The voltage dependence of the voltage clamp responses of myelinated nerve fibers depends on the concentration of divalent cations and of hydrogen ions in the bathing medium. In general, increases of the [Ca], [Nil, or [H] increase the depolarization needed to elicit a given response of the nerve. An efold increase of the [Ca] produces the following shifts of the voltage dependence of the parameters in the Hodgkin-Huxley model: m~, 8.7 my; h~, 6.5 mv; ~',, 0.0 inv. The same increase of the [H], if done below pH 5.5, produces the following shifts: m~, 13.5 mv; h~, 13.5 mv; ~',, 13.5 mv; and ff done above pH 5.5: m~, 1.3 mv; h~, 1.3 my; r , , 4.0 my. The voltage shifts are proportional to the logarithm of the concentration of the divalent ions and of the hydrogen ion. The observed voltage shifts are interpreted as evidence for negative fixed charges near the sodium and potassium channels. The charged groups are assumed to comprise several types, of varying affinity for divalent and hydrogen ions. The charges near the sodium channels differ from those near the potassium channels. As the pH is lowered below pH 6, the maximum sodium conductance decreases quickly and reversibly in a manner that suggests that the protonation of an acidic group with a pK, of 5.2 blocks individual sodium channels. I N T R O D U C T I O N This paper presents studies of the changes of many of the voltage-dependent properties of a myelinated nerve fiber caused by changing the [Ca], the [Nil, and the [H] of the medium bathing the nerve. The results are interpreted as manifestations of the binding of these cations to negative fixed charges at the nerve surface. M a n y studies show that cell membranes bear a high density of fixed negative charges. Erythrocytes and other blood ceils move toward the anode in an electrophoretic measurement (Abramson, Moyer, and Gorin, 1942), and the surfaces of many cells including nerve and muscle cells are pulled toward a locally applied anodal pipette (Elul, 1967). Binding studies demonstrate cation exchange properties associated with erythrocyte membranes and with other cell membranes. Monovalent and divalent ions including hydrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium ions compete with each other


Although excellent performance such as high efficiency and stability have been achieved in quantum dot (QD)-based light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) possessing an organic/inorganic hybrid device structure, the highly expected all-inorganic QLEDs remain at the bottleneck stage in recent years, resulting from the luminance quenching of QDs caused by inorganic hole transport layer (HTL) and unbalanced charge injection due to large energy barrier for injecting holes from HTL to QDs. Here, it is reported that the solution-processed inorganic environmentally friendly chloride (Cl)-passivated tungsten phosphate (Cl@TPA) films serve as HTL. The incorporation of Cl in TPA effectively passivates the oxygen vacancies, which not only avoids the luminescence quenching of QDs by reducing carrier concentration but also facilitates the hole injection from HTL to QDs with a favorable electronic band alignment, thus achieving the record external quantum efficiency of ≈9.27%, among all previous reports about all-inorganic QLEDs. Most importantly, the resulting all-inorganic QLEDs with Cl@TPA exhibit a substantial improvement in the operational lifetime (T50  > 105 h under an initial luminance of 100 cd m-2 ), which is almost 30-fold higher than the devices with TPA HTL. This work furnishes a promising strategy for highly efficient and stable QLEDs based on inorganic device structure.


Although many programs redistribute resources in the U.S., two program were central in providing a safety net for those facing hardship during the Great Recession: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which grew to 47.7 million people in January 2013 – or 15.1 percent of all Americans – and the Unemployment Insurance Program (UI), which more than doubled with the onset of the recession, reaching a seasonally adjusted maximum of 6.5 million recipients in June 2009. We examine state administrative data from Florida for SNAP and UI from late 2005 through early 2010. We focus on two research questions: 1. In the face of caseload growth and compositional change in both programs, how has joint participation in UI among SNAP recipients changed? How much of the increase in joint participation is driven by changes in the characteristics of individuals participating in SNAP? How much is driven by the changing economic and policy conditions? 2. How has the role of UI changed for SNAP participants, and in particular how have patterns of combined usage evolved during this period? We find that the number of families relying on both SNAP and UI together ballooned with the Great Recession, and that the patterns changed as expected, with UI growing dramatically in relative importance. At the same time, only a minority of those swelling the ranks of SNAP obtained benefits from the UI program, suggesting that the current safety net has important limitations in times of serious economic distress.


Efforts are made to relate the depolarized light scattering spectral power density to the dynamic shear compliance spectrum of a viscoelastic liquid. Generalized Langevin equations are used to describe the dynamics and coupling of reorientation and translational motions. It is shown that in the presence of the coupling, the depolarized scattering spectrum consists of two components, one is associated with the reorientational motion, and the other with the viscoelastic relaxation of the solution. Methods to obtain the dynamic shear compliance from the depolarized light scattering spectrum are described. It is also shown that in the limit of very slow reorientational motion, the depolarized light scattering spectrum is proportional to the imaginary part of the dynamic compliance spectrum, a result predicted by the Pockels photoelastic law.


Children are increasingly treated as active members in the household. However, their preferences over consumption and leisure are rarely modelled. This paper considers heterogeneity in siblings' preferences over leisure and consumption and builds a theoretical and empirical model for children's time and consumption allocations in a household. We test the predictions of the model with unique data from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam which contain detailed information on time use and allocations of assignable goods for sibling pairs. We find that conditioning on observable variables, the residuals of these simultaneous decisions are significantly negatively correlated. This suggests that differences in siblings' relative time and consumption allocations are driven by their relative preferences over leisure and consumption rather than differences in parents' relative altruism. Families seem to function as market economies in which children trade off leisure and consumption, select their optimal bundle, and are rewarded by their parents accordingly.


ABSTRACT Lactobacillus rhamnosus is a Gram-positive facultative heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium. It is often isolated from the gastrointestinal tract, mouth, vagina, and fermented dairy products. We have isolated the L. rhamnosus strain LRB from a healthy baby tooth that had naturally fallen out. Here, we report the annotated whole-genome sequence of LRB.


Improvements in the spatial resolution of synchrotron-based X-ray probes have reached the nano-scale and they, nowadays, constitute a powerful platform for the study of semiconductor nanostructures and nanodevices that provides high sensitivity without destroying the material. Three complementary hard X-ray synchrotron techniques at the nanoscale have been applied to the study of individual nanowires (NWs) containing non-polar GaN/InGaN multi-quantum-wells. The trace elemental sensitivity of X-ray fluorescence allows one to determine the In concentration of the quantum wells and their inhomogeneities along the NW. It is also possible to rule out any contamination from the gold nanoparticle catalyst employed during the NW growth. X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption near edge-structure probe long- and short-range order, respectively, and lead us to the conclusion that while the GaN core and barriers are fully relaxed, there is an induced strain in InGaN layers corresponding to a perfect lattice matching with the GaN core. The photoluminescence spectrum of non-polar InGaN quntum wells is affected by strain and the inhomogeneous alloy distribution but still exhibits a reasonable 20% relative internal quantum efficiency.


The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is a well-described modulator of socio-emotional traits, such as anxiety, stress, social behavior, and pair bonding. However, when dysregulated, it is associated with adverse psychiatric traits, such as various aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we identify the transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor 2A (MEF2A) as the common link between OT and cellular changes symptomatic for ASD, encompassing neuronal morphology, connectivity, and mitochondrial function. We provide evidence for MEF2A as the decisive factor defining the cellular response to OT: while OT induces neurite retraction in MEF2A expressing neurons, OT causes neurite outgrowth in absence of MEF2A. A CRISPR-Cas-mediated knockout of MEF2A and retransfection of an active version or permanently inactive mutant, respectively, validated our findings. We also identified the phosphatase calcineurin as the main upstream regulator of OT-induced MEF2A signaling. Further, MEF2A signaling dampens mitochondrial functioning in neurons, as MEF2A knockout cells show increased maximal cellular respiration, spare respiratory capacity, and total cellular ATP. In summary, we reveal a central role for OT-induced MEF2A activity as major regulator of cellular morphology as well as neuronal connectivity and mitochondrial functioning, with broad implications for a potential treatment of disorders based on morphological alterations or mitochondrial dysfunction.


Dry seeds of three chickpea genotypes having different seed coat colours viz; Noor 91 (white), Punjab 91 (brown) and C 141 (black) were treated at 40, 50 and 60 Kr separately and with gibberellic acid (GA3) for studying the effects on 100-seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, days to flowering and maturity in M1 generation. Highly significant (p<0.01) variation within genotypes, treatments and also for their interaction was observed for all the characters. Statistically higher 100-seed weight was observed with the combine treatment in the three genotypes as compared with gamma irradiation. Combine treatment normalized the grain yield in Noor 91, while decreased in Punjab 91 however, stimulation was recorded at 40 and 50 Kr in C 141. Stimulation in biological yield was recorded at 40 Kr with the combine treatment in Noor 91 and C141. Harvest index decreased with gamma irradiation in the three genotypes while, stimulation was recorded in C 141. Days to flowering and maturity increased with gamma irradiation however, with combine treatment these values were reduced.


Sodium alginate (SA), acting as a trypsin inhibitor by means of electrostatic interaction, is studied. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 = 0.05 μg mL(-1) ) of this natural anionic polymer is about 400 times lower than that of commercial soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI). Unlike the Ca(2+) -deprivation mechanisms, its inhibition may be attributed to preventing the trypsin active site (TAS) from accessing the macromolecular substrates instead of denaturing it. SA is an efficient, innocuous, and cost-effective inhibitory excipient that can be conveniently used in many peptide and protein dosage formulations.


Acute-phase serum proteins were induced by administrating a chicken with turpentine oil. One of these proteins was a new protein that appeared in front of albumin in polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis using a 4.5−16% gel. To purify this protein, turpentine-administrated chicken serum was fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation at 50% saturation, and the supernatant fraction was chromatographed on a DEAE-Toyopearl 650S column. The purified protein is a mannose-glycoprotein, and its N-terminal sequence, determined by the Edoman method, is not homologous from that of other reported acute-phase proteins. An analysis of physiological function with two different test systems, chemiluminescence measurement and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, showed that the purified protein has antioxidant activity and inhibits superoxide (O⨪2) mediated by activation of the receptor. In support of these results, the complete amino acid sequence of 18-B is homologous to the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) family of proteins that participate in the regulation of leukocyte function. 18-B is composed of four SRCR domains, which is different from the previously characterized SRCR family of proteins such as Spα, CD6, and CD163. These findings indicate that turpentine-induced 18-B, a new member of scavenger receptor cysteine-rich family, may be implicated in regulation of cell function in a manner of inhibition of the overproduction of the reactive oxygen species.


The purpose of the study is to determine key factors influencing private investment in the UAE. The study examines eleven independent variables as determinants of private investment, according to adjusted data in the UAE for the period between 1990 and 2010. The methodology aims to formulate a linear regression model for private investment after testing multicollinearity between independent variables. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron tests will be utilized to investigate the stationarity of the variables. Then, Johansen Cointegration test will be conducted. Finally, the Vector Error-Correction Model will be fitted to the private investment data. Findings include that the real public expenditure stimulates the private investment more than the non-oil GDP. More specifically, ceteris paribus, a ten-million Dirham increase in the real public expenditure stimulates private investment by 3.16 million Dirhams; however a ten-million Dirham increase in the non-oil GDP will result only in a 1.11million Dirham increase in the private investment. Practical implications lead into further studies as the causality between economic growth and investment, in addition to the relationship between private and public investments. The value of the study is that the private investment depends, first of all, on real public expenditures. The fiscal policy should play a vital role to stimulate private investment and smooth business cycle.


With the expansion of the application scope of social computing problems, many path problems in real life have evolved from pure path optimization problems to social computing problems that take into account various social attributes, cultures, and the emotional needs of customers. The actual soft time window vehicle routing problem, speeding up the response of customer needs, improving distribution efficiency, and reducing operating costs is the focus of current social computing problems. Therefore, designing fast and effective algorithms to solve this problem has certain theoretical and practical significance. In this paper, considering the time delay problem of customer demand, the compensation problem is given, and the mathematical model of vehicle path problem with soft time window is given. This paper proposes a hybrid tabu search (TS) & scatter search (SS) algorithm for vehicle routing problem with soft time windows (VRPSTW), which mainly embeds the TS dynamic tabu mechanism into the SS algorithm framework. TS uses the scattering of SS to avoid the dependence on the quality of the initial solution, and SS uses the climbing ability of TS improves the ability of optimizing, so that the quality of search for the optimal solution can be significantly improved. The hybrid algorithm is still based on the basic framework of SS. In particular, TS is mainly used for solution improvement and combination to generate new solutions. In the solution process, both the quality and the dispersion of the solution are considered. A simulation experiments verify the influence of the number of vehicles and maximum value of tabu length on solution, parameters' control over the degree of convergence, and the influence of the number of diverse solutions on algorithm performance. Based on the determined parameters, simulation experiment is carried out in this paper to further prove the algorithm feasibility and effectiveness. The results of this paper provide further ideas for solving vehicle routing problems with time windows and improving the efficiency of vehicle routing problems and have strong applicability. 1 School of Mathematics, Tonghua Normal University, Tonghua, 134000, China. 2 School of Computer Science and Technology, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha, 410205, China. 3 School of Bioinformatics, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA. * Corresponding Author: Xiaoliang Liu. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Received: 12 April 2020; Accepted: 27 April 2020. 1946 CMC, vol.64 no.3, pp.1945-1958, 2020


A high speed, three phase, 12/8 pole, 225 kW switched reluctance motor (SRM) has been designed and analyzed. A circuital approach has been used to find the geometry, windings parameters and electromagnetic loadings. Then, the 3D finite element method (FEM) has been used to calculate the static torque more accurately and optimize the design. The efficiency of the designed SRM is almost constant over wide range of speed and its phase current is less sensitive to the speed than that of an induction motor of the same rating. Recommendations for manufacturers and users are given.


Background The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the multi-drug resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae as one of the critical bacterial pathogens. The dearth of new antibiotics and inadequate therapeutic options necessitate finding alternative options. Bacteriophages are known as enemies of bacteria and are well-recognized to fight MDR pathogens. Methods A total of 150 samples were collected from different clinical specimens through a convenient sampling technique. Isolation, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) of K. pneumoniae were done by standard and validated microbiological procedures. Molecular identification of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was carried out through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using specific primers. For bacteriophage isolation, hospital sewage samples were processed for phage enrichment, purification, and further characterization ie, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and stability testing, etc. followed by evaluation of the lytic potential of the phage. Results Overall, a total of 41% of isolates of K. pneumoniae were observed as hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp). Among hvKp, a total of 12 (42%) were detected as MDR hvKp. A total of 37% of all MDR isolates were found resistant to colistin, and 66% of the colistin resistance isolates were recorded as mcr-1 positive. Isolated phage KpnM had shown lytic activity against 53 (79%) K. pneumoniae isolates. Remarkably, all 8 mcr-1 harboring MDR hvKp and non-hvKp isolates were susceptible to KpnM phage. Conclusion Significant distribution of mcr-1 harboring hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae was observed in clinical specimens, which is worrisome for the health system of the country. Characterized phage KpnM exhibited encouraging results and showed the lytic activity against the mcr-1 harboring hvKp isolates, which may be used as a prospective alternative control strategy to fight this ominous bacterium.


The problem of planning drainage services in a certain timeframe by a typical municipal infrastructure maintenance organization lends itself well to existing solutions for resource constrained project scheduling optimization. However, the optimized schedule could be deemed insufficient from a practitioner's perspective as the very crucial soft constraint on the competence of a particular crew handling different jobs is excluded. We define a crew-job matching index ranging from 0 to 1 to allow for a planner's assessment to be factored in job schedule simulation and optimization. The total crew-job matching index (TCJMI) is further defined, accounting for all the crew-job assignments and indicating the fitness of a formulated plan. TCJMI is maximized in the resource-constrained schedule optimization by applying Excel Solver add-in. As such, the planner's preference and experience can be represented and factored in crew-job scheduling optimization, which is demonstrated through conducting "what-if" simulation scenario analyses.


Spatial organ arrangement plays an important role in flower development. The position and the identity of floral organs is influenced by various processes, in particular the expression of MADS-box transcription factors for identity and dynamics of the plant hormone auxin for positioning. We are currently integrating patterning processes of MADS and auxin into our computational models, based on interactions that are known from experiments, in order to get insight in how these define the floral body plan. The resulting computational model will help to explore hypothetical interactions between the MADS and auxin regulation networks in floral organ patterning.


Author(s): Kenner, Lillian | Advisor(s): Frost, Adam | Abstract: Translation begins when initiation factor-2 (eIF2) delivers methionyl initiator tRNA (Met-tRNAi) to the ribosome. The exchange of GDP bound to eIF2 for GTP is a prerequisite to binding Met-tRNAi and is mediated by a second initiation factor, eIF2B. Regulation of mRNA translation is achieved through phosphorylation of eIF2 α at Ser51 which converts eIF2 from a substrate into a competitive inhibitor of eIF2B. Using the latest cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) technologies in both collection and data processing we were able to obtain three high resolution structures to interrogate the structural basis of the integrated stress response.


The purposes of this research were: 1) to develop an innovation-based learning model for creating teaching materials of technical education students, 2) to study the effect of using an innovative-based learning model for the study of creating teaching materials of the technical education students. The Sample groups of the research were 28 the third-year students with a bachelor's degree in Technical Education, Department of teacher training in electrical engineering at King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), the research instruments include with 1) the developed innovation-based learning model, 2) the lesson plan using an innovative-based learning model, 3) assessment form for innovation media, and 4) a student satisfaction assessment form. The research results shown that 1) The results of the assessment of the suitability of the innovative-based learning model by experts were appropriate at a high level (mean = 4.36 and S.D.= 0.55), 2) The results of the students' assessment of the skills in creating teaching materials on electrical of the learners which passed the criteria at 70 percent and 3) Learners' satisfaction of the developed innovative learning model at a highest level (mean was 4.56 and the standard deviation was 0.68)


The stop-band width and angular dispersion have been traced by angle-resolved reflectance spectroscopy for two opposite configurations of opal-based photonic crystals where either the silica balls possess a higher refractive index than the voids or vice versa. It has been demonstrated that filling the empty voids of opal with a material of higher refractive index than silica results in widening of the stop-band and squeezing of its dispersion, thus improving the stop-band of the opal grating towards the omnidirectional photonic band-gap situation.


Abstract We developed a computational framework that integrates Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and post-GWAS analyses, designed to facilitate drug repurposing for COVID-19 treatment. The comprehensive approach combines transcriptomic-wide associations, polygenic priority scoring, 3D genomics, viral-host protein-protein interactions, and small-molecule docking. Through GWAS, we identified nine druggable host genes associated with COVID-19 severity and SARS-CoV-2 infection, all of which show differential expression in COVID-19 patients. These genes include IFNAR1, IFNAR2, TYK2, IL10RB, CXCR6, CCR9, and OAS1. We performed an extensive molecular docking analysis of these targets using 553 small molecules derived from five therapeutically enriched categories, namely antibacterials, antivirals, antineoplastics, immunosuppressants, and anti-inflammatories. This analysis, which comprised over 20,000 individual docking analyses, enabled the identification of several promising drug candidates. All results are available via the DockCoV2 database (https://dockcov2.org/drugs/). The computational framework ultimately identified nine potential drug candidates: Peginterferon alfa-2b, Interferon alfa-2b, Interferon beta-1b, Ruxolitinib, Dactinomycin, Rolitetracycline, Irinotecan, Vinblastine, and Oritavancin. While its current focus is on COVID-19, our proposed computational framework can be applied more broadly to assist in drug repurposing efforts for a variety of diseases. Overall, this study underscores the potential of human genetic studies and the utility of a computational framework for drug repurposing in the context of COVID-19 treatment, providing a valuable resource for researchers in this field.


Home advantage (HA) is well documented in a wide range of team sports including association football (soccer). Adverse effects of travel appear to play a role, although it is unclear which aspects of travel are important. Match data from major international club football competitions in four confederations of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) were used to investigate the roles distance travelled and crossing time zones play in HA, and how their effects may vary worldwide. Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of each of these travel factors on HA. There was no evidence of an effect of away-team travel on HA in Asia. There was, however, a significant positive association between HA and distance travelled in Africa (p<0.01) and Europe (p<0.05). HA increased significantly (p<0.001) with increasing number of time zones crossed by away teams in South America, but there was no evidence of such an effect in the other continents investigated. The results show that both absolute distance travelled by away teams and the number of time zones crossed can be associated with poorer match performance, although their effects appear to vary considerably between continents.


Introduction Superparamagnetic (SPM) artefacts in EM survey data cause difficulties in the interpretation of time-domain data. Developments in modem, commercial, high power, low noise, airborne systems now mean that SPM artefacts in survey data may be a problem that all interpreters should be aware of. SPM sources are very small surficial ferromagnetic particles however they produce anomalies in time domain data that are similar to the response from deep basement conductors. When present in Heli-EM data SPM anomalies manifest as lengthy decays and may comprise most, if not all of the received signal during "late-time" readings. SPM anomalies frequently have similar wavelengths to those caused by base metal ore bodies making spatial discrimination difficult. To complicate matters further, large amplitude, discrete SPM anomalies may also be superimposed on the response of economic base metal ore bodies. Methods to discriminate SPM anomalies in Heli-EM data from those caused by inductive effects have focused on decay analysis. In commercial Heli-EM data however the time base is usually not sufficiently long and the noise levels are too high to provide a definitive discrimination tool. The most definitive technique found to date to identify SPM anomalies has been to take ground measurements using custom mini-coil sensors. Offset receiver configurations have been found to provide a reasonably cost-effective technique to avoid the worst SPM artefacts during follow-up ground surveying. Trials have shown that one way to reduce and identify SPM effects is for the aircraft to fly higher. This appears to significantly diminish the amplitude of surficial SPM while genuine basement conductors are still energised.


A decorated lattice is suggested and the Ising model on it with three kinds of interactions K1, K2, and K3 is studied. Using an equivalent transformation, the square decorated Ising lattice is transformed into a regular square Ising lattice with nearest-neighbor, next-nearest-neighbor, and four-spin interactions, and the critical fixed point is found at K1 = 0.5769, K2 = −0.0671, and K3 = 0.3428, which determines the critical temperature of the system. It is also found that this system and the regular square Ising lattice, and the eight-vertex model belong to the same universality class.


The ventral intersegmental muscles of the abdomen in Rhodnius undergo a cycle of development and involution during each larval stage. They are fully developed only at the time of moulting or hatching from the egg. Within 3 or 4 days after moulting the fibrils have disappeared; but the nuclei, with a little cytoplasm containing mitochondria, survive within the highly folded muscle-sheath. The formation of fibrils begins between 2 and 3 days after feeding. At first they are uniformly birefringent. The striations appear later, and the muscles will then contract after transection. The fibrils are 0.1-0.2 µ thick when first formed; they grow by intussusception and splitting to a thickness of about 0.8 µ. Succinoxidase first appears in quantity in the mitochondria at the time when striation and contractility develop. It disappears within 3 days after moulting, during the involution of the fibrils. The distribution of ribonucleic acid in the developing muscle is described. Involution results from autolysis which begins around the nuclei in the centre of the uscle. The phagocytic blood-cellsplay no part in the break-down. The rich nerve-supply to the muscles persists apparently unchanged throughout the cycle of involution; and the cycle of growth occurs normally after section of the nerves.


Neural networks are not great generalizers outside their training range i.e. they are good at capturing bias but might miss the overall concept. Important issues with neural networks is that when testing data goes outside training range they fail to predict accurate results. Hence, they loose the ability to generalize a concept. For systematic numeric exploration neural accumulators (NAC) and neural arithmetic logic unit(NALU) are proposed which performs excellent for simple arithmetic operations. But, major limitation with these units is that they can't handle complex mathematical operations \& equations. For example, NALU can predict accurate results for multiplication operation but not for factorial function which is essentially composition of multiplication operations only. It is unable to comprehend pattern behind an expression when composition of operations are involved. Hence, we propose a new neural network structure effectively which takes in complex compositional mathematical operations and produces best possible results with small NALU based neural networks as its pluggable modules which evaluates these expression at unitary level in a bottom-up manner. We call this effective neural network as CalcNet, as it helps in predicting accurate calculations for complex numerical expressions even for values that are out of training range. As part of our study we applied this network on numerically approximating complex equations, evaluating biquadratic equations and tested reusability of these modules. We arrived at far better generalizations for complex arithmetic extrapolation tasks as compare to both only NALU layer based neural networks and simple feed forward neural networks. Also, we achieved even better results for our golden ratio based modified NAC and NALU structures for both interpolating and extrapolating tasks in all evaluation experiments. Finally, from reusability standpoint this model demonstrate strong invariance for making predictions on different tasks.


Failure diagnosis in large and complex systems is a critical task. A discrete event system (DES) approach to the problem of failure diagnosis is presented in this paper. A classic solution to solve DES's diagnosis is a stochastic Petri nets. Unfortunately, the solution of a stochastic Petri net is severely restricted by the size of its underlying Markov chain. On the other hand, it has been shown that foraging behavior of ant colonies can give rise to the shortest path, which will reduce the state explosion of stochastic Petri net. Therefore, a new model of stochastic Petri net, based on foraging behavior of real ant colonies is introduced in this paper. This model can contribute to the diagnosis, the performance analysis and design of supervisory control systems.


The problems faced in developing 64 Mb DRAMs (dynamic RAMs), which will be required for the more powerful computers of the future, are examined. One of these is array noise, the unwanted disturbance in a memory IC generated by the normal movement of data within the array. Three approaches to the problem are described: the twisted bit line, shielding the bit lines from each other by placing the cell capacitor between them, and reducing the number of activated work lines (and therefore the number of activated bit lines). Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Getting sufficient cell capacitance into the available cell area is a major problem, as neither the simple trench capacitor, which is a capacitor buried in a trench hole, nor the simple stacked capacitor, a configuration in which the capacitor is stacked above the transistor, can satisfy the demands imposed by the 64 Mb DRAM. Modifications of the stacked-capacitor approach, which appears to be the most promising line of attack at present, are described.<<ETX>>


The purpose of this research focuses on the effect of imbalanced internal resistance for the drop voltage of LiFePO4 18650 battery system connected in parallel. The battery pack has been assembled consist of two cell battery LiFePO4 18650 that has difference combination of internal resistance. Battery pack was tested with 1/C constant current charging, 3,65V per group sel, 3,65V constant voltage charging, 5 minutes of rest time between charge and discharge process, 1/2C Constant current discharge until 2,2V, 26 cycle of measurement test, and 4320 minutes rest time after the last charge cycle. We can conclude that the difference combination of internal resistance on the battery pack seriously influence the drop voltage of a battery. Theoretical and experimental result show that the imbalance of internal resistance during cycling are mainly responsible for the drop voltage of LiFePO4 parallel batteries. It is thus a good way to avoid drop voltage fade of parallel battery system by suppressing variations of internal resistance.


Genetic algorithms have been shown to be highly effective for optimization problems in various disciplines, and binary coding is generally adopted as it is straightforward to implement and lends itself to problems with discrete-valued decision variables. However, a difficulty associated with binary coding is the existence of redundant codes that do not correspond to any element in the finite discrete set that the encoded parameter belongs to. A common technique used to address redundant binary codes is to discard the chromosomes in which they occur. Effective alternatives to the outright removal of redundant codes are lacking in the literature. This article presents illustrative examples based on the problem of optimizing the design of water distribution networks. Two benchmark networks in the literature and two different multi-objective design optimization models were considered. Different fixed mapping schemes gave significantly different solutions in the search space. The main inference from the results is that mapping schemes that improved diversity in the population of solutions achieved better results, which may pave the way for the development of practical and effective mapping schemes.


Over the past several decades trauma research has expanded to recognize the heterogeneity in post-exposure reactions. Posttraumatic stress disorder, the most commonly researched mental health outcome associated with trauma, does not develop in all trauma survivors. Rather, more common trajectories of adaptation following a trauma include normative health adaptation, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. The aims of the current study were to: (1) describe and characterize post-combat adaptation profiles in a sample of Israeli male military veterans (N = 448) based on the combination of posttraumatic distress symptoms, types of coping strategies, and level of posttraumatic growth; (2) test the utility of latent class membership on predicting the quality of posttraumatic growth (i.e. constructive growth); and (3) explore the protective factors (i.e. social support and adaptive coping) that promote constructive posttraumatic growth for each profile of post-combat adaptation. The current study used latent profile mixture modeling to identify profiles of post-combat adaptation, Heckman-probit regression models, and logistic regression analysis. Demographic controls, combat related variables, type of coping strategies utilized, and baseline reports of social support were not significant predictors of constructive growth in either the resilient or struggling latent classes. However, for those in the struggling subset of the sample, reported improvement in perceived social support during the intervention increased the odds of reaching constructive growth. This relationship did not hold for the resilient subset of the sample. The study extends existing literature and theory by proposing a more complex and nuanced examination of posttrauma adaption, and specifies conditions under which protective factors may influence positive adaptation outcomes such as constructive growth. These findings highlight the importance of tailored clinical interventions that account for more complex profiles of post-combat adaptation and provide additional support for the unique effects of group intervention modalities. Further, these findings provide evidence that adaptation takes place over time and as such services should continue to be available for veterans long after combat exposure. Finally, these findings call for future research to build on existing longitudinal investigation by examining the complex temporal components of adaptation in trauma survivors.


Summary

1
It is well understood that herbivory can cause plants to elevate production of defensive chemicals in their tissues. One of the key questions in understanding patterns of potential coevolutionary links between plant and herbivore is 'what switches these induced plant defences on?' Until cues are identified, understanding the evolutionary and ecological significance of defences in the context of the plant is difficult.

2
We induced host plant resistance in a marine macroalga (Ascophyllum nodosum) in the absence of herbivory by application of α-amylase, known to exist in mollusc saliva. There was a demonstrable change in the behaviour of a subsequent herbivore (Littorina obtusata) consistent with herbivore induction, i.e. reduced consumption, more but smaller meals and greater movement. We also produced a concomitant increase in the level of phlorotannins, compounds associated with defence against herbivory.

3
Such changes in herbivore behaviour and plant chemistry provide evidence that brown algae and higher plants utilize similar salivate-based signals in the induction of defence against herbivory. Thus the possibility that such responses could be either highly conserved or a convergent strategy is discussed.


To study the effects of compound Longmaining(FFLMN) with different combinations on the intestinal absorption of puerarin. The rat single pass intestinal perfusion model was adopted, and the concentration of puerarin in intestinal samples was determined by HPLC. The effects of different combination groups on the absorption of puerarin in duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon were investigated. The combined drugs were GG(Puerariae Lobatae Radix), GG-CSL (Puerariae Lobatae Radix compared with Dioscoreae Nipponicae Rhizoma), GG-CX(Puerariae Lobatae Radix compared with Chuanxiong Rhizoma) and FFLMN (compound Longmaining). We found that the absorption rate constant(Ka) and the apparent coefficient(Papp) of puerarin had no significant difference between GG-CSL and FFLMN groups, but significantly higher in GG and GG-CX groups(P<0.05) in the duodenum and ileum. In jejunum and colon, Ka and Papp of puerarin showed significant differences between GG and other groups(P<0.05). At the same time, FFLMN also had significant differences with GG-CSL and GG-CX groups(P<0.05). The results showed that in the whole intestine of rats, FFLMN could significantly promote the absorption of puerarin. In the duodenum and ileum, Dioscoreae Nipponicae Rhizoma played a significant role in promoting absorption of puerarin. In jejunum and colon, Dioscoreae Nipponicae Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma have a synergistic effect in promoting absorption of puerarin.


The Bitcoin backbone protocol [Eurocrypt 2015] extracts basic properties of Bitcoin's underlying blockchain data structure, such as common pre x and chain quality, and shows how fundamental applications including consensus and a robust public transaction ledger can be built on top of them. The underlying assumptions are proofs of work (POWs), adversarial hashing power strictly less than 1/2 and no adversarial pre-computation or, alternatively, the existence of an unpredictable genesis block. In this paper we rst show how to remove the latter assumption, presenting a bootstrapped Bitcoin-like blockchain protocol relying on POWs that builds genesis blocks from scratch in the presence of adversarial pre-computation. Importantly, the round complexity of the genesis block generation process is independent of the number of participants. Next, we consider applications of our construction, including a PKI generation protocol and a consensus protocol without trusted setup assuming an honest majority (in terms of computational power). Previous results in the same setting (unauthenticated parties, no trusted setup, POWs) required a round complexity linear in the number of participants.


Introduction: More than 100 different strains of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) have been already discovered. Some species are certainly dangerous and colonizing. Now clinical isolation of NTM increases in many countries, usually due to increase of immunosuppressive conditions. Clinical detection of mycobacteriosis is associated with problems of identification. Thus, decisive diagnostic criteria are sensitive and specific methods of NTM identification. Accordingly, the reliable laboratory technologies should guarantee the correct etiological diagnostics. NTM infection case-reporting data in Siberian Federal Region and Far Eastern Federal Region of Russia in the past two years remain stable at a low level - 0.2% of the total number of NTM identification conducted tests for years 2011 and 2012. Objective: To determine NTM occurrence in Siberian regions. Methods: Microbiological tests, 454 sequencing (GS Junior), GenoType® Mycobacterium CM/AS ("Hain LifeScience"). Results: We have evaluated 49 clinical NTM species, isolated from respiratory tract of patients treated in TB hospitals from TB research Institute, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo. Species composition was: M.abscessus - 20, M.fortuitum -14, M.gordonae - 6, M.kansasii - 4, M.avium – 2 , M.peregrinum - 3 isolates. Conclusions: Fast growing groups of NTM species dominate among the identified isolates. Laboratory diagnostic capacity for mycobacteriosis in Siberian Region is not sufficient, therefore it is necessary to enhance the alertness and create a common algorithm of diagnosis supported by standards. The rates of NTM infection are increasing around the world, thereby the problem will evidently become more important issue than current rates suggest.


The welfare reforms of the Coalition government are marked by the legacy of Thatcherism. Social security reforms in the 1980s reshaped the system towards reliance on means-tested benefits. Negative policy feedback created by the opacity and perverse effects of means-testing has made these benefits an easy target for the Coalition, at least so far as working age people are concerned. Different policy feedbacks affect policy towards old age pensions. The government is locked into promoting private pensions, and is extending this commitment with automatic enrolment. To make private pensions pay, it has to reverse the slide to means-testing. The implication is that the pronounced bias against the working poor and in favour of older people in Coalition policy is not simply a matter of electoral preferences: rather, it reflects the political effects of previous policy decisions.


Usabilitity issues in programming languages and associated environments are the topic of multiple studies, which led to the creation of many innovating « programming systems » where the user is the center of the design process, allowing non-programmers to create programs, without understanding the underlaying concepts. In this paper, we describe the MELBA environment (for Metaphor based Environment to Learn how to Build Algorithms). Its purpose is to use advanced visual and example-based programming techniques to support Computer Science (specificly Algorithmic) learning in higher education, by using concrete examples and metaphors.


The Stable Diffusion model is a prominent text-to-image generation model that relies on a text prompt as its input, which is encoded using the Contrastive Language-Image Pre-Training (CLIP). However, text prompts have limitations when it comes to incorporating implicit information from reference images. Existing methods have attempted to address this limitation by employing expensive training procedures involving millions of training samples for image-to-image generation. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that the CLIP model, as utilized in Stable Diffusion, inherently possesses the ability to instantaneously convert images into text prompts. Such an image-to-prompt conversion can be achieved by utilizing a linear projection matrix that is calculated in a closed form. Moreover, the paper showcases that this capability can be further enhanced by either utilizing a small amount of similar-domain training data (approximately 100 images) or incorporating several online training steps (around 30 iterations) on the reference images. By leveraging these approaches, the proposed method offers a simple and flexible solution to bridge the gap between images and text prompts. This methodology can be applied to various tasks such as image variation and image editing, facilitating more effective and seamless interaction between images and textual prompts.


IRAS 09371+1212 is an oxygen-rich post-asymptotic giant branch (postAGB) star with an hourglass-like bipolar proto-planetary nebula (PPN), and has been well studied since its discovery because of several interesting peculiarities. It is also known as Frosty Leo because its unique, strong peak at 60 μm in the IRAS photometry was initially proposed to be due to emissions from water ice which condensed onto dust grains in the circumstellar envelope (Forveille et al. 1987). Rouan et al. (1988) identified the absorption feature attributed to water ice at 3.1 μm and found the optical depth τ3.1μm of ∼3.3. This value is comparable to that of the PPN OH 231.8+4.2 (τ∼2.5, Smith et al. 1988), but exceptionally larger than other oxygen-rich evolved stars (Meyer et al. 1998). The distinct bipolarity is remarkable. Rouan et al. (1988) first resolved the two bipolar lobes toward the south and north with a 2. 4 separation in the JHKL bands with the 3.6 m CFH telescope. Adaptive optics imaging detected the bright central star (Beuzit et al. 1994; Roddier et al. 1995). Dougados et al. (1990) and Scarrott & Scarrott (1990) performed imaging polarimetry in the JK bands and BVRI bands, respectively. The polarimetric data showed a centrosymmetric vector pattern in the bipolar lobes and a so-called polarization disk between them. This polarization signature implies the presence of an enhanced equatorial dust concentraion seen edge-on. While it has an axisymmetric appearance <5 from the central star, several complex structures such as ansae and jets have been detected (Sahai et al. 2000). It is thought that the formation of a bipolar nebula requires the factor of additional effects besides the superwind and the interacting stellar wind (Kwok 1993). Widely accepted interpretations argue that the most possible mechanism is interaction with binary companions (e.g. Balick & Frank 2002). High-resolution imaging and polarimetry with radiative transfer modeling is an important approach to provide us unique science results and a better understanding of when and how the mechanism works to shape the circumstellar dust shell.


This study examines the critiques of the global spread of English, that is, criticisms of the socio-political and linguistic impact of English spread, and investigates their theoretical, sociolinguistic, and pedagogical implications for non-English speaking countries. Firstly, it inspects Phillipson's (1992) theory of linguistic imperialism and the key issues in his account: the spread of English in relation to cultural imperialism, inequality, and the ELT industry. Then, it further discusses the critique of the effect of English on language death and language change. The third section assesses the notion of English as a so-called 'killer language' while Section Four explores the development of New Englishes, and the concept of the ownership of English claimed by non-native English users.


China's economic development has been exceptionally robust since the end of the 1970s, and the country has already emerged as the second biggest economy in the world. In this study, we seek to illuminate the role of the monetary policy in this successful economic performance and as a part of the extensive economic reforms of the last two decades. The five empirical essays seek to discover which monetary policy tools are the most used and most effective for guiding China's economic development. In addition, we explore which monetary policy transmission channels are functioning and to what extent monetary policy impacts inflation and real economic developments in China. The results indicate that the conduct of monetary policy in China differs substantially from what is typical for an advanced market economy, where an independent central bank often aims to hit an inflation target by simply controlling the target interest rate. First, China's monetary policy toolkit is highly diverse. Besides a collection of administrated interest rates, it contains quantitative policy tools and direct guidelines. Second, China's central bank is not independent in its decision-making. For these reasons, it is exceptionally challenging to measure the monetary policy stance or to distinguish monetary policy from other macroeconomic policies in China's case. This has been taken into account in this study by using a variety of monetary-policy indicators. Our results suggest that China's monetary-policy implementation and its transmission to the real economy still rely heavily on quantitative policy tools and direct guidelines; interest rates play a much smaller role, in terms of both usage and effectiveness. Overall, our findings suggest that the direct link between monetary policy and real economic performance is weak in China. On the other hand, this study clearly shows that monetary policy has played a key role in price developments, which tells us that monetary policy has been an important factor in China's economic success. Key words: China, monetary policy, economic growth, inflation, exchange rates JEL classification: E50, P30


The determination of trace concentrations of the platinum group elements in gold bullion can be significant for establishing the geographical location from which the gold was mined. Platinum is of particular importance for ancient gold as a marker of provenance. While many techniques have been used successfully to quantify Pt in a nearly pure Au matrix, wavelength dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (WDXRF) has not yet been evaluated for this application. This paper demonstrates that Pt can be determined in gold coins with a limit of detection of 20 μg g−1 (k = 3). Typical relative standard deviations were observed to range from 2% to 3% for Pt determined in gold coins (at 326 and 339 μg g−1, respectively). The low bias created from the imprinted coin design raising the coin up (compared to a completely flat coin piece) was largely overcome by making a 50 μm trough in the sample cup to lower the coin relative to the X-ray tube to compensate for the coin design. Determined Pt concentrations on the side of the coin with the imprinted design were within +1 to −13% of the values obtained with the opposite side where the design was removed by polishing (measured in a normal sample cup) using the same XRF method. This method was deemed fit for purpose for historians wanting to track changes in Pt concentration in ancient Roman gold coins over long time intervals.


Background Opioid-induced bowel dysfunction is a complication of opioid therapy, in which constipation is the most common and problematic symptom. However, it is frequently under-recognised and thus effective management is often not instituted despite a number of treatment options. Objective The central objective of this study is to provide a summary of the pathophysiology and clinical evaluation of opioid-induced constipation and to provide a pragmatic management algorithm for day-to-day clinical practice. Methods This summary and the treatment algorithm is based on the opinion of a European expert panel evaluating current evidence in the literature. Results The pathophysiology of opioid-induced constipation is multi-faceted. The key aspect of managing opioid-induced constipation is early recognition. Specific management includes increasing fluid intake, exercise and standard laxatives as well as addressing exacerbating factors. The Bowel Function Index is a useful way of objectively evaluating severity of opioid-induced constipation and monitoring response. Second-line treatments can be considered in those with recalcitrant symptoms, which include gut-restricted or peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonists. However, a combination of interventions may be needed. Conclusion Opioid-induced constipation is a common, yet under-recognised and undertreated, complication of opioid therapy. We provide a pragmatic step-wise approach to opioid-induced constipation, which should simplify management for clinicians.


In Thailand, common stock repurchase has been allowed since 2001. Eighty-six repurchase announcements from 69 companies listed on Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) have been made during December 14, 2001- May 22, 2012 (two companies were delisted). This paper is to investigate whether repurchase announcement has any effect on the abnormal return of the listed firms or not. Event study methodology is employed. Sample covers 78 announcements excluding six illiquid stocks and two recent announcements. The announcement date is set as the same date of the board of director meeting because the company must disclose the resolution to SET within the date of resolution or within 9:00 a.m. of the next business day. The result shows the positive abnormal return of 2.23%, on average, at 1% significance level. Graph of cumulative abnormal return reports very clearly that the significant abnormal return starts 2 days before the announcement date. This is consistent with the arguments that repurchase is done when stock is underpriced and management knows about this information.


In general, social science data can be divided into attribute data and relational data. Focusing on individual properties, plus lagged statistical methods, the traditional social research, by simplifying relational data into attribute data, adopts traditional statistical analysis to deal with the former. This approach is not desirable, because traditional statistical analysis needs to meet the independence of cases. However, relational data mainly involves the relationships between interdependent actors, in which sense, it violates the assumption of independence, inapplicable to traditional statistical analysis. With the development of the statistical methods, a new approach—social network analysis(SNA) is proposed to deal with relational data. Social network analysis is a large and growing body of researches on the measurement and analysis of relational structure. It mainly evaluates relationships between actors, and the contexts of the social actors. Network autocorrelation models are common for social network analysis, which are used to study on the relationship between network effect and individual behavior. In order to explore the difference between social network analysis and traditional statistical analysis, we have compared the performance of network effect model and traditional linear model in dealing with relational data through simulation studies. The simulation studies were conducted in R statistical programming environment. This article also presents the application of network effect model in psychology, and the empirical study was to investigate the impact of peer effect and learning motivation on adolescents' academic performance. Network effect model, a type of the network autocorrelation models that fully considers the interdependencies among sample units, was applied to delve into the data by using "sna" software package in R project. The simulation study suggests that parameter estimation and model fit of network effect model are significantly better than traditional linear model in dealing with relational data —that's why network effect model should be applied. The results of the empirical study reveal that peer effect has significant impact on academic performance. Overall, the findings not only highlight that social network analysis should be applied to deal with relational data, but also indicate that peer effect is crucial to adolescents' academic performance.


'Domination in graphs' has been studied extensively and at present it is an emerging area of research in graph theory. An introduction and an extensive overview on domination in graphs and related topics is surveyed and detailed in the two books by Haynes et al. [1,2]. Product of graphs occurs naturally in discrete mathematics as tools in combinatorial constructions. They give rise to an important classes of graphs and deep structural problems. In this paper we study the dominating and total dominating functions of corona product graph of a cycle with a complete graph.


Many viruses, including the hepatitis C virus (HCV), are dependent on the host RNA silencing pathway for replication. In this study, we screened small molecule probes, previously reported to disrupt loading of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), including 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), suramin (SUR), and aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA), to examine their effects on viral replication. We found that 6-OHDA inhibited HCV replication; however, 6-OHDA was a less potent inhibitor of RISC than either SUR or ATA. By generating a novel chemical probe (6-OHDA-yne), we determined that 6-OHDA covalently modifies host and virus proteins. Moreover, 6-OHDA was shown to be an alkylating agent that is capable of generating adducts with a number of enzymes involved in the oxidative stress response. Furthermore, modification of viral enzymes with 6-OHDA and 6-OHDA-yne was found to inhibit their enzymatic activity. Our findings suggest that 6-OHDA is a probe for oxidative stress as well as protein alkylation, and these properties together contribute to the antiviral effects of this compound.


Since the 2016 US Presidential election, the topic of fake news has become extremely prevalent on a global scale. However, the recent issue of disinformation manufactured by malevolent agents has given rise to new potential problems that have led to harmful consequences. Such problematic consequences have led various government institutions to responds in a variety of ways. Given the problematic consequences of these types of actions, should governments intervene by regulating or prohibiting fake news? To answer this question, I present Seana Shiffrin's unique theory regarding the value of free speech. Within this account, Shiffrin's follows an autonomy type theory of freedom of speech that emphasizes the central role of participants in speech and cognition. From this theory, Shiffrin gives a clear unique account about the value of speech. In other words, Shiffrin argues that freedom of speech should focus on thinkers themselves and protecting their freedom of thought. Notably, I believe the benefits to this thinker-based theory rival those of other competing theories. More importantly, she able to draw a distinction between sincere and insincere speech. With the potential dangers that fake news poses to the free development and operations of the thinker's mind, Shiffrin's compelling view leaves open the possibility that fake news is regulable because insincere speech lacks the value that other speech encompasses. A Thinker-Based Perspective on Free Speech and Fake News Honors Research Spring 2019


Title of Document: ENERGY EFFICIENT TWO-PHASE COOLING FOR CONCENTRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYS Alexander Douglas Reeser, Master of Science, 2013 Directed By: Professor Avram Bar-Cohen, Department of Mechanical Engineering Concentrated sunlight focused on the aperture of a photovoltaic solar cell, coupled with high efficiency, triple junction cells can produce much greater power densities than traditional 1 sun photovoltaic cells. However, the large concentration ratios will lead to very high cell temperatures if not efficiently cooled by a thermal management system. Two phase, flow boiling is an attractive cooling option for such CPV arrays. In this work, two phase flow boiling in mini/microchannels and micro pin fin arrays will be explored as a possible CPV cooling technique. The most energy efficient microchannel design is chosen based on a least-material, least-energy analysis. Heat transfer and pressure drop obtained in micro pin fins will be compared to data in the recent literature and new correlations for heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop will be presented. The work concludes with an energy efficiency comparison of micro pin fins with geometrically similar microchannel geometry. ENERGY EFFICIENT TWO-PHASE COOLING FOR CONCENTRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYS


This paper will examine the role the private sector plays in researching, developing, and deploying technology that has the potential to deter or decrease the impacts of global warming. It will explore the degree to which the private sector can have an impact on global warming by focusing on four specific technologies: aircraft engines, wind turbines, solar energy, and clean coal technologies. We will compare the environmental impact of these technologies with the business case for pursuing each, specifically related to profitability and market maturity. We conclude that the business case alone is not sufficiently compelling to stimulate meaningful industry investment in these areas. Consequently, specific government involvement is needed for CO2 reduction. This analysis will shed light on the role that government must play in order to more effectively engage potential private sector players in the global warming challenge.


Herbivore damage can have indirect effects on plant fitness by influencing other important plant–animal interactions, such as pollination biology. For example, damage to floral and vegetative structures may influence the pattern of pollen movement within and among individual plants. In obligately outcrossing species, enhanced movement of self pollen (geitonogamy) can negatively impact fitness if self pollen clogs stigmas, interferes with stylar transmitting tracts, usurps ovules, or increases fruit abortion. We investigated whether early season browsing affects the fitness cost of self-pollination in the obligately outcrossing species scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata, using clipping and emasculation treatments.

We found that clipping significantly reduced the production of flowers, fruits, and seeds whereas emasculation significantly increased the production of these components of female fitness. In addition, we detected a significant interaction between the clipping and emasculation treatments when considering four components of fitness simultaneously; emasculation led to an increase in the fitness of unclipped plants but not clipped plants. We propose two nonexclusive mechanisms to explain this pattern. First, damaged plants may experience reduced self-pollination due to reductions in pollinator visitation or effectiveness. Alternatively, damaged plants may simply lack the resources (or the ability to allocate resources) to benefit from emasculation. Our results support the notion that herbivory can have indirect effects on plant fitness through effects on other plant–animal interactions.


America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009 continues a series of annual reports to the Nation on conditions affecting children in the United States. Three demographic background measures and 40 selected indicators describe the population of children and depict child well-being in the areas of family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. This year's report has a special feature on children with special health care needs. Highlights from each section follow.


BACKGROUND
The study of the relationship between self-reported morbidity, health status and health care utilization presents methodological problems due to the variety of illnesses and medical conditions that one individual may report. In this article, correspondence analysis was use to analyse these relationships.

METHODS
Data from the Spanish National Health Survey pertaining to the region of Catalonia was studied. Statistical analysis included multi-way correspondence analysis (MCA) followed by cluster analysis.

RESULTS
The first factor extracted is defined by self-assessed health perception; the second, by limitation of activities, and the third is related to self-reported morbidity caused by chronic and acute health problems. Fourth and fifth factors, capture residual variability and missing values. Acute problems are more related to perception of poor health while chronic problems are related to perception of fair health. Also, it may be possible to distinguish self-reported morbidity due to relapses of chronic diseases from true acute health problems. Cluster analysis classified individuals into four groups: 1) healthy people; 2) people who assess their health as being poor and those with acute health problems; 3) people with chronic health problems, limited activity and a perception of fair health; and 4) missing values.

CONCLUSIONS
Correspondence analysis is a useful tool when analyzing qualitative variables like those in a health survey.


Findings based on 186 teams involving 689 employees, working in twelve Chinese state-owned factories in three cities, indicated that a cooperative in contrast to a competitive approach was related to perceived team effectiveness, as measured by both team managers and team members. The role of conflict types for team effectiveness, on the other hand, is ambiguous. Furthermore, conflict management approaches affect team perceptions of relational and task conflict. Results suggest that a cooperative conflict management approach may be equally useful for Chinese work teams, as it is for teams in the Western context.


This paper describes an approach for supporting inquiry learning from source materials, realised and tested through a tool-kit. The approach is optimised for tasks that require a student to make interpretations across sets of resources, where opinions and justifications may be hard to articulate. We adopt a dialogue-based approach to learning whereby the student creates an external representation to reflect their current understanding of the task. This in turn prompts immediate feedback, designed to help the learner to see patterns or irregularities in their current perspective. Through the on-going feedback, the student is encouraged to make incremental changes to achieve a coherent outcome. In this approach, learners are encouraged to generate meaningful responses for themselves, rather than relying on feedback which explicitly provides an answer. This is aimed at prompting deeper processing and understanding of source materials in the context of the given learning goal.


Memorializes Murray Sidman (1923-2019). Murray Sidman wrote the definitive analysis of single-case experimentation, Tactics of Scientific Research: Evaluating Experimental Data in Psychology (1960). The book, never out of print, remains widely used and frequently cited. Sidman, along with B. F. Skinner, Fred Keller, and a few others, founded the field of behavior analysis. His contributions have been widely recognized with numerous award and honors, including an honorary D.Sc. degree from West Virginia University in 2007. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


An analytical model for predicitng the crack inititation life of low cycle fatique (LCF) of discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites (DR-MMCs) has been proposed. The effects of the volume fraction Vf cyclic strain hardening exponent n' and cyclic strength coefficient K' on the LCF crack initiation life of DR-MMCs were analyzed. While both the lower level of the plastic strain amplitude and the lower Vf were found to increase the LCF crack initiation resistance, the effects of n' and K' were more complicated. By considering the enhanced dislocation density in the matrix and the load bearing effect of particles, a quantitative relationship between the LCF life of DR-MMCs and particle size was also derived. This model showed that a decreasing particle size results in a longer LCF life. The theoretical predictions based on the proposed models were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature.


Coronary arteriovenous fistulas are rare and are usually diagnosed in children or young adults. Most are believed to be congenital. A right coronary arteriovenous fistula was first diagnosed in a patient of 74. Despite her age the fistula was successfully operated on and her symptoms were relieved.


It is evident that human body organs movement analysis requires the study of the dynamic evolution of an image sequence (2D or 3D), i.e. the analysis of a data flow versus time. In particular, the proposed approach is based on the computation of the "optical flow", from two-dimensional and three-dimensional image sequences. This technique is applied to time sequences of magnetic resonance images to study knee joint biomechanics and heart wall motion. Several issues are discussed, related both to the computation of the optical flow field on 3D image sequences, and also concerning the relevance of the flow measurement for clinical diagnosis of pathologies. Moreover, the measurement of motion-related parameters, facilitates the planning for surgical intervention. Experiments performed on real data acquired from healthy patients and patients with heart and knee ligament pathologies are presented.<<ETX>>


With decisive and timely action, genome-related biotechnology can be harnessed to improve global health equity. In June 2002 in Kananaskis, Canada, leaders of the G8 industrial nations will develop an action plan to support implementation of the New African Initiative. By extending their discussion of health issues raised in the New African Initiative to include genomics, G8 leaders could signal their intention to increase global health equity by preventing a health genomics divide from developing. There are already some early and growing examples of genome-related biotechnology being applied successfully to health problems in developing countries. But how can genomics be systematically harnessed to benefit health in developing countries? We propose a five-point strategy, including research, capacity strengthening, consensus building, public engagement, and an investment fund.


Dr. (Mrs.) Chandralekha .B, MDS Former Head of the Department of Orthodontics, Government Dental College & Hospital, Fort, Bangalore 560 001. Ph: 09448-091115 The present study investigated the effect of masseter muscle thickness on maxillary dental arch width and growth pattern of face. Sample comprised of 40 patients, (20 females, 20 males) between 18 to 23 years. They were subdivided according to molar relation (10 Class I, 10 Class II). Masseter muscle thickness was measured by Ultrasonography. Maxillary dental arch width was measured on dental casts, using calipers, between the palatal surfaces of first permanent molars. The growth pattern of face was assessed by lateral cephalograms. Results: The masseter muscle thickness was more in males and Class II groups compared to females and Class I groups respectively. In all the subgroups masseter muscle thickness had a positive linear correlation with maxillary dental arch width, midfacial length and corpus length (r0.5) and a negative linear correlation with ramal height, mandibular ratio and sum of angles (r-0.7). Conclusions: An increase in masseter muscle thickness widens the maxillary dental arch. Masseter muscle increases the sagittal growth, while limiting the vertical growth of jaws. It tends to make the face grow in a more horizontal pattern. INTRODUCTION: with intergonial width and bizygomatic facial width. 3 Among the masticatory muscles, masseter has been shown to have significant relation with bite force magnitude and craniofacia l morphology.4 In adu lts, corre lations have been found between facial dimensions and masseter muscle thickness. 3.4 Since there is an association between masseter muscle thickness and craniofacial width, a similar association might be expected to exist regarding dental arch width, particularly in regions with molars under eruption.2 Maxillary intermolar width showed a direct, significant association with masseter thickness both durin g contraction and relaxation, i.e. individuals with thicker masseter muscles had a wider maxillary dental arch. ' It is widely accepted that an interaction exists between masticatory muscle function and craniofacial growth. Studies have shown an association between the functional capacity of the masticatory muscles and craniofacial morphology. Individuals with a short facial configuration have high electromyographic activity/ bite force or vice versa.' Masticatory muscle function was found to influence the transverse growth of the skull at areas under direct muscle infl.uence.2 Muscle thickness had a Significantly negative relation with anterior facial height and mandibular length, and a significantly positive relation


Agriculture is the largest user of water worldwide by using about 70 percent of total consumption. The world food production depends on the availability of water, considering factors such as demographic and climate change, so the use of efficient irrigation is necessary to apply the correct amount of water to crops. The traditional irrigation systems generally program their scheme based on measurements made at Class A evaporimeter pan. In this paper an irrigation scheme defined by an algorithm that automates the amount of water supplied is presented, it considers the consumption of habanero pepper crop, and a fuzzy system evaluates the necessary duration of irrigation. The climatic variables considered are temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture. The algorithm was programmed in a microcontroller Atmel 328p included in Arduino platform, with the addition of a ZigBee wireless system that allows for monitoring through a PC. The climatic variables were inserted into the fuzzy system by sets of trapezoidal and triangular form and a Mamdani type inference mechanism in which the knowledge of an expert is registered through the fuzzy rules. The system was applied to a habanero pepper crop at Conkal Institute of Technology in Yucatan, Mexico.


Dealing with a large amount of data makes the requirement for efficient data accesses more critical in data grid. Through improving performance of data replication, job execution cost is reduced. In this paper, we proposed a new strategy of replication based on organizing the data in data grid based on its property. Particularly, we organized the data into several data categories that it belongs to and this categorization helps improving data replication placement strategy. In addition, the paper also introduces dataset scheduler which helps optimize obtaining input data for job. The performance studies are conducted using simulation tool and prove the improvement of scheduling performance over current approaches.


The complexities of global business and the need for rapid, effective responses to problems that cross borders and span cultures demand an understanding of why transnational multiparty collaborations have failed and why they have succeeded. At the core of this work is 1) understanding the role that culture and identity play in creating a meta-identity built on the strengths of individual and organization identities and the sameness those identities represent; 2) the development of strong connectedness between the parties; and 3) the creation of a shared vision of what is trying to be achieved. Ultimately, the strength of the meta-identity surpasses the strengths of individual identities without the loss of same to transition to a place where collaborative success can occur. This paper reports on the first phase of a mixed methods research program - qualitative data gathered through grounded theory techniques on successful transnational multiparty endeavors and unsuccessful experiences. Findings are summarized from interviews conducted with professionals in a variety of businesses encompassing the government, profit, and non-profit sectors representing six nations and four indigenous populations for the purpose of understanding the behavior of transnational, multiparty collaboration. One implication from this study is that managing cultural differences could be viewed from a hygiene factor perspective, where culture can only play a dissatisfaction role and that collaboration comes from the common factors of building on the strengths of individual identities, development of strong interconnectedness and the creation of a shared vision. The second phase of the research program – a qualitative study - introduces a hypothesized model of transnational multiparty collaboration and promulgates a series of hypotheses as well preliminary scales to model the constructs. This work will be conducted in second half of 2016.


Using a natural experiment, we find that in provinces where Turkey's Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) just won the election in 2004, women, including those who are weakly religious or non-religious, now veil far more than in provinces in which AKP just lost, the more so the poorer they are. This effect, as we predict, does not occur for praying regularly which is more costly and harder to observe practice. We argue that veiling is higher in AKP provinces not only because of a generic aim to conform to the stricter mores fostered by the victorious party. We find that those who veil, particularly those in AKP provinces who are not pious, are more politically active than those who do not veil. This may be an indication that veiling could partly be a strategic response to policies, which favour those who are or appear pious. Our study suggests that observable religious practices may have their independent dynamics driven by the pursuit of instrumental goals. Our results also suggest that parties with a religious ideology have an advantage over their secular counterparts in solving the clientelistic information problem, for they can rely on religious symbols for screening and signalling.


This paper reviews the effects that resource manipulations, especially nutrient additions, have on productivity, diversity, species interactions and succession in natural and semi-natural low-growth-form terrestrial vegetation. In most studies, fertilization has resulted in an increase in productivity with a concomitant decrease in species diversity. Plant community productivity in nutrient-poor habitats (e.g. arctic tundra) however, has been relatively little affected by nutrient additions. Results from several fertilization experiments in nutrient-poor habitats indicate that competition may be an important component of community dynamics. Resource additions generally do not affect co-occurring species equally. In many cases, this results from an alteration of the relative competitive abilities of species. Several short-term fertilization studies have suggested that the rate of succession is increased by the addition of nutrients. Opposite trends however, have been reported in long-term studies. Contradictory results among some resource manipulation studies appear to stem largely from design limitations (e.g. only one resource was manipulated). Variability in habitat fertility, the type of resource added and the duration of enrichment also contribute to the difficulties involved in interpreting and comparing field experiments. A pluralistic approach combining glasshouse studies with both neighbour and resource manipulations in the field can be expected to lead to a greater depth of understanding of current controversies over the effects of habitat fertility on the intensity of competition and the relationship between competitive ability and tolerance of resource impoverishment.


This book is an exploration of how the social identities of peasants who left their villages to work and settle in St Petersburg, from the 1880s to 1917, and in Shanghai, from the 1900s to the 1940s, were transformed under the impact of capitalist modernity. St Petersburg and Shanghai stood out as the exemplars of capitalist modernity in Russia and China, respectively, two societies that were very different in cultural terms yet which shared the condition of being overwhelmingly agrarian and politically enfeebled. The book explores how the experience of wage labour and city life challenged migrants' understandings of themselves, and asks how changes in their social identities contributed to the political, social and cultural ferment that eventuated in revolution. It is an attempt to explore the formation of a working class from a new angle, by focusing on transformations of social identity that did not relate directly to the growth of class consciousness or to the growth of revolutionary political sentiment, the aspects of class formation on which the historiography to date has tended to concentrate. Its central thesis is that the identities of peasants who became workers were transformed by a number of processes other than those directly related to wage labour and capitalist production and along a number of axes other than that of class, and that capitalist modernity provides a better optic than capitalist production through which to analyse identity formation. In 2007, according to the United Nations, the earth's population for the first time tilted from being predominantly rural to predominantly urban. The subjects of this book – those who left the countryside during the first wave of capitalist industrialization and urbanization – may be seen as harbingers of this most significant of twentieth-century developments. The focus of the book is on that subset of rural-to-urban migrants who chose to settle in the cities of St Petersburg and Shanghai. This group may have been outnumbered by seasonal migrants and


A 40-year-old woman with a history of fever and arthralgia since age 17 had received long-term prednisolone (PSL) therapy. She was diagnosed with Takayasu's arteritis in 1980 and given PSL. The symptoms were well controlled until she developed itching in 1998. Laboratory tests showed elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, total cholesterol, and immunoglobulin M (IgM). She tested positive for anti-mitochondria antibody and for both IgG and IgM anti-pyruvate dehydrogenases. Liver biopsy findings were typical of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Our patient's clinical course suggested that an adequate amount of PSL to control Takayasu's arteritis does not necessarily prevent the development of PBC.


Experimental determinations versus pressure of the nonlinear acoustic parameter B/A have been conducted for methanol, 1-butanol and 1-octanol in the pressure range 0-50 MPa and temperature range 303.15-373.15 K. These measurements proceed from an experimental technique based on a phase comparison method allowing to measure the change in sound speed with the pressure for an isentropic process. The value of B/A is found to decrease with increasing pressure and seems to be an increasing function of temperature. A comparison with the data determined numerically by the classical thermodynamic method has also been performed.


rotation was lower in the AR group (10.5±5.0 vs 18.0±6.2°, p<0.001). Peak diastolic apical rotation rate was also lower in the AR group (–81.8±43.7 vs –106.9±35.8°/s, p=0.025). In a subgroup analysis of AR patients with or whitout hypertension (12 vs 15 pts) we found no difference in LV diameters, volumes and EF between subgroups but AR pts with hypertension tended to have a higher LV mass index (170±55 vs 133±23 g/m, p=0.05) and a higher SI (0.46±0.1 vs 0.37±0.07, p=0.039). Peak systolic apical rotation (7.9±4.7 vs 12.5±4.5°, p=0.015) and peak diastolic apical rotation rate (–55.4±33.0 vs –102.9± 40.3°/s, p=0.003) were lower in AR pts with hypertension.


The United States (US) has a complex healthcare system with a mix of public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit insurers, healthcare institutions and organizations, and providers. Unlike other developed countries, there is not a single payer healthcare system or a national pharmaceutical benefits scheme/plan. Despite spending over USD 10,000 per capita in healthcare, the US is among the worst performers compared to other developed countries in outcomes including life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, safety during childbirth, and unmanaged chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes). Primary care is delivered by physicians and advanced practice providers (i.e., nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in a variety of settings including large health systems, federally qualified health centers or free clinics that provide care to the underserved, or specific facilities for veterans or American Indian and Alaska native peoples. Since 2010, primary care delivery has shifted toward providing patient-centered, coordinated, comprehensive care focused on providing proactive, rather than reactive, population health management, and on the quality, versus volume, of care. Community pharmacy comprises a mix of independently owned, chain, supermarket and mass merchant pharmacies. Community pharmacies provide services such as immunizations, medication therapy management, medication packaging, medication synchronization, point-of-care testing and, in specific states where legislation has been passed, hormonal contraception, opioid reversal agents, and smoking cessation services. There has been criticism regarding the lack of standard terminology for services such as medication synchronization and medication therapy management, their components and how they should be provided, which hampers comparability across studies. One of the main challenges for pharmacists in the US is the lack of provider status at the federal level. This means that pharmacists are not allowed to use existing fee-for-service health insurance billing codes to receive reimbursement for non-dispensing services. In addition, despite there being regulatory infrastructure in multiple states, the extent of service implementation is either low or unknown. Research found that pharmacists face numerous barriers when providing some of these services. State fragmentation and the lack of a single pharmacy organization and vision for the profession are additional challenges.


Background: Computer science has evolved into the field of dentistry many years ago. Newer addition is CADCAM. In this study we assessed the knowledge of dental undergraduate in Chennai towards the technology and mechanics of CADCAM. Methods: In this study we considered 600 undergraduate students in studying in different institutions in Chennai to participate in a questionnaire survey on knowledge of CADCAM. Pearson Chi square test was used for analysis. The students were categorised into 3 groups namely Interns, Final years and Third years. Results: 525 responders were considered valid for analysis. The level of knowledge was significantly higher in Interns (p<0.001). Moreover the knowledge and awareness of CADCAM has improved with the increase in grade. Conclusions: This study shows that the theoretical knowledge is not transformed into practical situation and an interdisciplinary approach between dental and engineering students may attain a better knowledge towards the mechanics and usage of CADCAM.


The majority of people will now spend about one-third of their lives as grand-parents, yet developmental psychologists have largely ignored the nature of the grandparental role, and the influence which grandparents can have on grand-children. This book redresses the balance and uses life-span evolutionary and psychodynamic theoretical frameworks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of grandparenthood from cross-cultural perspectives. Much recent work in developmental psychology has disregarded the extended family in favour of the two-generational nuclear family of parents and children. But grandparents do have a significant role in family relationships and children's development. This volume contains detailed discussion of intergenerational transmission of parenting skills, cooperation and conflict in three-generational families and the ways in which grandparents and grandchildren perceive one another. The importance of considering social and cultural contexts of development applies to grandparents just as much as to other areas of human development. Kinds of family structure, social policies regarding employment, health and housing, attitudes to marriage and even particular historical events all have an impact on the position and role of grand[parents and on stereotypes of old age. These factors vary considerably from country to country. Our understanding of grandparenthood can only be enriched by learning about the variety of ways in which it is expressed in difference cultural settings,. Most precious research has been confined to the USA. This book is truly international, containing contributions from Britain, Canada, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, West Germany and the USA. International comparisons enable us to see which elements are essential to grandparenthood and which are culture-dependent. In most Western countries the population is ageing and this sort of study is becoming vitally important. The Psychology of Grandparenthood is required reading for anybody who is professional involved with the elderly and for psychologists interested in development, the life-span and family systems.


In this paper we study dry reforming of methane (DRM) in a gliding arc plasmatron (GAP) in the presence of N2 and O2. N2 is added to create a stable plasma at equal fractions of CO2 and CH4, and because emissions from industrial plants typically contain N2, while O2 is added to enhance the process. We test different gas mixing ratios to evaluate the conversion and energy cost. We obtain conversions between 31 and 52% for CO2 and between 55 and 99% for CH4, with total energy costs between 3.4 and 5.0 eV per molecule, depending on the gas mixture. This is very competitive when benchmarked with the literature. In addition, we present a chemical kinetics model to obtain deeper insight in the underlying plasma chemistry. This allows determination of the major reaction pathways to convert CO2 and CH4, in the presence of O2 and N2, into CO and H2. We show that N2 assists in the CO2 conversion, but part of the applied energy is also wasted in N2 excitation. Adding O2 enhances the CH4 conversion, and lowers the energy cost, while the CO2 conversion remains constant, and only slightly drops at the highest O2 fractions studied, when CH4 is fully oxidized into CO2.


The differential quadrature method has been widely used in scientific and engineering computation. However, for the basic characteristics of time domain differential quadrature method, such as numerical stability and calculation accuracy or order, it is still lack of systematic analysis conclusions. In this paper, according to the principle of differential quadrature method, it has been derived and proved that the weighting coefficients matrix of differential quadrature method meets the important V-transformation feature. Through the equivalence of the differential quadrature method and the implicit Runge-Kutta method, it has been proved that the differential quadrature method is A-stable and s-stage s-order method. On this basis, in order to further improve the accuracy of the time domain differential quadrature method, a class of improved differential quadrature method of s-stage 2s-order has been proposed by using undetermined coefficients method and Padé approximations. The numerical results show that the proposed differential quadrature method is more precise than the traditional differential quadrature method. AMS subject classifications: 37M05, 65L05, 65L06, 65L20


In the area of seed policies, the dominant paradigm of agricultural development favors the strengthening of intellectual property rights in order to promote and reward innovation by the private sector, combined with the provision of improved seed varieties to farmers in order to help them produce higher yields. But this model may leave out precisely those who need most to be supported, because they are the most vulnerable, living in the most difficult environments. In contrast to dominant approach, this article argues that the poorest farmers would be the primary beneficiaries of an alternative policy, that would favor the maintenance and enhancement of agrobiodiversity by rewarding the farmers for their own innovations, and by treating genetic resources as a public good that should be made accessible to all, as has been the case traditionally in farmers' seed systems. There are other ways of putting science at the service of farmers that may be more effective in reducing rural poverty. This article assesses in this light the complex relationship between the right to adequate food and the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. Both rights are recognized by the International Covenant * Olivier De Schutter is Professor of Human Rights Law, University of Louvain (UCL); Visiting Professor, Columbia University; UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food. Although portions of this study are based on a report submitted by the author to the UN General Assembly (Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, seed policies and the right to food: enhancing agrobiodiversity, encouraging innovation, 64th session of the General Assembly, U.N. Doc. A/64/170, 23 July 2009), this paper is prepared in his private capacity. 2011 Rights to Scientific Progress and Food 305 on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. They need to be made more mutually supportive in the future, if research in agriculture is to truly serve the needs of the poor.


In view of the actual situations of power grids operating mode, load level, operation and maintenance resource configuration, a multi-constraint & multi-objective integrated outage optimization model of power grids is proposed in this paper. It takes the economy, reliability and workload balance of power grids as the optimizing objectives and adopts the differential evolution algorithm based on the elitist archive strategy to calculate efficiently its Pareto optimum solutions. According to the insufficiency and business demand existing in the outage management of power enterprises, the design ideas for the physical framework, logic framework and functional module of the integrated outage management and analysis decision-making system of power grids are proposed and the Java Platform Enterprise Edition is adopted to develop such system. Upon the quantitative analysis, assessment and comparison on the outage schedules, the system generates automatically the optimal decision scheme and has the functions of automated association and reminder for outage schedules, equilibrium analysis for workload, assistant update of outage schedules and analysis and assessment for outage equipments.