This paper proposes a new hole-filling method with spatiotemporal consistency and binocular symmetry for synthesized 3D videos in view extrapolation. Disocclusion regions in the synthesized views at virtual viewpoints result in regions with missing content. These regions will be referred to as hole regions. To provide the high-quality synthesized 3D videos via 3D display, the hole regions need to be filled considering the characteristics of human visual perception. From the perceptual point of view, binocular asymmetry between synthesized left- and right-eye videos (i.e., stereo pair video) is one of the most important factors that induce visual discomfort in stereoscopic viewing. In addition, binocular symmetry without temporal consistency between temporally neighboring frames could cause visual discomfort by annoying flickering artifacts. In this paper, to maintain the spatiotemporal consistency and binocular symmetry in synthesized 3D videos at multiple virtual viewpoints, we propose a global optimization-based hole-filling method using the information from the already filled adjacent view and previous frame. Furthermore, to reduce the computational cost of the global optimization, we propose a label propagation method, which propagates reliable labels used in the adjacent view and previous frame to the target image to be filled. The performance of the proposed method has been evaluated by objective assessments of 3D image quality, temporal consistency, and computational efficiency. In addition, subjective assessment is conducted for measuring the visual comfort and overall quality. The experimental results proved that the proposed method provides hole filling results with spatiotemporal consistency and binocular symmetry.


Abstract We present a general method for constructing pure-product-state representations for density operators of N quantum bits. If such a representation has non-negative expansion coefficients, it provides an explicit separable ensemble for the density operator. We derive the condition for separability of a mixture of the Greenberger—Horne—Zeilinger state with the maximally mixed state.


1 Centrally administered sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) produced hypothermia, central nervous depression and potentiation of the antinociceptive effect of morphine. These effects resemble those seen with centrally administered ouabain. Furthermore, the interactions of (+)‐amphetamine, desmethylimipramine and nialamide with DDC and ouabain were similar. 2 6‐Hydroxydopamine by the same route also produced central nervous depressant effects including hypothermia, decreased locomotor activity and catalepsy but not ptosis. 3 Both ouabain and chlorpromazine produced similar effects on behaviour and body temperature including selective abolition of a conditioned avoidance response. 4 Although centrally administered tetrabenazine produced ptosis, decreased locomotor activity and catalepsy, it had no significant effect on body temperature. However, the hypothermia produced by peripherally administered reserpine was reversed by centrally administered dibutyryl cyclic 3′,5′‐adenosine monophosphate. 5 Centrally administered cocaine and desmethylimipramine produced no depressant effects but an increased excitability and responsiveness were apparent in both cases. 6 Although the observed behavioural depression and hypothermia can occur independently both seem to involve an interference with dopaminergic systems.


Abstract Background Published information suggests room for improvement in antibiotics prescribed on discharge from the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to evaluate antibiotic prescribing in the ED for uncomplicated infections of the lower respiratory tract (LRTI), urinary tract (UTI), and skin and skin structure (SSTI). Methods IRB-approved retrospective cross-sectional study of patients discharged from the ED from January to June 2019 at 6 locations. Inclusion: ≥ 18 years old and uncomplicated LRTI, UTI, or SSTI. Exclusion: hospital admission. Appropriate prescribing was defined having all three of the following correct per local and national guidelines: antibiotic selection, dose, and duration. Correct duration: 5 days for LRTI and SSTI; 3 days for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), 5 days for nitrofurantoin (NFT), and 7 days for beta-lactams for UTIs. Endpoints within 7 days: antibiotic escalation, readmission to ED or hospital, any outpatient contact, and report of adverse drug event (ADE). Endpoints within 90 days: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Descriptive and bivariable statistics were performed. Results Inappropriate prescribing: 77% (304) vs. appropriate 23% (89). Infection type: 47.8% SSTI, 30% UTI, and 22.1% LRTI. SSTI was associated with the greatest proportion of inappropriate prescribing at 89.4% (Figure 1). Comparisons for inappropriate vs. appropriate groups: 15.8% vs. 22.5% for beta-lactam allergy and 23.4% vs. 19.1% for cultures drawn in ED. Most common antibiotics for inappropriate vs. appropriate: first generation cephalosporin at 70.1% vs. 7.3% (p< 0.05), TMP-SMX at 14.3% vs. 12.2% (p=0.75), and NFT at 7.8% vs. 65.9% (p< 0.05). Prescriptions considered inappropriate were primarily driven by excess duration (Figure 2). Endpoints for inappropriate vs. appropriate groups: antibiotic escalation at 6.6% (2.8% were due to cultures drawn in the ED) vs. 1.1% (p=0.06), readmission at 8.6% vs. 9.0% (p=0.9), any outpatient contact at 18.4% vs. 19.1% (p=0.89), and report of ADE at 1.3% vs. 1.1%. No CDI in either group. Figure 1. Appropriateness of Discharge Prescriptions by Infection Type, N = 393 Figure 2. Subset Analysis: Reasons for Inappropriate Prescribing, n = 304 Conclusion The main reason for inappropriate prescribing in the ED was excess duration of therapy, making this an area of opportunity for future antibiotic stewardship improvement. Disclosures Rachel Kenney, PharmD, Medtronic, Inc. (Other Financial or Material Support, spouse is an employee and shareholder) Susan L. Davis, PharmD, Nothing to disclose


In current practical problems, the reinforcing effects of geogrid-reinforced soil are generally evaluated by the tensile effect due to the tensile force of a geogrid. However, the existence of the confining effect has been experimentally examined, which is one component of the reinforcing effects and is independent of the tensile force of a geogrid. An evaluation method in which the reinforcing effect can be divided into tensile effect and confining effect is proposed. The validity of the method was verified by the results of a series of new laboratory tests. The confining effect is introduced into the tie-back wedge method of geogrid-reinforced retaining walls in a practical design. A new formula for calculating the maximum tensile force mobilized on the sliding plane on Rankine's active earth pressure theory was derived. Finally, as an example of design of a geogrid-reinforced retaining wall, the results obtained by using the design method with and without consideration of the confining effect are compared. For the covering abstract see ITRD E109917.


This paper deals with a dual active bridge (DAB) converter based battery charger in a stand-alone wind power generation system (WPGS) with a high-inertia wind turbine. The previous proposed system needs four converters from the generator to the AC load. This proposed system used three converters from the generator to the AC load. Thus, the power conversion efficiency can be improved. The DAB converter performs as battery controller. When the generated power is larger than the consumed power of the AC load, the DAB converter acts battery charging mode. On the other hand, when the generated power is smaller than the consumed power of the AC load, the DAB converter acts battery discharging mode. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed system can control the power flow in the stand-alone WPGS.


The retention of graduate students in social work is a key issue of management of enrollment for the decade of the nineties due to the anticipated enrollment shortage as well as the changing demographic characteristics of graduate students. In light of this issue, a study was conducted to assess the presence and structure of formal mechanisms to monitor students who "drop out" and/or "stop out" of graduate programs. Also, an attempt was made to document and identify the numbers and types of students who are especially vulnerable to interruption in programs. Analysis indicates that, although formal mechanisms to track students are in place in schools of social work, there is little evidence of interruption of students' programs. While respondents suggested that they monitor especially vulnerable students, they did not provide specific information on identifying that group. These results raise further questions about management of enrollment in general and how the issue of retention in particular may be important to survival and/or development of graduate programs.


We investigate in a competitive setting the consequences of mobile targeting, the practice of firms setting prices based on consumers' real-time locations. A distinct market feature of mobile targeting is that a consumer could travel across different locations for an offer that minimizes his total cost of buying. This cherry picking opportunity imposes constraints on firms to carefully balance prices across locations, which in turn weakens their price competition at each location. As a result, a firm's profit can be higher under mobile targeting than under uniform pricing or under targeted pricing based on consumers' permanent location. Extending the main model, we also discuss how the profitability of mobile targeting may change with the fraction of consumers who are mobile accessible to the firms, the distribution of consumers across locations, and the possibility of tracing down a consumer's base location and restricting him to offers at that location. Our findings have important managerial implications for marketers who are interested in optimizing their mobile targeting strategies.


The task force is Established for the relief of unemployment in North Belfast through the provision of assistance to find employment, and for the advancement of education by associating with community groups,trade unions,employers and voluntary and statutory agencies.


Early diagnosis of the clinical reactivation of Chagas' disease in human immunodeficiency virus- and Trypanosoma cruzi-coinfected persons is fundamental for a good prognosis. Polymerase chain reaction rapidly and efficiently demonstrated the presence and elimination of T. cruzi in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with chagasic meningoencephalitis. Characterization of T. cruzi, directly and indirectly in blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples, demonstrated homogeneity of kinetoplast DNA and the presence of lineage 1 (T. cruzi II) in both parasite populations.


The Zhuxi tungsten deposit in Jiangxi Province, South China, contains a total W reserve of about 2.86 Mt at an average grade of 0.54 wt% WO3, representing the largest W deposit in the world. Numerous studies on the metallogeny of the deposit have included its timing, the ore‐controlling structures and sedimentary host rocks and their implications for mineral exploration. However, the deep nappe structural style of Taqian–Fuchun metallogenic belt that hosts the W deposit, and the spatial shape and scale of deeply concealed intrusions and their sedimentary host rocks are still poorly defined, which seriously restricts the discovery of new deposits at depth and in surrounding areas of the W deposit. Modern 3D geological modeling is an important tool for the exploration of concealed orebodies, especially in brownfield environments. There are obvious density contrast and weak magnetic contrast in the ore‐controlling strata and granite at the periphery of the deposit, which lays a physical foundation for solving the 3D spatial problems of the ore‐controlling geological body in the deep part of the study area through gravity and magnetic modeling. Gravity data (1:50000) and aeromagnetic data (1:50000) from the latest geophysical surveys of 2016–2018 have been used, firstly, to carry out a potential field separation to obtain residual anomalies for gravity and magnetic interactive inversion. Then, on the basis of the analysis of the relationship between physical properties and lithology, under the constraints of surface geology and borehole data, human–computer interactive gravity and magnetic inversion for 18 cross‐sections were completed. Finally, the 3D geological model of the Zhuxi tungsten deposit and its periphery have been established through these 18 sections, and the spatial shape of the intrusions and strata with a depth of 5 km underground were obtained, initially realizing "transparency" for ore‐controlling bodies. According the analysis of the geophysical, geochemical, and geological characteristics of the Zhuxi tungsten deposit, we discern three principles for prospecting and prediction in the research area, and propose five new exploration targets in its periphery.


Initial management should be conservative (NICE, 2013). Physiotherapy alone for stress incontinence can achieve continence in half of women and the success of bladder retraining is approximately 60%. Should conservative measures fail in urge incontinence, anticholinergic medication can be offered. Women should be counselled regarding the side effects: dry mouth, constipation, dizziness, visual disturbance and palpitations. It should not be offered to women with myasthenia gravis, glaucoma, ulcerative colitis or bowel obstruction. A quarter of women stop treatment owing to side effects, and it may be worth considering a modified release preparation or a patch to bypass first pass metabolism.


We have investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL6 on expression and phenobarbital (PB) induction of ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and pentoxyresorufin O-deethylase (PROD) activities, as well as on mRNA levels of cytochromes P450 (CYP) 1A, 2B, 2C, 2E and 3A, in rat hepatocytes in primary culture. IL6 slightly antagonized PB-induced PROD activity. Strikingly, IL1 beta strongly inhibited basal EROD and PROD activities, and fully blocked their induction by PB in a dose-dependent fashion. Furthermore IL1 beta completely suppressed PB induction of all CYP mRNAs analyzed. Our results demonstrate that IL1 beta can suppress basal CYP activities, as well as PB-inducible expression of five CYP mRNAs in rat hepatocytes in primary culture.


Recent advances in molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics have revealed new ways of identifying and evaluating drug targets. As accumulating information becomes integrated with older biochemical, cellular and physiological data, the function and mechanism of these targets is better understood and the search for small-molecule effectors of their function is refined. This issue of Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets focuses on two therapeutic areas of increasing importance: cardiovascular disease and neurological disease. It also contains reviews in the areas of cancer, anti-infectives and autoimmunity and examines the utility of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a genetic model organism for uncovering human disease gene function. In the area of cardiovascular disease, Kaski discusses peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) agonists in the treatment of atherosclerosis. PPAR-γ is a ligand-activated transcription factor highly expressed in adipose tissue and atherosclerotic plaques. Agonists of this receptor, the thiazolidinediones, are currently used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. They may also have direct antiinflammatory and antiproliferative effects within the blood vessel wall and thus potential utility in the treatment of atherosclerosis. Prevention of cell damage in ischaemia, a state characterised by a lack of oxygen and decreased generation of ATP, is a therapeutic approach favoured in ischaemia– reperfusion. As Morin points out, prevention of cell damage in reperfusion, a process characterised by an excess of reactive-oxygen species, which impairs the restoration of ATP synthesis, has been less successful. Both ischaemia and reperfusion induce cellular alterations that could lead to cell death. Mitochondria are central to the pathology of both and are thus targets of choice for therapeutic intervention. Myocardial sodium–hydrogen exchange (NHE) regulates intracellular pH in most cell types. NHE-1, reviewed by Karmazyn, is one of the seven isoforms so far identified and is a major contributor to ischaemic and reperfusion injury. NHE-1 appears to represent a common downstream mediator to various hypertrophic factors, such as angiotensin II, endothelin-1 and α1 adrenergic receptor activation. NHE-1 inhibitors are cardioprotective, inhibiting hypertrophy and heart failure. In the area of neurology, Neugebauer reviews peripheral G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) as drug targets for pain relief. While mGluRs in the central nervous system are essential for the neuroplasticity associated with normal brain functions, mGluRs in peripheral tissues play an important role in animal models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Once the cellular effects of peripheral mGluR activation and inhibition are better understood, certain peripheral mGluR subtypes may become important therapeutic targets for the relief of pain associated with peripheral tissue injury. Di Marzo, in the third instalment on endocannabinoids reviews their possible applications in the treatment of ailments of peripheral systems. Applications include:


Public Engagement and Social Science provides us with a timely and rich contribution to discussions of public engagement and the impact of the social sciences. Through the presentation of diverse case studies, the collection provides social scientists with myriad examples of the potential practical implications of their research, writes Karen Lumsden.


The systolic algorithm implementation on processor arrays using the data dependence method is based on the linear transformations applied on the data dependencies and on the index set the algorithm. The implementation obtained by using this method has a regular data flow, but still it is not possible for processor-time optimal Systolic .Arrays (SAs) to be synthesized. Herein, a new approach is introduced to synthesize processor-time optimal SAs for the matrix multiplication problem. The proposed procedure is based on the dependence method, but nonlinear transformations and the concept of the double processing streams for the input data of the algorithm are also utilized.


In the postoperative period, nephrology collaboration was requested due to an acute kidney injury (AKI), with Cr of 3.39 mg/dL and urea of 89.5 mg/dL. On our observation, the patient presented an auricular temperature of 37.4°, adequate peripheral oxygen saturation (99 -100%) with oxygen supply by face mask (FiO2 28%) and a hypotensive profile (blood pressure of 114/66 mm Hg). The patient maintained passive drainage through nasogastric tube in the previous 3 days, around 3 to 3.5 L/day, without intestinal transit. Diuresis was preserved, about 60 mL/hour. He was prostrated and bradypneic, with mucosa severely dehydrated. The patient did not present any focal deficit and he answered simple questions only when vigorously stimulated. There was no alteration in pulmonary and cardiac auscultation. He was medicated with furosemide 20 mg bid and still on his anti -hypertensive drugs. Empirical antibiotics (piperacillin/ tazobactam) were started the day before.


directly from the myelodysplastic clone in the bone marrow, suggesting that MDC represents a specific cutaneous localization of MDS. It is important to differentiate MDC from leukaemia cutis (LC), as these conditions differ markedly in terms of therapeutic management and prognosis. The diagnosis of MDC is straightforward, based on negative staining of myeloid blast markers in the skin infiltrates and the responsiveness of the lesions to topical or systemic steroids. The differential diagnosis between MDC and LC was challenging in this case, because the immunohistochemical studies demonstrated the presence of CD117-positive cells; however, morphological analysis revealed that most of these cells were mast cells, a finding explaining the marked dermographism of the patient's skin. The favourable outcome of the skin rash with prednisone treatment and the absence of progression of the patient's CMML towards acute leukaemia also excluded a possible diagnosis of LC. In conclusion, we describe a patient with an urticarial rash revealing an underlying CMML. When faced with a cutaneous localization of a haematological malignancy a careful integration of anamnestic, clinical and histopathological data is of utmost importance to avoid unneeded treatments.


Dear Editor, Tessier developmental cleft anomalies are exceedingly rare situations. The nature and extent of the anomaly varies according to the cleft number. Cleft number 10 is the most uncommon of them all. Herein the authors report a similar situation wherein child was diagnosed as a case of Tessier cleft 10 with anterior staphyloma. A 9-month-old male child born out of nonconsanguineous marriage was brought with a history of abnormal right eye since birth (Fig. 1A). General examination did not reveal any obvious systemic abnormality. On ophthalmological examination, the child was able to fix and follow the light with his left eye but resisted occlusion of the same, indicating poor vision in the right eye. The right side demonstrated progressive protrusion of the right eye bulb with thinning of the sclera perilimbal and on nasal end denoting anterior staphyloma with a disorganized globe; the upper eye lid had three components: the lateral and medial components which were vertically aligned, with the presence of cilia and a middle colobomatous part which occupied more than half of the eyelid and extended across the eyebrow into the forehead ending with a notch (Fig. 1B). Anterior segment and fundus examination were within normal limits on the left side. Tessier introduced facial cleft classification in 1976, since then this nomenclature has gained a lot of popularity and worldwide acceptance. The classification specifies numbers ranging from 0 to 14, to multiple axes passing through eyebrows, eyelids, maxilla and eventually entering the lips [1]. Cleft number 10 of the Tessier classification is an extremely rare occurrence and is typically characterized by the presence of a cleft in the superior orbit along with a concomitant coloboma involving the middle one-third of the upper eyelid [2]. It may also present as a complete absence of eyelids or ablepharia. In certain cases, there will be an absence of the medial portion of the eyebrow, with the vertical angulation of lateral portion, often joining with the hairline of the scalp [3]. The ocular abnormalities which are associated mainly include congenital ocular surface problems like symblepharon, cutaneous pterygium and corneal abnormalities like corneal neovascularization and keratinization [4]. In few cases lower eyelid ectropion has also been reported. Shao et al. [4] had published a classification and grading system of ocular involvement for Tessier cleft 10 patients, wherein the eyelid coloboma was graded from 0 to 3 (0, no upper eyelid defect; 1, less than 1/3rd eyelid defect; 2, greater than 1/3rd but less than 1/2 eyelid defect; 3, more than half eyelid defect); symblepharon and cutaneous pterygium were scored between 0 to 3 (0, no symblepharon; 1, symblepharon and cutaneous pterygium confined to the corneal limbus; 2, symblepharon and cutaneous pterygium extending up to the pupil margin; 3, symblepharon and cuKorean J Ophthalmol 2021;35(3):244-245 https://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2020.0111


One of the first steps in attempting to solve a problem on a concurrent computation ensemble is its decomposition into a set of tasks (or processes). Problem decomposition often induces precedence constraints among the tasks, which the distributed nature of the computational system translates into message passing requirements. The efficient scheduling of sets of tasks among which complex interrelationships (such as precedence constraints) may exist is essential for achieving optimal performance from the new generation of concurrent supercomputers. This paper focuses on the ROSES system, which is being developed to schedule precedence-constrained tasks for computation by an ensemble of concurrent processors. This endeavor is particularly difficult when the number of tasks required exceeds the number of available processors, of when the interconnection topology of the task graph differs from the interconnection topology of the computation ensemble. The ROSES approach seeks near-optimal solutions by combining heuristic techniques to minimize scheduling time as a function of the number and relationship of tasks, with sophisticated data structures to most efficiently utilize available computer memory, and algorithms to control search and eliminate dead ends. The methodology is applied to the solution of the inverse dynamics equations of a robot manipulator and benchmark results aremore » included. 51 refs., 1 fig., 5 tabs.« less


Rapid urbanization plays an indelible role in modifying local climate, with more extreme precipitation in urban areas. Understanding the mechanism of urban-induced precipitation changes and quantifying the potential effects of urbanization on the changes in precipitation extremes have become hotspot issues in hydrometeorology. We examine the spatiotemporal changes of precipitation extremes over the Pearl River Delta region in China using the homogenized daily precipitation dataset from the period 1961–2017, and quantify the urbanization effects on these changes. Most of the extreme precipitation indices show increasing trends, but only the mean precipitation intensity has a significant increase. Urbanization could induce the intensification of extreme precipitation, with a higher amount, intensity, and frequency of precipitation extremes and a larger magnitude of their trends in urban areas by comparison with those rural areas. Moreover, high-level urbanization tends to make a greater contribution to the temporal changes in precipitation extremes, indicating that urbanization effects on precipitation extremes may be related to urbanization levels. However, urbanization level shows little effect on the changes in the spatial patterns of precipitation extremes, with similar spatial distribution in different urbanization stages. Our findings highlight the important role of urbanization in precipitation extremes and offer insights into the feedback of anthropogenic changes into variations in precipitation extremes.


THE INFLUENCE OF BATIK
ACTIVITIES ON THE FINE MOTOR SKILLS OF CHILDREN IN GROUP A IN KB SURYA ALAM AISYIYAH SAWIT BOYOLALIIN ACADEMIC YEAR
2017/2018

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to know the influence of batik activities on the fine
motor skills of children in group A in KB Surya Alam Aisyiyah Sawit Boyolali
academic year 2017/2018. The method of this study was quantitative method, used
experimental research type with pre-experimental research design. Pre-experimental
research design with one group pretest-posttest design. This research was conducted
at KB Surya Alam Aisyiyah Sawit Boyolali. The subjectin this study was the group
A of KB Surya Alam Aisyiyah Sawit Boyolali with a total of 12 children.Data
collection techniques in this study was conducted through observation, namely nonparticipant
observation.The data analysis techniques in this study using t-test with the
help of SPSS 15.0 for windows program. The results of data analysis using t-test
obtained t count -16.258 ≤ - ttable is -2.201 then H0 was rejected and Ha was
accepted which means that there is influence of batik activities through the fine
motor skill of children at the Group A of KB Surya Alam Aisyiyah Sawit Boyolali
in Academic Year 2017/2018.


In this paper, we develop an optimal weight adaptation strategy of model predictive control (MPC) for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) in mixed traffic. We model the interaction between a CAV and a human-driven vehicle (HDV) as a simultaneous game and formulate a game-theoretic MPC problem to find a Nash equilibrium of the game. In the MPC problem, the weights in the HDV's objective function can be learned online using moving horizon inverse reinforcement learning. Using Bayesian optimization, we propose a strategy to optimally adapt the weights in the CAV's objective function so that the expected true cost when using MPC in simulations can be minimized. We validate the effectiveness of the optimal strategy by numerical simulations of a vehicle crossing example at an unsignalized intersection.


Exploration is the fundamental task of guiding a robot autonomously during mapping so that it covers the entire environment with its sensors. In the frontier-based exploration, a robot visits the unknown regions, but the sufficient information on the obstacles was not exploited. In the topological exploration, the robot was forced to visit all the topological nodes, but it was inefficient and time-consuming. In this paper, an efficient exploration called a thinning-based topological exploration (TTE) is proposed. This scheme is based on the position probability of the end nodes of a topological map built in real time. The robot then updates the position probability of each end node sustaining its position at the current location using the range data. By analyzing this position probability, the robot can determine whether or not it needs to visit the specific end node to examine the environment around this node. Various experiments show that the proposed TTE algorithm can perform exploration more accurately than the frontier-based exploration approach and more efficiently than the other topological exploration schemes, because in most cases, exploration for the entire environment can be completed without directly visiting everywhere


Cotton is the most important fiber crop of the world and one of the most widely grown commercial crops in India. The nutrient removal by cotton plant depends on growing conditions and yield potential of the cultivar. On an average rainfed cotton removes 6-7 kg N, 2-2.5 kg P, 7-8 kg K (Venugopalan and Blaise, 2001) and irrigated cotton removes 9International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 08 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

https://www.ijcmas.com/8-8-2019/N. Pruthvi Raj and C.P. Chandrashekara.pdf


The sensational cases occurred in judicial practice have caused people to think about the credibility and reliability of expert opinions.As part of the evidence system,the criminal forensic appraisal system is the base and guarantee of criminal justice.It must meet the basic requirements of reliability and credibility.However,evidence rules regarding reliability and credibility of expert opinions are still lacking after the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law.Future legislation on criminal forensic appraisal should be completed on the transformation from emphasizing the need to facilitating the administration to emphasizing the protection of rights.


According to the "China State Plan for Rapid Response to Public Emergencies" (hereinafter referred to as "Plan"), which was published by the Central Government of the People's Republic of China, "public emergencies" refer to those emergencies that happened suddenly, and would (or might) cause heavy casualties and property loss, damage ecological environment, bring severe harms to our society and threat public safety. In the "Plan", public emergencies were divided into four categories: natural disasters, accidental disasters, public emergencies and social security events.


The following publications are included in the Digital Collection. These are electronic publications which will be permanently accessible from the Digital Collection location. They have been cataloged and included in the State Library of Ohio's catalog and OhioLINK central catalog. The publications are categorized by agency, and then listed alphabetically by title with OCLC accession number and Ohio documents call number. The monthly list is divided by monographs and serials. The Digital Collection includes some non-document publications


Though a mass of studies has documented the efficacy of teaching approaches, rooted in Sociocultural theory (SCT), in L2 learning, the effects of online dialogic interactions on improving high school students' writing skills have been rarely explored in the Iranian EFL context. Thus, the present study aims to disclose how online dialogic interactions lead to the development of high school students' writing skills. For this purpose, an intact grade 12 class was selected randomly at a state high school in Borujerd City, Iran. The students received online instruction in 11 sessions held two times a week. The interactions between the teacher and students were recorded carefully and were subjected to the microgenetic analysis approach. The findings revealed how through the dialogic interactions, the teachers offered congruent mediations tailored to the students' needs and lacks, resulting in the improvement of their writing skills. Based on the tenets of SCT, a range of implications is presented.


As a part and parcel of nonlinear theory, the rescaled range analysis (R/S analysis), proposed by Harold E Hurst in 1965, plays an important role in paleoclimatic evolution. This paper, uses the rescaled range analysis to analyse the paleoclimatic evolution of Hongzuisi section in Lanzhou area on the basis of the materials of organic carbon δ 13C and CaCO 3 content. According to R/S analysis, it discusses the feature and periodicity of paleoclimate in Lanzhou area. The result indicates that this method is very useful to study the cycles of climatic change, which provides vital reference for paleoclimatic reconstruction and paleoenvironmental prediction.


The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of adult male substance offenders who experienced sand tray therapy as an adjunct to their cognitive behavioral rehabilitative treatment. Results indicate a positive experience for participants. Implications for counselors are discussed.


At present, there is a steady development of the information and globalization market as a complete system of economic, organizational and legal relations for the development, implementation, sale and purchase of information resources, technologies, goods and services. This is due to the formation of the information society and the development of the information economy as a whole. It should be noted that such changes in the economy and society make it possible to create new trends in the development of information and communication technologies. In such economic conditions, information becomes a special resource and occupies an important place in the system of ensuring the competitiveness of modern business. Such competitive trends in business have led to the need to promote your product through a specific media environment. In this work, the problem is revealed in the need for domestic companies to integrate into the world consumer markets and promote the image of both their own brand and the image of Ukraine. One of the main barriers along this path is the lack of awareness of the quality of goods and services offered by Ukrainian companies to consumers in other countries. Free trade agreements with the European Union, Canada and other countries can be a powerful impetus for these processes. The experience of implementing advanced branding strategies should be transferred by domestic companies to foreign markets, taking into account all the peculiarities in order to achieve high socio-economic results. Each brand has certain attributes packaging, advertising, logos, titles and slogans, functional or emotional associations, assigned to the brand by buyers and potential customers. Brand attributes can be both positive and negative, can have different strengths and importance for different market segments. Any brand has a main, basic characteristic that defines its essence. Personal value in branding is not just one of the parameters that should be taken into account when developing a brand, it is a basic part of the concept of brand, it is the foundation of the concept of brand, it is the only component that leads the brand to a cherished purpose to enter the inner world human in the right quality in the right place The value generated by the brand and the basis for its choice and consumption is created by the manufacturer by building and maintaining a consistent system of codes and symbols. A brand in the modern sense is a complex organism, a strategic tool of a sales promotion company. Fine-tuning the brand at every stage of its creation, focusing the whole system on the primary idea, actively using consumer research results are able to ensure the brand has a seamless existence for the foreseeable future.


We present Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the z=2.38 Lyα-emitter over-densityassociated with galaxy cluster J2143-4423, the largest known structure (110 Mpc)above z=2.We imaged 22 of the 37 known Lyα-emitters within the filament-like structure,using the MIPS 24μm band. We detected 6 of the Lyα-emitters, including 3 of the 4 clouds of extended (>50kpc) Lyα emission, also known as Lyα Blobs.Conversion from rest-wavelength 7μm to total far-infrared luminosityusing locally derived correlations suggests all the detected sources are in the class of ULIRGs, with some reaching Hyper-LIRG energies. Lyα blobs frequently show evidence for interaction, either in HST imaging,or the proximity of multiple MIPS sources within the Lyα cloud. This connection suggests that interaction or even mergers may be related to the production of Lyα blobs. A connection to mergersdoes not in itself help explain the origin of the Lyα blobs, as most of the suggested mechanisms for creating Lyα blobs (starbursts, AGN, cooling flows) could alsobe associated with galaxy interactions.


Macroinvertebrates are important for processing leaf detritus in temperate streams, but studies about their role in tropical streams often present conflicting results. Via digestive tract analyses, we assessed the diets of Phylloicus sp. larvae (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae), collected from streams of two southeastern Brazil river basins (Araguari, Sao Francisco). We classified gut contents as coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM), fine particulate organic matter (FPOM), algae, animal tissue, vascular plant tissue and mineral material. We hypothesized that the diets of Phylloicus larvae would be related to the physical habitat of the streams (e.g., riparian vegetation, organic matter availability and morphological characteristics), larval size and river basin. Although FPOM content predominated in both basins, we found greater CPOM content in Phylloicus larvae of Upper Sao Francisco sites, and this food item was related to greater riparian vegetation canopy density. The FPOM content was greater in larvae of Upper Araguari sites, and this food item was correlated with greater instream brush cover. Algae, animal tissue, vascular plant tissue and mineral material were very rare in the digestive tracts, and therefore could not be explained. These results indicate the importance of riparian vegetation structure in modulating feeding habitats of macroinvertebrates. We conclude that the Phylloicus larvae had more flexibility in what they eat than we might expect based on their traditional classification as shredders. Therefore, trusting in published classifications, ignoring regional or local differences, may be inaccurate. Instead, regional studies of feeding habits are needed for accurate classifications of invertebrate taxa into trophic guilds.


This article analyzes the personal nationalism of Helmut Kohl, the so-called "Chancellor of Unity." The German politician acted as a (neo)romantic nationalist, who articulated his concept of nation in cultural and ethnic terms and as primarily detached from the idea of the nation-state. This kind of nationalism has been portrayed as something typically German and dangerous, as part of the nation's cultural Sonderweg outside of the West, where nationalism had taken a safer path. However, Kohl exemplified an ethnocultural representation of Germany that was reconciled with, and subordinated to, his liberal nationalism and his belief in the primacy of the West. Interestingly, his dialectic political rhetoric and biographical self-image demonstrates how romantic conceptualizations of German nationhood could be maintained after 1945, be structurally strengthened through the division of the nation during the Cold War, and that they have been part of the ongoing normalization process of German nationalism.


Abstract In this paper, we examine the relationship between political polarization and individuals' willingness to contribute to the public good by engaging in preventative behaviors against COVID‐19. Using a sample of individuals from close‐election states, we first show that individuals engage in fewer preventative behaviors when the governor of their state is from the opposite party. We also show that this effect is concentrated among moderate individuals who live in polarized states, and that it is strongest when the state has been relatively forceful in combating COVID‐19. We estimate that the opposite‐party effect increased COVID‐19 cases by around 1%.


The development of signal processing technology not only improves the reliability of qualitative and quantitative ultrasound detection, but also promotes the sensitivity and precision. This paper introduces the new progress of signal processing technology in application of Ultrasonic Nondestructive Testing, including the basic principle, characteristic and localization of Wavelet Transform, Adaptive Filter Technique, Artificial Neural Network and Support Vector Machine application in Ultrasonic Testing, and the trend of development in the future.


Silver interface was developed to improve the thermal properties of copper matrix reinforced carbon fibre. The composites were made by coating the carbon fibres with silver and copper layers via the electroless coating process. The thermal conductivity and the thermal expansion of the composites were profiled by means of JMP Pro software. The experimental results showed that the weight-percent of silver and the volume-percent of the carbon fibre have significant effect on the thermal properties of the composites. The thermal conductivity and thermal expansion of the composites were also profoundly influenced by the anisotropic structure of the composites.


Gauge freedom is used to reduce the Hamiltonian of a nonrelativistic charged particle with conservative potential energy that is in a time‐dependent external electromagnetic field to kinetic energy only. Nevertheless, the energy of the particle is shown to be kinetic energy plus conservative potential energy. Besides simplifying the Hamiltonian, this gauge dramatically illustrates the conceptual differences between the Hamiltonian and energy for a particle in a time‐dependent external electromagnetic field.


Partial gasification of Adaro, Dasa Eka Jasatama (DEJ), Hunter Valley, Merit Pila and Mukah Balingian coals have been studied in a laboratory-scale, atmospheric fluidized bed gasifier using air and air-steam as fluidizing media. Determination of the producer gas compositions were conducted using Gas Chromatography. Partial gasification experiments were conducted at bed temperature of 60rtC. The comparison of the producer gas compositions while using air and air-steam gasifying agents were conducted. Introduction of steam had shown significant increased on the CO, CO2, CH4 and H2 contents in the producer gas compared with the air as the sole gasifying agent.


The concepts of pet companion for elderly were proposed. Wireless network technique enhances communication and emotion reception abilities between pet and elderly. Several kinds of interaction modes were proposed to fulfil the ability and living characteristics of the elderly. The sustainable and industrial applicability issues are evaluated. Zigbee attachment concept is much better in energy saving and flexibility of use. Based on the prior art, a process to evaluate useful and industrial applicability requirements is proposed. By the analysis step, wireless network technique can fulfil implementation requirements of the pet companion. Keywords—Pet companion, industrial applicability , elderly


Bacterial meningitis remains a life‐threatening infection even in the present antibiotic era; thus, any abnormality which predisposes a patient to a recurrence of this serious disease, must be identified and corrected. This report describes the history of a 12‐year‐old boy with a profound neurosensory hearing loss, a related absence of vestibular function and a Monclini‐type of temporal bone dysplasia who developed recurrent episodes of meningitis which were due to an idiopathic cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea. Even though the meningitis was labyrinthogenic in origin, the patient did not experience the associated symptoms of hearing loss and/or vertigo since the affected inner ear was clinically unreactive. By surgically exploring the middle ear, the presence of a cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea was confirmed. The leak was observed to be coming from a defect in the stapes footplate, and it was controlled by firmly packing the inner ear vestibule with muscle.


The simultaneous increase of electrochemical activity (i.e fineness) and thermal stability of SOFC-electrodes is possible using eutectic microstructures. On the basis of a lamellar NiO-YSZ eutectic a microwave melting process was developed which allows crystallization in a large temperature gradient. The microstructures obtained by melting the electrodes directly onto the top of a YSZ substrate (electrolyte) consist of partially aligned lamellae perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. The thickness of the alternating NiO-YSZ lamellae is graded over the thickness of the electrode, i.e it increases with increasing distance from the substrate. In terms of functionality this means an inverse gradient of electrochemical active three phase boundaries (gas-Ni-YSZ) after reduction of NiO to Ni. During the reduction process the microstructural gradient of lamellae thickness is converted into a functional gradient of electrochemical active sites. The models taken into account show that this functionally graded microstructure should lower the overpotentials of SOFC-devices. The paper concentrates on modelling and experimental details for the preparation of partially aligned eutectic lamellae with a graded interlamellar spacing.


In Handwriting character recognision can be used to seek texts in big documents, take notes on tablet or decide whether or not internet user is a human or a computer in terms of Web security. In this study, a handwriting recognition system is studied by using fuzzy rules. The system includes 4 parts, namely image processing, feature extraction, fuzzification of the inputs, and defuzzification. In the first stage, image processing based on morphological operations are used to perform the handwriting recognisition under the same conditions. The feature extraction process is employed to find the total number of white pixels in each column. Then these pixel numbers are assigned to arrays. The next step is to find the local maximum and minimum values by considering this arrays as an increasing-decreasing mathematical function. Therefore, it is observed that the handwritten letters of these values are divided into various groups. In the next operation, fuzzy classification membership functions and rule tables of text groups are generated by using extracted feature data. For a better recognition perfromance, the letters group have to be known in order to use image fuzzy logic algorithm. Consequently, this group of letters was succesfully classified with fuzzy logic rules.


and the information they provide to clients who request it. Simulated clients have been widely used in pharmacy-based studies; 6 the methodology has advantages over interviews because it reduces observation bias. 7 Posing as clients and presenting a particular scenario, trained field-workers engage providers to seek information in a situation similar to what the provider might be expected to encounter on any given day of routine service. Providers are unaware that these clients are involved in research. According to three studies using simulated clients conducted in Latin American countries, pharmacy vendors are aware of the abortifacient properties of misoprostol, but have limited knowledge about effective doses and do not provide sufficient counseling or follow-up instructions. 8–10 A study conducted in Mexico City in 2003 reported that pharmacy vendors recommended misoprostol in 39% of the scenarios in which a simulated client asked for a drug to " induce menstruation, " but that in only 17% of those interactions did pharmacy workers actually provide correct information about an effective dosage. 8 In a 2006 study conducted in one Mexican state, 90% of pharmacy vendors discussed misoprostol either spontaneously or after being prompted by a simulated client, but the majority of these vendors did not provide accurate information about dosage, mode of administration or what women should CONTEXT: Misoprostol was used by women across Mexico to induce abortion even before 2007, when first-trimester abortion was legalized in Mexico City. Pharmacy vendors' misoprostol recommendation practices across subregions of Mexico after abortion legalization warrant examination. METHODS: Overall, 192 pharmacies in four regions of Mexico were randomly selected and visited by simulated clients presenting three scenarios (a young woman, an adult woman and a male partner). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore associations between pharmacy, vendor and client characteristics and drug access. RESULTS: In 558 encounters with simulated clients, 78% of vendors provided information about misoprostol—18% recommended it spontaneously and 60% recommended it only after the client asked specifically for the drug. Fifteen percent of vendors recommended a potentially effective misoprostol dosing regimen. Mexico City–based pharmacies and those in the Central region were significantly less likely than those in the North region to require a prescription to sell misoprostol (odds ratios, 0.2 and 0.3, respectively). Independent pharmacies and those from low-income areas were significantly more likely to sell misoprostol by the pill than chain pharmacies and those in medium-income areas (3.2 and 2.7, respectively). …


We appreciate Khomentovsky's review of his views on basal Cambrian
correlations across the Siberian Platform but do not find his arguments
compelling. Indeed, his Comment emphasizes the need for correlational
tools beyond those offered by small shelly fossils (SSFs). In Siberia, the
record of Nemakit-Daldynian and Tommotian SSP's is largely cumulative,
with interpreted zonal boundaries based on first appearances rather than extinctions.
In consequence, published zonal schemes are relatively insensitive
to hiatuses within sections. They are sensitive to the environmental and
taphonomic factors that govern local stratigraphic ranges of SSP taxa, and
that is one reason why the three principal groups of Russian stratigraphers
working on Proterozoic-Cambrian beds differ on intraplatform correlations
(Khomentovsky and Karlova, 1993; Repina and Rozanov, 1992; Missarzhevsky,
1989). A second reason for the discrepancy is a misapprehension,
repeated here by Khomentovsky, that stage boundaries are defined by
a particular set of fossils rather than a boundary point in a stratotype section.
We did not choose any subset of "basal Tommotian" SSFs as diagnostic for
the initial stage boundary; we noted only that all principal taxa of the N. sunnaginicus
zone were present when the first rocks above the boundary point
accumulated in the stratotype region.


Constant output power contours have been predicted for silicon BJTs operating under class C and at UHF frequencies. This has been achieved by using a minimum of measurements and applying constant power gain circles, the results obtained using the method showing good correlation.


In medical ultrasound imaging, high-performance beamforming is important to enhance spatial and contrast resolutions. A modern receive dynamic beamfomer uses a constant sound speed that is typically assumed to 1540 m/s in generating receive focusing delays [1], [2]. However, this assumption leads to degradation of spatial and contrast resolutions particularly when imaging obese patients or breast since the sound speed is significantly lower than the assumed sound speed [3]; the true sound speed in the fatty tissue is around 1450 m/s. In our previous study, it was demonstrated that the modified nonlinear anisotropic diffusion is capable of determining an optimal sound speed and the proposed method is a useful tool to improve ultrasound image quality [4], [5]. In the previous study, however, we utilized at least 21 iterations to find an optimal sound speed, which may not be viable for real-time applications. In this paper, we demonstrates that the number of iterations can be dramatically reduced using the GSS(golden section search) method with a minimal error. To evaluate performances of the proposed method, in vitro experiments were conducted with a tissue mimicking phantom. To emulate a heterogeneous medium, the phantom was immersed in the water. From the experiments, the number of iterations was reduced from 21 to 7 with GSS method and the maximum error of the lateral resolution between direct and GSS was less than 1%. These results indicate that the proposed method can be implemented in real time to improve the image quality in the medical ultrasound imaging.


Smart technologies in engineering education provide students with relevant real-world experience and safeguard the quality of instruction during emergency remote teaching. This paper aims to have students complete a motor-driven generator practical via a RemoteLab and measure their perceptions of the experience. A survey was conducted with five-point Likert scale questions asking students to indicate their satisfaction with the useability and effectiveness of the RemoteLab, then given a list of action verbs from Gloria Willcox's feeling wheel to select what best described their emotions during the exercise, and finally open-ended questions to expand on their experience. Results showed students found the system easy to use and effective and most felt joyful and powerful emotions during the exercise. There was some indication that they still preferred contact sessions on campus which shows that a RemoteLab may be best used as an intervention when the contact mode of delivery is suddenly disrupted.


The presences of anvil clouds significantly affect the tropical mean radiation budget and increase the uncertainty of climate model simulations. In this study, the climatological mean distributions of thick anvil parameters, such as top, bottom, occurrence, cloud effective radius (CER) and cloud optical depth (COD) in the tropics (20°S–20°N) are investigated by Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) and visible and infrared scanner (VIRS) from 1998 to 2007. The thick anvil radiative forcing at shortwave (0.2 ∼ 4 µm) and longwave (4 ∼ 50 µm) length, i.e. Shortwave radiative forcing (SRF) and Longwave radiative forcing (LRF) and their net effects at different altitudes are simulated with Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Model (SBDART). The results show that thick anvils present higher top/bottom, smaller CER, and thicker COD over land than those over ocean. At the top of atmosphere (TOA), net radiative effects of thick anvils are positive warming, which means the earth‐atmosphere system obtains energy forced by thick anvils. At earth surface, net radiative effects of thick anvils are positive warming at land surface and negative cooling at ocean surface, respectively. In general, anvil SRF, LRF and net effects vary with different geographical locations and also present large land–ocean differences in the tropics, due to different anvil properties forced by the surface heating and topography. All spatial patterns of stronger anvil SRF, LRF and net effects are well matched with the places where exist higher fractions of anvils, such as Asian monsoon zone, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), tropical Africa, Mid‐America and South America. In addition, the present work provides an evidence that it is an effective approach to calculate quantitatively the grid‐cell SRF and LRF of cloud at a large scale by using the SBDART model with inputs from satellite observations.


Long periods of continuous cropping were recognised to affect soil organic matter (SOM) content and to increase soil erosion. For example, in Martinique several years of intensive farming on vertisols led to an important decrease in SOM and soil aggregation and to an important increase in soil erosion. There is now a need to restore the soil organic matter in order to preserve the soil resources. In literature, pastures seem to be one of the best agrosystems for enhancing the SOM stock in cultivated soils. In Martinique, planting a Digitaria decumbens pasture on a cultivated vertisol increased the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock from 31 to 37 MgC ha (0-20 cm) within 5 years (Chevallier et al., 2000). This high storage value could be explained partly by the heavy clayey soil and the high plant inputs.


This article examines the legal principles and the financial and legal policy as the foundation of banking supervision in the Russian Federation. It is presented the definition of monetary policy as a form of financial and legal policy. It is studied the local-law policy of credit institutions. It is considered the importance of legal principles in general, the principle of the rule of law in particular, as the foundation of banking supervision.


Development of new light sources has constantly grown for a high efficacy and long life. And the optical design of luminaires has been also developed for the reflection and refraction of light mechanism for such light source. The study of optical design for luminaires has been developed with activity for the reflection of light mechanism. But it has been not enough to study for the refraction of light mechanism. Therefore, this study aims to extend the refraction of light mechanism using Monte-Carlo method and Ray-tracing method to general luminaires. And, the purpose of this study is to develop the calculation process of 3 dimensional planar prism design algorithm by utilizing the results of photometric data from reflector luminaries. This study is presented optic calculation process for prism optical design of planar prism luminaries that is development of numerical model for the luminous intensity distribution by optical design of 3 dimensional planar prisms.


We present a new, nonparametric Bayesian method for multiple imputation of partially observed data for which the pattern of missingness is arbitrary and the data are missing at random with ignorable nonresponse with respect to the model specification. Motivation for the method is provided, followed by an overview of Polya trees and their application to multiple imputation, and a comparison of the new method to existing approaches is presented. The method is illustrated on a dataset of colleges and universities in the United States. Copyright Biometrika Trust 2002, Oxford University Press.


ABSTRACT Theoretical variance #1 ( ̂ Theo1) has been developed at NIST to improve the estimation of longterm frequency stability. Its square-root ( ̂ Theo1-dev) has two significant improvements over the Allan deviation σ̂y(τ) (Adev) in estimating long-term frequency stability, in that (1) it can evaluate frequency stability at averaging times 50 % longer than those of Adev, and (2) it can estimate frequency stability with greater confidence than any other estimator. We discuss a method for determining the exact confidence intervals of ̂ Theo1, particularly useful for small sample sizes, using analytic techniques. The confidence intervals of ̂ Theo1 are narrower and less skewed (more symmetric) than confidence intervals based on chi-square.


Most commonly used boundary integral formulations of the exterior problem in time-harmonic acoustics, which are valid for all wave-numbers, involve a non-zero coupling parameter. In this paper we analyse the qualitative behaviour of the direct boundary integral formulation due to Burton and Miller. In particular we include a regularised formulation for the Neumann problem. By deriving the eigensystems of the operators we are able to obtain ′almost optimal′ values for the coupling parameter, as a function of the wave-number, so as to minimize the condition number of various formulations


Wave propagation in heterogeneous media can be modeled efficiently with the parabolic equation method, which has been extended to problems with homogeneous anisotropic layers [A. J. Fredricks et al., Wave Motion 31, 139–146 (2000)]. This approach is currently being extended to the heterogeneous case, including piecewise continuous vertical dependence and horizontal dependence that is relatively gradual but which may be large over sufficient distances. Vertical dependence is included by applying appropriate heterogeneous depth operators in the equations of motion. Horizontal dependence is included by extending the single‐scattering solution [E. T. Kusel et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 121, 808–813 (2007)] to the anisotropic case. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]


PHOBOS is one of four experiments studying Au-Au collisions at RHIC. During the first running period RHIC provided Au+Au collisions at √ s N N = 56 GeV and 130 GeV. The data collected during this period allowed us to study the energy and centrality dependence of particle production, the anisotropy of the final state azimuthal distribution and particle ratios at mid-rapidity.


This paper presents a speed control strategy for the torsional vibration systems. A state feedback control law using an integrator is designed. The pole-placement controller and integral of time multiplied by absolute error (ITAE) is used to assign closed-loop poles of the system characteristic equation. The simulation results are show to verify good performance obtained using the proposed controller.


A simple and novel predictive duty cycle control strategy for boost power factor correction (PFC) converter is proposed. The duty cycle is calculated based on input current, input voltage and output voltage for every cycle. The operating principles and control scheme are analyzed and discussed in detail. Simulation results of a 100 W boost power PFC prototype point out that high power factor and low input current total harmonic distortion (THD) are achieved over the entire output power range using proposed control strategy. The results prove to be satisfactory.


The sinusoidal-Galerkin moment method is developed for a vertical monopole antenna at the center of a circular disk over the flat earth. Numerical results are included for antenna impedance and current distribution.


Information dissemination within human societies is highly determined by the type of social relationships between its members. Strong relationships tend to create social cliques and concentrate knowledge whereas weak links foster serendipity at the expense of specificity. In his seminal paper, Mark Granovetter [1] described the importance of weak social relationships in the search for a new job, yet he disregarded "[social] ties without substantial significance, such as a 'nodding' relationship between people living on the same street, or the tie to the vendor from whom one customarily buys a morning newspaper". Conventional social relationships fail to capture the incidental interactions that exist between weakly cohesive social groups. Peer-based wireless networks facilitate the exploration of these localised social ties without any explicit intentional behaviour on behalf of the participants. This proposal presents a plausible method to utilise these almost non-existent and seemingly insignificant, social interactions to disseminate localised information and allow us to explore the patterns in daily life.


Conductive compounds based on various polymers and stainless steel fibres offer good electromagnetic screening properties and also freedom in the design of electronic components. The materials are suitable for applications that require electromagnetic screening or protection against electrostatic discharge. They thus provide more scope for cost effectiveness than do conventional coating methods.


The present research has as objective to design and to implement a system of automatic control for the temperature of the air of an orchid greenhouse located in "Reinaldo Espinosa" of the National university of Loja , such as that in its interior it has the favorable microclimate for the growth and development of this type of plant species.
Once the system of control was designed and implemented it guarantees the fulfilment of the optimal conditions temperature, for this purpose it was used two actuators systems, heating system with the use of an electric generator of hot air and a misting system at low pressure, which were designed according to the needed requirements both to increase the temperature, as well as to reduce it.
For the design of the controller it was used an electronic card Arduino Mega 2560 and to a system of diffuse inference which is based in si-rules then linguistic terms are used which are represented by diffuse sets. The input variables are the temperature and relative humidity, and the output variables are misting and heating times. It was used an LCD screen to display the results.
The values of the input variables are obtained through RHT03 sensor. Basically there are 5 sensors distributed in different sectors, four are located inside the green house and the other one in the outside part. Depending on the values that these sensors will deliver it brought certain actions on the actuators systems.
Finally, the operation of the control system, where I was seen how it responds to different environmental characteristics that arose in the interior of the greenhouse throughout the different days of testing was verified.


A 68-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis, who was treated with tofacitinib, a type of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, was admitted for dyspnea and generalized purpuric vesicular rash, following 3 days of fever and malaise. She developed hypoxia from respiratory insufficiency. On physical examination, the systemic eruptions had an erythematous base and were present in various stages, from maculopapular to vesicular and pustular, with crusting (left). Chest radiograph demonstrated diffuse infiltrates with reticular and nodular lesions in the bilateral lung fields (right). Laboratory findings revealed high varicella-zoster virus (VZV) immunoglobulin M antibody titers and positive VZV-DNA in the serum. The patient denied previous varicella history. Therefore, we diagnosed the patient with chickenpox and pneumonia. The patient fully recovered following treatment with intravenous acyclovir. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Carnivores are elusive, nocturnal and scarce, hence, their detection is difficult. Camera trapping has become a powerful non-invasive technique for collecting information on such elusive species. Some of its major applications are species inventories and community monitoring. Some efforts have been recently devoted to standardize protocols for monitoring mammal communities in tropical areas. Nevertheless, there is a lack of standardization across studies for monitoring carnivore communities in temperate areas. We aimed to optimize camera-trapping protocols for monitoring mesocarnivore communities in Mediterranean areas, minimizing sampling effort to accurately estimate species richness. For this purpose, we assessed the effect of number of cameras, time they remain active, area covered and spatial arrangement on species richness estimates. We used between 50 and 60 camera-traps combined with generalist scent attractants in two national parks located in central Spain. We generated random sets of 5–40 cameras and evaluated the accumulated richness between 1 and 30 days since deployment. Generalized linear model analysis indicates that active days, number of cameras, covered area and study area best explained species richness. A minimum of 30 active cameras during 20 days were required for attaining the asymptotical species richness. A larger effort was required to detect all species in the study area with higher species richness (six vs. five species). These results agree with the effort required for obtaining at least one camera image of those species with the lowest detection rates. Scattered deployments required less effort (number of cameras) to reach an asymptote of species richness than clumped layouts, although differences were not significant. These findings can be used as guidelines for monitoring mesocarnivore communities with camera-traps in temperate areas, although particular monitoring requirements will depend on the community composition and density of mesocarnivore species present in a given study area.


To burn dense, viscous combustibles like Heavy Fuel-Oil as a water-in-oil emulsified combustible enables to decrease the emission of solid carbonaceous residue, in comparison with raw, non-emulsified combustible. This is due to the phenomenon of micro-explosion, meaning the rapid (<0.1 ms) vaporization of the inside water droplets ofcthe emulsion, breaking up the initial emulsion droplet. This phenomenon is also called the "second atomisation" among the spray of emulsified combustible. The present work is based on a small-scale furnace (~200 kW) feed with Heavy Fuel-oil mixed with 10% of diesel, with and without emulsion of water. The emulsification of combustible enables to record a reproducible lowering in emission of carbonaceous residue from combustion of emulsion, in comparison with raw Fuel, added with a variation in granulometry of carbonaceous residue, indicating the second atomisation.


Word cloud or tag cloud is very popular these days. It is a tool used to display text data summarization in a visual way very easy to understand. However, it has not been extensively used in teaching, especially in elearning, where it would make a differential advantage. This research presents the definition and implementation of a word cloud tool in a social network-based e-learning platform (NeuroK), which is based on the principles of neurodidactics. The different features developed and the results are shown. Several options to compare word clouds from students and teachers allow the teacher to follow the development of the course, and they provide him more information to facilitate the evaluation process.


The effects of the incubation temperature of the embryonic development and the diet composition on the larval growth and the cocoon-shell weight were investigated. The larvae hatched from the eggs at 25°C or 18°C were reared on the diet containing methanol treated cabbage powder (experimental diet) or control diet under LD 16: 8, 25°C.1) When the newly hatched larvae at 25°C were reared on experimental or control diet for 10 days, there is no difference about the appearance of 2nd instar larvae between these diets.2) The larvae were reared on the experimental diet during 4th and/or 5th instar under germ-free condition. The larval duration was shortened for 2 or 3 days when egg-incubation temperature was set at 18°C than at 25°C, regardless of the difference of diet composition. However, the cocoon-shell weight was affected by the incubation temperature of eggs. In 25°C incubated group, the larvae fed on experimental diet or control diets (IV, V) produced 326 mg or 445, 320 mg of co-coon-shell weight, respectively. Contrary, at 18°C, the cocoon-shell weight was 272 mg, only 60% of control one.3) Under conventional condition, the larval duration took longer and the cocoon-shell weight was lighter than under germ-free condition, regardless of the difference of diet composition and of egg-incubation temperature.


This project was developed in the scope of a double-degree program between Brazil and France, during an internship in the R&D team of KLEE Group, the leading company in merchandising in France. In the context of their applications for the management of shelves and plans of stores, KLEE wanted to optimize the ergonomy of their modules and work towards a portable version for mobile platforms. The objective of this project was the reengineering of the merchandising module, including its study, definition and implementation, taking advantage of good programming practices and modern Web technologies like HTML5, CSS 3 and JavaScript. A big effort was done in refactoring and optimizing their existing solutions, and new ones were also developed in the process. This document starts by presenting the context of the work, such as its motivations and an overview of the overlying system, as well as an overview of the technologies and techniques involved in this project. Then we take a deep look at the main subject, which is the development of a new planogram viewer module. Before concluding, we present some interesting technical details about additional contributions done to the system. Finally, we conclude by discussing technical, personal and professional lessons learned during this work, an overview of the contributions of this work and possibilities of further work.


The salinity influence on the adsorptions of Ni and Zn onto phosphate-intercalated nano montmorillonite (PINM) were investigated. Single adsorption isotherm models fitted the single adsorption data well. The adsorption capacity of Ni was higher than that of Zn onto PINM at different salinities. The single adsorption parameters from Langmuir model (QmL and bL) were compared with the binary adsorption (QmL* and bL*). The QmL* of Zn was lower than that of Ni. The simultaneous presence of Ni and Zn decreased the adsorption capacities. The single and binary adsorptions onto PINM were affected by the salinity. The competitive Langmuir model (CLM), P-factor, Murali and Aylmore (M−A) models, and ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) were satisfactory in predicting the binary adsorption data; the CLM showed the best fitting results. Our results showed that the PINM can be used as an active Ni and Zn adsorbent for a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) in the remediation of saline groundwater.


Kay, Evelyn R.; And Others Guidelines for Identifying, Classifying, and Serving the Disadvantaged and Handicapped Under the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968. Bureau of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DHEW/OE) , Washington, D.C.; National Center for Educational Statistics (DHEW/OE), Washington, D.C. DHEW-OE-73-11700 73 41p. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (HE5.8:D63, $.75)


Elucidating the site requirements for reactions over heterogeneous catalysts can be challenging since, unlike their homogenous counterparts, the surfaces of these materials are comprised of a variety of diverse features where reactions can occur. Because there is strong evidence suggesting that reactions will occur at a specific type (or group) of active site(s), significant effort has been put forth in the field to try to determine the site requirements for particular reactions. Here, we report a new approach for controlling the availability of specific active sites on supported Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalysts using alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). SAMs form consistent and ordered structures on metal surfaces; these features were exploited to form monolayers that preferentially block or expose specific types of sites on catalyst particles. The structure of the tail moiety played an important role in the overall organization of the resulting monolayer and was tuned to control the types of active sites that were exposed on metal particle surfaces. Infrared spectroscopy using CO as a probe molecule was used to characterize site availability on the catalysts. A monolayer formed from a bulky caged molecule like 1-adamanetanethiol (AT) restricted the availability of contiguous active sites on particle terraces with respect to the uncoated catalyst. Increasing the density of the monolayer using a linear alkanethiol like 1-octadecanethiol (C18) further restricted adsorption on terraces. For both of these monolayers, adsorption at particle edges and steps was nearly unaffected but could be blocked by forming a high coverage monolayer from 1,2-benzene dithiol (BDT). The relationship between monolayer spacing and reactivity dramatically depended on the structure of the reactant, even for small species. For example, employing a C18 monolayer reduced the rate of epoxybutane hydrogenation by nearly 3 orders of magnitude with respect to the unmodified catalyst, whereas hydrogenation of propionaldehyde was only reduced by a single order of magnitude. These results suggested 1) that site requirements for conversion of these two species were substantially different and 2) this modification approach could potentially be utilized to direct selectivity of more complex reactants where competing reaction pathways have different site requirements. To demonstrate the feasibility of the latter hypothesis, this approach was utilized for the hydrogenation of furfural. On palladium catalysts, furfural tends to decarbonylate to produce furan and carbon monoxide. A competing process involves hydrogenation of the aldehyde to produce furfuryl alcohol and subsequent hydrodeoxygenation producing methylfuran. Site requirements for each pathway were investigated by comparing reactivity on uncoated, C18-coated and BDT-coated catalysts. Comparison between reaction rates and site availability suggested that decarbonylation occurred primarily on terrace sites while hydrodeoxygenation occurred on particle…


Introduction: Adenomyosis is a common, estrogen-dependent, a benign gynaecological disease characterized by endometrial glands and stroma invading, implanting, and proliferating within the myometrium to form diffuse or localized lesions. Adenomyosis is common in women of childbearing age. The signs and symptoms include dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, abnormal uterine bleeding, enlarged uterus, dyspareunia, and infertility, which can seriously affect the patient's quality of life. The prevalence of adenomyosis varies widely from 5% to 70%, depending on the method used for diagnosis and the rate of diagnosis during hysterectomy is approximately 20– 30%. Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness between LNG-IUS and Dienogest among the woman with symptomatic adenomyosis. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial and was conducted in the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from July, 2021 to June, 2022. We included 20 patients with symptomatic adenomyosis diagnosis confirmed by transvaginal ultrasound in this study. All patients were divided by sequentially numbered sealed opaque envelops into two groups- Group A (who received LNG-IUS) & Group B ( who received dienogest). Among of 20 patients, 10 were in each group. Group A patients received LNG-IUS and group B patients received tablet dienogest(2mg) daily. VAS (visual analog scale) score, amount of uterine bleeding was assessed and uterine volume was measured by transvaginal ultrasound 3 months later. Result: In total 20 patients from both the groups completed the study. In our study we found majority of our patients (75%) were aged between 25 to 34 years old and 25 % were aged between 35 to 45 years old. We found the Mean ± SD of age was 34.80 ± 3.79 & 28.60 ± 3.17 respectively in group A & B. In group A and group B the mean of VAS at baseline & 3rd month was 9.10 ± 0.84 & 1.10 ± 1.10 and 8.75 ± 1.14 & 4.30 ± 2.41 respectively. At baseline the uterine volume was 268.08 ± 118.28 & 202.32 ± 117.76 and at 3rd month was 210.10 ±105.49 & 202.77 ± 118.33 among group A & B respectively the mean of hemoglobin level was 10.87 ±1.42 &10.82±0.64 at base line and 11.57 ±1.33 & 11.09± 0.53 after 3rd months in group A and group B respectively. Before treatment heavy menstruation was found 80% & 80% in group A & B respectively. After 3rd month correction of heavy menstruation was found 100% in group A. Among them amenorrhea was found 20% and regular menstruation was found 80%. Correction of heavy menstruation was found 50% in group B. Among them amenorrhea was found 20% and regular menstruation was found 30 %. Conclusion: In our study, we tried to evaluate the effects of LNG-IUS and dienogest on patients with symptomatic adenomyosis. We found that LNG-IUS is a useful tool for HMB and dysmenorrhea in women of all ages. In this study the LNG-IUS is proved to be an effective approach compared to dienogest to treat adenomyosis. Its use effectively reduced the severity of symptoms including heavy menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhoea, uterine volume and improved laboratory outcomes.


This paper proposes a new technique for paper currency recognition. In this technique, three characteristics of paper currencies including size, color and texture are used in the recognition. By using image histogram, plenitude of different colors in a paper currency is computed and compared with the one in the reference paper currency. The Markov chain concept has been employed to model texture of the paper currencies as a random process. The method proposed in this paper can be used for recognizing paper currencies from different countries. In this method, using only one intact example of paper currency from each denomination is enough for training the system. We tested this method on more than 100 denominations from different countries, and the system was able to recognize 95% of data, correctly.


We present results that suggest that DAMCs plaguing hierarchical hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation, not including star formation processes, are due to the inward gas transport that follows bar disk instabilities triggered by interactions and mergers. They also show that DAMCs can be easily avoided by including star-forming processes, as they lead unavoidably to the formation of compact stellar bulges that stabilize disks against bars. The formation of disks similar to those observed demands, in addition, that not all the gas is depleted into stars at high z, so that they can be formed at lower z. 1 Disk Formation in Hierarchical Hydrodynamical Simulations According to Fall and Efstathiou's (FE) standard model of disk formation [8], extended disks similar to those observed in spiral galaxies can be formed from the diffuse halo gas component provided that gas conserves its specific angular momentum (j) during collapse. However, so far, no hydrodynamical simulation of galaxy formation in fully consistent hierarchical cosmological scenarios had been able to produce extended disks similar to observed spirals. The problem was either the excessive loss of angular momentum by the gas clumps as they merge inside the dark haloes, when no star formation processes are considered, resulting in too concentrated disks (i.e., the so-called disk angular momentum catastrophe problem, hereafter DAMC [10] [11] [18] and references quoted therein), or the too early gas exhaustion into stars as it cools and collapses, leaving no gas to form disks at low z [14] [12]. In this paper we report on some results of disk formation in hierarchical hydrodynamical simulations [15] [14] [6] where a simple implementation of star formation that prevents gas depletion at high redshifts, but permits the formation of stellar bulges, has allowed extended and populated disks to form at later times. We have followed the evolution of 64 particles in a periodic box of 10 Mpc (H0 =50 km s −1 Mpc) using a SPH code coupled to the high resolution AP3M code [13], either including a star formation algorithm with star formation efficiency c = 0.01 (S1 simulation) or not (S2 simulation). The initial distribution of positions and velocities is the same in both S1 and S2, and is consistent with a standard flat CDM cosmology, with Ωb = 0.1, Λ = 0 and b = 2.5. All, dark, gas and star particles have the same mass, M = 2.6 × 10 M⊙. The gravitational softening length is 3 kpc and the minimum allowed smoothing length is 1.5 kpc. Baryonic objects forming disk-like structures (DLOs) identified in S1 have stellar bulge-like cores and extended, populated disks, their masses and specific angular momenta are compatible with those of observed spirals, and their bulge and disk scales, Rb and Rd, respectively, are also consistent with their observable values. In S2, DLOs have an inner, rather disordered gas concentration and, also, extended disks, but much less populated than their S1 counterparts. Gas particles inside their optical radii have too low j, and their bulge and disk scales disagree with observations (see Table 1 and [7] [5] [6]). Table 1. Some Characteristics of DLOs with Nbaryon > 150. DLO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ngas 348 359 307 311 210 151 227 189 108 109 Nstar 278 240 211 215 95 69 79 157 99 47 Rb (S1, kpc) 0.74 0.74 0.85 0.74 0.54 0.53 0.99 0.49 0.54 0.40 Rb (S2, kpc) 1.29 1.29 1.41 1.19 1.27 1.32 1.47 1.23 Rd (S1, kpc) 7.33 5.66 10.90 9.98 6.50 5.61 6.56 5.29 7.07 9.75 Rd (S2, kpc) 6.99 7.08 14.04 9.02 5.87 5.62 13.31 10.75 So, stellar bulges seem to be critical to ensure global angular momentum conservation in the assembly of disks in hierarchical hydrodynamical cosmological simulations. In fact, it is known that bulges play a fundamental role in stabilizing disks against the bar instability mode, that, otherwise, would cause a strong inward material transport due to angular momentum losses [4] [9] [17]. To clarify their role, we briefly describe how disks are assembled in S1 and S2 simulations [14] [6]. i) First, dark matter haloes collapse at high z forming a first generation of (very small) disks and stars. ii) Then, the first unstabilizing mergers at high z happen, resulting in disk disruption and rapid mass inflow to the central regions with angular momentum loss and violent star formation, mainly at the central regions. Also, most preexisting stars will concentrate at the center of the new object through violent relaxation. These two processes help build up a central stellar bulge-like structure. iii) After the first mergers, a disk is regenerated through an infall of gas particles, either belonging to the baryonic merging clumps or diffuse. For example, a compact stellar bulge and an almost cold disk in DLO #1 of S1 at z = 0.57 are apparent in Figure 1a. iv) After disk regeneration, the system can undergo new major merger events at lower z. During the orbital decay phase, previous to the actual fusion of the DLOs, most of their orbital angular momentum is transported to (the particle components of) each host halo, spinning it up (as in [1] [2]). Because, now, the disks involved in the merger are stabilized by their bulges, no strong gas inflow occurs in this phase (as in [9]). As the disks approach one another, they are heated and finally disrupted, but the high efficiency of gas shocking and cooling, and the symmetry of the central potential, quickly puts those of their gas particles with high angular momentum into a new intermediate disk, while their low angular momentum particles sink to the center where most of them are transformed into stars, feeding the bulge. The stellar bulge of the smaller DLO is eventually destroyed and incomplete orbital angular momentum loss puts most of its stars on the remnant disk (Fig. 1b, note incomplete relaxation). v) Relaxation and disk regeneration are completed. Most of disk external particles are supplied by infall, as in iii) (Fig. 1c). Note in Fig. 1c that at z = 0 most gas particles placed at Ri < ∼ 30 kpc have jz,i ≃ |~ji| ≃ vc(Ri)Ri, where vc(R) = GM(< R)/R, with a small dispersion around this value, that is, they follow circular trajectories on the equatorial plane, forming a cold thin disk. In contrast, those at Ri > ∼ 30 kpc (halo gas particles) are disordered, with their |jz,i| taking any value under the full line. Roughly half of them are in counterrotation (i.e., with jz,i < 0). The specific angular Figure 1: Specific angular momentum component along ~ Jdis for each baryon particle of halo #1, versus their positions at different z. Points: gas particles, stars: stellar particles; open symbols: counterrotating particles. Left panels: S1 version at different z; right panels: S2 version at approximately the same z. Full lines: vc(R)R; dotted lines: X2(R) for actual disks at each z; dashed line: X2(R) for the pure exponential version at z = 0. Arrows mark R st and R ped st , where X2(R) = 3. momentum of halo gas particles, however, is the same as that of gas disk particles, and, also, the same as that of dark matter particles. Stars at Ri < ∼ 2 kpc form a compact central relaxed core, with ~ji without any preferred direction and very low |~ji| (that is, they have been formed from gas particles that had lost much of their |~ji|), while those at Ri > ∼ 2 kpc roughly follow a (thicker) disk. The assembly of galactic-like objects in S2 follows the same stages. We recall that in both simulations, haloes and merger trees are identical. The main difference is that in S2, the i) and ii) stages do not result in a stellar core, and, consequently, in iii) stage an unstable gas disk is formed, susceptible to grow bars. In particular, during the orbital decay phase in iv), strong gas inflow and j loss are induced (i.e., a DAMC, see also Fig. 1d, and [9] [2]). The actual fusion completes the gas inflow (Fig. 1e), involving most of the gas particles originally in the merging disks. Few of them are left for disk regeneration, so that, in phase v), new disks are formed almost only from halo gas particles (Fig. 1f), and hence their low population. The behaviour patterns described so far are common to the other DLOs in S1 or S2. In any case, particles in the external cold disk component at z = 0 have fallen in the quiescent phase of evolution that follows the last major merger event, according with FE's scenario, while most of those in the central regions (in S2), or those giving rise to stars in the bulge (in S1) have been involved in a DAMC. Most particles in the intermediate disk component in S1 DLOs belonged to the merging objects and have suffered a partial angular momentum conservation in the merger event. Hence, cold thin disks naturally appear in the non-violent phases of evolution. However, as stated, cold disks are strongly unstable against the bar mode. Some works on disk stability ([4] [17] and references therein) suggest that sometimes a central bulge is needed to ensure stability, as massive dark haloes are not always able to stabilize a given amount of baryons as pure exponential disks (peds). This could be the process at work in DAMCs observed in hydrodynamical simulations. To find out whether this is the case here, we have calculated the X2(R) parameter [16] [3] for the disk component of our DLOs at different z (Fig. 1), and, also, for their ped versions (i.e., putting all their respective baryonic masses distributed as a ped). Recalling the X2(R) stability criterion, if we define the stability thresholds, R ad st and R ped st , as the points where X2(R) = 3 for actual and pure exponential disks, respectively, it is apparent from Fig. 1 that disks, when present, are stable: they are detected at R > R st if they have had enough time to form after the last merger. By contrast, the ped version of DLO #1 at z = 0 would be stable only at larger R (R > R st ≃ 21 kpc). This behaviour is common to any DLO in S1 or S2, and so central mass concentrations are needed to stabilize these disks. These results st


The proposed model is applicable to a wide range of engineering and technological activities, including polymer manufacturing, chemical production, nuclear energy, electronics, and aerodynamics. The current work is being performed as a result of such applications. This paper deals with the mechanism of heat transport in magnetohydrodynamics flow of an electrically conducting viscous fluid along with a permeable stretching sheet. Further, an analysis has been carried out to discuss the effects of Ohmic heating, viscous dissipation, and non-uniform heat source/sink near the stagnation point. Implementing similarity transformations, the governing boundary-layer equations corresponding to the momentum and energy are reduced to a set of self-similar non-linear ordinary differential equations and then solved numerically by using the shooting technique. The influence of pertinent parameters on dimensionless velocity, temperature distribution, skin friction coefficient, and local Nusselt number are displayed graphically and the physical aspects are discussed comprehensively. It is worthy to note that higher values of Hartmann number and velocity ratio parameter enhance the velocity profiles. Moreover, the heat transfer rate is decreased by Eckert number, and reverse behavior is seen for Prandtl number. Comparisons are made with previously published studies, and the results are found to be very similar.


: Influence of metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms upon soil-borne microscopic fungus Aspergillus terreus K-8 was studied. It was established that the metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms affect the enzymatic activity of the studied culture. Silver nanoparticles lead to a decrease in cellulase activity and completely suppress the amylase activity of the fungus, while copper nanoparticles completely inhibit the activity of both the cellulase complex and amylase. The obtained results imply that the large-scale use of silver and copper nanoparticles may disrupt biological processes in the soil and cause change in the physiological and biochemical state of soil-borne microorganisms as well.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to compare intra-operative cultural examination in patients undergoing elective surgery for low-back pain with Modic 2 changes to patients without Modic signs. The aim of this study is to compare intra-operative cultural examination in patients undergoing elective surgery for low-back pain with Modic 2 changes to patients without Modic signs.

METHODS
Sixteen patients with Modic 2 changes were compared with 23 patients without Modic signs. Pre-operative laboratory tests and intra-operative tissue cultures were performed, according to a standardized procedure.

RESULTS
While no difference was found in pre-operative laboratory tests, intra-operative cultural examination showed positive results in 6/16 (37.5%) Modic 2 patients versus 1/23 (4.3%) in patients without Modic changes (P=0.012).

CONCLUSIONS
Although performed in a limited series of patients, this study supports the hypothesis that some cases of Modic 2 changes might be associated with the presence of low virulent bacteria.


The paper presents a Deep learning model for playing computer games with elevated level information utilizing Reinforcement learning learning. The games are activity restricted (like snakes, catcher, air-bandit and so on.). The implementation is progressive in three parts. The first part deals with a simple neural network, the second one with Deep Q network and further to increase the accuracy and speed of the algorithm, the third part consists of a model consisting of convolution neural network for image processing and giving outputs from the fully connected layers so as to estimate the probability of an action being taken based on information extracted from inputs where we apply Q-learning to determine the best possible move. The results are further analysed and compared to provide an overview of the improvements in each methods.


The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of existing self-healing coating solutions for pipeline applications with the goal of improved pipeline reliability and a reduction in operating expenses by reducing excavations, coating repairs, pipe repairs and replacements. There has been much recent publicity regarding this technology, resulting in a need to determine usefulness and identify applicability to pipelines. This report will cover existing technologies for use in self-healing coatings, the technologies under development applicable to pipeline coatings, the companies active in this development, and the current status of developments. The report also provides a draft test program for the evaluation of pipeline self-healing materials and proposes the next steps for a future project.