The decoy effect is a cognitive bias, commonly used as a marketing strategy, to influence a buyer's decision. Its purpose is to make the highest priced option appear more attractive by having an asymmetrical dominance over the other two choices. Here we examine how the decoy effect alters people's likelihood of incorporating plant based foods into their diet with and without its presence. By randomly assigning participants into two conditions, we then measured their intended eating behaviour through a survey. We found that approximately three-quarters of our participants chose the meat-based meal when they were presented with the choice of a plant-based or meat-based meal. With the decoy present, we found a decrease in the amount of participants who selected the meat-option. However, the decoy itself was picked for both breakfast and dinner. Through a chi-square significance test, we found that the decoy effect was only statistically significant for breakfast and lunch at p <.05, illustrating a relationship between the two options.


and morbidity, not to mention severe maternal morbidity, such as hysterectomy. In our study, hysterectomy occurred in 3.8% of women after uterine rupture following vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). Perinatal deaths, posthypoxic encephalopathy and severe asphyxia each occurred in 3.8% of deliveries complicated by uterine rupture. The absolute numbers of resulting perinatal deaths were indeed very low, but rupture after trial of labour resulted in a significantly higher risk for such serious outcomes. The risk of uterine rupture should neither be overstated nor understated, but should be clearly stated during counselling. It was clear from our study, as shown previously, that induction of labour, especially with prostaglandins, increased the risk of failed VBAC, which, in turn, was significantly associated with a higher risk of catastrophic uterine rupture and serious perinatal outcomes. Obstetricians should concentrate on not stretching the limits of VBAC when labour does not start spontaneously, or when labour is prolonged. Pregnancy and labour are dynamic conditions, and decisions should be adjusted accordingly. This debate is important for the quality of patient care that can be provided. It is in both our patients' and our own interests that this debate should be founded on systematic scientific research. j


Being of importance for classical electromagnetism,Faraday's thoughe of lines of force plays a vital role in the generation of the electromagnetism of Maxwell.Based on Faraday's Diary and other correlated materials,this article analyses and discusses the formation and development of Faraday's thought of lines of force and some other correlated questions,elucidates the tight link between Faraday's thought of lines of force and his experimental researches,and illustrate the basic content and significance of Faraday's thought of lines of force.


Fluorescence indexes of Cassia bakeriana, Syzygium hainanense, Ilex rotunda and Phoebe sheareri seedlings were determined under simulated low temperature stress using artificial climate chambers. The results showed that with increasing low temperature time, the minimal initial fluorescence Fo of C. bakeriana fluctuated, S. hainanense and P. sheareri decreased followed by an increase, I. rotunda decreased and then fluctuated; The biggest fluorescent Fm of C. bakeriana and I. rotunda increased followed by a decrease and increased again, S. hainanense continuously decreased; the largest PSII photochemical efficiency Fv/Fm of C. bakeriana and I. rotunda S. hainanense continuously decreased, S. hainanense increased followed by a decrease, whereas P. sheareri decreased followed by an increase; the PSII actual light quantum yield Y(II) and photosynthetic electron transport rate ETR of seedlings of the four tree species decreased; non‐photochemical quenching of C. bakeriana and S. hainanense fluctuated, whereas that of I. rotunda and P. sheareri continuously decreased. Two days after low‐temperature release, Fo of seedlings of the four tree species decreased, Fm of C. bakeriana, S. hainanense and I. rotunda, and Fv/Fm, Y(II), ETR and NPQ of seedlings of the four tree species increased. The fluorescence parameters of seedlings of the four tree species was evaluated using principal component analysis, indicating that cold‐resistance ability decreased in the order of C. bakeriana > P. sheareri > I. rotunda > S. hainanense


In March 2016, both the US House of Representatives and Secretary of State John Kerry designated the alleged crimes committed by ISIL against, inter alia, the Yezidis, a small religious minority in Iraq and Syria, as 'genocide.' This article examines the evidence for this designation as emerges from various human rights reports and other publicly available sources, to assess whether ISIL's actions against the Yezidis may be legally characterized as the crime of genocide. The article finds that, while ISIL's actions against the Yezidis in Iraq and Syria may constitute the underlying acts of the crime of genocide, on the basis of information currently available in the public domain, it is not possible to reach a view on whether individuals perpetrators had the dolus specialis necessary to commit the crime of genocide. The article, however, outlines a pattern of conduct which could indicate a genocidal plan.


A 3D dynamic model of a high-speed train coupled with a flexible ballast track is developed and is presented in this study. In this model, each vehicle is modeled as a 42 degrees of freedom multi-body system, which takes into consideration the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the suspensions. A detailed inter-vehicle connection model including nonlinear couplers and inter-vehicle dampers, and the linear tight-lock vestibule diaphragm is established to simulate the effect of the end connections of neighboring vehicles on dynamic behavior. The track is modeled as a traditional three-layer discrete elastic support model. The rails are assumed to be Timoshenko beams supported by discrete sleepers. Each sleeper is treated as an Euler beam and the ballast bed is replaced by equivalent rigid ballast bodies. The reliability of the present model is then validated through a detailed numerical simulation comparison with the commercial software SIMPACK, with the effect of the track flexibility on the train/track interaction being analyzed simultaneously. The proposed model is finally applied to investigate the difference between dynamic performances obtained using the entire-train/track model (TTM) and the single-vehicle/track model (VTM). Several key dynamic performances, including vibration frequency response, ride comfort, and curving performance, calculated by the two types of dynamic models are compared and discussed. The numerical results show that there is a significant difference between the dynamic behaviors obtained by VTM and TTM, and that inter-vehicle connections have an important influence on the dynamic behavior of high-speed vehicles.


Handwritten postcard from W. R. Whitney to Charles F., Sr., thanking Brush for sending a copy of his paper, Persistent Generation of Heat in Some Rocks, to Whitney


The calcul ated singlet-triplet mean energies are given for aU He' I configu rations having 3.;; I .;; n -1 from 4/ to Bk. Since only Stark-shifted transitions have been observed for such configurations with I '" 4. the calculated positions are the most accurate available_ The polarization energy (to the quadrupole approximation) for two-electron ions may be evaluated for higher nl or Z from the simple formulas. The calculated and observed positions of the Isn/ co nfigurations in He' I and Li' II agree within the experimental uncertainties.


Seasonal vertically integrated primary productivity (IPP) in eight stations of Inner Ambon Bay (IAB) and nine stations of Outer Ambon Bay (OAB) was estimated using the depth-resolved, time-integrated production model and vertical-a distribution model which was mainly dependent on chlorophyll-a profile. The profile was modeled as Gauss function in which its parameters were determined by minimizing the difference between the model and the average of in situ chlorophyll-a concentration from 2008 to 2012. The data was collected by UPT BKBL-LIPI Ambon during monitoring program in Ambon Bay. Based on this model, the results showed that the primary productivity during the southeast monsoon was to some degree higher than that of other seasons. The main factors causing the higher IPP in this season were upwelling phenomenon and high rainfall intensity. From the results, it could be concluded that run-off gave more impacts in IAB than in OAB while upwelling in Banda Sea affected the IPP more in OAB than that in IAB. Then, the existence of the sill located between IAB and OAB inhibited the mixing of IAB and OAB waters so that the levels of IPP and chlorophyll-a concentration in IAB were higher than that of in the OAB.


Etiologic studies of breast carcinoma have indicated that weight, body mass index (BMI), and breast tissue density are important determinants of a woman's risk for the disease. This study looked at the independent effects of these risk factors.


This is a study of the organisational change to self-managed team working in UK-based
manufacturing organisations. There are few models to guide research into the organisational
change to team working and this study focuses on the under-researched area of the
implementation process. Descriptions of team development models imply a smooth, linear
change process. Yet this strategic change involves major restructuring at an operational level
and in reality is a complex and political transition process that unfolds in unpredictable
directions. This research proposes a processual framework to explore team development
and to increase understanding of the ways in which this transition is shaped at critical
junctures.
This research was based on case study data collected over periods of up to five years in four
brownfield, manufacturing organisations. This data provided detailed illustrations of the
major challenges facing organisations in the transition to self-management. Specifically, the
research findings indicated that the change to self-managed team working was an unfolding,
non-linear process and that its success was shaped not only by the congruence between team
design and production setting, but also by the congruence between new work structures and
supporting organisational arrangements. Senior management commitment was pivotal to the
success of the change process, as were clear definitions of operational roles and required
actions and behaviours. Finally, the research indicated the importance of key players
adopting appropriate change-driver roles and of paying attention to political tensions and
perceived threats associated with changes to traditional role demarcations.
This research increases understanding of the implementation and development of self managed
work teams at an operational level and the results may be of considerable practical
use for organisations in determining their strategies for organisational change and
development.


Differentially-Private Federated Learning (DPFL) is an emerging privacy-preserving distributed machine learning paradigm that allows for the automatic recognition of human activities using wearable sensors without compromising users' sensitive data. However, this decentralized approach makes the system vulnerable to poisoning attacks, where malicious agents can inject contaminated data during local model training. This paper presents the results of our research on designing, developing, and evaluating a holistic model for data poisoning attacks in DPFL-based human activity recognition (HAR) systems. Specifically, we focus on label-flipping poisoning attacks, where the label of a sensor reading is maliciously changed during data collection. To investigate the impact of such attacks, we develop a simulator that explores key design issues, such as the correlation between the level of differential privacy, the level of poisoning, the number of communication rounds, and the number of agents in the system. Our findings shed light on the effectiveness of label contamination attacks in DPFL-based HAR systems and can inform the development of more robust and secure models.


The aim of this study was to compare different HbA1c POCT devices and established HbA1c laboratory methods. The advantage of POCT methods over traditional laboratory testing is the real-time estimation of the results, which enables a clinician to give patients their test results immediately during a single consultation. This type of testing has significant clinical implications for the patient, allowing them to take control of their disease management in a quicker and more effective manner.


Thick plates produced by the rolling process are used as the basic elements of ship structures. In this paper, we present a setup model for controlling the asymmetric factors causing plate bending in the width direction during plate rolling. A series of three-dimensional finite element analyses is conducted to predict the relationship between various asymmetric factors and plate bending. The setup model is developed by performing regression on the relationship to produce linear equations with several nondimensional parameters. The setup model is verified with a pilot rolling test in which variations in thickness and temperature differences in the width direction exist. The results show that the bending curvatures predicted by the model are in fairly good agreement with the measured results for those asymmetric factors.


A series of benign halogen-free ionic liquid (IL) catalysts were synthesized by combining the Bronsted acidic ionic liquid [HSO3-pmim]+HSO4− with ZnO in different composition ratios. The IL catalysts, which possess both Bronsted and Lewis acidities, were employed as acidic catalysts for the esterification of n-caprylic acid to methyl caprylate. The [HSO3-pmim]+(1/2Zn2+)SO42−, prepared by cooperating equimolar amounts of Bronsted and Lewis acid sites, was found to exhibit an optimal catalytic performance and excellent durability. This is attributed to a synergy of Bronsted and Lewis acidities manifested by the catalyst. The response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box–Behnken design (BBD) was utilized to explore the effects of different experimental variables (viz. catalyst amount, methanol to caprylic acid molar ratio, temperature, and reaction time) on the esterification reaction. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also employed to study the interactions between variables and their effects on the catalytic process. Accordingly, the deduced optimal reaction conditions led to a high methyl caprylate yield of 95.4%, in good agreement with experimental results and those predicted by the BBD model. Moreover, a kinetic study performed under optimal reaction conditions revealed an apparent reaction order of 1.70 and an active energy of 33.66 kJ mol−1.


Abstract The characterization of fabrics after applying different degradation conditions appears to be a key factor to understand their behaviour for different applications. Depending on the treatment, morphologic and polymorphic changes may arise in the polymeric chain structure that composes textile fibers. In this paper, a systematic and comparative study between different types of natural and synthetic textile fabrics was carried out in order to shed light on the structural changes occurring under acid and alkali treatments. The natural fabric polymers studied had a cellulose-based composition from plants (cotton, linen and jute), or a protein-based one from animals (silk and wool). The synthetic fabric was polyester. Different treatment times were assessed: 15 min, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 h and compared to the initial condition of the fabrics (standard). In the cellulosic fabrics, the alkali provoked the polymorphic transformation of the amorphous CI into CII. However, the acid treatment did not cause any remarkable alteration in the structure. In protein fabrics, the acid treatment increased the amorphicity of the structures, leading to further degradation but not affecting the conformation of proteins, and the alkali dissolved the fabrics. Polyester was not affected by the chemical solutions (neither acid nor alkali).


Overall Objectives • Develop a low-cost, high-performance proton conducting membrane for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Determine the best material system for the new PEM. • Establish a suitable process for fabrication of the new PEM. • Characterize the new PEM in terms of physical and chemical properties. • Test the new PEM under fuel cell conditions. • Evaluate economical significance of the new PEM.


Inpatient sleep may be disrupted for myriad reasons, including lighting exposure that is typically fixed at constant intensity and spectra. In this study we employed customized lighting that promotes circadian entrainment by exposing patients to blue-augmented lighting during the morning and blue-suppressed lighting evening to improve sleep timing and duration.

 Two Mount Sinai hospital rooms (with 2 beds each) were outfitted with Eight Mattress sensors that use a combination of movement, breathing, heart rate, and temperature variables to estimate wake and sleep vigilance states in 30-second epochs. One room contained customized lighting between 7 am and 11 pm, while the other room contained standard hospital lighting. The current analysis includes 60 participants (30 in the control room and 30 in the custom lighting room), who were matched for time-of-year hospital admission date. We first analyzed the probability of sleep during any given 30-second epoch across each subject's admission and compared the distributions of sleep probability across the 24-hour cycle for all subjects in the lighting vs control conditions. We additionally evaluated total nocturnal sleep duration(11 PM – 7 AM) by 1) summating all sleep epochs on nights containing at least 50% valid data and 2) normalizing all measured sleep epochs to all valid sleep/wake outputs (excluding indeterminate epochs).

 The distribution of sleep probability was significantly different in the lighting vs control condition (p < 0.001) with most apparent diversion of the distributions between 9 pm and 9 am. The average raw nocturnal sleep duration was significantly higher in lighting condition (270.0 ± 23 minutes vs 201 ± 23 min in control, p = 0.037), as was the average minutes of sleep per hour of valid recording (36.9 ± 15 minutes vs 28.4 ± 13 in control, p = 0.022). There were no significant differences in the number of nocturnal wake or indeterminate epochs between conditions.

 Custom lighting appears to promote sleep in hospitalized patients, but the interpretation is tempered by absence of full validation of the mattress sensor against polysomnography. Future work will evaluate differences in sleep timing and continuity between conditions.

 McClung Foundation, R01 AG066870


A method to determine the parameters of Kelvin impact model for pounding analysis of bridges during earthquake is proposed. Based on Hertz contact theory and considering the wave effect, the impact stiffness of Kelvin impact model is determined according to the ratio of maximum impact load to maximum contact deformation. The recovery coefficient of pounding between adjacent girders, which influences the sampling of the damping coefficient of Kelvin impact model, is numerically analyzed. The results indicate that the impact stiffness of Kelvin impact model increases with an increase in the Hertz contact stiffness, the impact velocity, and the length ratio of the short to long girders. The wave effect has remarkable influence on the impact stiffness and can not be neglected. The recovery coefficient of pounding between adjacent girders decreases with an increase in the impact velocity, but with a decrease in the length ratio of the short to long girders. The rational sampling ranges of the impact stiffness of Kelvin impact model and the recovery coefficient of pounding between adjacent girders for urban bridges are found to be 3×105 kN/m―6×105 kN/m and 0.6―0.95, respectively.


The use of loanwords is common in Japanese people's daily lives, such as the use of'mama' as a term for mother rather than 'okaa-san'. Using corpus linguistic analysis, this study sought to discover how okaa-san and mama are discussed in Japanese society on the internet. The mixed technique was utilized in this study, with collocate strength calculated using MI Score and subsequently categorized by using USAS semantic categories. It was discovered that the phrase okaa-san is usually used to refer to social activities, states, and processes such as the tight relationship between mother and kid. Meanwhile, the term mother is used to refer to emotional behaviors, states, and processes.


In this paper, the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow in a single wire-plate electrostatic precipitator has been analyzed numerically by employing a hybrid Finite-Element Method-Method of Characteristics numerical algorithm and the commercial computational fluid dynamic software FLUENT6.2. Parameters defining both the electric and the flow fields were predicted. The interaction between the electric and the flow fields has been discussed by adopting the proposed two-way coupling algorithm. With the help of the dimensionless analysis, an entire flow regime map has been developed for different Reynolds (Re) and EHD numbers. It was found that, at very low Re (15) and high EHD (2000) (based on the corona wire) numbers, the EHD flow dominates in the channel; as Re increases, the significance of the EHD wakes gradually decreases; at a higher Re (50) or a lower EHD (500) numbers, the EHD flow becomes the near-corona-wire phenomena, and the main flow dominates the channel. The possible influence of the EHD flow on the particle-collection efficiency was also discussed.


A vacuum path of about one kilometer is needed in the optical amplitude (or intensity) correction system only using one deformable mirror. This system is too large to be applied. The compression path algorithm given in this paper could make one to two orders of magnitude reduction in length for the vacuum path.


Users typically wear the head mounted display (HMD) to navigate and enjoy the immersive video content. In practice, a viewport-based immersive video streaming strategy is intuitively preferred for constrained network bandwidth, but it still lacks of a theoretical framework to resolve this fundamental bandwidth-quality optimization problem. Therefore, in this work, we have developed an analytical model, so called "Q-STAR+", to connect the perceptual quality of a compressed viewport video (viewed via wearing the HMD) with respect to its Spatial (frame size), Temporal (frame rate), and Amplitude (quantization) Resolutions (STAR). There are overall four parameters that can be easily extracted from the content itself. The complete model correlates well with the mean opinion scores (MOS) with a Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) of 0.95, and a Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient (SRCC) of 0.95, according to an independent validation test, yielding the stateof-the-art performance in comparison to those famous objective quality metrics (e.g., MS-SSIM [1], VIFP [2], FSIM [3], and VSI [4]). Together with the rate model, we could make the perceptual optimized viewport video streaming of immersive content analytical tractable, so as to maximize the visual quality subjectively under any given network bandwidth constraint.


In this paper,based on the electric arc furnace material balance theory and the method of bp neural network,the real-time forecasting model of carbon content of molten steel in electric arc furnace steelmaking is set up with theoretical model and neural network.Through the model draw curves of carbon content in the smelting process,the carbon content of molten steel in the real-time monitoring is implemented.Because of the end-point carbon-oxygen equilibrium in decarburization reaction,the influencing factors of end point carbon content are analyzed.The forecast method based on BP neural network has reached accuracy requirements of EAF end-point carbon content prediction.


Accurate measurement and characterisation of fluctuations in the irradiance environment is important for many areas of optical remote sensing. This paper reports a method of estimating spectral irradiance over the VNIR region (400 - 1100nm) from the radiance of a calibrated reference panel, measured in seven narrow (10nm) spectral bands. Earlier work established the potential for estimating spectral irradiance from multi-band data using a neural network technique (Milton et al., 2000). The approach described here uses linear regression analysis to regenerate the irradiance spectrum from data in seven reference wavelengths. The method was tested using data from a specially designed multiband radiometer – the INdependent SPectral IRradiance Estimator (INSPIRE). The irradiance spectrum was partitioned into a number of distinct regions within each of which the spectral
irradiance was estimated from irradiance measured at one of the reference wavelengths. The precision of the method was found to be better than ±5% over most wavelengths from 400nm to 1100nm. Furthermore, the slope coefficients of the individual regression models were found to be sensitive to the sky radiance conditions, especially over the region 600-760nm, and improvement in the precision of the predicted spectrum (to within ±3%) was obtained by taking the diffuse-to-global (D:G) irradiance ratio at the time of measurement into account.


Optimized in lightweight, compactness and high temperature sustaining the shielding materials for neutron and gamma radiation were designed based on genetic algorithms. Three kinds of materials studied by this method were designed and simulated with MCNP code, and results were compared with those from iron etc. The total shielding effects of the materials with certain thickness for fission neutron and γ-ray are all much better than iron, and the equivalent masses are lower than iron at same shielding effect.


Summary Pancreatic hypertrophy, poor growth and lowered food efficiency result from feeding raw soybean meal to rats as sole source of dietary protein. Addition of 4 specific amino acids to raw soybean diet corrects poor growth and reduced food efficiency but does not prevent pancreatic hypertrophy. These results support the concept that decreased growth rate and protein efficiency caused by feeding raw soybean meal are due to direct stimulation of the pancreas resulting in excessive loss of critical amino acids contained in pancreatic enzymes excreted in feces.


In this study, the potential of Cyclical Electrical Field Flow Fractionation (CyEFFF) for the separation of magnetic nanoparticles is investigated. We demonstrated for the first time that by the application of appropriate voltage waveforms, one can separate gold nanoparticles with sizes less than 50 nm. By using suitable voltage waveforms, the detrimental effect of the particle diffusion is suppressed and particles in the range of 10 nms can be fractionated. In addition, it is shown that CyEFFF is capable of separating lipid and polystyrene sulfonate coated magnetite nanoparticles with the same hydrodynamic radius of 50 nm.


Solanum nigrum was found to proliferate in sediments with high levels of metal pollution. The effect of Zn on plant growth and tissue metal accumulation was assessed. The response of the plant to the inoculation with four different isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Glomus sp. BEG140, Glomus claroideum, Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices) was studied. Inoculation with different AMF isolates generally did not induced significant differences of S. nigrum biomass, when comparing to non-inoculated controls. However, increasing Zn concentration significantly reduced the biomass of all S. nigrum sections. S. nigrum accumulated up to 1450, 3240 and 3810 mg Zn kg -1 in the leaves, stems and roots, respectively, with no visual toxicity signs. When exposed to sand concentrations higher than 100 mg Zn kg -1 , despite the toxicity observed, the plant was able to accumulate up to 20470, 49040 and 29010 mg Zn kg -1 in the leaves, stems and roots, respectively. The concentration of Zn in the sand matrix affected the Zn content in the tissues of S. nigrum, with an increase of the accumulation observed for higher matrix concentrations. AMF inoculation also had an effect on the uptake of Zn by S. nigrum, with the inoculation with G. intraradices and G. claroideum leading to significantly higher (P 1000 > 100 > 0 mg kg -1 . S. nigrum appears to have accumulating characteristics, according to the high Zn levels observed in its tissues and its use in a phytoremediation approach of a metal contaminated site should be taken into account, mainly due to its high metal extraction and accumulation capacities, as well as its high translocation properties.


Nowadays, finger joints have been more popular than rail type joints due to their many merits: easiness to maintain, low noise, etc. However, finger joints have some demerits too. This paper investigates the damage of finger joints installed at a curved PSC box girder bridge. The analytical results show that the damage of finger joints of the curved bridge is caused by thermal expansion and imperfect installation of the joints.


Early hypertrophy may be beneficial but sustained hypertrophic activation leads to myocardial dysfunction. Regulation of the repolarizing currents (IK and IK1) can be modulated by the activation of humoral factors, such angiotensin II (ANG II), which modulates protein kinases whose integrated responses leads to the early beneficial cardiac hypertrophy and later to heart failure. We have previously found that compensated cardiac hypertrophy is associated with alterations in K+ and Ca2+channels are mainly mediated through MAP kinase and PI 3‐kinase activation. The aim of this work is to assess the regulation of IK by ANG II/PI3 K pathway in volume overload rat ventricular myocytes, using patch‐clamp in whole‐cell configuration. Cells were stimulated from holding potential of −80mV, by 500msec, 10‐mV step voltages between −120mV +40mV. Cardiomyocytes from 3‐weeks‐shunted animals showed a significant reduction in IK current‐density. Treatment with captopril (0.5g/L/day in drinking water for 3 weeks) alleviated this difference seen between sham and shunt cardiomyocytes. Acute administration of ANG II (10−6M) to adult cardiomyocytes treated with captopril similarly reduced the IK current density in shams and shunts. Thus we conclude that captopril enhances IK current density and response to ANG II in hypertrophied myocytes of volume overload shunted rats.


It is universally accepted and advocated that without community involvement and participation, development initiatives either in the economic or social sector, have little chances of success/sustainability, especially at the grassroots level, where the majority of the country's population lives [AKRSP (1984, 1999); FAO (1989); Khan et al. (1984) and Mustafa (1998)]. In this connection the concept and approaches of community development have been tested in Northern Areas of Pakistan and the principles and experiences have been replicated in some other parts of the country by Non Government Organisations (NGOs), different national and international government projects and programmes [Mustafa and Grunewald (1996); NRMP (1993) and NRSP (1995)]. The need for conceptualising a realistic framework for collaboration between government/other development agencies and community organisations engaged in pursuit of both social and economic goals is imperative for an equitable and sustainable development because when it comes to community involvement, the two sectors cannot be divorced from each other [Khan (1999) and Reid and Khan (1996)]. The objectives of the paper are: to highlight the need and the importance of grassroots non-government institutions based on participatory community development approaches; to analyse the role of community participation models in the country and to recommend strategies for an effective linkage between grassroots non-government organisations and basic-services-driven government institutes for effective and sustainable development; also to review and recommend primitive structural changes in basic institutions as development partners.


CO2 electrolysis is a highly useful technique allowing us to upconvert society's major greenhouse gas into a variety of useful chemicals. However, mechanistically the process is still not totally understood both in 2 electron reduction products (e.g. CO) and in >2e- reduced products (e.g. ethanol/ethylene). This work will discuss using pH variations and deuterium to gain further insight into these mechanisms.
 One area of debate for 2 electron transfer reduction products such as CO and formate is whether the rate limiting step involves a proton, a water molecule, or is simply due to adsorption of the CO2 onto the surface. This work will show the benefits of using deuterated water to help resolve this mechanism. By focusing on catalysts geared towards 2 electron transfer reactions to either formate or CO, we have a simple system to break down the mechanism into the reaction order in terms of protons and water molecules. Variations in pH from 3-7 allows us to show the influence of protons for CO or formate, with H2 evolution on a given catalysts acting as a benchmark. Using deuterated water allows us to denote the influence of water, again using H2 evolution as a benchmark catalyst. Combining both these influences we can mechanistically break down the reactions to denote the mechanism of the rate limiting step. (Since we have obtained relatively straight Tafel slopes over 3 orders of magnitude in current, this entails mass transfer is not significantly influencing our results.)
 From our results we show that Au and Ag produce a self-consistent mechanism for CO2 to CO reduction, whereas Sn and In produce a self-consistent mechanism for formate evolution. Pd is unique in that it has the ability to solvate hydrogen and deuterium, thus the combined pH variations and deuterium demonstrates how this effect influences our mechanistic understanding.
 For greater than 2 electron transfer processes (using Cu) two of the major issues are determining the rate limiting step and the branching point between ethanol and ethylene. We will show how variations in pH and using deuterated water can give insight into both of the aforementioned issues.


CAN J ANESTH 55: 5 www.cja-jca.org May, 2008 and Transplantation Committee; Quality of Care and Outcomes Research and Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Interdisciplinary Working Groups; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation 2006; 113: 1807–16. 3 Mingo S, Benedicto A, Jimenez MC, Perez MA, Montero M. Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction secondary to catecholamine excess in a normal ventricle. Int J Cardiol 2006; 112: 393–6. 4 Maron BJ, McKenna WJ, Danielson GK, et al. American College of Cardiology/European Society of Cardiology clinical expert consensus document on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol 2003; 42: 1687–713.


By the methods of comprehensive improvment of engineering,chemistry,biology on the alkaline soil near coast were studied,after one year,the content of organic soil had been increasing from 0.32% to 0.38%,while soil pH also decreasing from 8.2 to 7.5,and low the improvment cost significantly.Some plants that like acid soil have been survived at sampling site,the result adequately showed that suitable stress resistance training at prophase was very important for plant anaphase survival.


Sports Sponsorship has been the marketing tool of choice for companies aiming to reach wide target audiences and to benefit from branding impact globally and nationally (Macintosh et al, 2012). This study proposed to gain an increased understanding of the public's perception of sponsorship in sports events in the UK whilst focusing on three main factors; brand awareness, corporate image, and consumer involvement. Thirty three participants completed a questionnaire relating to past experiences of sponsorship at sporting events. The findings from this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between sports involvement of consumers whom have a strong association or emotional connection with a particular club or sports team and their feeling towards sports sponsorship. Further findings of the study show that there is a lack of interest in sponsorship by sports consumers, with many of the participants claiming to not be interested in or affected by sponsorship stimuli.


Objective To analyze the expression and significance of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1)in rats model of acidosis-induced retinopathy,and to elucidate the action of VEGF and IGF-1 in the process of neovascularization in retinopathy of prematurity(ROP).Methods A total of 80 newborn Sprague-Dawley rats in experimental group underwent tubal feeding of NH4Cl(535 mg·kg-1) with the concentration of(50 mg·ml-1)(twice per day) from the second day after the birth for 7 days and followed by a period of recovery.Additional 80 neonatal rats were in the control group without the tubal feeding.The rats were executed at the 3rd,5th,8th,10th,13th,20th day after birth respectively.The retinal vessels were evaluated through retinal tretched preparation and adenosine diphosphatase(ADPase) staining.The newborn vessels were quantified by HE staining.VEGF and IGF-1 in retina were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results In the experimental group,the incidence of retinal neovascularization(NV) at the 3rd,5th,8th,10th,13th,20th day after birth was 0,7%,24%,59%,23% and 0 respectively.In acidosis-induced retinopathy(AIR) group of 10-day old,the number of neovascular nuclei extending into the vireo was 14.67±2.16,and that of the control group was 0.87±0.75,there was significant difference between the two groups(t=18.47,P0.000 1).The result of immunohistochemistry revealed that in AIR grope the protein expression of VEGF was stronger than that of the control group on the 10th and 13th day.There was significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).The protein of IGF-1 was lower on the 8th day in AIR than.that in control group.There was significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).Conclusions Metabolic acidosis may induce NV by injuring the developing retinal vessels.Retinal NV induced by acidosis relates to VEGF and IGF-1.


This paper reports on the time resolution of the Auratek-Square MCP-PMT, a multi-anode microchannel plate photomultiplier produced by Photek. When operating as single photon counter at low photon rate and with a single pixel illuminated it shows a transit time spread (jitter) of ∼100 ps FWHM, saturating at high rate, above ∼100 kHz/mm2. The worsening of the timing performance depends on the bias voltage between the photocathode and the MCP input and between the MCP slabs. The charge sharing between neighbouring pixels can become a major crosstalk source if not accounted for, degrading the time resolution to ∼170 ps FWHM when the entire pixel area is illuminated.


Linear spectropolarimetry is a powerful tool to probe circumstellar structures on spatial scales that cannot yet be achieved through direct imaging. In this review I discuss the role that emission-line polarimetry can play in constraining geometrical and physical properties of a wide range of circumstellar environments, varying from the accretion disks around pre-main sequence T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be stars, to the issue of stellar wind clumping, and the aspherical outflows from the massive star progenitors of supernovae and long gamma-ray bursts at low metallicity.


High labour turnover has been a concern in Bible Translation and Literacy organization (BTL) in Kenya. The purpose of the research was to establish the impact of the high labour turnover on sustainability of donor funded projects within BTL. The main objective of the research was to establish the extent to which costs related to labour turnover influenced the sustainability of donor funded projects in relation to project costs, timelines and project quality. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in canning out the research, through a collective case study method. The main data collection tools were questionnaires that were sent to project leaders, regional programme managers and the human resource manager, as well as personal oral interview with the resource development manager. The total number of those who responded was 16 out of 20 respondents, representing 80% response rate. The researcher established that as a result of labour turnover in Bible Translation and Literacy organization, there were increases in financial costs of the projects that came as a result of increased separation costs, increased recruitment costs as well as increases in salaries for new staff and increases of commodity prices that came as a result of extended timelines. There was extension of activity timelines that came as a result of time lost during the period that the organization was looking for a replacement as well as when the new staff were being trained. Human resource time taken only for doing exit interviews and paperwork for one departing employee, as well as reviewing job applications and interviewing new candidates translated to 32% of her working hours in a month. The effect was repeated for others, as project leaders had to train new employees as well as those who had to do extra work left by other employees. There was compromised quality o f work that came as a result of lost expertise and others doing work that they were not well trained to do, as well as having more workload hence not giving attention to quality of work but concentrating on finishing the tasks. The researcher established that there was a negative relationship between labour turnover and sustainability of donor funded projects. x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the study Bible Translation & Literacy (BTL) is a Kenyan non profit organization that was established in 1981 with the aim of translating the Bible into the minority languages of Kenya. These are language groups that are in the verge of being swallowed by major language groups thus threatening their identity. They are marginalized and limited in education and development. Today BTL works to develop functional alphabet which form the basis for culturally relevant literacy programmes, Bible translation and community development work. Currently, the organization has projects and programmes in 14 language communities. In each of the language projects, there are several programmes that run concurrently which include translation,, scripture use, or mother tongue. By the time a translation project is completed, several programmes will have been started and completed. The projects depend on funds from donors to pay employee salaries, print materials, carry out workshops and train employees among other activities. High labour turnover in any organization is a concern as it causes many inconveniences, and especially to an industry where skills are not easy to get. In Bible Translation and Literacy, translation skills are key and when translators resign at a high rate then it becomes expensive. Since these are donor funded projects, and the organization has no its own means of generating income, it risks donor exit when expenses are increased due to labour turnover. It is therefore necessary to examine the exact impact of the high labour turnover so that the organizational management can minimise the level of turnover.


This paper simply introduces the structure of 32 bits microcontroller—MCF5272 produced by MOTOROLA corporation, and does research on development of miniature network system. It gives the platform of network development based on MCF5272, and tells the designs of the hardware and software. The developed circumstances of network products which is based on MCF5272 are especially emphasized connected with embedded system of uClioux. It also gives the example.


Globalization has strengthened the international contact between countries. Capital,
labor, goods and service are free to move in order to maximize profit. China's economy
grows significantly and international status rise fast since Reform and Opening Up
policy. Globalization brought China with many opportunities and challenges.
Based on the previous studies, analyse is made about impacts of globalization on
China. Globalization on the one hand leads to great success in China's economy, but on
the other hand, making China's environment under great pressure. Some scholars for
example Hui and Zhao (2017) think "Pollution haven" hypothesis is valid in China.
Labor and pollution intensive companies are moved from countries with tough
environmental policy to those with looser policy. Besides, with the aim of protecting
their own waste, developed countries have waste trade between developing countries.
Decades ago, China was a country lack of raw materials and there was an urgent
need for economy development, China accepted waste trade and pollution intensive
companies but at the cost of environment degradation. However, in the long term,
environmental cost has many negative impacts on China. Recently, China changed its
waste import policy and it is no more the biggest plastic waste importer in the world.
After China banned plastic import, both China and developed countries need to find a
balance solution between economy and environment to have a moderate economy
growth and healthy earth.


This chapter discusses the regulatory aspects of the Islamic Banking business in Malaysia with reference to the various legislation promulgated by the Malaysian Parliament and other subsidiary legislation enforced on the said topic.


We report a 4.3-µm wavelength conversion laser source using a quasi-phase-matched LiNbO<inf>3</inf> waveguide. Using the laser source operated at ambient temperature and in the continuous wave mode, we successfully obtain CO<inf>2</inf> isotopomer absorption lines.


A Buck DC/DC converter was designed by using UMC 0.6 μm BCD process.The chip uses a fixed-frequency Pulse-Width-Modulation(PWM),peak-currentmode control scheme to provide excellent line and load regulation.The sub-harmonic oscillation inherent in peak-current-mode above 50% duty cycle is eliminated by adding a fixed amount of slope compensation to the sensed current waveform.The output voltage feedback error amplifier was designed with higher gain and wider bandwidth to improve the load regulation and transient response performances,and the PWM controller circuit with very high gain-bandwidth to increase the conversion efficiency.Simulation results indicate that,the input voltages are within 4~20 V,the conversion efficiency up to 90% in typical application,PWM switching frequency 600 kHz,the switch current limit is set to 1.8 A,the controller has a fast transient response performance and small output ripple.


Recent efforts to abate noise have generally overlooked or excluded the United States military as a major source of pollution. Military aircraft operations have become a significant threat to the health of individuals and their environment. Judicial remedies of inverse condemnation, nuisance, and negligence, often brought under the Federal Torts Claim Act or the Military Claims Act, are inadequate in dealing with the present scope and level of noise pollution. The severe repercussions of noise and the contributing role that the military plays mandate a change in legislative policy and judicial interpretations. This paper examines the problem posed by military aircraft noise, urges the necessity of change, offers underlying reasons to support this change, and suggests directions that future policy and decisions should take. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets . . . you shall go about the city seven times, and the priest shall sound the trumpets. . . . So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets sounding . . . the walls forthwith fell down .... Thus was recorded one of man's first encounters with noise pollution. If the Hebrew priests could have substituted one United States Navy "Phantom" jet for their trumpets, however, the walls of Jerico would probably have collapsed without Divine intervention. Implausible as this seems the United States National Park Service reports otherwise after having recently witnessed two twentieth-century Jericos. In 1966, a prehistoric cliff dwelling which has housed Pueblo Indians for more than a thousand years in Arizona's Canyon de Chelly National Monument was destroyed when a sonic boom from military aircraft caused an overhanging precipice to cave in on the ancient city. 2 Similarly, in 1968, 66,000 tons of rock were triggered loose by a military caused sonic boom over Mesa Verde National Park. 3 These incidents, by no means isolated events,4 are indicative of what has been


Conceptual role of Short Range Order in Statistical Thermodynamics of liquidalloys is discussed. It is shown why the popular model theories used by Calphadfall short in bringing this phenomenon to full usage. In contrast to this, presentedhere in details Theory of Inhomogeneous Short Range Order takes Short RangeOrder as basic element of formalism. Combinatorial factor provided by theoryexpresses the Statistical Sum of entire system as weighted average over StatisticalSums of small groups of atoms conventionally selected in the alloy. Equations ofthe theory are explicitly resolved in a parametric form.The theory in its tetrahedron approximation is applied, as introductory example,for the presentation the thermodynamic data of multiple two-component systemsdescribed previously by other authors using Redlich-Kister' polynomials.


The purpose of this article is to make connections between caring and the support that occurs among nurses who are making an educational journey and who are in practice. The authors believe that webs of caring and support are formed, which make a stressful journey in higher education and practice tolerable. As faculty members it is imperative that we encourage this support and caring in our students and in each other. Interpretive themes originating from doctoral dissertation studies and lived experiences of being in a writing circle form the foundation of this article.


Discourse Theory in European Politics presents a series of problem-driven empirical studies of identities, policies and new forms of governance in today's Europe.


describe the existence of a large-conductance Ca 2 -activated potassium (BKCa) channel in the mitochondria of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926. A single-channel current was recorded from endothelial mitoplasts (i.e., inner mitochondrial membrane) using the patch-clamp technique in the mitoplast-attached mode. A potassiumselective current was recorded with a mean conductance equal to 270 10 pS in a symmetrical 150/150 mM KCl isotonic solution. The channel activity, which was determined as the open probability, increased with the addition of calcium ions and the potassium channel opener NS1619. Conversely, the activity of the channel was irreversibly blocked by paxilline and iberiotoxin, BKCa channel inhibitors. The open-state probability was found to be voltage dependent. The substances known to modulate BKCa channel activity influenced the bioenergetics of mitochondria isolated from human endothelial EA.hy926 cells. In isolated mitochondria, 100 MC a 2 ,1 0M NS1619, and 0.5 M NS11021 depolarized the mitochondrial membrane potential and stimulated nonphosphorylating respiration. These effects were blocked by iberiotoxin and paxilline in a potassiumdependent manner. Under phosphorylating conditions, NS1619-induced, iberiotoxin-sensitive uncoupling diverted energy from ATP synthesis during the phosphorylating respiration of the endothelial mitochondria. Immunological analysis with antibodies raised against proteins of the plasma membrane BKCa channel identified a poreforming -subunit and an auxiliary 2-subunit of the channel in the endothelial mitochondrial inner membrane. In conclusion, we show for the first time that the inner mitochondrial membrane in human endothelial EA.hy926 cells contains a large-conductance calciumdependent potassium channel with properties similar to those of the surface membrane BKCa channel. mitochondria; endothelium; potassium channel; electrophysiology; bioenergetics BECAUSE ATP SUPPLIES in endothelial cells are relatively independent of mitochondrial oxidative pathways, studies on the bioenergetics of endothelial mitochondria have not been intensive to date. However, several recent observations suggest that endothelial mitochondria not only contribute to ATP generation but are also centrally involved in maintaining the fine regulatory balance among mitochondrial calcium concentrations, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and nitric


We adapt arguments concerning entropy-theoretic convergence from the independent case to the case of Fortuin--Kasteleyn--Ginibre (FKG) random variables. FKG systems are chosen since their dependence structure is controlled through covariance alone, though in what follows we use many of the same arguments for weakly dependent random variables. As in previous work of Barron and Johnson, we consider random variables perturbed by small normals, since the FKG property gives us control of the resulting densities. We need to impose a finite susceptibility condition; that is, the covariance between one random variable and the sum of all the random variables should remain finite.


Liquid assets are critical for banking operations. They guarantee avoiding liquidity risk and widens managerial decision options to invest in emerging profitable projects; however, holding extra liquidity entails opportunity costs. Accordingly, empirical literature does not provide a conclusive relationship between liquidity and profitability. The purpose of this research is to analyze the asymmetric effects of holding liquid assets by commercial banks on their profitability. Parallel to a detailed review of contradicting theories and empirical evidence, we have developed an econometric model to capture the nonlinear effects of liquidity on performance. The proposed model is tested for a sample of seven listed Iranian commercial banks during 2006-2018 by Arellano-Bond dynamic panel-data estimation. We found that the nonlinear relationship, if any, is not an inverse U as Bordeleau and Graham (2010) suggested. Results show a positive (holding more liquid assets increases the profitability of Iranian banks), and even an accelerating effect for liquidity, likely due to the low level of liquid assets maintained by Iranian banks. implementation of Basel III. They gathered twenty years of data for more than 6000 banks before 2000 and for more than 5000 banks between 2000 to 2012. The results show that banks react to regime change, and their behavior does not match the pre-regulation


and experimental groups T0 T1, the majority of couples under- infertility treatment showed little need for psychosocial counselling. 2003 the final results regarding outcomes T1 and T2 will be presented. These data will serve to clarify whether psychosocial counselling is more beneficial at later, and possibly more stressful, stages of infertility treatment. problems after failed treatment gives way to timely psychosocial interventions. Our previous study already pointed out that higher levels of neuroticism, helplessness and marital dissatisfaction, next to lower levels of acceptance, are risk factors for the development of higher levels of depressed mood after the first failed treatment cycle. In the present study we investigated the determinants of a depressive response to repeatedly failed treatment, 6 months after the last treatment cycle. Materials and methods: Demographic, clinical and psychological predictors as well as depressed mood, were assessed before the start of the first treatment cycle (T1). In addition, the assessment of depressed mood was repeated 6 months after the last failed treatment cycle (T2). Complete data sets of 59 non-pregnant women were available. The relationship between predictors measured at T1 and changes in depressed mood between T1 and T2 was investigated. Results: Analyses showed a significant positive relationship between an increase in depressed mood between T1 and T2 and neuroticism ( r =0.47), helplessness regarding fertility problems ( r =0.30), and general marital dissatisfaction ( r =0.28) and a negative relationship between an increase in depressed mood between T1 and T2 and acceptance of the fertility problems ( r =-0.29). Coping factors were not significantly related to changes in depressed mood between T1 and T2. Conclusions: Women with pretreatment higher levels of neuroticism, more helplessness with respect to their fertility problems, less acceptance of the fertility problems and more dissatisfaction with the marital and sexual relationship, are at risk of developing higher levels of depressed mood after repeatedly failed treatment. So timely (pre-treatment) identification of women at risk of developing higher levels of depressed mood is possible. This gives room for early psychosocial intervention for these women at risk. These interventions have to focus on: (1) the meaning of the fertility problems as expressed in cognitions of helplessness and acceptance; and (2) the satisfaction with the marital relationship in both women and men. culture methods will be improved and refined in the near future and indeed evidence is suggesting that this is already taking place to the extent it may be possible to derive new human embryonic stem cell lines that meet the rigorous GMP requirements for transplanta-tion to humans. For derivation of new cell lines, close contact with excellent IVF clinics is essential. Embryos should be of good quality at freezing and develop robustly in culture after thawing to the blastocyst stage for isolation of the inner cell mass. This is where the greatest loss of donor embryos is taking place in attempts to isolate new cell lines. Once at the blalstocyst stage, up to 50% will yield cell lines. Details of the culture of human embryonic stem cell lines will be presented as well as protocols for inducing their differentiation to different cell types.


The most promising strategies for the advancement of women in administrative careers focus on efforts to improve mobility in higher education generally.


The lack of scientific vocabulary in Sign Languages becomes increasingly evident with the advancement of the inclusion of Deaf people in formal and informal educational spaces. Although many neologisms emerge from the immediate need for communication, many end up not correctly correlating Language and Science. It is important that neologisms emerge consciously and correlating linguistic and scientific perceptions with the same level of importance, especially for topics related to our daily lives and world perception so that everyone has access to the important information in an appropriate way, in addition to stimulating the interest of the Deaf community in the sciences. The partnership between the Deaf community and the bilingual professional points out to be the best way to do so, seeking equity of respect between for the two areas of knowledge. Analysing and comparing astronomy signs in Libras and in LGP, when analysing each Visual Sign and comparing the two languages, we find that some visual characteristics are more evident for the Deaf, and thus confirms the importance of a scientific glossary thought by skilled professionals, to avoid the maintenance of erroneous conceptions and respect for the visual culture of the Deaf.


The high-power density design of the insulated gate bipolar transistor power module may lead to complicated thermal behaviors, and the thermal-coupling effect among multiple chips is a major focus in the field of thermal modeling and characterization. Unfortunately, the existing modeling methods simply describe thermal coupling effect as a superposition of temperatures caused by lateral thermal diffusion. In reality, it is not only the temperature of semiconductors which is important, but also of the heat flow characteristics in heat transfer process. In this article, the thermal coupling effect has been explained in another perspective that it is the result of the overlap between heat flow paths. Frequency domain analysis of heat flow has been first conducted by finite-element methods simulations, and a novel thermal model considering the heat flow coupling has been proposed. This approach focuses on the thermal modeling of the heat coupling effect in cooling system and greatly simplifies the thermal modeling of the heat coupling effect inside power module because it has been discovered that the coupling region is mainly contained in the section from the baseplate to the heatsink. As a result, the proposed method has the advantage of not only having some physical meaning, but also having a relatively simple modeling and characterization process when compared to existing methods. The proposed thermal coupling model is verified by both simulation and experiment, and the application for electrothermal simulation of electric machine drive complex mission profiles composed of multitimescale thermal dynamics is also provided.


Static "self-optimising" control is an important concept, which provides a link between static optimisation and control (Skogestad, 2000). According to the concept, a dynamic control system could be configured in such a way that when a set of certain variables are maintained at their setpoints, the overall process operation is automatically optimal or near optimal at steady-state in the presence of disturbances. A novel approach using constrained gradient control to achieve "self-optimisation" has been proposed by Cao (2004). However, for most process plants, the information required to get the gradient measure may not be available in real-time. In such cases, controlled variable selection has to be carried out based on measurable candidates. In this work, the idea of direct gradient control has been extended to controlled variable selection based on gradient sensitivity analysis (indirect gradient control). New criteria, which indicate the sensitivity of the gradient function to disturbances and implementation errors, have been derived for selection. The particular case study shows that the controlled variables selected by gradient sensitivity measures are able to achieve near optimal performance.


Organizational communication is the backbone of a company and it can help bring together all the employees and the upper management level when it is implemented correctly. This paper provides an overview on communication and what is it, it's relevance in an organization, brand identity, image and reputation. Organizational communication is vitally important and can create a great amount of success for everyone in an organization. Internal communication is explained in further detail, and its importance is linked to employee satisfaction as well as organizational efficiency...


Subway system has become an important target attacked by terrorists,to enhance(government's) ability to deal with such emergency situation in subway,this!paper firstly formulates the guide,the characteristics and the significance to establish the emergency plan for antiterrorism in subway by the study of each city's actual situation of subway system in china and the case study of typical terrorism accidents,then gives important discussion on the method of the classification of emergency terrorism accidents and the way to handle such situation.All the study is very helpful to the establishment of emergency planning for antiterrorism in cities' subway system.


In strongly weathered tephras, it is commonly the case that only quartz and opaque minerals remain unaltered. For example, the K-Tz tephra is distinguished by abundant quartz crystals. The identification of strongly weathered tephras is difficult because major-element analyses of volcanic glass are affected by weathering. Here, we propose a method of identifying weathered tephras based on major-element analyses of pristine glass inclusions preserved in quartz phenocrysts, and apply the method to identifying the K-Tz, Nr-N, and Kt-1 tephras.We used energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques to analyze samples of the K-Tz tephra collected from a proximal location (Tanegashima, near Kikai caldera) and from three distal locations. The major-element compositions of glass inclusions are similar in all the K-Tz samples, but are distinct from those of the Nr-N and Kt-1 tephras.Major-element analysis of quartz-hosted glass inclusions is a promising method in investigations of strongly weathered Quaternary tephras in Japan, such as K-Tz.


The invention relates to design and preparation of microstructure surface and the technology field of laser micro processing. Preparation conditions are determined according to characteristics of materials, and oxidation process or film mulching method is adopted to prepare metal base microstructure surface under vacuum environment by femtosecond laser so as to realize super hydrophobic nature ofsurface in one step without any surface treatment. The invention has simple operation and high preparation efficiency. The metal base super hydrophobic surface can be prepared in one step by laser microstructure by surface oxidation treatment or film mulching method, and the technology is simple and the processing is fast and controllable. Laser energy, spot diameter, scanning speed and other process parameters can be controlled independently and computer program control can realize laser beam scanning and surface scanning to obtain different microstructure patterns.


Afghanistan was Australia's longest war, yet the consensus between Australia's major political parties on the commitment never wavered over 12 years. The bipartisan unity held even as the nature of the war changed and evolved, Australian casualties rose and popular support fell away. The enduring centrality of the US alliance explains much—probably almost all you need to know—about the unbroken consensus of the Australian polity. Afghanistan was an example of the Australian alliance addiction, similar to Vietnam. As with Vietnam, the Australian military left Afghanistan believing it won its bit of the war, even if the Afghanistan war is judged a disaster. As Australia heads home it finds the USA pivoting in its direction; with all the similarities that can be drawn between Vietnam and Afghanistan, this post-war alliance effect is a huge difference between the two conflicts.


In this paper, a compact high-precision digital pulse-width modulation (DPWM) CMOS circuit is proposed. The circuit, with multiple output capability, allows brightness control of red, green, and blue (RGB) light emitting diode (LED) lighting. The PWM technique is used for LED dimming control to avoid the problem of color shifting. In this design, complementary concepts and hardware sharing are utilized to achieve a compact architecture and small chip area. A double-edge triggered technique is adopted to enhance the capability of high-speed operation. An experimental chip has been realized by using TSMC 0.18-μm CMOS technology. Simulation results show that the proposed 5-bit PWM circuit can operate at 200 MHz, 32 duty cycles adjustable, and within only 1-ns time error. The chip's measured results show that the new PWM circuit with three output channels works successfully at a supply voltage of 1.8-V, clock of 50-MHz, and resolution of 32 adjustable per channel. The core area of the chip is only 280 × 52.5 μm2.


Abstract: Urbanization improves our lives but also threatens human health and sustainable development. Revealing the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion and spatiotemporal relationships with driving forces, especially in terms of the ubiquitous and fast growing small city, is a crucial prerequisite to solving these problems and realizing sustainable development. Kunshan, China was used as a case study here. Eleven variables from four aspects covering physical, socioeconomic, accessibility and neighborhood were selected, and logistic regression and geographically weighted logistic regression modeling were employed to explore spatiotemporal relationships from 1991–2014. Results reveal that urban expansion in Kunshan shows an accelerating tendency with annual expansion from 2000–2014 four times higher than for 1991–2000. More importantly, the annual expansion rate of Kunshan of 28.42% in 2000–2014 is higher than that of a large city. Urban expansion and related factors have spatiotemporal varying relationships. From a global perspective, the closer to a city, town, main road and the higher the GDP, the more likely a region will undergo urbanization. Interestingly, the effect of population on urban expansion is decreasing, especially in developed areas, and the effect of distance to lake is enhanced. From a local perspective, the magnitude and even the sign of the coefficients vary across the study area. However, the range of the coefficient of GWLR is around that of the corresponding variable in LR, and the sign of most variables in GWLR is consistent with that of corresponding variables in LR. GWLR surpasses LR with the same explanatory variables in revealing regional differences and improving model reliability. Based on these findings, more attention should be given to small cities in China. Promoting the connotation of city culture and public services to realize New-type Urbanization and regional diversity policy in order to manage urban expansion scientifically are also recommended.


John Dewey, America's foremost philosopher of education, has been the primary source for much of the curricular change in American education in this century. In this article, the history of Dewey's influence is traced. The present situation is also explored, namely, Dewey's stance on ability grouping and cooperative education.


This paper is concerned with the concept of generalized (Λ, sp)-closed sets. Some properties of generalized (Λ, sp)-closed sets and generalized (Λ, sp)-open sets are discussed. Moreover, several characterizations of Λsp-normal spaces are investigated.


ABSTRACT A large fraction of epigenetically silent heterochromatin is anchored to the nuclear periphery via 'tethering proteins' that function to bridge heterochromatin and the nuclear membrane or nuclear lamina. We previously identified a human tethering protein, PRR14, that binds heterochromatin through an N-terminal domain, but the mechanism and regulation of nuclear lamina association remained to be investigated. Here we identify an evolutionarily conserved PRR14 nuclear lamina binding domain (LBD) that is both necessary and sufficient for positioning of PRR14 at the nuclear lamina. We show that PRR14 associates dynamically with the nuclear lamina, and provide evidence that such dynamics are regulated through phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the LBD. Furthermore, we identify a PP2A phosphatase recognition motif within the evolutionarily conserved C-terminal Tantalus domain of PRR14. Disruption of this motif affects PRR14 localization to the nuclear lamina. The overall findings demonstrate a heterochromatin anchoring mechanism whereby the PRR14 tether simultaneously binds heterochromatin and the nuclear lamina through two separable modular domains. Our findings also describe an optimal PRR14 LBD fragment that could be used for efficient targeting of fusion proteins to the nuclear lamina. Summary: We have identified an evolutionarily conserved nuclear lamina binding domain in the PRR14 nuclear lamina–heterochromatin tethering protein.


The government regulation amendment is always followed by adjustment of technique regulation implementation. Government Regulation Number 18 Year 2016 about Local Device has been ratified. Bandung Regency deftly attempting to adjust that Government Regulation with drafting a local regulation. Goals of this study is to determine the amount and type of local device as a implementor of government affairs as the mapping of Government affairs that have facilitated by Minister and the ministries / non-ministerial government agencies to provide guidance in the mapping based on the plan in accordance with the mapping information system of Government affairs as a workload determination of the local device. Method that used in this study is qualitative description. The results shown that the majority of the local device based on government affairs in Bandung Regency obtain high scores so as to have type A. Keywords—Local Government, Regulation, Formation,Structure.


The finite-difference/front-tracking method is used to study the motion and deformation of a large bubble moving through a capillary tube in the presence of both insoluble and soluble surfactants. Emphasis is placed on the effects of surfactant on the liquid film thickness between the bubble and the tube wall. The numerical method is designed to solve the evolution equations of the interfacial and bulk surfactant concentrations coupled with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. A non-linear equation of state is used to relate interfacial surface tension to surfactant concentration at the interface. The film thickness is first computed for the clean bubble case and the results are compared with the lubrication theory in the limit of small capillary numbers, i.e., Ca ≪ 1, and found to be in good agreement with the predictions of Bretherton [1]. Thereafter, the method is used to investigate the effects of insoluble and soluble surfactants on the film thickness for a wide range of governing non-dimensional numbers. It is found that both the insoluble and soluble surfactants have a thickening effect on the liquid film, which compares well with both the experimental results of Krechetnikov and Homsy [2] and analytical predictions of Daripa and Pasa [3].© 2011 ASME


IN this libellus I have not attempted to offer a systematic bibliography, which the reader may seek elsewhere, but a general assessment of Livy as historian and literary artist as he appears to students of our generation. For this reason most of the work cited in support is of fairly recent date. But the image by which medieval thinkers expressed their debt to the philosophers and poets of Greece and Rome has its application here; we are 'dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants', and the modern studies quoted here will guide interested readers back to the scholars of earlier generations and their fundamental contributions. When I published a general study of Livy a dozen years ago, it was fair to complain of neglect of the historian by scholars writing in English. The following pages show how the situation is changing substantially. A central figure in this Livian revival is A. H. McDonald, whose Cambridge teaching has directly guided many, and whose researches on the text, thought, and style of the historian have stimulated contributions from a wider circle. His chapter 'The Roman Historians' in Fifty Years of Classical Scholarship* is characteristic for its breadth of vision; his synoptic view of Livy with predecessors and successors is an ideal starting-point for deeper study of the historian. Other general contributions in English may be found in recent surveys of ancient historians, and in a new collection of essays edited by T. A. Dorey. These may be set beside the well-known general surveys in Italian, German, and French, and beside the recent Wege der Forschung volume. The editor of that volume, Erich Burck, may fairly be called


Shareholders who wish to sue derivatively for breach of directors' fiduciary duties face significant obstacles. Chief among these is the requirement that they demand that the corporation's board pursue the action, unless such demand would be futile. The general test in Delaware for demand futility was set forth almost twenty-five years ago in Aronson v. Lewis. The second prong of that test asks whether the board decision underlying the complaint was the subject of a "valid business judgment." When Aronson was decided, this question served as a satisfactory proxy for the principle motivating the demand futility exception - the need to restrain board authority where the board is expected to be unable to make an impartial decision. If the original decision was not the product of a valid business judgment, directors would likely face personal liability from the derivative suit. With the almost universal adoption of exculpatory charter provisions, however, a space has opened between the spirit of Aronson and its test. Under the second prong, claims based on directors' due care breaches will not require demand despite the fact that directors have no reason to fear personal liability. Judging demand to be futile in such cases improperly undercuts board authority over corporate litigation decisions. In addition, when combined with the different test for demand futility applied in cases of board non-action, Aronson's second prong provides directors with incentives to delegate more decisionmaking authority to committees and management than they might have otherwise. Accordingly, the longstanding Aronson test should be revised.


Due to the progress in wireless communications and electronics over the last few years, several research projects invest in theory and practice in order to broaden the spectrum of use of norms, standards and technologies which emerged in wireless communications. The performance of these technologies is strongly related to the domains of use and the limitations of their characteristics. This article shows a comparison of ZigBee technology most widely used in sensor networks and UWB (Ultra Wide Band) which presents itself as a competitor that presents in these work better results for audiovisual applications with medium-range and high throughput.


In order to ensure NRCMS fund safety,we studied on NRCMS fund management model,compensative model,payment model,risk resistant capability and supervision system effect,and proposed relative countermeasures to improve management.


The basic types of heat-pumps used for heating, hot water supply and air conditioning are considered. Comparison of power and ecological efficiency of application of vapor compression and absorbing thermal pumps is conducted.


In this paper a study of plasma–assisted combustion and cata lyst–free fuel reforming was performed. A study of streamer action on prehe ated propane–air mixture was performed via LIF to enhance our knowledge of nanose cond voltage pulse discharge driven ignition and flame stabilization. It was shown that in the channel of positive streamer propagating through combustible mixture of metha ne and air of atmospherical pressure hydroxyl radicals are produced. Absolute OH conce ntration value over the time after the discharge profiles have been obtained with resolut ion in time being up to 100 ns. A series of plasmatrons based on nanosecond high–voltag e discharge was constructed for igniting and flame stabilizing of rich fuel–air mixtures in the reformer. Investigations were performed in a wide range of discharge parameters and fo r different mixture composition while studying hydrocarbon–air conversion to synga s. Measurements of hydrogen and CO yield in different regimes were performed. The develo p d reformer operates with both gaseous and liquid fuels with no catalyst and yields 20% H2 and 22% CO on average over several hours of operation.


Objective To study the origin of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in diazoxide induced preconditioning in cultured immature cardiomyocytes.?Methods Second generation cultures of immature Sprague-Dawley rat cardiomyocytes were treated with diphenylene iodonium (DPI,10 μmol/L) and myxothiazol (0.2 μmol/L)respectively before diazoxide (30 μmol/L) preconditioning and the application of 3 h hypoxia and 3 h reoxygenation, with the non-preconditioned cultures taken as the control. The activity of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in culture medium, content of intracellular malondiadehyde (MDA), mortality rate of cardiomyocytes and the ultrastructures were examined by the end of experiments.?Results The cardioprotective effects of diazoxide preconditioning could be mitigated by myxothiazol, an inhibitor of cytochrome b-c1 segement of complex Ⅲ in the respiratory chain .However DPI, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase and NADH oxidase did not attenuate this cardioprotection.?Conclusion Diazoxide preconditioning can protect immature cardiomycytes from hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, which may have something to do with mitochondrial electron transport chain through a ROS mechanism during the preconditioning episode.


This review article argues that the critique of contemporary discourses about religious self-improvement offered by Craig Martin cannot bear the claim that the notion of individual religion must be dropped. On the one hand, comparable phenomena are not restricted to a Western present, and, on the other, they do not disprove the utility of heuristic terms like religion or individualisation. However, a religious semantic of entrepreneurship might be a phenomenon well worth further research.


The coconut grower incurred Rs. 106014, Rs. 151754 and Rs. 153071 per hectare on cost of cultivation in FM, MSM and DM irrigation structures. Realized the per hectare total returns worked out to Rs. 121136, of which 71.84 per cent from coconut (Rs. 87020) and 28.16 per cent (Rs.34116) from other intercrops. In sprinkler and drip irrigation methods total returns worked out to Rs.179600 and Rs.202400, respectively. In sprinkler irrigation method share of coconut was found to be 70.55 per cent (Rs.126700) and that of other intercrops came to 29.45 per cent (Rs.52900). In drip irrigation method, per cent share of coconut and other intercrops worked out to the extent of 71.94 per cent (Rs.145600) and 28.06 per cent (Rs.56800). Coconut equivalent yield per palm per year was found to be 107.95 nuts, 159.21 nuts and 199.79 nuts in FM Group, MSM Group and DM Group, respectively. The coconut equivalent yield in FM Group, MSM Group and DM Group was 14142, 22450 and 24175 nuts, respectively. The input output ratio estimated in different irrigation methods was 1:1.1 in FM, 1:1.2 in MSM and 1:1.3 in DM correspondingly per nut cost of coconut was Rs. 7.00, Rs. 6.75 and Rs. 6.05 in the same order.Analysis and return structure indicated that in terms of absolute value and also coconut equivalent yield modern method of irrigation (MSM and DM) gives higher return over traditional method (FM). These returns are higher to the extent of 50 per cent in MSM and about 71 per cent in DM group. This showed the superiority of modern method over traditional method in terms of returns.


Abstract This paper suggests the use of Chinese proverbs in the teaching of finance to Chinese-speaking students. Familiar proverbs facilitate teaching to Chinese students by appealing to students' prior knowledge, improving retention of new material, and creating a friendlier classroom environment. Using Chinese proverbs in finance instruction also benefits North American students by promoting the understanding of Chinese culture. This paper presents thirty-six financial concepts accompanied by related Chinese proverbs. Strategies for the effective use of Chinese proverbs in the classroom are suggested as well.


The conditional evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) with status‐dependent tactics is the most commonly invoked ESS for alternative reproductive tactics within the sexes. Support for this model has recently been criticized as apparent rather than real. We address key predictions of the status‐dependent ESS in three populations of the male dimorphic mite Sancassania berlesei. In S. berlesei'fighter' males are characterized by a thickened pair of legs used for killing rivals; 'scramblers' are benign. Most males in each population could be manipulated to become fighters by decreasing density, fulfilling the prediction that males make a 'decision'. There was evidence of genetic covariance between sire status and offspring morph, but also a strong effect of sire morph on offspring morph ratio. This was consistent with considerable genetic variation for the status‐dependent switch point as a breeding experiment found no support for single‐locus inheritance. We also found evidence that switch points evolve independently of distributions of status. This study supports the current status‐dependent ESS model.


next bit of land to see is Ireland and try as I might on even the crystal clearest days, I never seem to manage a glimpse of that far away land. Sometimes I reflect that this is analogous to my search for 'truth' in school music education. What follows is a discussion of part of that quest from a North American local, but hopefully not parochial, outlook. While I Know that something is out there, it always escapes my view and my search for both truth and understanding of what may be proposed as the best sort of musical education remains distant from my grasp. Both by having taught school music in Canada, England and Germany and as an academic who has studied and argued about school music education, I am decidedly aware of the significant differences that have arisen in the formulation of school music curricula. The opportunity presented by RSME to explore alternative approaches in music


This paper investigates the particle ba and its interaction with the rising intonation in Mandarin. The paper presents novel data showing that ba can appear with rising tone only when the speaker is very certain about the prejacent, and that she invites the addressee to be committed to the prejacent as well by using the rising intonation. This is contrary to falling ba-declaratives, which typically express the speaker's uncertainty. We formalize the effects of a rising ba-declarative by associating ba and the rising intonation to the following contextupdating conventions: one, ba adds the content of the prejacent to the speaker's projected commitment set; two, the rising tone adds the content of the prejacent to the addressee's projected commitment set. The account reconciles the seemingly contradictory effects of rising/falling ba-declaratives, and explains the 'special' effect of rising tone in ba-declaratives.


A digitalized power quality analyzer is composed of a fiber interface (1), a network unit (2), a message decoding unit (3), a data interface A (4), a signal processing unit (5), a data interface B (6), and a microprocessor unit (7), wherein the fiber interface converts a received optical signal into an electric signal, and sends the electric signal to the network unit; the network unit unpacks the received data packaged according to TCP/IP protocol, and sends the unpacked data to the decoding unit; the message decoding unit parses the received data according to the IEC 61850 protocol, and sends the parsed data to the signal processing unit through a data interface A; the signal processing unit carries out power quality analysis on the sampling data, and sends the obtained result data of power quality technology indexes to the microprocessor unit through a data interface B; and the microprocessor unit sends the result data to a human-computer interface for display, or models according to the IEC 61859 standard, and sends to a station control layer network of a digitalized transformer station. The digitalized power quality analyzer is suitable for a digitalized transformer station.


Automatically generating game levels using Procedural Content Generation (PCG) is a challenging problem because of the necessity of attending both functional and nonfunctional requirements. In the particular example of level generation for Super Mario, Machine Learning approaches, such as GANs and Reinforcement Learning, have shown promise. However, these black-box approaches usually are not explainable, and thus difficult to integrate with human designers. We propose a different level-generation system that uses a reachable graph structure, automatic detection of level structures, and formal graph grammars. A human designer can also easily add or remove structures to use the system as a level co-creation tool. An experimental analysis shows that the proposed system can generate playable and visually pleasing levels, while revealing some limitations of current approaches on platformer level generation, such as the generation of backtracking segments.


Continually expanding demand for greater photonic network capacities has created a need for the use of alternative wavebands and development of methods to strengthen transmission capacities. Photonic transport systems in the C band (1530-1565 nm, 4.3-THz bandwidth) and L band (1565-1625 nm, 7.1-THz bandwidth) have been extensively employed in conventional networks. We recently focused on use of a novel wavelength band such as 1.0-μm (thousand band: T band) together with the conventional C and L bands for enhancing usable optical frequency resources in future photonic networks employing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Therefore, here, we develop an ultra-broadband photonic transport system in the T band to create novel optical frequency resources in that waveband. In the proposed system, a holey fiber (HF) transmission line has been developed that is capable of ultra-broadband data transmission. In this study, we demonstrated ultra-broadband, 10-Gbps, error-free operation in a T-band photonic transport system using a wavelength tunable light source and an HF transmission line (typically >3.3 km). We successfully developed ultrabroadband transmission capability beyond the 8.4-THz bandwidth (1037-1068 nm), from usable optical frequency resources in the T band. In this band we also successfully demonstrate a polarization division multiplexing (PDM) photonic transport system for achieving efficient use of optical frequency resources. To construct the photonic network system of the future, we believe the technologies of the demonstrated T-band photonic transport systems using the HF transmission line represent a pioneering breakthrough in the use of ultra-broadband optical frequency resources.


One has freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. This claim is common, but it rests on a misunderstanding of what real freedom of religion entails. The most important thing to remember is that freedom of religion, if it is going to apply to everyone, also requires freedom from religion. Why is that? One does not truly have the freedom to practice one's religious belief if one is not also required to adhere to any of the religious beliefs or rules of other religious. Freedom from religion does not mean, as some mistakenly seem to claim, being free from seeing religion in society. No one has the right not to see churches, religious expression, and other examples of religious belief in the nation, and those who advocate freedom of religion do not claim otherwise. What freedom from religion does mean, however, is the freedom from rules and dogmas of other people's religious beliefs so that people can be free to follow the demands of their own conscience, whether they take a religious form or not. Thus they have both freedom of religion and freedom from religion because they are two sides of the same coin.


The article presents the strong function of the combinative use of a dynamic query file and a form in Chinese VFP,and describes its creating procedure.


This paper analyzes the poverty and inequality implications of removing agricultural and non-agricultural price distortions in the domestic market of the Philippines and abroad. Liberalization in the rest of the world is poverty and inequality reducing, whereas full domestic liberalization increases national poverty and inequality. Poverty declines while inequality increases marginally in the combined scenario of both global and domestic agriculture reform. Although the reduction in the national poverty headcount is small in the latter scenario, the poorest of the poor, particularly those living in the rural areas, emerge as 'winners', given their strong reliance on agricultural production and unskilled labor wages.


Timed for publication just as RS/6000 becomes the top-selling workstation, this guide meets the growing need for guidance on the workstation's software applications. AIX/6000 Applications Guide will be for the RS/6000 what Baritz's guide is for AS/400 users. It offers a thorough overview of operating system issues, advanced systems, and user interface topics. Scores of helpful figures, tables, and examples give users a solid grounding in running the system, accounting and performance management, networking and communications, problem diagnosis, and more. Of special note is the coverage of networking that includes a section on TCP/IP. Also provided are "Quick Start" tips that enable users to be functional at the workstation immediately.


Increasing evidence indicate that obesity is highly associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD).GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist has shown benefits on kidney diseases, but its direct role on kidney metabolism in obesity is still not clear. This study aims to investigate the protection and metabolic modulation role of liraglutide (Lira) on kidney of obesity. Rats were induced obese by high-fat diet (HFD), and renal function and metabolism changes were evaluated by metabolomic, biological and histological methods. HFD rats exhibited metabolic disorders including elevated body weight, hyperlipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance, and remarkable renal injuries including declined renal function and inflammatory/fibrotic changes, whereas Lira significantly ameliorated these adverse effects in HFD rats. Metabolomic data showed that Lira reduced renal lipids including fatty acid residues, cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides, and improved mitochondria metabolites such as succinate, citrate, taurine, fumarate and NAD+ in the kidney of HDF rats. Furthermore, we revealed that Lira inhibited renal lipid accumulation by coordinating lipogenic and lipolytic signals, and rescued renal mitochondria function via Sirt1/AMPK/PGC1α pathways in HDF rats. This study suggested that Lira alleviated HFD-induced kidney injury via directly restoring renal lipid and energy metabolism, and GLP-1 receptor agonist is a promising therapy for obesity-associated CKD.


Forward–backward semiclassical dynamics (FBSD) provides a rigorous and powerful methodology for calculating time correlation functions in condensed phase systems characterized by substantial quantum mechanical effects associated with zero‐point motion, quantum dispersion, or identical particle exchange symmetries. The efficiency of these simulations arises from the use of classical trajectories to capture all dynamical information. However, full quantization of the density operator makes these calculations rather expensive compared to fully classical molecular dynamics simulations. This article discusses the convergence properties of various correlation functions and introduces an optimal Monte Carlo sampling scheme that leads to a significant reduction of statistical error. A simple and efficient procedure for normalizing the FBSD results is also discussed. Illustrative examples on model systems are presented. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 28: 818–824, 2007


In Rowing, racing, the athlete must control the boat legally and compete to overcome all obstacles in weight, water and wind resistance... to achieve the highest performance. This shows that the athlete must have a good physical level, especially a level of professional endurance, to overcome drag in the long run. As such, endurance is a very important physical quality and directly affects the performance of Rowing athletes.


With the robust development of the state higher education, the construction of university laboratory (building) leads to a new level. The modernization, the criterion and starting point of the construction are markedly enhanced. It is a significant issue that how to think highly of the peripheral configuration, like layout of laboratory, basic facilities and technical condition, in the early period construction, as to have higher benefit from large cost.


A method has been proposed in the spoken word recognition, which utilizes the frequency-time pattern inherent to the word. However, in the application of the method for speech by unspecified speakers, normalization is required, in contrast to the case of specified speakers, since the formant in the pattern may be shifted along the frequency-axis due to the individual difference of harmonization organs of the speakers. The method including the formant normalization or nonlinear conversion of the frequency-axis contains a larger computational complexity, and is not suited to a large vocabulary of words. From such a viewpoint, this paper proposes a method, in which a common weighted average dictionary is constructed by superposing the binary local-peak patterns of speakers, absorbing their individual differences into a dictionary. The individual differences of speakers are also overcome by matching with the dictionary the binary pattern with an allowable width along the frequency-axis centered around the local peak of the input speech. The weighted average dictionary is only a pattern set representing the frequency of the local peaks inherent in the word, and the storage of data requires less memory capacity. Since the input pattern is matched based on the binary pattern set, the computational complexity is also reduced. With 110 words of 0A command as the sample speech, both male and female speech is used as the inputs. When the input speakers are restricted, a recognition rate of 97 percent was obtained for restricted speakers and nearly 92 percent was obtained for unrestricted speakers.