Voltage stability perform the major role in design and its operation. Major system failures are occur due to voltage variability and breakdown. To meet and compensate the rising power demand of regular usage in modern trends, transmission networks are enormously loaded which create the voltage instability. Contingency analysis is a recognized energy managing tool. It calculate the violation in the transmission line. In this paper a computational controller fuzzy system is suggested to handle the transmission line outage and overload in other branch kind of problems in Power system. The efficiency of power transmission system with fuzzy controller is inveterate by computation of various parameters of transmission bus under different loading situations. For the contingency analysis the transmission power flow several methods have been developed. Fast Decoupled load flow program is the effective method which provides a fast and effective solution to the contingency analysis in the transmission system and also it is incorporate with matrix alteration formula which gives additional advantage for the system.


Cancer is not a single-cell disease, and its existence and behavior are constantly modulated by the host. Cancer gene expression and genetics are also highly dynamic and are regulated epigenetically by the host through gene-environment interaction. In this article, we describe the molecular pathways leading to an unusual property of cancer cells: the ability to mimic the host microenvironment and, in particular, the characteristics of osteomimicry and vasculogenic mimicry, which are likely to be regulated by soluble and insoluble factors in the tumor-adjacent microenvironment. We also discuss the importance of host inflammatory and stem cells that contribute to the growth and survival of cancer cells. By understanding the salient features of cancer-host interaction, novel therapeutics might be developed to target the cancer and its host in the treatment of lethal prostate cancer metastases.


Endothelin-1 is a novel endothelium-derived vasoconstrictive peptide. Using a highly specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay for endothelin-1, plasma levels of immunoreactive endothelin-1 were measured in 32 research subjects with normal renal function (21 normal subjects and 11 patients with essential hypertension), 24 patients with nondialyzed chronic renal failure, and 51 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Although there was no significant difference in plasma immunoreactive endothelin-1 levels among the three groups, patients with essential hypertension had significantly higher plasma endothelin-1 levels than normal subjects (2.29 +/- 1.09 vs. 1.41 +/- 0.50 pg/ml, p less than 0.025). When nondialyzed and hemodialyzed patients were divided into hypertensive and normotensive groups, the nondialyzed hypertensive group (n = 17) had higher plasma endothelin-1 levels than the comparable normotensive group (n = 7) (3.08 +/- 3.43 vs. 0.73 +/- 0.34 pg/ml, p less than 0.05), and the hemodialyzed hypertensive group (n = 18) had higher plasma endothelin-1 levels than the comparable normotensive group (n = 33) (2.66 +/- 1.92 vs. 1.35 +/- 0.73 pg/ml, p less than 0.005). Plasma atrial natriuretic factor, arginine vasopressin, renin activity, and aldosterone concentration did not show significant differences between hypertensive and normotensive individuals or a correlation with plasma endothelin-1 levels. These data suggest that circulating endothelin-1 may be partly involved in the development or maintenance of hypertension in humans.


Improvements in the lanthanide enhanced luminescence (LEL) protocol have facilitated the use of the recently synthesized Eu(III)-macrocycle-mono-isothiocyanate, Quantum Dye®, as a label. It was discovered that a homogeneous solution in ethanol or other solvent could be used to produce the lanthanide enhanced luminescence (LEL) effect, provided that the solution was permitted to evaporate. This protocol has been applied to the direct staining of cells in S phase, and was optimized for solid phase assays with Quantum Dye labeled streptavidin. Preliminary studies indicate that cells stained with the europium Quantum Dye can be observed both by conventional UV laser excitation and by infrared two-photon confocal microscopy. An enhancer has been found that enables the observation of simultaneous emissions from both the europium and terbium Quantum Dyes.


The application of municipal biosolid or liquid hog manure to agricultural soils under laboratory conditions at 20°C influenced the fate of the herbicide 2,4-D [2,4-(dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] in soil. When 2,4-D was added to soil at agronomic rates immediately after the addition of manure or biosolids to a coarse-textured soil, the percentage of 2,4-D mineralized at 100 days was about 47% for both treatments, compared to only 31% for control soils without amendments. The enhanced 2,4-D mineralization as a result of amendment addition was due to an increased heterotrophic microbial activity, with the greatest increases in soil respiration occurring for soils amended with biosolids. When additions of 2,4-D were delayed for one, two, or four weeks after the amendments were applied, the additions of amendments generally reduced 2,4-D mineralization in soil, particularly for manure, indicating that the effect of amendments on enhancing soil microbial activities diminished over time. In contrast, the mineralization of 2,4-D in control soils was less dependent on when 2,4-D was applied in relation to pre-incubations of soil for zero, one, two, or four weeks. The effect of manure on decreasing 2,4-D mineralization in specific soils was as large as the effect of soil texture on differences in 2,4-D mineralization across soils. Because manure was not found to impact 2,4-D sorption by soil, it is possible that 2,4-D mineralization decreased because 2,4-D transformation products were strongly sorbed onto organic carbon constituents in manure-amended soils and were therefore less accessible to microorganisms. Alternatively, microorganisms were less likely to metabolize the herbicide because they preferentially consumed the type of organic carbon in manure that is a weak sorbent for 2,4-D.


This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Jigsaw type cooperative learning method on students`critical thinking skills in Child Nursing course. The sample in this study was the 4th-semester students of the Nursing Science study program at Universitas Muhammadiyah Kalimantan Timur. Thesample of study was separated into two classes with multiple sampling techniques and the arrangement of the two classes was chosen randomly.The participating students were identified as the Jigsaw Group (n=45) and as the Control Group (n=45). The research instrument used was CTDSRF to assess critical thinking skills and observation sheets. This studywas an experimental research with Post-test Only Control Design. The data obtained were analyzed using the Independent Sample T-Test.. Based on the results of the Independent Samples T-Test, it was found that the t value was 2.852 and the probability value (Sig.) was 0.005, so H0 was rejected. Thus, it can be concluded that there are differences in the effectiveness of the jigsaw type cooperative learning model and conventional learning models towards students' critical thinking skills. The mean of critical thinking skills of students` who get Jigsaw type learning model 79.22 higher than the mean value of critical thinking skills of students taught with conventional learning models that is 72.22. The mean of the critical thinking skills of the group that received the Jigsaw model was higher than the mean of the group's critical thinking skills that received the conventional learning model.


This Letter describes a new fabrication process for superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic patterns on a TiO(2) surface using a combination of an inkjet technique and the site-selective decomposition of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) by a photocatalytic reaction under UV irradiation. To induce high surface wettability, we carried out simple calcination of a Ti substrate. The substrate was thus oxidized to titanium oxide and had a vortex-like rough morphology, which was suitable for the formation of wettability patterns. Furthermore, the substrate can be regenerated after elimination of the superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic patterns by the photocatalytic decomposition of TiO(2) using UV irradiation, and the patterns are deposited again. The renewed surface that we created had a wettability pattern that was different from the preceding pattern. This process is based on a TiO(2) surface and should offer a renewable, resource-saving, and environmentally friendly methodology for the formation of wettability patterns.


Summary

1. Since avoiding predation can compromise animal fitness, prey are expected to respond to different predator species with an intensity appropriate to the level of risk. In fresh waters, the threat of predation is typically assessed by chemical cues, in particular by odours released by either injured/disturbed conspecifics (conspecific alarm odour) or predators (predator odours). Here, we used the most widely distributed crayfish in the world, the invasive North American Procambarus clarkii, to investigate the relative effectiveness of odours emitted by fish predators compared with conspecific alarm odour. We also tested whether P. clarkii is able to discriminate between fish predators of which it has 'experience' (either recent, via introduction to the same water body, or old, by sharing a native range), as well as between fish predators that pose low or high risk.

2. The study was carried out on introduced populations of P. clarkii from two sites, characterised by different fish assemblages: the Malewa River (a tributary of Lake Naivasha, Kenya) and Lake Trasimeno (Italy). Laboratory experiments consisted of three sequential phases ('water', 'food' and 'smell' phases) and five treatments. Treatments differed in the odour presented during the smell phase, i.e. no odour (plain water) and odours from either injured conspecifics or three fish species per site. Crayfish from the Malewa River population were confronted with the odours of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and tilapia (Tilapia zillii) (all introduced to Lake Naivasha but absent from the Malewa River), and those from the Lake Trasimeno population with the odours of the introduced largemouth bass and carp and the native chub (Squalius cephalus). Largemouth bass is the only predator that imposes a high risk to crayfish, and it also shares its native range with P. clarkii. We analysed the time spent by crayfish feeding, in locomotion and in adopting a raised or lowered posture. A reduction in the time spent feeding and in locomotion, and an increase in the time spent in the lowered posture were considered to indicate alarm.

3. Crayfish from both populations responded with a more pronounced reduction in feeding to conspecific alarm odour rather than to predator odours. Crayfish from the Malewa River reacted with the same intensity to the odours of the three fish species tested, whereas, in Lake Trasimeno, the odour of largemouth bass was significantly more threatening than the odours of the other two species.

4. Procambarus clarkii seems to perceive a general fish odour that alerts it to possible predation risk without the need of either a direct recent experience or via sharing a common native range. However, where they coexist with fish, crayfish become able to distinguish among species, adapting the intensity of their response to the effective risk. Our results confirm the relatively high learning capacity of P. clarkii reported in previous studies and suggest the existence of mechanisms that make predator recognition particularly efficient in this extraordinarily successful invader.


Single- and multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with three unstrained GaAs quantum wells (QWs) and emission wavelengths around 850 nm have been fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for crystal growth. Wet chemical etching and subsequent selective oxidation are applied for current confinement. The influence of oxide layer position on lateral index guiding is studied in detail in order to increase maximum single-mode output power. A device of 3-/spl mu/m active diameter and reduced index guiding shows maximum single-mode output power of 2.25 mW with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of more than 30 dB for high-efficiency oxidized VCSELs.


This study is primarily based on the goal to make a model of the MSU campus to investigate wind speed distribution. As a case study, a squall event on the 29th of May 2017 is chosen. The event caused human casualties, which required much research. To validate the results, they have to be tested for their stability. In this work this goal is met by varying wind directions. Later the wind maps were achieved as the results were overlaid to reflect the variability of the wind speed distribution. Moreover, the results of this work are possible dangerous areas of a campus which can be obtained as a result of simulating hazardous wind speeds. The wind directions are varied to match 4 primary directions. The heights of interest are chosen to be 1.5 m and 12.5 m, they represent the pedestrian level and the level of half the average tree height, respectively. The simulation software used is ENVI-met. This work shows whether this software is suitable for modeling hazardous events, how stable the results are, and whether the new user is able to successfully use the possibilities offered by ENVI-met to achieve the needed goals. With the results of simulations for stability tests and dangerous area outlining, spatial distributions of the wind speed are analyzed both quantitively and qualitatively.


Low-valent iron centers are critical intermediates in chemical and bio-chemical processes. Herein, we show the first example of a low-valent FeI center stabilized in a high-valent polyoxometalate framework. Electrochemical studies show that the FeIII -functionalized molecular vanadium(V) oxide (DMA)[FeIII ClVV12 O32 Cl]3- (DMA=dimethylammonium) features two well-defined, reversible, iron-based electrochemical reductions which cleanly yield the FeI species (DMA)[FeI ClVV12 O32 Cl]5- . Experimental and theoretical studies including electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and density functional theory computations verify the formation of the FeI species. The study presents the first example for the seemingly paradoxical embedding of low-valent metal species in high-valent metal oxide anions and opens new avenues for reductive electron transfer catalysis by polyoxometalates.


We have developed a new technique to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei via their isobaric analog states (IAS). We populate high-isospin states in resonant reactions of radioactive ion beams with protons. Characteristic gamma rays emitted from excited decay products were used to identify the population of the IAS. We show that information on the differential and total cross section for formation of the IAS can be extracted from the energy spectrum of the Doppler-shifted gamma rays. This technique was applied to the study of T=3/2 states in 7Li, which are analogs of states in 7He. The analog of the 7He ground state was clearly observed, whereas the presence of the analog of a narrow 1/2(-) state at 0.6 MeV excitation in 7He reported by M. Meister et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 102501 (2002)] was excluded at the 90% confidence level. Evidence is presented for a broad 1/2(-) state at a higher excitation energy in 7He.


We propose an efficient methodology to support the maximum possible throughput of NRT (non-real time) users while satisfying the QoS (quality of service) requirements of all ART (almost real time) for a mixed service in HDR (high data rate). Moreover, we present the modified exponential rule that can improve the total throughput and individual average throughput while guaranteeing the minimum throughput and delay requirement for ART service alone. A token-based mechanism to guarantee each minimum throughput of all users is employed. Simulation results are shown in terms of both average packet delay and throughput according to the choice of total or individual user. Our main conclusion is that adaptive scheduling algorithm in conjunction with both the token bucket and the adaptive rule provides an effective foundation for supporting a mixed service in the system.


A partial discharge (PD) sensor has been developed which is able to unequivocally differentiate between PD in the winding and all types of electrical interference. Thus, the sensor will permit an online test for turbine generators, similar to the test now used for hyrogenerators. The sensor requires no high-voltage connection to the winding, and is easily installed in the stator slot, underneath the wedges. Noise is differentiated from PD by the shapes of the electrical pulses from the sensor. The sensor, called the Stator Slot Coupler (SSC), is essentially a directional electromagnetic coupler. Calculations as well as laboratory tests indicate that the couplers can easily survive the electrical, thermal, magnetic, and mechanical stresses in the generator. >


Kant proclaimed that all theodicies must fail in 'On the Miscarriage of All Philosophical Trials in Theodicy', but it is mysterious why he did so since he had developed a theodicy of his own during the critical period. In this paper, I offer an explanation of why Kant thought theodicies necessarily fail. In his theodicy, as well as in some of his works in ethics, Kant explained moral evil as resulting from unavoidable limitations in human beings. God could not create finite beings without such limitations and so could not have created humans that were not prone to committing immoral acts. However, the work of Carl Christian Eberhard Schmid showed Kant that given his own beliefs about freedom and the nature of responsibility one could not account for moral evil in this way without tacitly denying that human beings were responsible for their actions. This result is significant not only because it explains an otherwise puzzling shift in Kant's philosophy of religion, but also because it shows that the theodicy essay provides powerful evidence that Kant's thinking about moral evil and freedom underwent fundamental shifts between early works such as the Groundwork and later works like the Religion within the Limits of Mere Reason.


Global mean air temperatures are projected to increase by 1.8 to 4.0 oC by the end of this century. Higher temperatures coupled with increased CO2 levels could result in altered growth and productivity of crops. Since rice is sensitive to high temperatures, a simulation analysis was carried out to quantify the impact of increased temperatures (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 oC) and elevated CO2 (369, 450,550 and 650ppm) alone and in combination on the yield using InfoCrop-RICE model. An assessment is also provided on the possible gains due to change in planting time and crop duration. Though elevated CO2 alone increased the rice yields, increase in temperature by 1oC (even at 369 ppm CO2 concentration) reduced irrigated rice yield by 6.6 to 11.1 % and rainfed rice yields by 4.6 % to 9.4 %. The combined impact of increased temperature and elevated CO2 resulted in net decline in yield in spite of CO2 fertilization. Planting cultivars in future with matching crop duration of current cultivars and change in planting time may reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on rice yields.


Pleiades Neo Satellite is a future optical remote sensing satellite designed for launch in 2020 with a very high spatial resolution of up to 30 cm and consists of 4 constellation satellites to continuing Pleiades-1A/1B constellation. Pleiades Neo capable of producing high temporal resolution (revisit time) in one day to collecting imagery at the same location and its performance claimed will increase up to three times when compared to the Pleiades-1A/1B constellation. LAPAN, as the main official provider in high-resolution optical satellite data in Indonesia, has planned to receive the Pleiades Neo data. This paper discusses the antenna system for receiving Pleiades Neo data by LAPAN's remote sensing ground station with analyzing the main antenna parameter requirements if Pleiades Neo will be received on Zodiac or Viasat antenna. By calculating the Carrier to Noise Ratio (C/N) value both of antenna system and compared with Airbus Defense and Space minimum C/N requirement about 13.8 dB at 5-degree elevation. The simulation result is obtained C/N value 14 dB and 6.5 dB on Zodiac and Viasat antenna, respectively. Based on the result analysis, it is found that the Zodiac antenna system is recommended for the Pleiades Neo data reception system.


This report hypothesises an active role for the acute phase protein, C reactive protein (CRP), in local inflammatory reactions. This was studied in infarction sites from liver and kidney in a patient who died as a result of multiple complications after cholecystectomy. In this patient, a general acute phase protein reaction was induced, with an increase in plasma CRP. In infarction sites of kidney and liver, colocalisation of CRP and activated complement were found, whereas non-infarct sites were negative for CRP and complement. These results suggest that CRP directly participates in local inflammatory processes, possibly via complement activation, after binding of a suitable ligand.


We previously reported that both carbachol and epidermal growth factor (EGF) are potent inducers of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs) in isolated gastric canine parietal cells and that induction of these kinases leads to acute inhibitory and chronic stimulatory effects on gastric acid secretion. In this study we investigated the molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects. Both carbachol (100 μM) and EGF (10 nM) induced Ras activation. The role of Ras in ERK2 induction was examined by transfecting parietal cells with a vector expressing hemoagglutinin (HA)-tagged ERK2 (HA-ERK2) together with a dominantly expressed mutant (inactive) ras gene. HA-ERK2 activity was quantitated by in-gel kinase assays. Dominant negative Ras reduced carbachol induction of HA-ERK2 activity by 60% and completely inhibited the stimulatory effect of EGF. Since Ras activation requires the assembly of a multiprotein complex, we examined the effect of carbachol and EGF on tyrosyl phosphorylation of Shc and its association with Grb2 and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Sos. Western blot analysis of anti-Shc immunoprecipitates with an anti-phosphotyrosine antibody demonstrated that both carbachol and EGF induced tyrosyl phosphorylation of a major 52-kDa shc isoform. Grb2 association with Shc was demonstrated by blotting Grb2 immunoprecipitates with an anti-Shc antibody. Probing of anti-Sos immunoprecipitates with an anti-Grb2 antibody revealed that Sos was constitutively bound to Grb2. To examine the functional role of Sos in ERK2 activation, we transfected parietal cells with the HA-ERK2 vector together with a dominantly expressed mutant (inactive) sos gene. Dominant negative Sos did not affect carbachol stimulation of HA-ERK2 but inhibited the stimulatory effect of EGF by 60%. We then investigated the role of βγ-subunits in carbachol induction of HA-ERK2. Parietal cells were transfected with the HA-ERK2 vector together with a vector expressing the carboxy terminus of the β-adrenergic receptor kinase 1, known to block signaling mediated by βγ-subunits. In the presence of this vector, carbachol induction of HA-ERK2 was inhibited by 40%. Together these data suggest that, in the gastric parietal cells, carbachol activates the ERKs through Ras- and βγ-dependent mechanisms that require guanine nucleotide exchange factors other than Sos.


To overcome the limited modulation bandwidth of directly modulated semiconductors, a novel scheme for modulation bandwidth enhancement and tailoring is presented. This scheme involves a single-frequency master laser monolithically integrated with strongly injection-locked whistle-geometry semiconductor ring lasers. Improved high-speed performance of the novel scheme is confirmed through numerical modeling, showing greatly enhanced resonance frequency of up to ~160 GHz. Approaches to further improve the modulation response of strongly injection-locked ring lasers, including cascaded injection-locking and Q-modulated injection-locking are also presented.


Tensile data of various rotor and ring spun knitting yarns with different finishing treatments are analyzed in order to produce a correlation with yarn performance and production parameters. Among the fitted theoretical distributions, the Weibull and the Normal distribution function are closest to the experimental data distribution. The fit of both distributions deteriorates as the data increases. The data are also analyzed statistically with the "Moving Average" test and a Spectral Analysis. From the wavelengths of obvious periodic errors in the yarns it can be seen that these were produced mainly in the last production passages before spinning. Furthermore, a clear trend corresponding to a periodicity with the huge wavelength of a whole cone can be revealed for the ring spun yarns. The process parameter "spinning system" can be predicted clearly with a Neural Back-propagation Network. Knitting performance does not show a good correlation. The correlation results achieved with the Neural Network confirm that the Weibull distribution gives even a slightly better description of the experimental data than the Normal distribution.


During the late nineteenth century, language authorities in the United States were distressed by what they saw as a pervasive misuse of words. A particular type of language authority, the verbal critic, attempted to mitigate misuse by establishing and insisting upon "correct" meanings of words, and the writing of these verbal critics were remarkably popular at the time. Verbal critics' goals are not always clear-cut: they often lament the ignorance of those who "abuse" words, and at other times, they express their purpose as offering instruction in how to speak properly. Indeed, verbal criticism is full of contradictions, which this article explains in terms of a widespread crisis in representation, a crisis that seemed to threaten speakers' ability to communicate, affected late-nineteenth-century social structure, and mirrored political and economic debates over monetary policy, as well.


The cancer stem cell concept assumes that cancers are mainly sustained by a small pool of neoplastic cells, known as cancer stem cells or tumor initiating cells, which are able to reproduce themselves and produce phenotypically heterogeneous cells with lesser tumorigenic potential. Cancer stem cells represent an appealing target for development of more selective and efficient therapies. However, direct testing of the cancer stem cell concept and assessment of its therapeutic implications in human cancers have been complicated by the use of immunocompromised mice. Genetically defined immunocompetent autochthonous mouse models of human cancer provide a valuable tool to address this problem. Furthermore, they allow for a better understanding of the relevance of mechanisms controlling normal stem cell compartment to carcinogenesis. Advantages and disadvantages of some of the existing mouse models are reviewed, and future challenges in cancer stem cell research are outlined.


Treatment of recurrent or in-transit unresectable melanoma continues to be a major therapeutic challenge. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a therapeutic option for those patients whose lesions are not suitable for surgical resection and who have exhausted all other treatment modalities. ECT combines electroporation of tumor cells with the administration either of intravenous or intratumoral antineoplastic drugs, such as bleomycin or cisplatin. The cell membranes are thus rendered permeant to these impermeant hydrophilic drugs with a several hundred-fold increase in intracellular delivery and cytotoxicity. ECT is an effective treatment in the palliative management of unresectable recurrent disease with overall objective response rates of approximately 80–90%. ECT technology continues to evolve allowing application to deeper lesions. By combining ECT with tumor-specific immunostimulating approaches, such as perilesional IL-2, CpG oligonucleotides or prior immunogene therapy, there is a promise of both local and systemic control of this disease.


In this thematic section, the authors take a critical stance to the notion of giving back. They emphasize that giving back should be a model of solidarity and movement building, not charity. They push us to consider the ways in which the framework of giving back may actually reinforce hierarchical relationships between the researcher and the researched. In doing so, they offer new ways of thinking about the relationship between researchers and their communities of subjects. The strategies employed by these authors resonate with work from feminist activists and scholars whose approaches bring us alternative theories and methods through which to address the potentially dangerous effects of speaking for others through research. Examined alongside the giving back pieces in this section, these feminist contributions illuminate ways that we can give back by advancing the anti-oppression agendas of marginalized subjects through our research.


In this study, fresh attempts have been made to identify and estimate the phase constituents of a high-silicon, medium carbon multiphase steel (DIN 1.5025 grade) subjected to austenitization at 900 °C for 5 min, followed by quenching and low-temperature bainitizing (Q&B) at 350 °C for 200 s. Several techniques were employed using different chemical etching reagents either individually (single-step) or in combination of two or more etchants in succession (multiple-step) for conducting color metallography. The results showed that the complex multiphase microstructures comprising a fine mixture of bainite, martensite and retained austenite phase constituents were selectivity stained/tinted with good contrasting resolution, as observed via conventional light optical microscopy observations. While the carbon-enriched martensite-retained austenite (M/RA) islands were revealed as cream-colored areas by using a double-step etching technique comprising etching with 10% ammonium persulfate followed by etching with Marble's reagent, the dark gray-colored bainite packets were easily distinguishable from the brown-colored martensite regions. However, the high-carbon martensite and retained austenite in M/RA islands could be differentiated only after resorting to a triple-step etching technique comprising etching in succession with 2% nital, 10% ammonium persulfate solution and then warm Marble's reagent at 30 °C. This revealed orange-colored martensite in contrast to cream-colored retained austenite in M/RA constituents, besides the presence of brown-colored martensite laths in the dark gray-colored bainitic matrix. A quadruple-step technique involving successive etching with 2% nital, 10% ammonium persulfate solution, Marble's reagent and finally Klemm's Ι reagent at 40 °C revealed even better contrast in comparison to the triple-step etching technique, particularly in distinguishing the RA from martensite. Observations using advanced techniques like field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) failed to differentiate untempered, high-carbon martensite from retained austenite in the M/RA islands and martensite laths from bainitic matrix, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies successfully distinguished the RA from high-carbon martensite, as noticed in M/RA islands. The volume fraction of retained austenite estimated by EBSD, XRD and a point counting method on color micrographs of quadruple-step etched samples showed good agreement.


Immigration has major impacts on both the structure and function of communities and evolutionary dynamics of populations. While most work on immigration deals with relatively low numbers and diversity of immigrants, this does not capture microbial community dynamics, which frequently involve the coalescence of entire communities. The general consequences, if any, of such community coalescence are unclear, although existing theoretical and empirical studies suggest coalescence can result in single communities dominating resulting communities. A recent extension8 of classical ecological theory may provide a simple explanation: communities that exploit niches more fully and efficiently prevent species from other communities invading. Here, we test this prediction using complex anaerobic microbial communities, for which methane production provides a measure of resource use efficiency at community scale. We found that communities producing the most methane when grown in isolation dominated in mixtures of communities. As a consequence, the total methane production increased with the number of communities used as an inoculum. In addition to providing a practical method for enhancing biogas production during anaerobic digestion, these results are likely to be relevant to many other microbial communities. As such, it may be possible to predictably manipulate microbial community function for other biotechnological processes, health and agriculture.


In a prospective study of 56 scholarship players at the Univer sity of Arkansas in 1976, 14 anatomical and physiologic mea surements were carried out on each of the 56 players, to include certain orthopaedic strength, power, and balance tests, and compared to the coaches' subjective ratings of football ability in an effort to determine which characteristics best correlate to the athlete's true performance. The correlation matrix for the criterion measure and the predictor variables of selected anatomical strength, balance, and power measures are presented, and the results of the study indicate that genu varum (0.445) and tibial torsion (—0.33) had the highest correlation with the coaching criterion variable. The average tibial torsion was 42.6 for these scholarship ath letes, while normal average tibial torsion among a nonscholar ship group was 27.40 degrees. Other anatomical characteristics measured, as well as strength and power measure, could not reach the critical level of ±0.263 to be significant at the 0.05 level, although horsepower was close (0.255). The Margaria- Kalamen power test was significantly related to the 40-yard dash, and a moderately good measure of football ability.


The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the characteristics of gut microbiome and the effect of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) on glycemic control in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Seventy-four pregnant women newly diagnosed with GDM received MNT for one-week. The effect of glycemic control was evaluated by fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose; and stool samples of pregnant women were collected to detect the gut microbiome before and after MNT. We used a nested case-control study design, with pregnant women with GDM who did not meet glycemic standards after MNT as the ineffective group and those with an age difference of ≤5 years, matched for pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) 1:1, and meeting glycemic control criteria as the effective group. Comparison of the gut microbiome characteristics before MNT showed that the ineffective group was enriched in Desulfovibrio, Aeromonadales, Leuconostocaceae, Weissella, Prevotella, Bacillales_Incertae Sedis XI, Gemella and Bacillales, while the effective group was enriched in Roseburia, Clostridium, Bifidobacterium, Bifidobacteriales, Bifidobacteriaceae, Holdemania and Proteus. After treatment, the effective group was enriched in Bifidobacterium and Actinomycete, while the ineffective group was enriched in Holdemania, Proteus, Carnobacteriaceae and Granulicatella. In conclusion, the decrease in the abundance of characteristic gut microbiome positively correlated with blood glucose may be a factor influencing the poor hypoglycemic effect of MNT in pregnant women with GDM. Abundance of more characteristic gut microbiome negatively correlated with blood glucose could help control blood glucose in pregnant women with GDM.


The need to take a developmental perspective that embraces change over time at both the individual and group level is a key reference point for all involved in child and adolescent mental health. However, for most of us, our lives are dominated by the present. Time pressures are inevitable and something that most of us struggle with on a daily basis. The academic needs to meet the deadline for the next grant application (or editorial!), to recruit subjects into their studies, and of course publish the results of these studies as quickly as possible in high-impact journals. As the recognition of mental health problems in children and adolescents increases, so do the referral rates to specialist child and adolescent mental health services. Clinicians are often required to provide increasingly sophisticated evidence-based treatments to increased numbers of children and young people, but without increased staffing levels. As politics becomes increasingly dominated by the media, it often feels as if policy decisions are driven by the culture of the sound bite and the need for instant, rather than long-term, results. As a consequence of these constant time pressures we can often resort to a kind of short-termism, with the researcher conducting compact cross-sectional studies, the clinician focusing on short-term treatment outcomes, and policy makers on the instant fix without due recourse to the long-term picture. Several articles in this month's journal firmly buck this trend and illustrate, the important insights that can be gained by taking time to look at the long-term perspective, and that such studies can not only provide strong support for therapeutic interventions but also challenge popularly held scientific theories and political beliefs. Using data from the well-known Great Smoky Mountains Study, Sterba and colleagues demonstrate how longitudinal data can be used to test, and ultimately challenge, one of the key theoretical concepts of developmental psychology – the differentiation hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that development involves differentiation from a relatively unsophisticated and undifferentiated state in infancy, with fewer underlying latent dimensions, towards increasing differentiation with clearer boundaries and separation between different aspects of functioning, such that by late adolescence/early adulthood there are several clearly defined, and relatively uncorrelated, dimensions. The differentiation hypothesis has been used to explain the particularly high rates of comorbidity observed among mainly differentiated disorders in early childhood compared to adolescence and adulthood as a consequence of increasing differentiation of psychopathology across development, from an almost undifferentiated state in infancy, which could be either unidimensional or with several different but highly correlated dimensions of psychopathology, to a fully differentiated and multidimensional state in late adolescence where the various dimensions recognised in adulthood (e.g., depression, anxiety, antisocial behaviours) are present, clearly separable, and relatively uncorrelated with each other. While seductive in its logic and with considerable evidence to support it, the (increasing) differentiation hypothesis is, however, far from confirmed and other pathways are possible. For example, there could be no differentiation in infancy and this could continue into adolescence, or there could be an early differentiation that remains stable over time. Several studies that have combined data across cross-sectional studies have provided some preliminary evidence for increasing syndrome differentiation with age for the disruptive disorders; there is less support within the emotional disorders. However, as Sterba and colleagues point out, the considerable limitations associated with the cross-sectional comparisons mean that firm conclusions are difficult to make. The strengths of the Great Smoky Mountain Study data set lie not only in its size, duration of follow-up and impressive retention rate, but also the breadth of information available at each time point. Together these allowed the study team to use a sophisticated modelling framework to investigate the latent structure of psychopathology across development and test for stability of the model and of the interactions between the latent variables over time. Their findings, that by 9 years of age psychopathology is already relatively well differentiated, with evidence for separable domains of social anxiety, separation anxiety, oppositional defiant conduct, attentional deficit/ hyperactivity syndromes, and a unidimensional ... studies can not only provide strong support for therapeutic interventions but also challenge popularly held scientific theories and political beliefs Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 51:8 (2010), pp 857–858 doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02284.x


Planetary nebula (PN) surveys in systems beyond ∼10 Mpc often find high-excitation, point-like sources with [O iii] λ5007 fluxes greater than the apparent bright-end cutoff of the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF). Here we identify PN superpositions as one likely cause for the phenomenon and describe the proper procedures for deriving PNLF distances when object blends are a possibility. We apply our technique to two objects: a model Virgo-distance elliptical galaxy observed through a narrowband interference filter, and the Fornax lenticular galaxy NGC 1380 surveyed with the MUSE integral-field unit spectrograph. Our analyses show that even when the most likely distance to a galaxy is unaffected by the possible presence of PN superpositions, the resultant value will still be biased toward too small a distance due to the asymmetrical nature of the error bars. We discuss the future of the PNLF in an era where current ground-based instrumentation can push the technique to distances beyond ∼35 Mpc.


To the Editor. —I read with concern the report of the McSPI investigators on AF after cardiac surgery. 1 There is a clear incongruity in their conclusions about the effects of β-blockers on AF. The authors demonstrate that, given preoperatively, β-blockers reduce the incidence of AF, but, given postoperatively, β-blockers increase the incidence of AF. Not only does this finding not make sense, it is contrary to the results of multiple randomized, placebo-controlled trials that have consistently demonstrated a reduction in the incidence of postoperative AF with prophylactic administration of β-blockers after surgery. 2 The answer may lie in the fact that the McSPI investigators have no information on whether β-blockers were started prophylactically or as treatment for AF. Many cardiologists now use βblockers 3 in preference to digoxin 4 for rate control of AF. If patients who developed AF were begun on β-blockers as treatment, the authors' results would be explained as


The classical heat transfer theory is established on the empirical models of Fourier's heat conduction law and Newton's cooling law. Although the classical theory has been successfully used in a wide range of industrial engineering applications, it lacks deep understanding of the physical mechanisms for energy transport and analytical methodology based on solid mathematical and mechanical principles. The rapid development of modern science and technology challenges the traditional heat transfer theory in two aspects: (1) Fourier's law of heat conduction is no longer valid under the ultra-fast laser heating or nanoscale conditions; (2) The optimization principle minimizing entropy generation is not suitable for heat transfer problems without heat to work conversion. In order to solve the first challenge, we re-examined the nature of heat and introduced new physical quantities, such as thermomass, thermomass velocity, thermomass energy. Then the heat transfer problems can be analyzed in the framework of vectorial fluid mechanics, and the thermomass momentum conservation equation has been established and known as a general law of heat transfer. For the second challenge, we introduced new physical quantities, entransy and entransy dissipation, by analogy between the heat conduction process and the electric conduction process. Unlike entropy as the core physical quantity in thermodynamics dealing with energy conversion, entransy is the quantity to represent the ability of heat transfer in an incompressible system. The entransy dissipation represents the irreversibility of heat transfer process. On this basis, the least action principle to minimize entransy dissipation can be used to optimize the heat transfer process and enhance energy efficiency. Because the physical essence of entransy is the thermomass potential energy, the entransy-based variational method is actually the energy method in heat transfer. All the new physical quantities, principles and methods form a new and independent knowledge system in heat transfer, which may be named "Physical heat transfer".


Coaxial type piezoelectric energy generator (C-PEG) nanofiber was fabricated by a self-designed continuous electrospinning deposition system. Piezoelectric PVDF-TrFE nanofiber as an electroactive material was electrospun at a discharge voltage of 9–12 kV onto a simultaneously rotating and transverse moving Cu metal wire at an angular velocity of ω g = 60–120 RPM. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the PVDF-TrFE nanofiber was approximately −20 pm V−1. The generated output voltage (V G) increased according to the relationship exp(-α P) (α = 0.41– 0.57) as the pressure (P) increased from 30 to 500 kpa. The V G values for ten and twenty pieces of C-PEG were V G = 3.9 V and 9.5 V at P = 100 kpa, respectively, relatively high output voltages compared to previously reported values. The high V G for the C-PEG stems from the fact that it can generate a fairly high V G due to the increased number of voltage collection points compared to a conventional two-dimensional (2-dim) capacitor type of piezoelectric film or fiber device. C-PEG yarn was also fabricated via the dip-coating of a PDMS polymer solution, followed by winding with Ag-coated nylon fiber as an outer electrode. The current and power density of ten pieces of C-PEG yarn were correspondingly 22 nA cm−2 and 8.6 μW cm−3 at V G = 1.97 V, higher than previously reported values of 5.54 and 6 μW cm−3. The C-PEG yarn, which can generate high voltage compared to the conventional film/nanofiber mat type, is expected to be very useful as a wearable energy generator system.


We have examined the migratory capacity of Schwann cells from the distal stump of a 1‐week transected sciatic nerve of adult rat for a distance of 10 mm. The distal stump was introduced into the open end of a silicone chamber packed with artificial fibrin sponge (Gelaspon) soaked in phosphate‐buffered saline (control chambers), cytosine arabinoside (Ara‐C) (0.05 mM), or insulin (40 U/ml). Migrating Schwann cells were distinguished from fibroblasts by the presence of non‐specific cholinesterase (nChE) activity and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The cells of distal stumps including Schwann cells accepted Gelaspon as a suitable adhesive substratum. In the chambers filled with Gelaspon soaked in phosphate‐buffered saline alone Schwann cells were outnumbered by fibroblasts. The addition of Ara‐C resulted in greater numbers of Schwann cells, which migrate longer distances into the chambers. The application of insulin enhanced Schwann cell migration as well. These morphologic observations were further supported by biochemical measurements of nChE activity. The results suggest an influence on Schwann cell migration by fibroblasts of connective tissue sheaths and a stimulation of Schwann cell migration by insulin. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Hydroxy ketones were obtained in high yields by the chemoselective alkylation of formyl group of keto aldehydes with dialkylzincs in the presence of such catalysts as 2-dimethylaminoethanol, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine, or dilithium salt of piperazine.


Rational design of a transition metal layered double hydroxide (LDH) and graphene composite is vitally important for designing high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. Although various methods are performed, the realization of high-performance is still impeded by the agglomeration of graphene and layered double hydroxide. Here, metal-organic framework derived cobalt-cobalt layered double hydroxide (Co-Co LDH) hollow nanocages, uniformly deposited on graphene nanosheets, are fabricated through facile in situ co-deposition and thermal ion-exchange reaction. Electrochemical investigation reveals that Co-Co LDH/15 mg graphene is rather outstanding, which delivers high specific capacitance of 1205 F g-1 , excellent rate capability (60.3 % capacitance retention is obtained after the current density increased 6.67 times), and cycling stability. The excellent performance of electrode is also confirmed by assembling an asymmetric supercapacitor, which delivers high energy density of 49.5 Wh kg-1 as well as the maximum power density of 7000 W kg-1 . The Co-Co LDH/graphene composite proves a promising concept for constructing hierarchical structure materials in the future.


This paper introduces a real-time TV tracking system which is based on DSP(DM642). It narrates the principle of hardware design and the structure of the hardware in detail. A fast median filter algorithm, which is the most novelty in the system, is used to achieve the image pre-processed. And the algorithm of centroid calculated and Gaussian-fitting predicting approach are used to track the target. The experiment proves that this system can obtain continuous and stable tracking effect when the target is moving and covered up.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of various surface pretreatment methods, including H2SO4, Riboflavin, and Al2O3, as well as different luting cement types, namely Methyl Methacrylate based Cement (MMBC) and composite-based cement (CBC), on the extrusion bond strength (EBS) of poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) posts bonded to canal dentin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study involved 120 single-rooted human premolar teeth that underwent endodontic treatment. Following root canal preparation, PEEK posts were fabricated from PEEK blanks using a CAD-CAM system, resulting in a total of 120 posts. The posts were randomly assigned to one of four groups based on their post-surface conditioning: Group A H2SO4, Group B RF, Group C Al2O3, and Group D (NC), each consisting of 30 posts. Within each group, there were two subgroups based on the type of luting cement used for bonding. Subgroups A1, B1, C1, and D1 (n=15 each) utilized CBC, while Subgroups A2, B2, C2, and D2 (n=15 each) used MMBC.The bond strength between the PEEK posts and root dentin was assessed using a universal testing machine, and the failure modes were examined under a stereomicroscope. Statistical analysis, including one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's Post Hoc test with a significance level of p=0.05, was performed to analyze the data and evaluate the effects of surface treatment and luting cement type on the bond strength.

RESULTS
Group B2, which underwent RF conditioning followed by Super-Bond C&B cement application, exhibited the highest bond strength scores at the coronal section (9.57±0.67 MPa). On the other hand, Group D1, which had no conditioning (NC) and used Panavia® V5 cement, showed the lowest EBS at the apical third (2.39±0.72 MPa). The overall results indicate that the different conditioning regimens and luting cement types did not significantly influence the bond strength of PEEK posts to root dentin (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Riboflavin activated by photodynamic therapy (PDT) and H2SO4 can be effective surface conditioners for PEEK posts. These treatments have shown potential for enhancing the bond strength between PEEK and resin cement. Additionally, the study revealed that MMA-based cement outperformed composite-based cement in terms of bond integrity with PEEK posts.


Network-aware applications, i.e., applications that adapt to network conditions in an application-specific way, need both static and dynamic information about the network to be able to adapt intelligently to network conditions. The CMU Remos interface gives applications access to a wide range of information in a network-independent fashion. Remos uses a logical topology to capture the network information that is relevant to applications in a concise way. However, collecting this information efficiently is challenging for several reasons: networks use diverse technologies and can be very large (Internet); applications need diverse information; and network managers might have concerns about leaking confidential information. In this paper we present an architecture for a hierarchical collector of network information. The decentralized architecture relies on data collectors that collect information on individual subnets; data collectors can collect information in manner that is appropriate for that subnet and can control the distribution of the information. For application queries that involve multiple subnets, we use a set of master collectors to partition requests and distribute subrequests to individual data collectors and to combine the results. Collectors cache recent network information to improve efficiency and responsiveness. This paper presents and justifies the collector architecture, describes a prototype implementation, and presents preliminary measurements characterizing its operation.


A family is described in which three males have been affected by congenital valvular dysplasia of one or more heart valves, in one case leading to neonatal death. The pedigree is consistent with sex linked inheritance.


We show that ΔΣ modulators can be interpreted as heuristic solvers for a particular class of optimization problems. Then, we exploit this theoretical result to propose a novel technique to deal with very large unconstrained discrete quadratic programming (UDQP) problems characterized by quadratic forms entailing a circulant matrix. The result is a circuit-based optimization approach involving a recast of the original problem into signal processing specifications, then tackled by the systematic design of an electronic system. This is reminiscent of analog computing, where untreatable differential equations were solved by designing electronic circuits analog to them. The approach can return high quality suboptimal solutions even when many hundreds of variables are considered and proved faster than conventional empirical optimization techniques. Detailed examples taken from two different domains illustrate that the range of manageable problems is large enough to cover practical applications.


The Gullfaks Oil Field is located in the Norwegian sector of the Northern North Sea. Time-lapse (4D) seismic data have been used at Gullfaks since 1995 and have contributed significantly to the reservoir management of the field. Permanent field installations limit the area where new marine streamer surveys can be acquired; this restriction affects in 25% of the field. In 2001 an Ocean Bottom Seismic (OBS) pilot survey was acquired around the Gullfaks C (GFC) platform, to test whether the OBS technology could cover the 'shadow zones' around the permanent installations. The results from the 2001 OBS survey clearly show that the OBS data cover the 'shadow zone' and provide new 4D information around the GFC platform. Within the OBS area two new wells have been successfully drilled based on updated 4D information comparing streamer data from 1999 and OBS data from 2001. Based on the experience from the 2001 survey a new OBS survey was acquired in 2003 to cover the areas around the GFA and GFB platforms.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate a noninvasive technique to localize the atrial insertion site of concealed accessory pathways based on the analysis of body surface potential maps (BSPMs) of retrograde P waves in dogs with simulated retrograde pathways.

ANIMALS AND METHODS
Orthodromic tachycardias were simulated by atrial stimulations at eight different sites around the atrioventricular ring with long (250 ms and 300 ms) and short (100 ms and 130 ms) coupling times in 14 anesthetized dogs to have P waves well separated from the T wave or occurring during the T wave, respectively. The distance between pacing sites was 15 to 40 mm in group 1 (eight dogs) and 2 mm (in the right atrial free wall region) in group 2 (six dogs). Beats were signal-averaged during 30 s and BSPMs were constructed from 63 unipolar leads.

RESULTS
The P wave BSPM pattern for any specific stimulation site was stable and reproducible (correlation coefficient greater than 0.98), and similar in different dogs at long coupling interval stimulations. The thoracic distribution of negative potentials and position of the potential minimum clearly identified the stimulation site when long coupling time stimulations were used. The spatial resolution of the technique as determined by comparison of correlation coefficients in group 2 was 6 mm (P<0.05). When short coupling time stimulations were used (fast tachycardia simulation), the T wave masked the P wave potential distribution in four of eight dogs, but the retrograde P wave map could still be accurately extracted by subtracting a straight line joining the onset and offset of the P wave in 24 of 28 (86%) of the tachycardia simulation sites in these four dogs.

CONCLUSIONS
The BSPM patterns of simulated retrograde P waves are specifically related to the site of atrial stimulation. Although the T wave altered these BSPM patterns, a subtraction technique recovered the pattern of the retrograde P wave in 93% of all simulated orthodromic tachycardias. The spatial resolution of the retrograde P wave BSPM method was 6 mm.


Abstract Forest trees are a great model for physiological and genetic studies of plant resistance to unfavourable environmental conditions, since the same species can successfully acclimate at different latitudes. Modern biology, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, etc., significantly facilitates these studies and accelerates the acquisition of new knowledge. This allows for a more effective implementation of conservation measures and the renewal of forest ecosystems. This review contains information on the latest scientific achievements in the field of acclimatization and tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as cold and frost, of forest trees. There is no doubt that in the course of evolution forest trees developed a complex and dynamic mechanism for controlling the entry into the winter dormancy stage, which allows woody plants to successfully survive in cold and freezing conditions and is initiated long before the beginning of winter. Studying the function of individual genes in forest tree species, however, remains an incredibly difficult task due to large genomes, specific development as well as the lack of standard techniques and routine procedures. In recent years, similarities between the well-studied genetic response to low temperatures of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and forest trees have been identified, which produced meaningful analogies and allows for issues of functional genetics to be addressed more effectively. The main goal of this work was to show that findings from forest tree genomics can be effectively used as a tool for the reproduction and protection of important tree species through the identification of the predisposition of specific populations to climate change and their adaptive capacity.


The traditional intrusion detection system (IDS) generally use the misuse detection model based on rules because this model has low false alarm rate. But the disadvantage of this model is that it could not detect the new attacks, even the variation of existed ones. In this paper we proposed a novel model based on KPCA and SVM to solve the mentioned problem above. Different from traditional IDS, we added a pre-process module before the classifier. We use principal components extracted from the input data using KPCA, which is the main part of the pre-process module, as input of the SVM classifier that differentiates the normal and abnormal actions. Applying proposed system to KDDCUP99 data, experimental results clearly demonstrate that this model has a remarkable performance in detecting both existed intrusions and mutated ones.


Author describes thoracoscopic fenestration applied to treat pericardial effusion in an elderly patient with etiologically not identified chronic pericarditis. The operation can be performed easily, quickly and with minimal functional harm with the help of minimal invasive method. Thoracoscope gives a detailed view of the inner surface of the pericardial sac and the epicardium and the cutting of the pericardial window can be performed safely. Apart from description of operation technique applied the author gives a brief summary of place and significance of minimal invasive pericardial intervention in the treatment of the ever growing pericardial effusion.


Abstract We report here two cases of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). The first case describes an asymptomatic 75-year-old man with FMD of the right internal carotid artery. The second case reports a 17-year-old man who presented with arterial hypertension caused by FMD of the left renal artery and was subsequently successfully treated by angioplasty. FMD is a rare nonatherosclerotic, noninflammatory angiopathy, which can involve almost every arterial vascular bed. It is a less common cause of stenosis of renal and carotid arteries. FMD can present with arterial hypertension when it involves renal arteries or with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack when the disease affects the carotid or vertebral arteries. Many cases are asymptomatic and may be discovered incidentally. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty should be used in patients with a stenosis of the renal artery causing arterial hypertension. On the contrary, conservative therapy should be chosen in patients with asymptomatic and extensive lesions of the carotid arteries.


Prepyrolysis of coal as a precursor to its utilization in a power plant or gas turbine is experimentally investigated. The pyrolyzer, 800 mm in diameter and 1500 mm in height, consists of two concentric chambers. Coarse char particles, used like inert medium ("sand" in the sequel). The char is heated in the outer chamber by an external source of heat, such as hot gases. The inner chamber is used for the pyrolysis process of fine coal powder (50 micron), that is fed into it. The heat required for the endothermic pyrolysis process is supplied by the circulating char. Cold tests conducted on the apparatus indicate that the parameters most influencing solid circulation between the chambers are: the aerosol nature of the flow, the sand seals area, and the superficial velocity. The tests show that the intensive recirculation process exists only under very limited range of flow conditions. Outside this range of conditions, sand "bridges" are formed at the seals preventing proper operation. These bridges can be destroyed by strong fluidization at the inner chamber wall. Results of cold and hot tests, including parametric study of the pyrolzer performance, will be presented. The feasibility of the suggested scheme for mild gasification, of a precursor to its combustion in a power plant, will be discussed.


Objective: The chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)) is particularly effective against cervical cancer. The purpose of this study is to elucidate combination effect of cisplatin and green tea extracts on the growth inhibition of TC-1 cell. Methods: To observe the anti-proliferative effects, we treated different doses of cisplatin (0.1, 0.5, 2.5 uM), GTP (1, 5, 25 ug/ml) and EGCG (25, 50, 100 uM). to TC-1 cells. Also, we treated 0.5 uM of cisplatin and different doses of GTP (1 and 5 ug/ml) or EGCG (25 and 50 uM). Cell viability was scored by use of MTT assay. In addition, E6 gene expression patterns in TC-1 cell were investigated by using RT-PCR. Results: Cell growth inhibition in a dose dependent was observed at the different concentration of ciaplatin, GTP and EGCG. Also, in the groups treated by 0.5 uM of cisplatin and GTP (1 and 5 ug/ml) or EGCG (25 and 50 uM), the inhibition of cell growth showed with 12.2%, 6.9% and 63.4%, 72.2% as compared to the group treated by cisplatin only. In RT-PCR, down regulation of E6 was shown. Conclusion: Additive effect of the combination of cisplatin with GTP or EGCG on the inhibition of cell growth was observed. This effect suggests the possibility lowering the concentration of chemotherapeutic drugs, which alleviate the side effect of drugs.


Abstract. The two-dimensional advection-dispersion equations coupled with sequential first-order decay reactions involving arbitrary number of species in groundwater system is considered to predict the two-dimensional plume behavior of decaying contaminant such as radionuclide and dissolved chlorinated solvent. Generalized analytical solutions in compact format are derived through the sequential application of the Laplace, finite Fourier cosine, and generalized integral transform to reduce the coupled partial differential equation system to a set of linear algebraic equations. The system of algebraic equations is next solved for each species in the transformed domain, and the solutions in the original domain are then obtained through consecutive integral transform inversions. Explicit form solutions for a special case are derived using the generalized analytical solutions and are compared with the numerical solutions. The analytical results indicate that the analytical solutions are robust, accurate and useful for simulation or screening tools to assess plume behaviors of decaying contaminants.


You are never too old, too young or too busy to learn". This means that you can be a lifelong learner, truly enjoying your learning experience. This has been quite an interesting change of perspective in learning, which is worth investigating. Both in environments primarily thought for education and during ad hoc experiences Edu-tainment is the leading star to perform at best and enjoy the deepening of your knowledge and skills. The theoretical aspect of Education and Learning is no more detached from the concept of "being able to apply notions". What it matters today is not only the pure knowledge, which still constitutes the basis of the knowledge society. However it is 'simply' the first layer, on which others should be put: in modern society skills and competences are fundamental, when it comes to Education and Innovation, considered by a lifelong learning perspective. They span different domains, which were not traditionally part of the educational field: digital competences, social and civic ones, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression. Education is and remains a common good by all means, however it is no more an abstract and a stand-alone concept, rather it is considered more valuable if it serves a precise purpose in our society. Skills-based knowledge is what makes the difference today. It is no more the notion that is at the centre of the learning process, rather its links with the real world and the degree of impact that what you have learnt and experienced can make in the society, is what counts. Education is more and more considered by learners as a permanent status in their life: sometimes it comes up, other times is in sleep mode. What is meaningful is that it is by all means a life experience, where the attitude of the learner means more than everything: "Learning to learn is the ability to pursue and persist in learning, to organise one's own learning, including through effective management of time and information both individually and in groups". As the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning states. What is more, in the Recommendation we read: "a positive attitude includes the motivation and confidence to pursue and succeed at learning throughout one's life. A problem-solving attitude supports both the learning process itself and an individual's ability to handle obstacles and change". In other words, the learning experience is not something which is accomplished just in school, on the contrary it permeates the life of the learner, as skills and competences should be used to cope with challenges which belong to the world outside the classroom. As a concrete evidence of this, we can refer to e-Learning as a mean to build thinking skills: when you help learners build this kind of competences, you enable the workforce to quickly adapt to changing conditions. Each lifelong learner needs to face different circumstances: what makes the difference is not the theory, rather, what matters are problem solving skills; such as creative thinking (generating new ideas) and critical thinking (analysis and evaluation). This is just an example, on how non traditional transferable skills can enhance the employability prospects of a learner. Outlining this scenario is fundamental to pave the way to the analysis of the Copernican (R)evolution we are witnessing in the (educational) world: social benefit and private investments are now part of the same lifecycle. In my paper I will focus on the principles, reasons and consequences that are implied in this new phenomenon, which has already affected other domains (i.e. Eco-business). In my opinion, the "mix" between public and private investments will be increasingly relevant in the future of education, for two basic reasons: resources availability is more and more scarce; competitiveness is becoming stronger. It is extremely important to underline that in investigating this (R)evolution we need to be rigorous and distinguish among experiences, singling out the virtuous patterns that can be transferable and applicable to different contexts, ensuring that common standards are respected and that the nature of learning is not distorted. The participation of private actors in the (e)Learning process should not be considered as a way of relinquishing the inner nature of Education and Learning, Universal Journal of Educational Research 3(8): 530-535, 2015 531 rather, if well-conceived and managed, the final result proves to be completely the opposite. What should be always granted is the fairness of the processes, namely solid and sound policies have to be in place in order to provide the precise framework, in which a private actor can then intervene, complementing and integrating what the public authority has to assure to its citizens. In the paper the investigation of such a phenomenon will be complemented by the focus on a case study, with the purpose to shed light on the practical implications that this new educational scenario can lead to. Namely "Samsung School and Labs" will be under scrutiny. The purpose of innovation, in each domain, is to open up new scenarios: in Education and Learning fields it is particularly true that creativity is inspiring and, if well managed, can be revolutionary.


This paper analyzes the determinants of foreign direct investments by the U.S. food-processing industry in developed and developing countries. We find that market size, per-capita income, and trade openness significantly affect U.S. food-processing firms' decisions to invest abroad, but their influence differs between developed and developing countries. Economic development is positively associated with FDI in developing countries but negatively associated in developed countries. Market size is a major determinant of FDI only in developed economies. Trade openness seems to be important for sales by U.S. foreign affiliates in both developed and developing countries and for exports to developed country markets.


A set of mathematical models are developed based on thermodynamics, mass transfer, and crystallisation concepts to predict hydrate formation rate and the aqueous phase composition in the flow loop. In order to validate the model, experimental study is carried out in a 10 m loop with the inside diameter of 10.6 mm using gas mixture of 73% methane and 27% propane to measure the hydrate formation rate. The experimental conditions include temperature from 4 to 5°C and pressures between 2 and 3 MPa. Good agreements are noticed when the experimental and theoretical hydrate formation rates are compared at different operating conditions.


It is known that females from native populations of the multicoloured Asian ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, have a strong photoperiodic response (enter reproductive diapause under short photoperiods), whereas the proportion of diapausing females from invasive populations is less dependent on day length. The aim of the present study was to determine the mode of inheritance of these differences. The experiments were conducted with two laboratory populations of H. axyridis, the High Diapause (HD) population originated from Irkutsk (Southern Siberia, ca 52.3°N, 104.3°E) and the Low Diapause (LD) population originated from Sochi (North Caucasus, ca 43.6°N, 39.6°E). Reciprocal fi rst generation hybrids and reciprocal backcrosses were investigated. Under a strong diapause-inducing photoperiod (12 h) 100% of the females from the HD population and about 70% of those from the LD population entered diapause. First generation hybrids, as well as their backcrosses with individuals from the HD population, showed almost 100% diapause. Among the backcrosses with the LD population the percentage of diapausing females was widely variable (70–100%) but close to the average between the two populations. The comparison of reciprocal crosses did not reveal any signifi cant difference. We conclude that photoperiodic induction of diapause in the populations of H. axyridis studied is most probably determined by several genes (although one of them evidently plays a leading role with diapause being dominant over non-diapause) and that male and female genotypes are equally important in the determination of female reproductive diapause.


Tensions of Empire: Colonial Cultures in a BourgeoisWorld, ed. F C and A L S (Berkeley, Calif., 1997) A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895–1930, by A L. C (Stanford, Calif., 1997) The Allure of Empire: Art in the Service of French Imperialism, 1798–1836, by T P (Princeton, N.J., 1998) Nature, the Exotic, and the Science of French Colonialism, byM A. O (Bloomington, Ind., 1994) Imperial Identities: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Race in Colonial Algeria, by P M. E. L (London, 1995; paperback ed. 1999) Urban Forms and Colonial Confrontations: Algiers under French Rule, by Z Ç (Berkeley, Calif., 1997) Phantasmatic Indochina: French Colonial Ideology in Architecture, Film, and Literature, by P N (Durham, N.C., 1996) Identity Papers: Contested Nationhood inTwentieth-Century France, ed. SU and T C (Minneapolis, Minn., 1996)


The retention of 65Zn and 54 Mn were measured in Peromyscus polionotus that were subjected to different ambient temperatures or to forced exercise. Food intake and assimilation were measured simultaneously with the excretion of the intraperitoneally injected isotopes. The mean elimination constant ( k ) for 65Zn of the exercised mice was significantly larger than that of the unexercised mice, although the metabolic rates of the two groups were not different. For the group retention curves, k for 65Zn, days 20 to 38, and the area under the curve, days 0 to 38, varied inversely with temperature. The average metabolic rate of a group of mice was significantly correlated with the area under the group curve ( r = 0.96). The excretion of 54Mn did not vary significantly with temperature. Food intake, food assimilation, and metabolic rate of individual mice were highly predictable from multiple correlations with ambient temperature and body weight, which together accounted for 96 to 98 per cent of the variability. In only one case did a parameter of the zinc retention curve contribute more than an additional 2 per cent to the predictability of the multiple correlations. In terms of simple correlations, food intake, food assimilation, and metabolic rate of individual mice were significantly related to k for 65Zn, days 20 to 38, and to the area under the retention curve, but the predictabilities of the simple regressions were 58 per cent or less.


As an important section in the chain of semiconductor products manufacturing, dispensing techniques and relevant dispensers drawn increasing attentions of the researchers and engineers in recent years. In some applications, the dispenser cycles are required to be completed within 2 ms and the corresponding dot diameters are usually in micrometer scale, and sometimes even in nanometer scale when extremely high precision is demanded. The factors that affect dispensing precision vary with different application cases and purpose. The designers of dispensing mechanism usually find themselves facing the difficulties to balance among these factors with the risk of losing satisfying dispensing performance. Oriented by such increasing demand of high precision and high efficiency dispensing in the electronic packaging industry, this paper presents an alternative approach for the parameter design of a dispensing valve based on the dynamic fluid simulation and multi-objective optimization. With regard to current dispensing techniques, geometric model standing for the end of nozzle and the section where air and fluid substance interact is set up. Computational fluid simulation is taken to observe the forming of droplets. The material properties and dynamic parameters are used to set up governing equations. The motion of fluid substance is modeled with Volume of Fluid model and formation and separation of droplets are simulated. With the aid of multi-objective optimization tools, the optimized solution are offered based on simulation results, which allow the designer make a reasonable tradeoff without losing the dispensing precision.


On Scientific Writing, the author discusses about how to make Snake Games Applications Appliances Network LAN with J2SE (Java2 Standard Edition). Use of the Java language, because Java has the ability to generate applications that can run on different operating systems, other than that java has a pretty good network capabilities. In this game applications, aim to be among the players can be connected in a network LAN (Local Area Network), the author uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol) as a protocol. Selected UDP (User Datagram Protocol) as a protocol, because this protocol has advantages in terms of speed in delivery of data packets and does not need to first build a relationship of communication with the computer that will be contacted. From this research, writer can conclude that this game can run applications on the network that has a different operating system. In addition, despite using the UDP protocol (User Datagram Protocol), to send data on the game in a network LAN (Local Area Network) can be delivered properl.


Abstract We present a numerical study of the flow states and reversals of the large-scale circulation (LSC) in a two-dimensional circular Rayleigh–Bénard cell. Long-time direct numerical simulations are carried out in the Rayleigh number ($Ra$) range $10^{7} \leqslant Ra \leqslant 10^{8}$ and Prandtl number ($Pr$) range $2.0 \leqslant Pr \leqslant 20.0$. We found that a new, long-lived, chaotic flow state exists, in addition to the commonly observed circulation states (the LSC in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions). The circulation states consist of one primary roll in the middle and two secondary rolls near the top and bottom circular walls. The primary roll becomes stronger and larger, while the two secondary rolls diminish, with increasing $Ra$. Our results suggest that the reversal of the LSC is accompanied by the secondary rolls growing, breaking the primary roll and then connecting to form a new primary roll with reversed direction. We mapped out the phase diagram of the existence of the LSC and the reversal in the $Ra\text{--}Pr$ space, which reveals that the flow is in the circulation states when $Ra$ is large and $Pr$ is small. The reversal of the LSC can only occur in a limited $Pr$ range. The phase diagram can be understood in terms of competition between the thermal and viscous diffusions. We also found that the internal flow states manifested themselves into global properties such as Nusselt and Reynolds numbers.


Nonparametric control chart techniques represent a rather neglected area in Statistical Process Control, in particular with respect to monitoring process variability. There are only very few relevant papers published. The reason for not regarding nonparametric techniques for controlling process variability are investigated in this paper by means of a control chart based on the two sample rank-sum test of Ansari and Bradley. Using the popular 3σcontrol limits, the in-control state performance (ARL) is compared by simulation with that of a Shewhart S-chart for different distributions and different sample sizes. Moreover, the efficiency to detect shifts in the variability is investigated. It is shown that the in-control performance is excellent, however, the performance in the out-of-control state is rather poor.


This paper provides a review of the current findings in receptivity for subsonic/transonic flows, including a discussion of the origin of the concept via Mark Morkovin, a remarkable aeronautical engineer, educator, and colleague. Disturbances external to the boundary layer – whether freestream sound or vorticity – can interact with surface roughness, the leading edge, or other inhomogeneities and enter the boundary layer as steady and/or unsteady fluctuations of the basic state. This process establishes the initial conditions of disturbance amplitude, frequency, phase, and scales for the breakdown of laminar flow. The past decades have seen considerable progress in the understanding of receptivity mechanisms guided by the roadmap (Morkovin et al. 1 ).


The clinical questions that surround the origin, the diagnosis and the treatment of pulmonary abscess are numerous. A considerable number of them may not be answered in the light of present knowledge of this condition. The answers to some of these practical and pertinent questions must come from the reciprocal orientation of the knowledge of the surgeon and the clinician with the knowledge of the specialist in correlated fields, the roentgenologist, the pathologist, the bacteriologist, and so on. These specialists have their own puzzles. With regard to the bacteriologist, it is perhaps not too much to say that pulmonary abscess, representing a mixed infection that includes a tremendous variety of bacterial types, is extremely puzzling; and it may not be too much to say that few clinical men have been able to keep up with the changing front of bacteriology, and with the status of the great number of organisms


Tectonic dynamics and niche availability play intertwined roles in determining patterns of diversification. Such drivers explain the current distribution of many clades, whereas events such as the rise of angiosperms can have more specific impacts, such as on the diversification rates of herbivores. The Tortricidae, a diverse group of phytophagous moths, are ideal for testing the effects of these determinants on the diversification of herbivorous clades. To estimate ancestral areas and diversification patterns in Tortricidae, a complete tribal‐level dated tree was inferred using molecular markers (one mitochondrial and five nuclear) and calibrated using fossil constraints. We found that Tortricidae diverged from their sister group c. 120 Myr ago (Ma) and diversified c. 97 Ma, a timeframe synchronous with the rise of angiosperms in the Early–mid Cretaceous. Ancestral areas analysis, based on updated Wallace's biogeographical regions, supports the hypothesis of a Gondwanan origin of Tortricidae in the South American plate. We also detected an increase in speciation rate that coincided with the peak of angiosperm diversification in the Cretaceous. This in turn probably was further heightened by continental colonization of the Palaeotropics when angiosperms became dominant by the end of the Late Cretaceous.


Pentaerythritol tetranicotinate (Perycit), at an oral dosage of 750 mg daily, was given to 12 patients with idiopathic hyperlipidemia and to 12 patients with hyperlipidemia superimposed with diabetes mellitus (DM). With 2 months off-drug period as the baseline, each patient then received 3 months of placebo and 3 months of Perycit. The sequence of treatment was randomized and balanced in frequency. Blood glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb A1) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were used as indices of diabetic control. Serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and TC/HDL-C ratio were measured and calculated in order to compare the antilipemic effectiveness of Perycit with that of placebo. The non-parametric Wilcoxon test was used for the statistical analysis. The results showed that in the idiopathic group, Perycit significantly lowered the serum level of TG and the ratio of TC/HDL-C, and elevated the serum level of HDL-C. In the diabetic group, although there was a similar improvement in diabetic control in both periods of placebo and Perycit treatments, there was no change in the serum levels of TG and HDL-C. There was a slight increase of the serum levels of TC in the periods of Perycit treatment, whereas a small increase of HDL-C resulted in a mild decrease of the TC/HDL-C ratio. There was mild and transient facial flushing during the Perycit treatment in 6 out of 12 diabetic patients. Otherwise, there was no side effects in either group. Pooling the two groups' data together, Perycit increased the serum levels of HDL-C and decreased the TC/HDL-C ratio. It is concluded that Perycit has antilipemic effects in patients with idiopathic hyperlipidemia, and may be helpful in reducing the atherogenic risks in these patients. In patients with hyperlipidemia superimposed with DM, although the serum lipids composition was not significantly changed after Perycit, the atherogenic risks might also be reduced as demonstrated by the decrease of the TC/HDL-C ratio.


. The paper deals with spectral and lasing characteristics of thulium-doped optical fibers fabricated by means of two doping techniques, i.e. via a conventional solution-doping method and via a nanoparticle-doping method. The difference in fabrication was the application of a suspension of aluminum oxide nanoparticles of defined size instead of a conventional chloride-containing solution. Samples of thulium-doped silica fibers having nearly identical chemical composition and waveguiding properties were fabricated. The sample fabricated by means of the nanoparticle-doping method exhibited longer lifetime, reflecting other observations and the trend already observed with the fibers doped with erbium and aluminum nanoparticles. The fiber fabricated by means of the nanoparticle-doping method exhibited a lower lasing threshold (by » 20%) and higher slope efficiency (by » 5% rel.). All these observed differences are not extensive and deserve more in-depth research; they may imply a positive influence of the nanoparticle approach on properties of rare-earth-doped fibers for fiber lasers.


The United Nations Rights of the Child mandates the right of children to express themselves and participate in decisions that affect them, while receiving care and protection from adults. However, children's voices have not often found their
way into research. Concerns about their powers of communication and cognitive abilities have restricted children's participation. Empirical evidence suggests that
if one appropriately engages children in the information-gathering process there is no reason why their perceptions and thoughts should not be regarded as competent. However, methodologies that require researchers to adopt a role of
passive observer potentially pose ethical dilemmas. When working with children ethical dilemmas can be minimised by taking on the role of a participant adult. The participant adult role for the researcher is entirely congruent with the
cognitive and social needs of children to participate meaningfully in research.


Wheat flour–microparticulated wheat bran (MWB) mixture and composites were prepared, and their potential as an oil repellent was evaluated in doughnuts. As MWB content increased, the oil-holding capacity decreased, and there were significant changes in water-holding capacity (p < 0.05). As MWB content increased, the fat content of doughnuts decreased. In addition, the wheat flour–MWB composite was more effective for preventing fat uptake than the wheat flour–MWB mixture. The hardness of the composite was higher than the mixture, although volume and weight decreased and surface colour became darker than that of the mixture. As the proportion of wheat bran in the doughnut formulation increased, the inner crust achieved a uniform cell size and cellular integrity was improved. Based on these data, wheat flour–MWB composites are appropriate for use in doughnut formulas with low fat uptake.


Ensuring security in wireless ad hoc networks is absolutely necessary and a must for any security-critical applications. In this paper, we report our progress in the development of an agent-based cooperative anomaly detection scheme for wireless ad hoc networks. The approach addresses the underlying distributed and cooperative nature of wireless ad hoc networks and adds one more dimension of cooperation to the intrusion detection process. That is, the anomaly detection is performed in a cooperative way involving the participation of multiple mobile nodes. Unlike traditional signature-based misuse detection approaches, the proposed scheme detects various types of intrusions/attacks based on the model learned only from normal network behaviors. Without the requirements of pre-labeled attack data, the approach eliminates the time-consuming labeling process and the impacts of imbalanced dataset. Besides, the concept of software agent technology has been applied in system implementation, which provides further support for distributed wireless ad hoc networks


Histological and electron microscopic studies of embryos from pulmonectomized female rats have revealed retarded differentiation of respiratory rudiment epithelium manifested in delayed appearance of osmiophylic laminar corpuscles and decreased number of type II pneumocytes in respiratory rudiment lining. Osmiophylic laminar corpuscles in them were less differentiated, as compared to the control. In addition, embryonic lungs in pulmonectomized rats were characterized by excessive mesenchyma development and respective decrease in respiratory rudiment area. It is concluded that embryonic lungs developed during pulmonary tissue deficit in the mother are functionally less mature.


1. To find out which properties enable plant species to dominate in nutrient-poor habitats and which properties benefit species in nutrient-rich habitats, we studied the growth and morphology of eight perennial grass species from habitats with contrasting soil fertilities in a pot experiment under controlled conditions in a glasshouse. 2. The species were grown under nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich conditions. Ranked from the least responsive to the most responsive to the supply of nutrients they were: Festuca ovina, F. rubra, Anthoxanthum odoratum, F. arundinacea, Alopecurus pratensis, F. pratensis, Arrhenatherum elatius, Lolium perenne. 3. The response correlated positively with the Ellenberg nitrogen number of the species. No differences in initial relative growth rate were found between the species, but after 4 weeks the plant dry weight increased with increasing nitrogen number as a result of variation in embryo plus endosperm weight. 4. Species characteristic of nutrient-rich hayfields are taller and show a more homogeneous vertical distribution of photosynthetic area than the species from nutrient-poor habitats, which have most of their leaf area below 15 cm. Species from the nutrient-poor habitats allocated less dry matter to the roots and consequently more to the shoot, than species from nutrient-rich conditions. However, leaf and root morphology seem to be most clearly adapted to the habitat. 5. Species from nutrient-rich habitats have a higher specific leaf area (SLA) than species from nutrient-poor habitats, while species from nutrient-poor habitats had more root length per unit root weight (SRL) than species from nutrient-rich habitats.


The three-dimensional code system supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics analysis (SNTA) code is developed for SCWR core steady-state analysis by coupling neutronics/thermal-hydraulics (N/T). This paper studies the calculation difference between the SNTA code and the standard reactor analysis code (SRAC). By using the impacts exclusive method, it is confirmed that the calculation difference between these two codes is caused by different feedback of the cross section. The cross section data and the energy group structure of the SRAC code differ from the SNTA code, and the density coefficient of reactivity calculated by the SRAC code is higher, which means the feedback of the density and power distribution is bigger and the axial power distribution varies rapidly. The SNTA code with finer energy group structure is suitable for the performance analysis of SCWR core which has strong N/T coupling characteristics.


The radiation of water waves by a heaving truncated circular cylinder with damping plate is solved in the frame of the three-dimensional linear potential theory. The damping plate has a distinct advantage in reducing the motion response of a floating circular cylinder by increasing the added mass and the damping coefficient. Using the matched eigenfunction expansion method, the characteristics of hydrodynamic added mass and the damping coefficient are investigated with various system parameters, such as the radius and submergence depth of the damping plate. It is found that both added mass and the damping coefficient are significantly increased due to the arranged features of the larger damping plate with shallow submergence, which are positive factors as a motion reduction device of the floating offshore platform. Also the numerical results for an oscillating submerged disk show that the added mass is negative and that the damping coefficient has a peak value at resonant frequency when submergence depth is sufficiently small.


Tritium safety research on the tritium system of Test Blanket Module (TBM) was carried out. At first, according to safety conception of multiple containment systems, a possible layout of TBM tritium system was designed and analyzed. Secondly, according to safety analysis task and method of the tritium system, the research framework about tritium safety analysis was given. At last, in order to compare and assess safety grade about the tritium system among all kinds of nuclear facilities, calculation formula was given.


This paper proposes a new algorithm for localizing phase to ground faults in an electric power distribution system. Fault-originated traveling waves propagate along the distribution paths in both directions away from the fault point and are reflected at line terminations, junctions between feeders, laterals, and the fault location. Depending on the paths which traveling waves reciprocate through, the transient signal at each node contains certain path characteristic frequencies (PCFs). Energy spectrum of the transient signal has high density around the path characteristic frequencies. On this basis, the transient voltage is decomposed by a wavelet filter and its energy spectrum is decomposed into different levels. Depending on the bandwidth of the wavelet filter and the path characteristic frequencies, the decomposed signal in each level contains a certain percentage of energy. Then, a neural network-based methodology is proposed as a power distribution line fault locator. Energy percentage in each level is the candidate feature for training the artificial neural network. Simulations and the training process for the neural network are performed respectively using ATP/EMTP and MATLAB. It is shown that the results of the proposed algorithm are quite satisfactory.


Purpose-The main aim of present study is to empirically examine the importance of working capital management and its components on the profitability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India.Design/methodology/approach - We employ panel data regression method on a sample of 433 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from India for the period spanning from 2007 to 2012. Following Deloof (2003); Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007) and Tauringana & Afrifa (2013), we use Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) as measure of working capital management and its components (inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable) and Return on Assets (ROA) as the proxy for SMEs profitability.Findings -Using panel data analysis, we find that the number of days of inventory (DI), number of days of accounts receivables (DAR), the number of days of accounts payables (DAP) and cash conversion cycle (CCC) are negatively correlated with profitability of SMEs in India. Results further show that the management of inventory (DI) and accounts receivables (AR) are important for SMEs profitability in India, albiet the latter is relatively less important than inventory management. Overall, our findings are consistent with the earlier work on SMEs by Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007) and Tauringana & Afrifa (2013).Research limitations/implications - Our sample is limited to 433 SMEs, and therefore the findings cannot be generalized to all the SMEs in India.Practical implications -Results of the present study imply that the SMEs in India need to focus their resources on managing inventory and accounts receivables in order to be more profitable.Originality/value-To best of author?s knowledge, the present study is the first to examine the relationship between WCM and its components to SMEs portability in India. The main contribution of this paper is the finding of relative importance of components of working capital management and their differential influence on profitability of SMEs in the Indian context.