from high-precision noble gas data. Our analysis reveals new constraints on the origin of the terrestrial atmosphere, the presence of nebular neon but chondritic krypton and xenon in the mantle, and a memory of multiple giant impacts during accretion. Furthermore, the reservoir supplying primordial noble gases to plumes appears to be distinct from the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) reservoir since at least 4.45 Ga. While differences between the MORB mantle and plume mantle cannot be explained solely by recycling of atmospheric volatiles, injection and incorporation of atmospheric-derived noble gases into both mantle reservoirs occurred over Earth history. In the MORBmantle, the atmospheric-derived noble gases are observed to be heterogeneously distributed, reflecting inefficient mixing even within the vigorously convecting MORB mantle. Primordial noble gases in the atmosphere were largely derived from planetesimals delivered after the Moon-forming giant impact. 389 A nn u. R ev . E ar th P la ne t. Sc i. 20 19 .4 7: 38 941 9. D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w .a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g A cc es s pr ov id ed b y W as hi ng to n U ni ve rs ity S t. L ou is o n 05 /3 1/ 19 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y. EA47CH16_Mukhopadhyay ARjats.cls May 7, 2019 10:34 Volatiles: used here to refer to the elements and compounds of H, C, N, S, halogens, and noble gases Mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source: mantle region sampled to produce MORBs over Earth's history Reservoir: physical domain or region within Earth (mantle, crust, ocean, atmosphere) whose mean composition contrasts with some other domain within Earth Plume source: mantle region sampled by plumes over Earth's history Heterogeneities dating back to Earth's accretion are preserved in the present-day mantle. Mid-ocean ridge basalts and plume xenon isotopic ratios cannot be related by differential degassing or differential incorporation of recycled atmospheric volatiles. Differences in mid-ocean ridge basalts and plume radiogenic helium, neon, and argon ratios can be explained through the lens of differential long-term degassing.


Fernandes et al. used the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (ISAS) to measure patient satisfaction after cataract surgery. The ISAS generally is appropriate for cataract surgery and has content validity for monitored anesthesia care. Fung et al. showed that the ISAS can be used to measure patient satisfaction with cataract care under topical local anesthesia and monitored sedation. However, the three previous studies that assessed the reliability and validity of ISAS were performed in English. There is a clear distinction in English between the somatic "I felt pain" and the emotive "I hurt." The authors' Methods section does not state that the study was limited to patients who speak and write English at a 4 grade level or higher, as applicable. The authors' Discussion does not mention language. Was the instrument used in English or Portuguese? If Portuguese, what systematic processes were used for translation? What percentage of respondents answered these two questions differently? What was the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) of the instrument? A Portuguese version of the instrument would be very helpful for future investigations. In addition, ISAS is copyrighted by Franklin Dexter and the University of Iowa Research Foundation. This is stated in each table of the original paper, throughout the second paper, and in each related table of the Fung et al. paper. Performing a web search with either Google or Bing (performed February 14, 2014) using the term "Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale" returned the authorization form for use as the first entry. What steps did the authors follow to use ISAS, and what changes do the authors recommend for the authorization process described at www.FranklinDexter.net/FAQ/FAQ_a32.htm.


This paper attempts to investigate whether or not translation facilitates the accuracy of the past tense. It looks at the correlations between the two translation tasks and the actual writing of a narrative genre. One hundred seventeen second year university students from the General Education program enrolled in Writing in the Discipline took the four writing tasks as their prelim examination. Four writing tasks included: word level morphological transformation, sentence level translation, paragraph level translation, and actual writing of a narrative genre. Results show that both translation tasks, and paragraph writing are statistically different when students are grouped according to the language used at home. All four writing tasks are high in level whether students are bilingual or multilingual speakers. The correlations between sentence level translation and paragraph level translation to the actual paragraph narrative writing aver that translation facilitates the accuracy of the past tense of the verbs in actual paragraph narrative writing. The study offers implications for language teaching and learning, and the relevance of the study for the Mother Tongue-Based–Multilingual Education curriculum implemented in the Philippines.


Different pollutants can be found in water, inorganic material (chloride, chlorine, heavy metal ions…) and organic material (trace of medicament…). Among them, heavy metal ions are of among the most toxic for human and the environment.
Analysis of water contaminants that are toxic for human being and aquatic life is of primary importance. Especially, the measurements of the quality of drinking water delivered in private dwelling is a significant public health concern. A family of undesired contaminants is heavy metals. An elevated concentration of metal ions in water is mostly due to an intensive human activity (industry, farming, and housing). In small quantities, certain heavy metals (e.g., iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) are nutritionally essential for a healthy life. However, heavy metals show a great trend to form complexes, especially with ligands of biological matter containing nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. As a result, changes in the molecular structure of proteins, breaking of hydrogen bonds, or inhibition of enzymes can occur[1]. These interactions, among others, may explain the toxicological and carcinogenic effects of heavy metals. These ions can cause damages to many organs and are responsible of diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases[2-6]{Liu, 2015 #101;Liu, 2015 #101;Kim, 2012 #102;Kim, 2012 #102;Liu, 2015 #101;Kim, 2012 #102;Liu, 2015 #101;Kim, 2012 #102;Liu, 2015 #101}. Respiratory and cardiac problems can be caused by nickel ingestion[7], and accumulation of the Ni2+ ion in the body leads to oxidative stress[8]; Ni2+ and Cu2+ are also noxious to teeth and bones. These negative effects result from the formation of coordination complexes between the metal ions and biological matter.Heavy metals are not biodegradable and therefore they remain in ecological systems and in the food chain indefinitely, exposing top-level predators to very high levels of pollution.Different methods are used to determine their quantity concentration in aqueous phase such as anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) [4, 6], solid phase extraction combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry ICP-OES[4, 6] and cold-vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method[9]. These methods are well established, but are costly, time consuming, lack portability, and rely on trained personnel because of their complexity[10].Therefore, cheap, portable and real-time response real-time sensors for the determination of heavy metals in aqueous solutions are needed, particularly in sensitive environments, such as drinking water and industrial wastewater effluents. Here we design and elaborate The aim of the project is to develop these kinds of sensors to satisfy the current need. Two kinds of sensors have been elaborated in the project: the first one is optical sensors based on functionalized conjugated polymers (CPs). The second one is a communicating resistive sensors based on conjugated polymers (CPs)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanohybride for the quick detection of pollutants in aqueous water. To our knowledge, no this kind of resistive of sensors has been developed yet. The start of the project focuses onWe start the project for the detection of metal ions, however, it can later be extended to other kinds of pollutants (such as nitrate, chloride, even drugs) using different polymers with the same working mechanism.


We study quantum interference effects on the transition strength for strongly localized electrons hopping on two-dimensional (2D) square and three-dimensional (3D) cubic lattices in the presence of a magnetic field. These effects arise from the interference between phase factors associated with different electron paths connecting two distinct sites. For electrons confined on a square lattice, with and without disorder, we obtain closed-form expressions for the tunneling probability, which determines the conductivity, between two arbitrary sites by exactly summing the corresponding phase factors of all forward-scattering paths connecting them. By analytically summing paths which allow backward excursions in the forward-scattering direction, we find that the interference patterns between the dominant winding paths are not drastically different from those between the directed paths. An analytic field-dependent expression, valid in any dimension, for the magnetoconductance (MC) is derived. A positive MC is clearly observed when turning on the magnetic field. In 2D, when the strength of B reaches a certain value, which is inversely proportional to twice the hopping length, the MC is increased by a factor of 2 compared to that at zero field. The periodicity in the flux of the MC is found to be equal to the superconducting flux quantum hc/2e. We also investigate transport on the much less-studied and experimentally important 3D cubic lattice case, where it is shown how the interference patterns and the small-field behavior of the MC vary according to the orientation of the applied field B. At very small fields, for two sites diagonally separated a distance r, we find that the MC behaves as rB in quasi-1D systems, ${\mathit{r}}^{3/2}$B in 2D with B=(0,0,B), and rB (${\mathit{r}}^{3/2}$B) in 3D with B parallel (perpendicular) to the (1,1,1) direction. Furthermore, for a 3D sample, the effect on the low-flux MC due to the randomness of the angles between the hopping direction and the orientation of B is examined analytically. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.


The authors use a hierarchical Bayes approach to area level unmatched sampling and Unking models for small area estimation. Empirically they compare inferences under unmatched models with those obtained under the customary matched sampling and linking models. They apply the proposed method to Canadian census undercoverage estimation, developing a full hierarchical Bayes approach using Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling methods. They show that the method can provide efficient model‐based estimates. They use posterior predictive distributions to assess model fit.


Excellent c-axis perpendicularly oriented barium hexaferrite thin films have been achieved on both (Ill) and (100) Pt underlayers by either conventional rf diode or magnetron sputtering. TEM cross section study has revealed a sharp interface between the barium hexaferrite and the Pt underlaver, indicating no extensive interfacial reactions between layers. This has enabled fabrication of very thin barium hexaferrite films as thin as 50A. A 50A thick Pt underlayer is sUfl!cient to produce a g~ c~s perpendicular orientation in the barium hexaferrite layer. High coercivity (above 2000 Oe) perpendlcular banum hexafemte medla can be obtained in a film thickness range suitable for high density perpendicular recording.


Several statements on quasi-ideals of semirings are given in this paper, where these semirings may have an absorbing element O or not. In Section 2 we characterize regular semirings and regular elements of semi-rings using quasi-ideals (cf. Thms. 2.1, 2.2 and 2.7). In Section 3 we deal with (O-)minimal and canonical quasi-ideals. In particular, if the considered semiring S is semiprime or quasi-reflexive, we present criterions which allow to decide easily whether an


The researcher in this paper seeks to analyze the concept of the freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India with an emphasis on the test of the constitutional regulation. This paper has been divided into Eight parts. Part I introduces introductory outline of the work. Part II covers the importance of freedom of speech and expression. Part III covers the Constituent Assembly Debate on Article 13 (corresponding to Article 19 of the present Constitution) held on Wednesday, December 1, 1948. Part IV deals with constitutional protection of freedom of speech and expression. Part V covers the scope of freedom of speech and expression. Part VI covers the constitutional regulation of freedom of expression. Part VII deals with the test of constitutional regulations, and ends with the concluding word under Part VIII.


The article deals with the problem of educational motive forming starting from the history of ancient schools and finishing with the modern views on motive theories. The article presents short characteristics of motivate aspects of pedagogic systems: the Ancient World, Shumer school, Ancient Greek, "School of Joy" by Vittorino-da-Feltre, the Old Russia, Ya. A. Komensky, J. Lokk, Zh. Zh. Russo, I. G. Pestalozzi, I. F. Gerbert, K. D. Ushinsky, L. N. Tolstoy, the first Soviet school.


We have isolated cDNAs encoding the α6 subunit from a γ gt11 expression library from human keratinocytes by combined screening with a rabbit polyclonal anti-α6 antibody and the polymerase chain reaction. The α6 subunit encoded by this cDNA consists of 1050 amino acids with a 991-amino-acid extracellular, a 23-amino-acid transmembrane and a 36-amino-acid cytoplasmic domain. The extracellular domain contains three putative divalent cation-binding sites and nine potential N-linked glycosylation sites. From a cDNA library from normal human mammary gland cells two different cDNAs for α6 were isolated, one of which is identical to the above cDNA. The two α6 subunits, called α6A and α6B, encoded by the two cDNAs each have a unique cytoplasmic domain, that of α6B being 18 amino acids longer than that of α6A.

Different carcinoma cell lines contain transcripts for both α6 subunits. K 562 leukemic cells have little α6A or α6B mRNAs. The overall level of expression varies in the carcinoma cell lines, but reflects α6 cell surface expression. In A375 melanoma cells, however, cell surface expression of α6 was low in spite of a high level of mRNA. This suggests that other mechanisms may be involved in regulating the expression of α6 on the surface of these cells. The mRNA for both α6 subunits is around 6 kb.

The α6 subunits are similar to other α subunits (26–31% identity with cleaved α subunits) of the integrin family but they are more similar to the α3 subunit (40% identity). This high degree of similarity may be the basis for their functional resemblance since both α3 and α6 subunits, when associated with β1, function as laminin receptors and bind to the long arm of laminin. The genes for α6 and β4, the alternative β subunit with which α6 combines on certain epithelial cells, were mapped to chromosome 2 and 17q11-qter, respectively.


The responsibility for water resource administration is shared between various agencies under both the Federal and State Governments in Malaysia. The Federal agencies are responsible for the planning, research and development of water resources, while the State agencies are responsible for water supply infrastructure development including financing, operation and maintenance. However, in view of the need for a more holistic approach in water resources planning and development, the Malaysian Government has introduced the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) of 2006 to regulate the water industry in the country. The National Water Services Industry Commission (SPAN) was also established and employs the WSIA as regulatory tools to regulate the national water services industry in terms of licensing, supervision and monitoring. The idea of consolidation is to centralize the water assets and put the onus of developing the water infrastructure on the Federal Government, who will then lease them back to the asset operators who can then focus on providing clean and reliable water supply under a more regulated landscape. The exercise was to involve twelve States in Malaysia including the Labuan island which is under Federal Government territory. To date, only three States have completed the migration to the new licensing framework which is a reflection of the complexity of the exercise. The paper will review the current national situation with a particular concentration on the State of Selangor which is the economic powerhouse of Malaysia. A case is to be made for good water governance which involves more than just efficient government institutions but also more effective relationships between government and civil society in ensuring that all stakeholders' water needs are considered and that the institutions responsible are accountable to them.


Low-dose CT (LDCT) scanning is a potential way to reduce the radiation exposure of X-ray in the population. It is necessary to improve the quality of low-dose CT images. In this paper, we propose an effective algorithm for quantum noise removal in LDCT images using shearlet transform. Because the quantum noise can be simulated by Poisson process, we first transform the quantum noise by using anscombe variance stabilizing transform (VST), producing an approximately Gaussian noise with unitary variance. Second, the non-noise shearlet coefficients are obtained by adaptive hard-threshold processing in shearlet domain. Third, we reconstruct the de-noised image using the inverse shearlet transform. Finally, an anscombe inverse transform is applied to the de-noised image, which can produce the improved image. The main contribution is to combine the anscombe VST with the shearlet transform. By this way, edge coefficients and noise coefficients can be separated from high frequency sub-bands effectively. A number of experiments are performed over some LDCT images by using the proposed method. Both quantitative and visual results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the quantum noise while enhancing the subtle details. It has certain value in clinical application.


[Objective] To explore the effects of L-arginine on the brains of fetal rats with IUGR and the relationship with the levels of NO, MDA and SOD. [Methods] After establishment of IUGR model with passive smoking, 45 rats were divided into 5 groups: control group, IUGR group, low dose of L-arginine (100 mg/kg) treated group, middle dose of L-arginine (200 mg/kg) treated group and high dose of L-arginine (400 mg/kg) treated group. On day 21 of gestation, the body weight, brain weight and liver weight of fetal rats were examined. The levels of NO, MDA and SOD activity in the brains of fetal rats were measured. [Results] The average body weight, brain weight and liver weight of fetal rats of IUGR group were significantly lower than those of control group. The levels of NO and MDA in the brains of fetal rats were increased significantly, but the activity of SOD in the brains of fetal rats were decreased. All of these changes were improved in low and middle doses of L-arginine treated groups. No statistical difference was observed between high dose of L-arginine treated group and IUGR group. [Conclusions] L-arginine can decrease the incidence of IUGR in rats of passive smoking and improve the development of the brains of fetal rats. The effect of L-arginine has some relationship with the unbalance between oxidate and antioxidate system.


. Let T be an ergodic measure-preserving transformation on a non-atomic probability space ( X, Σ ,µ ). We prove uniform extensions of the Wiener- Wintner theorem in two settings: For averages involving weights coming from Hardy field functions, p : and for "twisted" polynomial ergodic averages: for certain classes of badly approximable θ ∈ [0 , 1]. We also give an elementary proof that the above twisted polynomial aver- ages converge pointwise µ -a.e. for f ∈ L p ( X ) , p > 1 , and arbitrary θ ∈ [0 , 1].


In recent year, in the automobile industry, advanced driving and parking assistance systems have been developed.The ultrasound sensor system used in such a system is currently only a simple distance mesurement.Iin this paper,as ahigh-performance ultrasound sensor system aim for used  a more advanced parking assist system, we reserch on an ultrasound sensor system that can roughly classify the shape of a target object by using frequency-modulated ultrasound wave, frequrncy analysis of refrected waves, and a self-organaizing map(SOM).


Occupational health and safety (OHS) is an essential area concerned with the protection, health, and safety plus the welfare of individuals involved in any kind of occupation. This study aimed at assessing the occupational health and safety awareness and practices among the healthcare workers in the pediatric hospital in Benghazi city, Libya. The study adopted descriptive survey research in the Benghazi pediatric hospital. The study randomly selected 246 healthcare workers and the response rate was 96%. A questionnaire was used as the main data collection instrument. The data were coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics; frequencies and percentages and inferential analysis of correlation. Around 50% of the participants reported a lower level of awareness regarding occupational health and safety (OHS). The study proposes that the ministry of health should conduct specialist training in occupational health and safety for their staff, they also should confirm provisions of this policy and technical guidelines apply to all health institutions and administrative units within the health sector. Further hospital risk management should put in place a regular monitoring team who will certify that workers notice in firm terms safety measures put in place to avoid any accidents/injuries. Lastly, the study recommends that further research on the factors determining the implementation of occupational health and safety awareness and practices at public health care facilities in Libya.


The methodology and results of the technology CAD followed by electronic CAD simulations for p-i-n photodiodes with microwave bandwidth are highlighted. Experimental verification results are also presented.


Background and Objective: Sleepiness is one of the important factors in motor vehicle accidents, especially in commercial drivers (CDs). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has an important role in developing sleepiness. The STOP-BANG questionnaire is used in medical examinations of commercial drivers in Iran by law. This study aimed to investigate the judgment that drivers prefer not to report their symptoms honestly leading to underestimation of their STOP-BANG scores. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, two groups of commercial drivers were compared; A: 52 drivers referred from Occupational Medicine Clinic to Baharloo Sleep Clinic, Tehran, Iran, because of detecting high scores in the STOP-BANG questionnaire with confirmed obstructive sleep apnea in the polysomnography, B: 87 volunteer commercial drivers referred to Baharloo Sleep Clinic because of sleep related complaints and obstructive sleep apnea was confirmed via polysomnography. The score of Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the subjective items including snoring, tiredness, and observed apnea (STO) and objective items including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, age, and gender (P-BANG) were compared between the groups and the correlations with Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI) were assessed. Results: Statistical analysis showed that STO scores were different between the two groups (P < 0.0001). Mean STO score was 0.80 for Group A and 1.75 for Group B. The STO of group A showed a negative correlation with Ap-nea/Hypopnea Index (Correlation Coefficient = -0.1240). On the contrary, the STO score for group B was correlated with Apnea/Hypopnea Index (Correlation Coefficient = 0.4432). Conclusion: Subjective items of STOP-BANG questionnaire in commercial drivers requesting health license require reevaluation. New cut-off criterion or combination with more objective methods is recommended to be considered for screening of obstructive sleep apnea in commercial drivers.


This paper presents a circularly polarized (CP) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for mm-wave applications. The antenna consists of a cylindrical DRA excited with coaxial feed. To obtain CP, the DRA is loaded with another parasitic dielectric cylinder of different dielectric properties, overlapping the primary cylinder. The proposed antenna operates at 26.9 GHz having impedance bandwidth (BW) of 5 GHz and axial ratio (AR) BW of 40%. The antenna exhibits peak gain of 6.5 dB.


Inthepapera mathematical modelofmultilevel PWM-rectifiers ispointed out.Themodelformulation isgenera- lized to"m" voltage levels andisunified forneutral-point- clamped, cascaded-H-bridge, andflying-capacitors topologies. A modulation technique isdescribed foractive front-ends. Specific solutions areproposed forthedifferent regions ofthe complexplanecorrespondent tothem-level structure ofthe converter. Insteadofcomplexlook-uptables, verysimple relations aregiven inordertoidentify theregion andtoselect the mosteffective modulation pattern. Some opportunities to conveniently usetheintrinsic redundancy oftheconverter topology aredescribed. I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays powerquality indexes ofdistribution networks are strongly influenced bythepresence ofahighnumberofloads wherepowerelectronics systems arewidely used. Thecriticity isincreased bythegrowing ofpowerlevels forapplications using powerelectronics devices. Adjustable-speed drives play arelevant role inproducing current andvoltage distortion in their supplying lines, especially inthemedium-voltage high- powerrange. A possible solution toovercome ortoreduce this problem can begiven bymultilevel conversion topologies. Inanelectric drive, theycancontribute toreduce thecurrent harmonic content inthesupplying line whenareusedasactive filters or front-ends. Different circuital configurations arenowavailable. Neutral-Point-Clamped (N.P.C.), Cascaded H-bridge (H.B.) andFlying Capacitors (F.C.) topologies arethemostcommon. Eachofthemhasspecific characteristics whichcanbeuseful indifferent applications. Several comparative analyses ofthe features ofthethree typesofconverters canbefoundin literature, especially withreference tothecircuital complexity andcorrespondent cost. An unified mathematical modelofa converter with"m" voltage levels represents anuseful instrument toquickly analyze andcompare themaincharacteristics ofthethree abovementioned topologies ingeneric application cases. The mathematical modelproposed inthispaperisformally expressed by"unified" equations, whosecoefficients haveto beparticularized forevery considered topology. A typical problem ofmultilevel converter configurations, in active rectifiers, isthecomplexity ofthevoltage modulation. Inthefollowing, averysimple modulation methodology is proposed tofind optimized switching configurations inall the operating conditions, forall theconsidered topologies. Thismodulation technique isbasedonsimple analytical relations, generalized toageneric numberofvoltage levels. Thisallows toavoid theuseofcomplex look-up tables inthe modulation algorithm, whicharegenerally different foreach assigned number ofvoltage levels oftheconverter. 11.UNIFIED MATHEMATICALMODEL An unified mathematical modelofthree-phase active front- endsisconsidered, anddescribed, withreference either tothe N.P.C. orH.B.orF.C.topologies, having ageneric number "im" ofvoltage levels. Fig.1synthesizes thegeneric m-level configuration ofthethree considered types ofconverters. Themathematical modellinks currents andvoltages ofthe supplying line tothecurrents andvoltages inthedc-link. The 2nd Kirchhoff lawapplied tothej-th phase gives:


An adaptive revisit interval selection (RIS) in multifunction radars is an integral part of efficient time budget management (TBM). In this paper, the RIS problem is formulated as a Markov decision process (MDP) with unknown state transition probabilities and reward distributions. A reward function is proposed to minimize the tracking load (TL) while maintaining the track loss probability (TLP) at a tolerable level. The reinforcement learning (RL) problem is solved using the Q-learning algorithm with an epsilon-greedy policy. Compared to a baseline algorithm, the RL approach was capable of maintaining the tracks while reducing the tracking load significantly.


The tumor suppressor gene neurofibromin 1 (NF1) is a major regulator of the RAS‐MAPK pathway. NF1 mutations occur in lung cancer but were not extensively explored. We hypothesized that NF1‐mutated tumors could define a specific population with a distinct clinical and molecular profile. We performed NF1 sequencing using next generation sequencing (NGS) in 154 lung adenocarcinoma surgical specimens with known KRAS, EGFR, TP53, BRAF, HER2, and PIK3CA status, to evaluate the molecular and clinical specificities of NF1‐mutated lung cancers. Clinical data were retrospectively collected, and their associations with molecular profiles assessed. In this series, 24 tumors were NF1 mutated (17.5%) and 11 were NF1 deleted (8%). There was no mutation hotspot. NF1 mutations were rarely associated with other RAS‐MAPK pathway mutations. Most of patients with NF1 alterations were males (74.3%) and smokers (74.3%). Overall survival and disease‐free survival were statistically better in patients with NF1 alterations (N = 34) than in patients with KRAS mutations (N = 30) in univariate analysis. Our results confirm that NF1 is frequently mutated and represents a distinct molecular and clinical subtype of lung adenocarcinoma.


Production of electron-positron pairs by a high-energy $\gamma$ photon and a bichromatic laser wave is considered where the latter is composed of a strong low-frequency and a weak high-frequency component, both with circular polarization. An integral expression for the production rate is derived that accounts for the strong laser mode to all orders and for the weak laser mode to first order. The structure of this formula resembles the well-known expression for the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process in a strong laser field, but includes the dynamical assistance from the weak laser mode. We analyze the dependence of the dynamical rate enhancement on the applied field parameters and show, in particular, that it is substantially higher when the two laser modes have opposite helicity.


Plant biomass-density relationship(B-D)has been one of the hot spots in ecology.Since Yoda's the-3/2 power law of self-thinning,studies focusing on B-D relationship in plant ecology have been conducted to elucidate the variability of self-thinning line and the effects of environments.The recent developed WBE model that the metabolic theory of ecology was applied to self-thinning law arose highly debates.The major questions addressed were whether slope of self-thinning line(α)is constant(-3/2 or-4/3)and how environment influences B-D relationship.In this paper we reviewed recent researches on-3/2 self-thinning law,-4/3 self-thinning law,isometric scaling of biomass-density and effects of environments on B-D relationship.It suggested that B-D relationship under stress environment and mechanisms of B-D relationship needed further studies.