One of the main problems of observational cosmology is to determine the range in which a reliable measurement of galaxy correlations is possible. This corresponds to determining the shape of the correlation function, its possible evolution with redshift and the size and amplitude of large scale structures. Different selection effects, inevitably entering in any observation, introduce important constraints in the measurement of correlations. In the context of galaxy redshift surveys selection effects can be caused by observational techniques and strategies and by implicit assumptions used in the data analysis. Generally all these effects are taken into account by using pair-counting algorithms to measure two-point correlations. We review these methods stressing that they are based on the a-priori assumption that galaxy distribution is spatially homogeneous inside a given sample. We show that, when this assumption is not satisfied by the data, results of the correlation analysis are affected by finite size effects. In order to quantify these effects, we introduce a new method based on the computation of the gradient of galaxy counts along tiny cylinders. We show, by using artificial homogeneous and inhomogeneous point distributions, that this method identifies redshift dependent selection effects and disentangles them from the presence of large scale density fluctuations. We then apply this new method to several redshift catalogs and we find evidence that galaxy distribution, in those samples where selection effects are small enough, is characterized by power-law correlations with exponent γ=0.9 up to 20 Mpc/h followed by a change of slope that, in the range 20–100 Mpc/h, corresponds to a power-law exponent γ=0.25. Whether a crossover to spatial uniformity occurs at ∼ 100 Mpc/h or larger scales cannot be clarified by the present data.


The article discusses the theoretical and practical problems of geotourism associated with the creation of a new direction of the tourism industry in the post-soviet space. It, on contractual examples, substantiates urgent issues of the development of geotourism as geographic tourism in Uzbekistan and suggests ways of its implementation.


A pipe connection structure according to one aspect of the invention is provided. The pipe connection structure includes a first pipe member 1 and a second pipe member 2. A sealing portion 11 of the first pipe member 1 includes a first abutment surface 11a in a tapered shape, a diameter of which is increased toward a tip of the first pipe member 1. An end of the second pipe member 2 includes a second abutment surface 21a in a tapered shape, a diameter of which is reduced toward a tip of the second pipe member. The second abutment surface 21a is pressed and abuts against the first abutment surface 11a. An abutment section of the second abutment surface and the first abutment surface is located on a radially inner side of an inner wall surface 1b of the first pipe member 1.


In this paper, we give a necessary combinatorial condition for a negative‐definite plumbing tree to be suitable for rational blowdown, or to be the graph of a complex surface singularity which admits a rational homology disk smoothing. New examples of surface singularities with rational homology disk smoothings are also presented; these include singularities with resolution graph having valency 4 nodes.


Algebraic signal processing theory established the abstract frame for modern signal processing. In this paper, the algebraic representation of signal decimation in frequency domain for 1-D finite time model was studied on the basis of the algebraic signal processing theory. And the result was compared with existed results in classical signal processing. The results show that the algebraic signal processing theory is abstract representation and generalized form of classical theory for further.


During degradation of organic pollutants, non-extractable residues (NER) are formed. NER are believed to be composed of parent compounds or primary metabolites with hazardous potential. However, some part of NER may be biogenic and contain harmless microbial biomass components, which are stabilised in soil organic matter. We investigated the formation of biogenic residues from biodegradation of C6-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in soil during a 64-day incubation. The results showed that at the end biogenic components accounted for virtually all the NER. Therefore, in the case of biodegradable organic contaminants, the environmental and toxicological risks related to NER formation may be overestimated.


We propose a two-grid method for resolving the nonlinearity in finite element approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow. The two-grid method involves solving one small, nonlinear system on the coarse mesh and two linear problems on the fine mesh. These two linear problems have the same stiffness matrix with only different right-hand sides. An error bound for the method is also derived. Numerical examples support the theoretical results and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (H2-DRI) is an alternative pathway for low-carbon steel production. Yet, the lack of established process and business models defining "green steel" make it difficult to understand...


A simple phototube timing device is described to relate individual cine-frames to the particular part of the cardiac cycle during which they occur. A practical application of the use of this device is also illustrated.


Objective To investigate breast health awareness and breast self-inspection condition among female students of vocational colleges in Suzhou;to provide reference for carrying out publicity and education effectively.Methods A total of 168 subjects were selected among 3vocational colleges in Suzhou by non-probability sampling method,all subjects were surveyed by self-designed questionnaire face to face.Results Among 168 surveyed female college students,26.2% reported breast discomfort occurrence,however,only 7.1% went to hospital for breast inspection.10.7% of female subjects knew about breast self-inspection,while only 2.4% had regular self-inspection.Residency and parents' occupations affected the self-inspection rate significantly(P0.05).The awareness of female college students for breast disease and breast cancer-related knowledge was poor.Seminars and expert consultation are most preferred ways for students to learn about breast care.Conclusion Female students in vocational colleges in Suzhou showed low concern about breast disease,with low awareness of breast health and rare breast self-inspection.Primary prevention of breast cancer should be actively carried out to establish an effective health promotion and education system.


Territorial development policies facilitate productive diversification and job creation in rural and urban regions, where local actors manage and market local products Thus, the connection of localities through urban and entrepreneurial networks helps the firms' interaction and the development of agrarian, industrial and service products for selling in national and international markets The creation of polycentric territories through new communication systems facilitate the towns and regions accessibility Therefore, bottom-up policies and cooperation in times of post-COVID-19 recuperation reduces poverty and helps fight against inequality, permitting future territorial and social development


Heterogeneous renewable resources share common features,but there is a complex and extensive network replacement in variable resources.This paper establishes a price network graph of renewable resources with renewable resources as nodes and alternative as sides.The network with short path and large clustering coefficient displays as "small world network",which is not in accordance with power-law distribution,without orientation,but shows a trend to no-orientation.Government shall make favorable polices to intensify the alternative processing technology in heterogeneous renewable resources and inner alternative effect,which can mitigate the price fluctuation and decrease the market risks.


Portugal's transition from fascism to democracy, and from imperial metropole to EU member state. Kimberly DaCosta Holton examines the evolution and significance of Ranchos folcloricos, groups of amateur musicians and dancers who perform turn-of-the-century popular tradition and have acted as cultural barometers of change throughout 20th-century Portugal. She investigates the role that these folklore groups played in the fascist dictatorship early in the century, how they fell out of official favour with the advent of democracy, and why they remain so popular in Portugal's post-authoritarian state, especially in emigrant and diasporic communities.Holton looks at music, dance, costume, repertoire, venue, and social interplay in both local and global contexts. She considers the importance of revivalist folklore in the construction and preservation of national identity in the face of globalization. This book embraces "invented tradition" as process rather than event, presenting an ethnography not only of folkloric revivalism but also of sweeping cultural transformation, promoted alternately by authoritarianism, democracy, emigration, and European unification. Kimberly DaCosta Holton Assistant Professor of Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rutgers University, Newark.


To the Editor. —Dissection of the internal carotid artery may occur as the result of relatively trivial trauma, usually in the setting of sports activity. 1 It is estimated that 41% of American adults exercise regularly outside of work, 2 yet carotid artery dissection accounts for less than 1% of all cerebrovascular disease, 1,2 suggesting that this is a rare or underreported problem. We have recently seen two cases of internal carotid dissection resulting in stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory, shortly after two different, commonly used, simple exercise programs. Report of Cases. —Case1.—A 23-year-old right-handed woman, who had a history of common migraine headaches since the age of 13 years, suddenly developed severe right-sided headache and left-sided weakness while performing aerobic exercises in response to a popular exercise record. She had begun the exercise routine with the usual "warm-up" of flexion, hyperextension, and rotation of the neck


The third sector had sprung up from 1980s on, some scholars from foreign thought which to be as important as engender of nation in 19th century. Now there are so many outcomes about the third sector in academic realm, but many of which limited to the private autonomic associations. As a matter of fact higher education is an important part of the third sector, although that always were ignored. In the future we should pay more attention to the theory of the third sector in order to promote the development of higher education.


Recent studies have proposed that handwashing can lead to the development of allergic disease by reducing skin epithelial barrier integrity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between personal hygiene practices and allergic rhinitis (AR) in a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents.


Abstract In the search for new potential antihyperlipidemic agents, the present study focuses on the synthesis and pharmacological activity of a series of novel N-(4-benzoylphenyl)-2-furamides (3a–3e). Hyperlipidemia was induced in rats by single intraperitoneal injection of Triton WR-1339 (300 mg/kg body weight). At a dose of 15 mg/kg body weight, compounds 3b, 3d and bezafibrate (100 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.0001) reduced elevated plasma triglyceride levels after 18 h compared to the hyperlipidemic control group. However, only groups treated with compounds 3b, and 3d obviously showed a significant (p<0.0001) reduction in plasma total cholesterol levels. Moreover, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were significantly (p<0.0001) increased in animals treated with compounds 3b, 3d and bezafibrate. It is therefore reasonable to assume that compounds 3b and 3d may have promising potential in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. This beneficial activity may contribute to their cardioprotective and antiatherosclerotic role.


Two methods for modifying an arbitrary CMOS combinational circuit into a testable CMOS combinational circuit, called a k-UCP circuit, are discussed. All stuck-at faults and stuck-open faults in a k-UCP circuit can be detected by a test pattern which is a combination of no more than 2(k+1) kinds of basic sequences of fixed-length k(k +1)+1 under highly observable conditions. And all single stuck-open faults in a k-UCP circuit can be located efficiently. Experimental results show that the NAND (NOR) circuit modification is better than the general circuit modification in terms of the number of additional transistors. Experimental results also show that setting a proper backtrack limit can reduce computation time greatly. From a practical point of view, the results obtained are of value for developing CMOS ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), where hardware overhead is allowed to some extent, but a fast diagnostic procedure is required.<<ETX>>


Intellectual property is a new asset that can be used for financing.Theoretically,it is feasible to use intellectual property mortgage for financing and there are successful cases in practice.But they are generally still in experimental stage.China has some laws,local regulations and policies on it.But it is urgent to make the financing under intellectual property mortgage available.


Job satisfaction stresses on the personal feelings within the job environment in relation to job assessment. Various academics and scientists studied in the past, the significant association between personal expectations and job satisfaction of employees. These past studies were based on the model of personality traits and other variables in determination of employee job satisfaction. This study is to assess the relationship and effect between independent and dependent variables. To ensure that the stated objectives are met, a 7 point Likert scale questionnaires were administered to 140 managers and non-manager employees. However, only 128 of the questionnaires were returned without errors and ready to go through the analysis processes. Data analysis was conducted in two phases namely the descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis aided by the mean counts was applied in describing the empirical data; whereas the inferential statistics of Pearson's chi-square test and ANOVA were utilized to determine the relationship and the effect of independent on the dependent variable. ANOVA was used to assess the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. This empirical study demonstrates mix results through Pearson's chi-square and ANOVA tests. WEP and employee status does not differ from EJS whereas employee position differs from EJS. The ANOVA test revealed a significant effect of WEP and EPS on EJS. The study revealed that SME owners in FB district municipality experienced very high entrepreneurial challenges in contrast to their counterparts in JTG district municipality. Given these findings, the author called on policymakers to prepare specific strategies and programs that motivate employees within the establishment.


Benzyl acetate was synthesized with benzyl alcohol and acetic acid as raw material and solid superacid SO 2- 4/TiO 2 as catalyst.The factors that have influence on the reaction were investigated.The results showed that the optimal conditions were 1.5 g catalyst and 15 mL cyclohexane(to remove water)with the molar ratio of benzyl alcohol/acetic acid being 1.8:1 and the reaction time being 2.5 h;The yield of benzyl acetate under such conditions was about 86.0%.


Few studies have investigated the perception of tone contrasts and it is currently unclear whether tones are perceived categorically or continuously by listeners of tone language. In the present study, native speakers of French and Vietnamese received an identification test with several acoustic continua contrasting three among the six tones of the vietnamese language. Results showed clear differences across groups, with native listeners of Vietnamese demonstrating categorical performance in the identification task. Further research is required to determine whether the difference generalizes to discrimination.


The molar ratio of 1,3-dicarbonyl blocking groups to thermally active blocking group 4: 1 to 1: 9 such that the range of at least one 1,3-dicarbonyl blocking group and at least one thermally active blocking as crosslinking agents in coating compositions with a group, mixed blocked polyisocyanate and hybrid blocked polyisocyanates gives good stability adhesion and between improved coat during overcoating.


Integration of an X-ray free electron laser facility is planned in the TESLA design for a future e/sup +/e/sup -/ linear collider. In the present scheme, the FEL drive beam is transported to a central user facility in a several km long beamline. In this paper we present how the longitudinal wakefield effect for short bunches in combination with a special beamline magnetic lattice can be used to obtain compression down to an rms-bunch length in the range of a few /spl mu/m. A peak current of more than 50kA would enable the X-ray FEL facility to generate photon wavelengths in the sub-Angstrom regime.


1. Objectives Sasang Contitutional Medicine, a part of the traditional Korean medical lore, treats illness through a constitutional typing system that categorizespeople into four constitutional types. A few of the important criteria for differentiating the constitutional types are external appearances, inner state of mind, and pathological patterns. We had been developing a 3D Automatic Face Recognition Apparatus (3D-AFRA) in order to evaluate the external appearances with more objectivity. This apparatus provides a 3D image and numerical data on facial configuration, and this study aims to evaluate the mechanical accuracy of the 3D-AFRA hardware. 2. Methods Several objects of different shapes (cube, cylinder, cone, pyramid) were each scanned 10 times using the 3D Automatic Face Recognition Apparatus (3D-AFRA). The results were then compared and analyzed with data retrieved through a laser scanner known for its high accuracy. The error rates were analyzed for each grid point of facial contour scanned with Rapidform2006 (Rapidform2006 is a 3D scanning software that collects grid point data for contours of various products and products and product parts through 3D scanners and other 3D measuring devices; the grid point data thusly acquired is then used to reconstruct highly precise polygon and curvature models). 3. Results and Conclusions The average error rate was 0.22mm for the cube, 0.22mm for the cylinder, 0.125mm for the cone, and 0.172mm for the pyramid. The visual data comparing error rates for measurement figures retrieved with Rapidform2006 is shown in . Blue tendency indicates smaller error rates, while red indicates greater error rates The protruding corners of the cube display red, indicating greater error rates. The cylinder shows greater error rates on the edges. The pyramid displays greater error rates on the base surface and around the vertex. The cone also shows greater error around the protruding edge.


Software project management is challenging not only due to the technical requirements associated with creating software, but also in dealing with interpersonal issues that arise during the course of a project. One interpersonal dynamic within software project teams that is rarely discussed is the interaction among the team members themselves. Using social identity theory as a lens, this research explores how subgroups based on individuals' prior work history could impact the project team. These prior working relationships could be a benefit to the team, or alternatively, could create favoritism among some members of the team. We explore the phenomenon of how prior work history affects the project team's dynamic in the context of a massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Using the results, we offer suggestions for future research and practice to consider the impact of social identity within software project teams.


This paper evaluates the reliability of the proposed Westinghouse Distributed Processing Family (WDPF) control system and compares it to the reliability of the existing mechanical/ hydraulic control system at the Ringhals 2 nuclear power plant. The probabilities of the postulated failures in the existing control system are contrasted to those that would exist for the WDPF enhanced control and protection system. This paper is limited to a discussion about the reliability that relates to failures that have the potential to cause an overpressure in the moisture separator/reheaters (MSRs) of the Ringhals 2 plant. This power plant was built at a time when the requirements (in Sweden) did not include overpressure relief valves in the MSR. When the plant was originally constructed, the mechanical/ hydraulic control system was designed to be, and was used as, a method to prevent an overpressure condition in the MSR. The control system response time was fast enough to close the MSR inlet lines in the event that one or more discharge line valves was closed or failed closed. The authors also include a thermal-hydraulic analysis of some of the postulated (very low probability) secondary-side transients.


Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of 4 different scanning protocols offered by the VistaScan Mini Easy scanner on image quality at different exposure times.
Materials & Methods: Four number size-2 photostimulable phosphor plates were exposed with 5 different exposure times while keeping other parameters constant. The exposed plates were scanned without delay using 4 different scanning protocols. 10 lp/mm, 20 lp/mm, 25 lp/mm, and 40 lp/mm are offered by the VistaScan Mini Easy scanner. The mean gray value was calculated using the ImageJ program by identifying three non-overlapping regions of interest from the background and each step in the obtained images. The mean of all mean gray values determined for the background and steps on a plate was also considered the mean gray value of that plate.
Results: When plate mean gray values at 0.20 s and 0.40 s were examined, a statistically significant difference was observed between the scanning protocols (p


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by motoneuron degeneration. The features observed in ALS are the mislocalization and aggregation of proteins in the affected motoneurons. The mutants of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) or TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) that cause ALS have been reported to localize aberrantly. These aggregations contain the products of ALS causative genes, including SOD1 or TDP-43. Notably, TDP-43-positive aggregations have been identified even in sporadic ALS cases, indicating the importance of aggregate formation in the pathogenesis of ALS. Various proteins other than ALS causative gene products are also included in these aggregates. It is thought that the genetic mutation-induced conformational changes of proteins cause the aberrant redistribution and formation of aggregates, resulting in a loss of function or a gain of neuronal toxicity through the undesired interactions. Additionally, valosin-containing protein (VCP) , u biquilin2 (UBQLN2) and optineurin (OPTN) , which are related to the proteolysis system, have also been identified as causative genes in ALS. These facts suggest that the aberrant protein homeostasis mediated by mislocalization, aggregate formation, or defects in the proteolysis system are the underlying causes of neuronal toxicity in ALS. Here, we focus on the impaired protein homeostasis observed in ALS to discuss the potential for motoneuron toxicity.


Received: December 03, 2017; Accepted: December 19, 2017; Published: December 23, 2017 The term "acute phase" was originally introduced by Avery and colleagues to refer to serum obtained from patients who were acutely ill with infectious disease and which contained C-reactive protein (CRP) [1,2]. The acute phase reaction (APR) is a systemic reaction of the organism to local or systemic disturbances in its homeostasis caused by infection, tissue insult, trauma, or immunological disorders initiated and regulated by a large subset of cytokines. Most strikingly, the pattern of hepatic protein synthesis is drastically altered resulting in an increase of some plasma proteins. Generally, proteins whose concentration may increase by as much as 25% during the first week of injury or infection are classified as positive APR reactants [3]. At the same time, the production of several other proteins, i.e. negative APRs, is compensatory reduced. The measurement of positive and negative APR reactants as disease sensor is clinically useful because they are sensor of inflammatory disease [4,5]. The application of bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), also known as endotoxin or lipoglycan, is a well-established experimental model for inducing APR in rodents [6]. Although the sensitivity toward LPS differs by several orders of magnitude between humans and mice, the quantitative and qualitative pattern of most APRs reactants and associated clinical symptoms are similar [7,8].


Formation flying is regarded as a feasible solution to bring order of magnitude improvements is performance and capabilities of our space assets. To take full advantage of the benefits offered by formation flying concepts, it is necessary to develop and examine its dynamics models. In this paper, four models namely Perturbed Nonlinear Model, Unperturbed Nonlinear Model, Linear Elliptic Model and Linear Circular Model are studied. Also, an error index is given to measure accuracy of each model. Based on our simulation results, compared to Perturbed Nonlinear Model as the reference, minimum error index was observed in the Unperturbed Nonlinear Model. Due to linearization, the Linear Elliptic Model exhibits some error, as the formation size expands. Error index in the Linear Circular Model increases as the relative distance increases. Furthermore, its error index experiences rapid increase, even for small eccentricities. Considering the effects of these error sources on each model, one may be able to choose the appropriate model according to the desired accuracy for a given mission.


In order to eliminate the biased errors from the bearings-only infrared target localization estimators and solve the problem of the existence of multiple solutions in the available algorithms,a bearings-only infrared target localization algorithm based on the optimal total least squares is proposed.With the study of the total least squares theory,a cost function is constructed to solve the problem for identical least singular values with extended measurement equations.A theoretical analysis of the optimum total least squares algorithm proves the simulated results are unbiased.Compared with the total least squares algorithm and modified instrumental variable algorithm,the proposed algorithm can reach the Cramer-Rao lower bound(CRLB)quickly under the Gaussian noise,proving better estimation accuracy and stability.


We shall consider the growth of solutions of complex linear homo- geneous dierential equations f (k) + Ak 1(z)f (k 1) + ··· + A1(z)f 0 + A0(z)f = 0 with entire coecients. If one of the intermediate coecients in exponen- tially dominating in a sector and f is of finite order, then a derivative f (j) is asymptotically constant in a slightly smaller sector. We also find conditions on the coecients to ensure that all transcendental solutions are of infinite order. This paper extends previous results due to Gundersen and to Bela¨idi and Hamani.


In recent years, tertiary institutions have engaged more with digital education, especially blended and online learning. One institution sought to transform its existing provision, and enhance learning and teaching, through a substantial strategic funding initiative comprising almost 20 individual projects.
To capture the learning from this substantial investment, 20 semi-structured interviews were carried out with staff involved in setting up or working on these projects, typically early adopters. Interviews sought to revisit motivations to engage with the project, and capture perceived benefits including lessons learned, challenges, enablers, support needs and recommendations going forwards.
Participants were motivated to enhance their own teaching practice and improve student learning experience/outcomes. Recognised benefits included enhanced learner experience, transformed teaching practice, flexibility and access, teaching efficiencies, and developmental opportunities for staff. Significant challenges related to the time required to design, develop and implement courses, as well as technological and student-related issues. Despite these challenges, participation in the project led to the development of new skills and transformed teachers' learning and teaching practice. This was made possible through a number of enablers including prior experience of blended learning, and supportive others from across various services, schools and colleges.
The study highlights the importance of strategic projects in expanding the digital capabilities of an institution to meet the expected—and unexpected—demands of the future. The findings are discussed in the context of the current literature on blended and remote learning, and existing institutional frameworks that support transitions to blended learning.


The paper discusses a new technique for development of metamodels for the modelling distributed parallel software systems. The approach is an important stage of Domain-Specific Mathematical Modelling (DSMM), developed to enhance the methodology of Domain-Specific Modelling. The advantage of DSMM is a possibility of constructing metamodels for modelling domains, having different mathematical properties and structures. The paper analyses applicability of OWL-DL ontologies for expressing properties of software systems. Identification of the metatypes as OWL classes and use of OWL restrictions as rules of metamodels' grammars give us an effective way for the design and verification of software systems. The proposed approach have advantages of the model-driven software development and allows verification of software systems at earlier design stage.


Hybrid regimes have been largely overlooked in the scholarly discussion on the effectiveness of halting the new COVID-19 virus, not least due to the lack of conceptual clarity, as such regimes are considered as the halfway or "grey area" on the authoritarianism-to-democracy path Hence, the present paper aims to contribute to the pool of research on the internal dynamics of hybridity through exploring the responses towards the pandemic by two stable post-Soviet hybrid regimes, namely Georgia and Ukraine The "most similar systems" comparative research design allows us to demonstrate that the two countries' different crisis management and communication strategies explain Georgia's relative success in halting the virus spread in comparison to Ukraine throughout the first wave The application of Henry Hale's "single-pyramid" and "competitive pyramid" models of patronal politics highlights the lack of competitiveness in the formal and informal governance processes in Georgia's case, as opposed to the chaotic mode of decision-making as well as plurality of informal actors in Ukraine's case © 2020 Institute of International Relations Prague All rights reserved


Abstract: This chapter concerns itself with communication. It examines the both the importance of the Machiavellian librarian being able to communicate their ideas effectively with the Prince and the importance of the Prince knowing who this Machiavellian librarian is. The purpose of this communication is to enable the librarian to get their need(s) met or their program(s) executed. In this essay the Prince is identified as any superior of the Machiavellian librarian, whether that superior is a board of trustees, a college president, or a library manager. Although the ideas and examples presented will work in almost any variety of library, I have concentrated on the type of library I know best: an academic library in a public university. This chapter also suggests various methods to contact the Prince and indicates some of the rewards that the Machiavellian librarian could receive when this communication is handled successfully.


The sintering of a standard (La0.8Sr0.2)0.98MnO3 (LSM-20) solid oxide fuel cell cathode composition (in the temperature range of 1050-1200oC) on anode-supported cells utilizing a Ni-YSZ anode and thin YSZ electrolyte (<10 μm thickness) has revealed the need for a protective ceria interlayer to prevent a detrimental interaction between the YSZ and the LSM. The interaction, however, is not the typically assumed formation of insulating La- and/or Sr-zirconate, but rather the result of Ni diffusion from the anode through the YSZ electrolyte and into the LSM resulting in coarsening and increased densification of the LSM microstructure. As an alternative to the use of a protective ceria interlayer, the presence of YSZ in the cathode material was able to suppress coarsening of LSM, thereby significantly improving the electrochemical performance.


To reconcile the two experimental findings on La 2- x Sr x CuO 4 , namely, Fermi surface (FS) observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and sharp incommensurate magnetic peaks by neutro...


In power systems the occurrence probability of operating points close to network limits may be increased as a result of high wind penetration. Consequences of such scenarios include inefficient exploitation of both wind and economic resources. A well chosen allocation of wind capacity not only is in line with the trend of renewables integration in power systems but also allows for limiting the occurrence probability of unsafe operating points that may require costly remedies. In this work, a voltage stability constrained optimal power flow (VSC-OPF) framework is presented for transmission system planning and applied to wind capacity allocation. This framework captures multiple wind and demand scenarios within the OPF. The pattern of wind capacity allocation is studied in order to assess its impact on voltage stability and the total wind capacity allocation. The results emphasize the effect of the capacity allocation pattern on improvement of voltage stability.


The influence of low temperature treatment on the carbide precipitation in 3Cr2MoCoWV hot work die steel was studied by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results indicate that after austempering Fe3C and e-carbide precipitations could be observed in microstructure of low bainite of steel matrix.There were an abundance of twin-martensites on which fine carbide dispersed,appearing in the microstructure of specimen after the subsequent low temperature treatment.After temper treatment,a large amount of MC and M2C e-carbides precipitation dispersedly distributed on the bainitic ferrite laths.Meanwhile,Fe3C forming in the austempering process decomposed and formed the more stable acicular M2C carbide,which maintained the same orientation of the ferrite matrix.


Traditional measures of head and neck tumors often fail to predict patient outcome or clinical course, particularly in nonadvanced disease. This problem of unpredictable tumor behavior has been one focus of cell proliferation studies. Such studies, however, have been limited by difficult methodology. A newer method of quantifying tumor cell proliferation using bromodeoxyuridine is applicable for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, as shown in the present study. The relative ease with which cell proliferation can be evaluated using this technique will allow large numbers of head and neck tumors to be studied, enabling correlations with tumor behavior to be made.


Summary This interview is partly an intellectual biography of Maria Jaschok, a renowned scholar of contemporary China, partly a rare account of the ch anges in Western approaches to the study of China over the past fifty years. It also touches on relationships of mentoring and collaboration among scholars and in the field. Prominent themes a re the history of gender studies, the question of "muted groups" and "voice" and the valuable international networks established since the Seventies by the Oxford Centre for Cross-Cultural Research on Women, comprising anthropologists who later founded the International Gender Studies Centre, of which Maria Jaschok has been Director since 2000. The Centre has been based at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, since 2011.


• Seventy-two adult patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia were prospectively studied clinically, serologically, and echocardiographically. Multivariate analysis identified four parameters that significantly predicted endocarditis in staphylococcemic patients at time of initial evaluation: (1) absence of a primary site of infection; (2) community acquisition of infection; (3) metastatic sequelae; and (4) valvular vegetations detected by echocardiography. Echocardiography was most predictive of endocarditis in patients with community-acquired S aureus bacteremia from an obvious primary focus. In 11 (69%) of 16 patients with endocarditis and vegetations on two-dimensional echocardiography, this technique also revealed other important findings, including ventricular dilatation, and/or underlying valvular lesions. In 18% of patients with S aureus bacteremia without stigmata of endocarditis, echocardiography provided information that led to a diagnosis of endocarditis and a subsequent change in therapy. Our findings support the routine use of two-dimensional echocardiography in all cases of community-acquired S aureus bacteremia to identify occult endocarditis in patients without classic stigmata of disease, and to provide important prognostic data in clinically apparent endocarditis. ( Arch Intern Med 1987;147:457-462)


Historically the most common and familiar form of glass is clear (optically transparent) silica glass which is composed largely of silicon dioxide (SiO2). The definition of glass does not restrict either the composition or the optical properties of the material, implying a wide variety of different materials that are considered glass. In fact, theoretically, any crystalline solid that can be brought to a liquid state, can be forced into an amorphous solid state through rapid solidification via extraordinary cooling rates.[1] This is easily observable by recognizing that quartz, a very common crystalline solid, has the same composition as silica glass (SiO2) but was cooled slowly enough to form long-range order. Non-silica glasses, in particular metallic glasses, can obtain unique electric, optical, or thermal properties from their crystalline counterparts through glassification. Non-metallic glasses can obtain similarly unique properties by adjusting elemental compositions and introducing dopants.


Simple Summary 18F-FDG PET/MRI is superior in nodal staging in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer compared to conventional imaging by sonography, CT and bone scintigraphy and compared to MRI alone. 18F-FDG PET/MRI correctly detects not only nodal positive status in significantly more patients, but also classifies this positive nodal status into the correct clinical lymph node stage more often than conventional imaging and than MRI alone. 18F-FDG PET/MRI may be a future tool as a potential alternative to invasive staging procedures for assessing the N stage. In terms of the detection of distant metastases, there is a trend towards a higher sensitivity of MRI and 18F-FDG PET/MRI, which, however, did not show significant differences compared with conventional staging by CT and bone scintigraphy. This demonstrates that the imaging currently recommended by multiple guidelines seems to be sufficient for the staging of distant metastases. Abstract Background: This study compares the diagnostic potential of conventional staging (computed tomography (CT), axillary sonography and bone scintigraphy), whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET/)MRI for N and M staging in newly diagnosed breast cancer. Methods: A total of 208 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer were prospectively included in this study and underwent contrast-enhanced thoracoabdominal CT, bone scintigraphy and axillary sonography as well as contrast-enhanced whole-body 18F-FDG PET/MRI. The datasets were analyzed with respect to lesion localization and characterization. Histopathology and follow-up imaging served as the reference standard. A McNemar test was used to compare the diagnostic performance of conventional staging, MRI and 18F-FDG PET/MRI and a Wilcoxon test was used to compare differences in true positive findings for nodal staging. Results: Conventional staging determined the N stage with a sensitivity of 80.9%, a specificity of 99.2%, a PPV (positive predictive value) of 98.6% and a NPV (negative predictive value) of 87.4%. The corresponding results for MRI were 79.6%, 100%, 100% and 87.0%, and were 86.5%, 94.1%, 91.7% and 90.3% for 18F-FDG PET/MRI. 18F-FDG PET/MRI was significantly more sensitive in determining malignant lymph nodes than conventional imaging and MRI (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0005). Furthermore, 18F-FDG PET/MRI accurately estimated the clinical lymph node stage in significantly more cases than conventional imaging and MRI (each p < 0.05). Sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for the M stage in conventional staging were 83.3%, 98.5%, 76.9% and 98.9%, respectively. The corresponding results for both MRI and 18F-FDG PET/MRI were 100.0%, 98.5%, 80.0% and 100.0%. No significant differences between the imaging modalities were seen for the staging of distant metastases. Conclusions: 18F-FDG PET/MRI detects lymph node metastases in significantly more patients and estimates clinical lymph node stage more accurately than conventional imaging and MRI. No significant differences were found between imaging modalities with respect to the detection of distant metastases.


HR practices that look beyond focusing mainly on shareholders' interests to include a wider group of stakeholders are likely to result in a more effective HR system. This work examines Italian HR managers' perspectives of stakeholders and their perceived salience, based on data collected from 30 HR managers from the highest capitalization companies in the Milan Stock Exchange. The Mitchell, Agle and Wood model of stakeholder salience is applied to classify the stakeholders of the HR system into four clusters: definitive, dependent, discretionary and non-stakeholders. The results are discussed with reference to the body of knowledge on strategic HRM, putting forward specific managerial implications and proposing avenues for further research.


This paper describes how the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a measurement and analysis tool for accurately capturing and measuring impulsive noise parameters. In the 1998 NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended Standard for Occupational Noise Exposure, impulsive noise and hearing protectors were identified as research needs. The paper discusses how the NIOSH Impulsive-Noise Measurement System (NIMS) was primarily developed to help evaluate the effect of impulsive noise on the auditory system. The NIMS tool uses a graphical user interface (GUI) built in MATLAB to display time domain waveform, frequency spectrum, and (1/1) and (1/3) octave band spectra of the captured impulse noise event. Additionally, parameters such as peak pressure level, equivalent average level, kurtosis, time duration, number of impulses, and temporal spacing between impulses are also calculated and displayed. A detection routine was developed to isolate and identify the location of impulsive events embedded in a waveform. The time-domain impulse analysis requires a high signal-to-noise ratio to identify events which exceed a user-defined threshold. The frequency-domain impulse analysis estimates the spectrum of a user-supplied background noise and then applies a spectral threshold to windowed samples of the target waveform. Once the impulsive events have been identified, the program uses the three major damage risk criteria that are in use today: (1) A-weighted equivalent 8-hour average level (LAeq-8hr); (2) Department of Defense MIL-STD 1474D; and (3) the Auditory Hazard Analysis Algorithm for Humans (AHAAH) based on Price/Kalb ear modeling technique to determine the limits for exposure to a particular impulsive noise event.


"Wen-Xiang-Yi"of Chinese classical literature,i. e. the relationship among literal writing,image and meaning,was derived from Daoism's"Yan-Xiang-Yi",i. e. the relationship among word,image and meaning represented from Laozi's "Wu Yan"( Speechlessness) to Zhuangzi's "De Yi Wang Yan"( Get the meaning,Forget the word),and eventually was theorized by Liuxie in the Wei-Jin periods. Chinese classical literatures fully demonstrate the mutual dependence relations among "Wen","Xiang"and "Yi",and display not only a holistic writing and explaining approach of Chinese classical literature,but also a character of aesthetic experience of the syncretism between heaven and man.


The invention discloses a foot part maintaining device. The foot part maintaining device is characterized by comprising an idler wheel (1), a motor (4), a reducing gear (8), a power supply access device (10) and a foot part thinning structure (18), wherein the power supply access device (10) is connected with the motor (4); the motor (4) is connected with the reducing gear (8), and the reducing gear (8) is connected with the idler wheel (1); and the foot part thinning structure (18) is attached to the outer edge of the idler wheel (1). The foot part maintaining device provided by the invention is conductive to carrying out pedicure or other foot maintaining operations, the blood circulation is promoted, the physiologic condition of a foot part is improved, and the foot part maintaining device is safe in use, simple in operation and good in technical effect.


Recently two kinds of reduction techniques which aimed at saving training time for SVM problems with nonlinear kernels were proposed. Instead of solving the standard SVM formulation, these methods explicitly alter the SVM formulation, and solutions for them are used to classify data. The first approach, reduced support vector machine (RSVM) [21], preselects a subset of data as support vectors and solves a smaller optimization problem. The second approach [11] uses imcomplete Cholesky factorization (ICF) to obtain a low-rank approximation of the kernel matrix. Therefore, an easier optimization problem is obtained. We find that several issues of their practical uses have not been fully discussed yet. For example, we do not know if they possess comparable generalization ability as the standard SVM. In addition, we would like to see for how large problems they outperform SVM on training time. In this thesis we show that the formulation of each technique is already in a form of linear SVM and discuss several suitable implementations. Experiments indicate that in general the test accuracy of both techniques is a little lower than that of the standard SVM. In addition, for problems with up to tens of thousands of data, if the percentage of support vectors is not high, existing implementations for SVM is quite competitive on the training time. Thus, the two techniques will be mainly useful for either larger problems or those with many support vectors. Experiments in this thesis also serve as comparisons of (1) different implementations for linear SVM; (2) standard SVM using linear and quadratic cost functions; and (3) two ICF algorithms for positive definite dense matrices.


In this paper, a method of getting Ultra-F compactification and Stone Č ech Ultra-F compactification of L -topology is given. We give the necessary and sufficient conditions of Stone Č ech Ultra-F compactification of L topological spaces, and prove that it is unique in the sense of homeomorphism. Further, it is proved that an L−topology space is locally Ultra-F compact and Hausdorff if and only if its one-point compactificated space is Ultra-F compact and Hausdorff.


Background: For many decades, hypertension guidelines have recommended dual-arm blood pressure
measurement. However, the practice is poor in Nigerian primary care and its significance largely
unidentified. Hence, the need to determine the significance of detecting inter-arm blood pressure difference
among primary care patients in our local population. This study was done to determine the point prevalence
of inter-arm blood pressure difference and its relationship with hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 respondents at the general outpatient clinic of
a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Demographic characteristics and anthropometric indices were obtained. Blood
pressure readings were obtained through sequentially repeated measurements in respondents' arms.
Results: One hundred and eighty-six respondents had complete data given a completion rate of 86.9%.
Systolic blood pressure was higher on the right and left arm in 102 (54.8%) and 56 (30.1%) of the
respondents respectively. Diastolic blood pressure was higher on the right and left arm in 73 (39.2%) and
63 (33.9%) of the respondents respectively. The overall prevalence of significant systolic inter-arm
difference (? 10 mmHg) and diastolic inter-arm difference (? 10 mmHg) were 24.2% and 18.8%
respectively. Significant systolic inter-arm difference (p=0.033) and diastolic inter-arm difference (p=0.01)
were significantly more among respondents with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus.
Conclusion: The blood pressure readings in both arms were different among majority of the
respondents, being higher on the right arm in more of them. The prevalence of significant inter-arm
difference was high in the unselected primary care patients studied especially among patients with
hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus. Blood pressure measurement in both arms should become a
routine practice during initial patients' visits in primary care.


Abstract The chemical composition of essential oils obtained from the leaves (leaflets and rachis), branches and resin of Protium decandrum (Aubl.) Marchand, Burseraceae, growing in the Amazon forest were examined by GC-MS. The oils extracted from leaves showed varying content of tenpin-4-ol (rachis: 64.8 %; leaflets: 33.0 %). The sesquiterpene trans-α-bergamotene was the major component identified in the oil from branches (22.1 %) and resin (47.7 %).


In modern society, to train students with higher information literacy is one of the important goals of higher education in the world. Compared with Europe and America and other developed countries, China started late in the education of college information literacy and the effect of information literacy education is not ideal. This study analyzes the content of information literacy education and development status and finds the relevant constraints. Based on the advanced experience from abroad, the paper proposes some suggestions on the system construction of information literacy curriculums in Chinese colleges. Namely, by rational design of curriculum system and training path, to enhance the students' information, knowledge, ability, awareness and moral construction, and promote the comprehensive improvement of information literacy of college students.


There is a brand-new platform for the new reform in physical education; at the same time, it demands more requirements. Contents of reform include: weaken the mode of teaching sports but health is the first; change the conception on teaching; adapt to the standard for new courses, and change the teachers' role; pay more attention to bringing up students' ability, and change the mode of students' study.


In this paper I explore past and present 'official' spatialities of the Swedish national parks, and trace ways in which rhetorical mediation secures the naturalization and nationalization of park spaces. With the help of Lefebvre's writings on space, I argue that three interrelated spatialities constitute the abstract space of Swedish national parks: empty, organic, and optical space. Empty space embodies understandings of national parks as 'pure' nature, external to (modern) society. Organic space circumscribes modes of representation that link nature to conceptions of 'Swedishness'. Through a multimedia dialectic of images, texts, and maps—the optical space of visual immediacy and 'proof'—these spatialities are maintained and policed.


This study aims to determine of the effect of audit structure, experience, appropriateness of roles and independence on the performance of local government internal auditors (Empirical Studies at the Inspectorate of Central Kalimantan Province, Palangka Raya City and South Barito District) sample Kalimantan Province there were 54 respondents, Inspectorate of Palangka Raya City had 9 respondents and Inspectorate of Barito Selatan Regency had 10 respondents,number of auditors was 73 respondents.Data analysis used SPSS 25.This (1) the audit structure has no effect on the performance of local government internal auditors (2) Experience has no effect on the performance of audito (3) Suitability of roles has a positive effect on the performance of local government internal auditors.(3) Independence has a positive effect on the performance of local government internal auditors. (4) The results of the audit structure hypothesis testing, experience of role suitability and independence on the performance of the local government internal auditors simultaneously have a positive effect


We have compared two samples of young teenagers [in France]...taken in areas with different types of housing (urban and semi-rural) to detect differences in the incidence of various behavioural problems (drug-taking violence criminal acts) in different housing zones....We find that some social variables (sex educational background parents marital status housing zone) did have a significant impact.... (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA) (EXCERPT)


CaP/chitosan/graphene coating on Mg alloy was obtained by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and transformation in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The microstructures and compositions of the composite coatings were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier–transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The element concentration was investigated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICPOES) test. The degradation behavior of Mg based CaP/chitosan/graphene in m-SBF was researched by soaking experiment and electrochemical performance test. The cytotoxicity of the prepared material to SaOS-2 cells was determined by CCK assay. The results indicated that addition of graphene had a positive effect on improving the bioactivity and cell viability of the CaP/chitosan coating. CaP/chitosan/graphene coating could protect the Mg alloy from corroding in m-SBF.


In this work, nanohollow Zn-Fe2O4 spheres were prepared from ZnCl2, FeCl3.6H2O and ammonium acetate using the hydrothermal method. Then, Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres were synthesized by using immobilization of ZnO nanoparticles on surface of Zn-ferrite spheres via sol-gel rout. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the Zn-Fe2O4 and Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres are made of the spherical shape particles. Results of vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) reveal that the Zn-Fe2O4 nanoparticles are superparamagnetic, whereas in the form of Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres are not. Photocatalytic activity studies confirmed that as-prepared Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres had excellent photodegrading behavior to methylene blue (MB) compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles. Also Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres due to the magnetic properties of environment can be easily removed. Furthermore, Zn-Fe2O4@ZnO core-shell structured spheres could be also served as convenient recyclable photocatalysts because of their magnetic properties.


Many applications in remote sensing require fitting a model to observed data and making a decision based on the resulting model parameters and their uncertainty. When observation errors are bounded, interval-based constraintsolving methods provide a general, robust method for computing approximations to the set of models that fit observed data, and determining the appropriate decision to make about the model. This paper formalizes the notion of decision-making from observed data. An abstract class of interval bisection algorithms is defined. These algorithms are shown to be correct for the entire class of decision-making problems, and to terminate in finite time for all but a small set of problems. A practical realization of the algorithm is described, and experimental results on simulated data are presented.


When herring are fileted, more than half their weight becomes a low-value 'side stream' that never reaches our plates—despite being rich in protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Now, scientists from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a special dipping solution, with ingredients including rosemary extract and citric acid, which can significantly extend the side streams' shelf life, and increase the opportunities to use them as food.


Cocoa shell is one of the by-products obtained in chocolate industry which was considered as waste for a very long time. However, recent studies showed that cocoa shell is rich in phenolic compounds, methylxanthines, dietary fiber and vitamin D, so it is used as a source of high-valuable bioactive components in a production of functional food whose market is constantly growing. According to that, qualitative and quantitative determination of 6 phenolic components (gallic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin and (-)-epicatechin gallate) and 2 methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) was performed by HPLC method with absorbance detection, while total phenolic content was determined by spectrophotometric method. The most abundant bioactive components of untreated cocoa shell are theobromine, caffeine and (+)-catechin, followed by gallic acid and (-)-epicatechin. Furthermore, the effect of cold plasma treatment on their composition and content was evaluated and results showed decrease of all evaluated bioactive components. Also, water extraction had greater impact on degradation of bioactive components compared to cold plasma treatment.


In this paper we compute the Picard numbers of several families of elliptic surfaces (see Example 1, §5 for a typical result.) This is equiv-alent to the difficult problem of determining the rank of the Mordell-Weil group of certain elliptic curves over function fields. Our method is to study the action induced by automorphisms of these surfaces on a relevant part of the cohomology. The cohomology classes are represented by certain inhomogeneous differential equations—our so-called inhomogeneous de Rham cohomology—where the effect of the action is easily understood.


In this paper, we have numerically investigated a novel kind of ultra-compact wavelength demultiplexing (WDM) in high-confined metal–insulator–metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguides. It is found that the drop transmission efficiency of the filtering cavity can be strongly enhanced by introducing a side-coupled cavity in the MIM waveguide. The theoretical analysis is verified by the finite-difference time-domain simulations. Through cascading the filtering units, a highly effective triple-wavelength demultiplexer is proposed by selecting the specific separation between the two coupled cavities of filtering units. Our results may find potential applications for the nanoscale WDM systems in highly integrated optical circuits and networks.


The central highlands of Los Santos province, South Panama, a complex of acid to basic igneous rocks, together with tilted Eocene beds, was the scene of volcanic and mountain-building activity, probably about the close of the Oligocene. Cessation of volcanism may not have occurred until Pliocene or Pleistocene time.


Utilizing LANDSAT and Skylab multispectral imagery of 1972 and 1973, a land use map of the mountainous regions of Italy was evaluated at a scale of 1:250,000. Seven level I categories were identified by conventional methods of photointerpretation. Images of multispectral scanner (MSS) bands 5 and 7, or equivalents were mainly used. Areas of less than 200 by 200 m were classified and standard procedures were established for interpretation of multispectral satellite imagery. Land use maps were produced for central and southern Europe indicating that the existing land use maps could be updated and optimized. The complexity of European land use patterns, the intensive morphology of young mountain ranges, and time-cost calculations are the reasons that the applied conventional techniques are superior to automatic evaluation.


In the paper we study the construction of K-linearly independent normal subgroups of the multiplicative group U(R) of an algebra R over a ring K of characteristic pm and their ordering inside the groups U(R). We also describe the group rings whose multiplicative group contains a K-linearly independent normal subgroup not belonging to the center and containing an element of finite order. We also study abelian normal subgroups of the multiplicative group of the ring of a p-group over a ring of characteristic p. Bibliography: 11 items.


Coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) is widely used for surface topography characterisation. With the ability to measure both rough surfaces with the high slopes and optical finishes, CSI has made contibutions in fields from industrial machining to optical fabrication and polishing [1,2]. While the low coherence sources for CSI are typically broadband and suitable for color imaging, the metrology is usually performed without regards for the color information [3]. We present color surface topography measurements from a CSI instrument designed to provide true color images in addition to areal surface topography of additive manufactired samples. The addition of color measurements enables contamination and defect detection along with blemish and discoloration identification.


The two new indole derivatives (III) and (IV) display highly selective response to fluoride anions in aqueous DMSO and pure DMSO medium with remarkable color and fluorescence changes.


Numerous scientific reports have established that the water future of humanity and the entire earth system is at risk. Solving contested water problems require new ways of harnessing dialogues, reflections, empathy, research, and visions. Too often, water policies and practices tend to take shortcuts, missing out on the benefits these powerful social learning processes can bring towards water justice and sustainability. This editorial presents a Water Policy Lab approach to initiate dialogue among those who are concerned with this dual crisis— of escalating water insecurity and knowledge not being linked well to water policy and practice.


A highly efficient photolytic oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids is developed using molecular oxygen as oxidant and a fluorinated iridium complex as photocatalyst.


The effects of treating clinical mastitis with intramammary infusions of either a Lactobacillus or an antibiotic preparation on intramammary infection cure rate and on milk somatic cell count (SCC) were compared during a 10-month study. A total of 75 clinical quarters were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments. Quarter foremilk samples were obtained from all quarters at days 0, 7 and 14 following infusion to determine the microbiological status and SCC. Monthly composite milk SCC were obtained from the DHIA. The majority of pathogens isolated were Gram-negative bacilli and environmental streptococci. Treatment of quarters with Lactobacillus cured 35.3% of infected quarters, while 57.7% of infections treated with antibiotic were eliminated. Correspondingly, av. SCC remained unchanged for Lactobacillus-treated quarters for 14 days after infusion while av. SCC of antibiotic-treated quarters decreased during the same time-period. Although there was no treatment difference in monthly DHIA composite SCC prior to and following treatment, there was an increase in composite SCC for Lactobacillus-treated quarters. The results indicate that this Lactobacillus product was not effective as an intramammary treatment for mastitis.


One of the most important characteristics of the sanitary and epidemiological well-being and population life quality is access to high-quality and safe drinking water. The centralized water supply of the urban district of Anadyr is carried out from one source of water supply - a reservoir on the Kazachka River. The number of water quality control points complies with the requirements of methodological recommendations, but the list of indicators and the frequency of studies (with the exception of the frequency of studies in the distribution network of Anadyr) do not comply. An integral assessment of the quality of drinking water was carried out in terms of chemical safety. The greatest contribution to the value of the integral indicator and the total non-carcinogenic risk in the city of Anadyr and the village Tavaivaam contribute organoleptic indicators - iron. The drinking water quality monitoring program in the studied settlements does not fully comply with the recommendations and does not allowan objective drinking water quality assessment and public health risk assessment.


We prove that stable-like non-local Dirichlet forms converge to local Dirichlet form in the sense of Mosco on metric measure spaces. We prove that subordinated Dirichlet forms converge to the original Dirichlet form in the sense of Mosco on metric measure spaces.


In the distributed systems,replication is a key technique to its usability,fault-tolerance as well as efficiency.Threshold value is adopted to control number of duplicate.Initiative server replication with threshold is then analyzed.A dynamic replication method is realized by Java,which takes load variety of net and node into consideration.This method can control numbers of duplicate and reduce maintenance cost of coherence.


SONIA M. HERNANDEZ-DIVERS,* PEDRO VILLEGAS, CARLOS JIMENEZ, STEPHEN J. HERNANDEZ-DIVERS, MARICARMEN GARCIA, SYLVA M. RIBLET, C. RON CARROLL, BARRY M. O'CONNOR, JULIE L. WEBB, MICHAEL J. YABSLEY, SUSAN M. WILLIAMS, AND SUSAN SANCHEZ Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A. Department of Population Health, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A. School of Veterinary Medicine, National University of Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica Exotic, Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A. Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, U.S.A. Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A. Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, U.S.A. Department of Infectious Diseases and the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A.


The authors thank the Vice Directorate of Research, Development, and Innovation of Polytechnic University of Valencia for its help with the project "Ternary Systems Research Applied to Polymeric Materials for the Upgrading of Waste Styrene" (reference no. 20091056) within the framework of First Projects of Research (PAID 06-09).


The corporate governance structure can have a different effect on the performance and asset quality of the financial industry at different stages of the business cycle. contains about 15,000 firm-year observations and covers two contraction periods, specifically, 1990-1991 and 2001 recession. This paper with the various performance measures and loan quality mea years and economic expansion years separately. that bank performance and asset quality are related to different corporate governance variables for different stages of business cy


Purpose – Cigarette smoking remains the primary preventable cause of mortality and morbidity globally. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the behavioral activation treatment for smoking (BATS), which integrates behavioral activation principles with standard treatment guidelines to assist individuals in achieving short- and long-term smoking cessation. Through a series of sequential steps, BATS guides individuals who wish to quit smoking to increase their engagement in healthy, pleasurable, and value-consistent activities. Design/methodology/approach – The document provides the BATS rationale and contains an abridged manual for use by clinicians and/or researchers in the context of clinical trials. Findings – BATS is accruing empirical evidence that suggests its ability to promote successful smoking cessation outcomes while decreasing any associated depressive symptoms. Practical implications – A description of key components, forms, and strategies to address common treatment barriers are included...


With 32 volumes published annually, the Annals provides multidisciplinary perspectives on research of current scientific interest with far-reaching implications for the wider scientific community and society at large. The Annals' scope, although primarily focused on biomedicals areas, extends into fields as diverse as astronomy, psychology, anthropology, and philosophy. Each publication assembles the best thinking of key contributors for a comprehensive treatment of a field of investigation at a time when emerging developments offer the promise of new insight. These volumes stimulate new ways to think about science by providing a neutral forum for discourse -within and across many institutions and fields.


John Stuart Mill is one of the most influential philosophers and political economists within the history of economic thought. Besides being an avant-garde utilitarian, his Principles of Political Economy dominated the political economy domain for more than a quarter of a century. As a utilitarian, he believed that a concept of justice which is grounded in utility is the most sacred and binding part of morality, and that the proper principles of justice are those which tend to have the best consequences. Justice, at the same time, implies something that an individual can claim as his or her legal and moral right. If this right is an exclusive disposal by an individual of a product created by his or her own efforts, or of a good received by its producer by fair agreement, it constitutes the institution of property. In this paper, J.S. Mill's views regarding private property are elaborated in the light of his perceptions of utility and justice. This exploration will allow us to bring together the views on justice and property of a utilitarian on the one hand, and a classical economist influenced by socialism on the other.


Strain D98S, a single cell isolate derived from human sternal marrow (1), can be cultivated indefinitely in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUDR) ~ at concentrations below 10 ~g. per ml. Under these conditions BUDR is incorporated into the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) component of the cells, partially replacing thymidine. A comparison of the properties of these chemically modified cells with those of the parent cells revealed that a striking increase in radiation sensitivity is associated with BUDR incorporation (2-4). This finding in mammalian cells is analogous to that reported for BUDR-containing bacteriophages (5) and bacteria (6). Several aspects of the incorporation of BUDR and another thymidine analog, 5-iododeoxyuridine (IUDR), including its effect on radiosensitivity, were the subjects of this study. The opportunities afforded by BUDR labeling of DNA synthesized under various conditions were exploited, and the physicochemical and biological properties of such modified DNA were evaluated.


Fine-grained sediments tend to have relatively high metal concentrations, due in part to the high specific surface of the smaller particles. This enrichment is mainly due to surface adsorption and ionic attraction (Chen and Stevenson, 1986). However, in order to confirm and to enhance the understanding about this knowledge, the following comparative study and correlation analysis between mud and sandy sediments and between polluted and unpolluted sediments with different loss of ignitions were conducted. The objective of this study is to investigate and to prove that the high concentrations of Cu and Zn are not necessarily related to high total organic matter in the sediments.


Recently, reports on the synthesis of homogeneous glycoproteins are increasing. These achievements are based on the progress in the preparation method of carbohydrate chains and of polypeptides. Here we discuss about the results of these glycoprotein synthesis, mainly based on the peptide science point of view.


. We describe and experimentally evaluate a system, FeasPar, that learns parsing spontaneous speech. The FeasPar architecture consists of neural networks and a search. The neural networks learns the parsing task, and the search improves performance by (cid:12)nding the most probable and consistent feature structure. This paper focuses on the search component, and shows how the search improves overall performance considerably. N-best lists of feature structure fragments and agendas are used to speed up the search. To train and run FeasPar (Feature Structure Parser), only limited handmodeled knowledge is required. FeasPar with the search component performs better than a hand modeled LR-parser in all six comparisons that are made. FeasPar is trained, tested and evaluated in the Time Scheduling Domain, and compared with the LR-parser. The handmodeling e(cid:11)ort for FeasPar is 2 weeks. The handmodeling e(cid:11)ort for the LR-parser was 4 months.


We introduce a semi-decidable procedure which, given a Petri net structure and a set /spl Tscr/ of transitions, synthesizes a supervisor enforcing the transitions in /spl Tscr/ to be live. We call this liveness property /spl Tscr/-liveness. When /spl Tscr/ equals the total set of Petri net transitions, /spl Tscr/-liveness corresponds to liveness. Enforcing only a subset of transitions to be live is useful when some Petri net transitions model undesired events such as failures, and/or when the Petri net structure does not allow enforcing all transitions to be live. The supervisors generated by our procedure are often least restrictive, and their synthesis is independent of the initial marking. No assumptions are made on the Petri net structure: the Petri nets may be unbounded and have integer weights. We have extended the procedure to Petri nets having uncontrollable and unobservable transitions, however, in this paper we restrict our attention to fully controllable and observable Petri nets.


Bacteria of the genus Streptococcus are one of the most numerous and diverse representatives in the normal biocenosis of human organs and systems particularly being abundant as obligatory inhabitants of the oral cavity. All streptococci are divided into six groups: S.mitis, S.anginosus, S.salivarius, S.mutans, S.bovis and S.pyogenic groups, among which their certain number may potentially participate in the infectious process of developing periodontitis. Owing to the presence of a wide range of adhesion, invasion and colonization factors, they are capable of performing a protective function such as, e.g., colonization resistance, but they may also cause formation of a pathological process in the tooth tissues and dento-facial system. The most prominent adhesion factors are antigens I / II (Ag I / II), fibronectin, collagen, laminin, fibrinogen binding proteins, serine-rich glycoproteins, pili, protein M, proteases, C5a peptidases, and the presence of a tooth capsule. Among the complex of proteolytic enzymes, it is important to note that streptococci contain enzymes hyaluronidase and lyase, which cleave the β1,4 bond between N-acetylglucosamine and d-glucuronic acid as the components of hyaluronic acid being a part of the connective tissues. The members of the S.anginosus group are able to release chondroitin sulfatase, which destroys chondroitin sulfates as specific components in cartilage, ligaments and other connective tissue structures. The enzymes noted contribute to a deeper spread of microorganisms in host tissues. Pathological processes associated with the development of periodontitis comprise a complex problem, wherein several important elements take part, including an infectious agent, a macroorganismal response in the form of nonspecific and adaptive immunity, as well as involvement of anti-inflammatory components. A great body of studies in research literature are dedicated to describe to participation of the members within the "red, orange and green" complexes as the principal components in developing periodontitis. Whereas the "yellow" and the "purple" complex plays a more protective role by acting as antagonists while interacting with periodontopathogens, but it should not be ruled out a potential participation for some representatives, particularly S. intermedius, S. gordonii, Actinomyces odontolyticus, Actinomyces naeslundii in developing periodontal disease. Altogether, it poses a problem, which may be solved solely based on a multidisciplinary approach by inviting not only dentists and bacteriologists but also researchers of other specialties. Here we review the studies found in international and national data bases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Springer, RINC.


Introduction:
 Non-Hispanic Black adults are disproportionately burdened by hypertension compared to White adults. Because Black adults are overrepresented in lower-wage occupations - and lower income is associated with elevated risk of hypertension - minimum wage increases have been explored as a potential policy lever to address Black-White disparities in hypertension. States have the authority to increase minimum wages for workers in their jurisdiction; and 31 states have exercised this authority. However, research suggests that minimum wage increases may have no significant impact on health among Black adults due to "diminished gain" of health effects from socioeconomic resources. This study examines whether Black-White disparities in hypertension persist after states increase minimum wage limits.

 Methods:
 This study merged state-year minimum wage data from the US Department of Labor with pooled cross-sectional survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to assess the relationship between state-level minimum wage increases and Black-White disparities in hypertension over time (2001 - 2019). Separate difference-in-difference models were estimated to individually compare the odds of hypertension among Black and White adults in states with and without minimum wage increases. A difference-in-difference-in-difference model estimated whether minimum wage increases had a differential impact on the odds of hypertension among Black adults compared to White adults.

 Results:
 Compared to Black and White adults in states without minimum wage increases, both Black (OR= 0.86; p-value=0.04) and White (OR= 0.86; p-value=0.02) adults had a significantly lower odds of hypertension following state increases in the minimum wage. However, the Black-White disparity in hypertension significantly increased following minimum wage increases (OR= 1.50; p-value<0.001).

 Conclusions:
 These findings suggest that minimum wage increases may benefit White adults significantly more than Black adults, resulting in an increased Black-White disparity in hypertension. As such, increasing minimum wage alone may not be an
 equitable
 policy approach to address this disparity.


Web servers in the Internet are vulnerable to Web attacks. A general way to launch Web attacks is to carry attack payloads in HTTP request parameters, e.g. SQL Injection and XSS attacks. To detect Web attacks, a commonly used method is to detect anomalies in the request parameters by making regular-expression-based matching rules for the parameters based on known security threats. However, such methods cannot detect unknown anomalies well and they can also be easily bypassed by using techniques like transcoding. Moreover, existing anomaly detection methods are usually based on supervised learning methods that require a large number of high-quality labelled samples as training sets, which are difficult to obtain in real situations. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised HTTP Request Parameter Anomaly Detection method called RPAD. RPAD uses five features of HTTP request parameters to perform anomaly detection including type, length, number of tokens, encoding type and character feature. After extracting the five features, RPAD uses the DBSCAN algorithm to cluster the parameters of each target access request and outputs the outliers found in the clustering process as anomalies. We evaluate the performance of RPAD on several datasets from multiple real websites of a Cyber Security Company. The results indicate that RPAD is highly efficient in detecting deviating abnormal parameter values with an accuracy of 99%.


Abstract The results of analysis for selected toxic heavy metals of samples of dead bream, Oreochromis macruchir, collected during the mass fish deaths in Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe, in March‐April 1996 are presented. When compared to results for bream samples collected in April‐August 1994, the 1996 results show that levels of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the muscle of the dead bream had risen by factors of 5, 77, 15, 384, and 17 respectively. Analysis of the lake water confirmed the pollution of the lake by heavy metals, especially Cd, Ni and Pb, at the time of the fishkill. Possible sources of the heavy metal pollution are discussed.


A patient can be considered statistically cured from a specific disease when their mortality rate returns to the same level as that of the general population. In the current study, the authors sought to assess the probability of being statistically cured from intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) by hepatic resection.


Much interest has been recently focused on the histologic changes of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) in disease. New evidence for an important role played by these cells in the histogenesis of vascular lesions was first provided by the results of light microscopic studies showing that in human aortas, SMC rather than fibroblasts may be involved in the formation of intercellular components of the vascular walls. Here, they appear to participate actively in proliferative and repair processes, including the organization of mural thrombi and the development of fibrous plaques.'-3 Subsequent electron microscopic studies have confirmed and extended these results by further relating SMC to the development of fatty deposits in atheromatous lesions.v7 Although the pathologic changes affecting small arterial vessels, such as renal arterioles, differ in several respects from the sclerotic and atheromatous lesions in large arteries, it is likely that SMC play equally important roles in their development. Aside from endothelium, SMC are the only cellular elements present in the walls of small arteries.8'9 As such, they are believed to be responsible not only for the important contractile activity of these arteries but also for the deposition of intercellular components and therefore for the maintenance of the anatomic integrity of the vascular wall.8 Accordingly, in our studies on the ultrastructure of renal vascular lesions, emphasis was placed on the structural features of SMC in various physiologic and pathologic states, particularly in relation to age, hypertension and diabetes which are most commonly associated with histologic changes of renal arterial vessels. The present report is concerned with the light and electron microscopic features of a particular type of lipofuscin-like granule found in the cytoplasm of vascular SMC in human kidneys. After the adoption of the periodic acid-silver methenamine stain'0 as a routine procedure


A numerical analysis technique that incorporates Voronkov's model were examined and used to estimate the distribution of defects during crystal growth. By comparisons of the distribution of the density of LSTD and the position of R-OSF in non-nitrogen-doped (non-N-doped) and nitrogen-doped (N-doped) silicon crystals, it is found that the results of the numerical analyses agree with practically evaluated data. The observations suggest that the R-OSF nucleus is a VO2 complex that is formed by bonds between oxygen atoms and residual vacancies consumed during the formation of void defects. This suggests that Voronkov's model can be used to accurately predict the generation and growth of defects in silicon crystals. This numerical analysis technique was also found to be an effective method of estimating the distribution of defects in silicon crystals during crystal growth.


This paper presents a novel prototype of quasi-resonant PWM DC-DC IGBT converter using active semiconductor switches in series with diodes of rectifier circuit in link transformer secondary-side. This DC-DC converter proposed here can easily achieve soft-switching operation under the condition of low commutating current and no freewheeling circulation current. The component conduction losses caused by their currents are substantially reduced as compared with the other soft-switching DC-DC converters. Its operating principle and unique features are described on the basis of the previously developed DC-DC converters. The operating characteristics of this new converter topology in steady-state are illustrated and discussed including the simulated analysis and feasible experimental results.


Abstract State-of-the-art deep learning models can converse and interact with humans by understanding their emotions, but the exponential increase in model parameters has triggered an unprecedented demand for fast and low-power computing. Here, we propose a microcomb-enabled integrated optical neural network (MIONN) to perform the intelligent task of human emotion recognition at the speed of light and with low power consumption. Large-scale tensor data can be independently encoded in dozens of frequency channels generated by the on-chip microcomb and computed in parallel when flowing through the microring weight bank. To validate the proposed MIONN, we fabricated proof-of-concept chips and a prototype photonic-electronic artificial intelligence (AI) computing engine with a potential throughput up to 51.2 TOPS (tera-operations per second). We developed automatic feedback control procedures to ensure the stability and 8 bits weighting precision of the MIONN. The MIONN has successfully recognized six basic human emotions, and achieved 78.5 % accuracy on the blind test set. The proposed MIONN provides a high-speed and energy-efficient neuromorphic computing hardware for deep learning models with emotional interaction capabilities.


Access to finance is considered one of the main obstacles to successful financial market development. Access to finance was second-ranked most pressing problem faced by companies in the Euro Area and one of the main barriers to company's innovation capacity. The study results highlight the need to recognize that countries require sound and well-functioning financial markets. Only in this case financial markets can provide much needed sources of investments such as sound banking loans, properly regulated securities exchanges, venture capital, and other


The phenomenological movement begins in the Prolegomena to Husserl's Logical Investigations as a philosophy of logic. Despite this, remarkably little attention has been paid to Husserl's arguments in the Prolegomena in the contemporary philosophy of logic. In particular, the literature spawned by Gilbert Harman's work on the normative status of logic is almost silent on Husserl's contribution to this topic. I begin by raising a worry for Husserl's conception of 'pure logic' similar to Harman's challenge to explain the connection between logic and reasoning. If logic is the study of the forms of all possible theories, it will include the study of many logical consequence relations; by what criteria, then, should we select one (or a distinguished few) consequence relation(s) as correct? I consider how Husserl might respond to this worry by looking to his late account of the 'genealogy of logic' in connection with Gurwitsch's claim that '[i]t is to prepredicative perceptual experience … that one must return for a radical clarification and for the definitive justification of logic'. Drawing also on Sartre and Heidegger, I consider how prepredicative experience might constrain or guide our selection of a logical consequence relation and our understanding of connectives like implication and negation.


I can't say Kate Bowler's book, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I found it distressing, disturbing, disquieting, and disconcerting (the list could go on) from beginning to end. Not unlike reading that Lloyd Blankfein, chairperson and CEO of Goldman Sachs, was really only 'doing God's work.' [He also insisted we should be celebrating his bank's success, not condemning it. 'Everybody should be happy,' he said. 'The financial system led us into the crisis and it will lead us out' (Arlidge & Beresford 2009).] But, I'll admit, I also found Bowler's book both highly entertaining (there were times I found myself laughing out loud at the harebrained ideas, pie-in-the-sky promises, and farcical behaviors of members, especially the leaders, of the Prosperity Gospel movement) and deeply human – since clearly Bowler developed a great deal of affection, perhaps even grudging admiration, for at least some of the members of the Prosperity Gospel movement she met along the way. There's more than one reason, then, that the entire story of the Prosperity Gospel reminded me of American Hustle, the recent film in which David O. Russell manages to capture a nation of small-time con-artists, who both deserve our affection (in the earnest manner in which they reinvent themselves and try to 'do the right thing') and represent a distraction from the real culprits (the big-time con-artists whose activities have actually put people out of work and driven them into poverty, kept their employees' wages low while corporate profits and incomes at the top have soared, and now seek to deprive those at the bottom of much-needed social benefits, like food stamps and extended unemployment compensation). Because at least at one level that's what we're talking about here: small-time conartists (even when they preach in megachurches and attract millions to their television programs) who are quite adept at reinventing themselves to take advantage of people's attempts to improve their lot in life and to negotiate the contradictions and tensions of American capitalism – the promised land that is offered and the many ways the possibility of following the path to the land of milk and honey is frustrated and undermined. It is an American Dream that is both dangled before us – if only we invest adequately in our faith in Jesus – and largely kept out of reach. We're talking about small-time hustlers who actually embody that faith, or at least its trappings, until of course it all comes tumbling down by one or another much-publicized scandal.


The service delivery has evolved during the last years. The introduction of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) has driven network programmability to foster the innovation in the provisioning of new services. The orchestration and dynamic deployment of resources for service delivery are relevant topics covered by this demonstration.


The work characteristics of the information system engineering surveillance and all kinds of technical refe-rence model of information technology services were analyzed in the paper,also in the paper were studied component and basic elements of the technology reference model for the information system engineering surveillance,in this paper were proposed some of national standard technical reference model for surveillance.


Previous investigations on the dimerization of n-butenes over Ni-containing Al-MCM-41/ZSM-5 mixed-phase catalysts have shown a correlation between the conversion and the Ni/(Al + Ni) ratio as well as between the conversion and the metal–support interaction, which is represented by the reduction degree. In the present work, both approaches are combined to a novel model parameter, which allows to determine the proportion of active Ni species on the Al-Ni site pairs and thus provides crucial insights into formation of catalytically active nickel sites as well as their effects on the selective formation of low-branched dimers.


Virtual reality (VR) technology has been utilized in various types of scientific fields. In psychology, VR is used as an alternative intervention particularly exposure therapy, in which therapists often have difficulties in maintaining client confidentiality and security when confronting them with feared situations, especially in public places. VR allows therapist to present a three-dimensional stimulus virtually, so that the risks of safety can be minimized. This study aimed to explore the effect of height stimulus presented with VR technology on physiological and psychological reactions. The research method used was a non-random pre-test and post-test experiment. Physiological reactions were measured using the ProComp5 Infiniti biofeedback system with three sensors: heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin conductance. Participants were confronted with a height environment simulated through a Head-mounted display (HMD) Oculus Rift Development Kit 2. The results indicated that there were changes in their psychological and physiological reactions. It could be concluded that exposure through VR, which is very close to brain's information processor accompanied by various sensory stimuli, is able to create conditions where individuals can really feel as if being at a real height. Changes in psychological and physiological reactions are discussed in this paper.


In this article, the weighted bootstrap difference between two-sample means for generalized Behrens-Fisher problems is investigated along with its strong consistency. Moreover, the one-order accurate weighted bootstrap approximation to the sample distribution of sample difference is also established and hence based on it the weighted bootstrap intervals for the population difference is constructed. Simulation studies show that the weighted bootstrap interval performs better than other intervals we considered in some cases.


The problem of measuring the geometrical parameters of objects with curvilinear forms, is that for some material object it is necessary to determine the compliance of its controlled surfaces specified a priori (or a posteriori) geometric form. A common solution to this problem lies in the fact that in some coordinate system is set to reference the shape of a curved shape (circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola and other curves), it is necessary to determine whether the current point of the controlled object to a given curve.


Thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites are of great interest in substituting metal components in all those applications where corrosion resistance, lightweight and processability are required. Nanoparticles with extremely high thermal conductivity (Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene and Graphene Nanoplatelets, hexagonal Boron Nitride) are expected to confer a huge improvement to polymer thermal properties. Recently, Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) have become an interesting option due to their geometry, which allows to obtain an higher contact between nanoparticles [1,2,3]. However, it is critical to obtain a good dispersion degree of GNP in polymer matrix, especially during melt mixing. In this work, a GNP with an expanded structure has been melt mixed with cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT). These mixed oligomers are known to have a very low viscosity that can allow to a complete filling of the expanded structure, which is preliminar to the obtainment of a good exfoliation degree. This can lead to an higher contact between nanoparticles, with a consequent improvement in the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite. Moreover, in a second step, during melt mixing a tin catalyst was added to the compound; this is known to open the cyclic structure, starting CBT polymerization into poly (butylene terephthalate) (pCBT). During polymerization the molecular weight, and the viscosity, of the molten system increase, and consequently raise the shear stresses that can have a key role in the optimization of the exfoliation degree. This, combined to the higher crystallinity of pCBT respect to CBT, can push to the obtainment of high thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites


- The invention relates to a plasma excitation device comprising at least one electrical conductor wire applicator (3) supplied at one of its ends by an energy source in the field of microwave and means (5) for creating at least one surface of constant magnetic field and intensity corresponding to electron cyclotron resonance. According to the invention, the wire applicator (3) comprises means (5) for creating the magnetic field area so as to form an applicator to both a microwave electric field and a static magnetic field .