To improve the wear property of magnesium alloy, wear-resistant TiC and in-situ ZrC co-reinforced Zr-based amorphous composite coating has been fabricated on AZ91D magnesium alloy by laser cladding using mixed powders of Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5-TiC. The microstructure of the coating was characterized by XRD and SEM techniques. The wear resistance of the coating was evaluated under dry sliding wear test condition. The results show that the coating mainly consists of amorphous and different crystalline phases. The coating exhibits excellent wear resistance due to the recombination action of amorphous and crystalline phases, and the wear resistance improves further with the increase of TiC content. The main wear mechanism of the coating and the AZ91D sample are different, the former is abrasive wear and the latter is adhesive wear.


Summary: The identification of glypican-3 (GPC3) expression in malignant neoplasms is potentially of interest because GPC3 might represent a therapeutic target. Tissue microarrays containing tissue cylinders from 308 patients with ovarian carcinomas were used for an immunohistochemical study. There were 255 serous, 38 endometrioid, and 15 clear-cell carcinomas included. From 76 patients, paired tissue samples of primary serous ovarian carcinomas and their corresponding recurrences after platinum-based chemotherapy were available. Glypican-3 was expressed in a total of 17.9% of ovarian carcinomas and was strongly associated with the clear-cell histotype (P = 0.0001). Glypican-3 expression was not associated with tumor stage. Positive staining for GPC3 was also observed in a significant fraction of recurrent carcinomas but was not particularly associated with chemoresponse. In conclusion, our data show that GPC3 is observed in a significant fraction of primary and corresponding recurrent ovarian carcinomas. Glypican-3 may therefore represent a potential target for (second-line) therapy in ovarian cancer.


Parkinson disease (PD) is involved in the damage of neurons of the brain that secretes dopamine. Understanding the mechanisms involved in Parkinson's disease helps to develop effective management methods. Hence, the present work aimed to unravel to observe the variations, if any, in the parameters of oxidative stress and antioxidant markers between oral and ip rotenone-induced rat model of Parkinson's disease. Male Wistar rats weighing between 250-300g were housed in solid bottomed polypropylene cages under strict veterinary supervision and maintained in rooms with 12hrs light / dark cycle. The randomly selected male Wistar rats were equally divided into four groups, with six rats in each group. The study results provide scientific evidence for marked changes in both the oxidative and anti-oxidant parameters, followed by the ip and po rotenone administration. It is the need of the time to consider the neuroprotective and antioxidant properties while developing the newer treatment modalities for the management of PD.


Any weakness of insulation in a transformer winding may result in its deformation and hence, in the failure of the transformer. Comparison of neutral currents is a technique widely used for the detection of fault in the power transformer winding insulation during impulse test, any shift in the recorded waveforms confirms the existence of fault. In the present work, a 61MVA, 11.5/230 kV generator transformer has been considered for analysis. Faults have been created in the discs of the HV windings at specific locations. High voltage impulse is applied to the winding and the neutral currents for the healthy case and the faulted discs windings have been recorded using digital oscilloscope and these recorded neutral currents were subjected to analysis after proper processing & neutral current oscillographic methods are used for fault identification using symmetric & asymmetric mother wavelets by wavelet transform technique.


Abstract—Cloud computing is an emerging concept combining many fields of computing. The foundation of cloud computing is the delivery of services, software and processing capacity over the Internet, reducing cost, increasing storage, automating systems, decoupling of service delivery from underlying technology, and providing flexibility and mobility of information. However, the actual realization of these benefits is far from being achieved for mobile applications and open many new research questions. In order to better understand how to facilitate the building of mobile cloud-based applications, we have surveyed existing work in mobile computing through the prism of cloud computing principles. We give a definition of mobile cloud computing and provide an overview of the results from this review, in particular, models of mobile cloud applications. We also highlight research challenges in the area of mobile cloud computing. We conclude with recommendations for how this better understanding of mobile cloud computing can help building more powerful mobile applications.


The paper examines the role of transparent information and analytical support for the conflicts monitoring in the corporate governance system to increase the level of corporate security in the condition of decrease in the investment attractiveness of Ukrainian joint-stock companies. The objectives of the study were to: conduct a scientific and theoretical analysis of modern domestic and international experience of the corporate governance conflicts monitoring in security management; investigate the problems of the information and analytical provision of the corporate governance in Ukraine; and propose the model of the information and analytical support for conflicts monitoring in corporate governance system on the example of Ukrainian joint-stock companies. Methods adopted were: abstract-logical analysis, theoretical generalization, systemic and statistical analysis, graphical method. Results revealed that the implementation of transparent information and analytical support of corporate conflict monitoring is the solution for corporate security management. Also, to prevent and solve corporate governance conflicts the proposed model of the information and analytical support for corporate governance conflicts monitoring includes two subsystems - information and analytical support. Corporate governance conflicts monitoring in the system of security management allows to identify potential conflicts of interests and to prevent corporate governance conflicts occurrence, that will result in the stable and efficient operation of corporate enterprises in the long-term period, raise the level of their corporate security and increase their investment attractiveness.


Training e mobility in GIS: the VESTA-GIS project VESTA-GIS is a network aimed to set up a context for enhancing professional skills in the changing labour market consequent to the ever increasing importance of GI in the favourable and continuously evolving framework of the new European Directives for environment and territory. The Directive is currently dealing with problems that have reached a new European dimension (i.e. INSPIRE) which have strong impact on the methodologies used in the GI Community. VESTAGIS is committed both to improve the GIS skills existing on the market and to promote mobility of people.


A brushless excitation system model is set forth that includes an average-value rectifier representation that is valid for all three rectification modes. Furthermore, magnetic hysteresis is incorporated into the d-axis of the excitation using Preisach's theory. The resulting model is very accurate and is ideal for situations where the exciter's response is of particular interest. The model's predictions are compared to experimental results.


The Red List of Oaks, published jointly by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and Fauna & Flora International (FFI), through the Global Trees Campaign (GTC), identifies 78 wild oaks as being in danger of extinction, from a global total of over 500 species. This report presents a review of the conservation status in the wild of oaks worldwide, undertaken by the IUCN/SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.


Communications receiver performance obtained in conjunction with de-noising of digitally modulated communications signals using wavelet signal processing is described in this paper. The study includes both simulation results and the analytical characterization of the bit error rate (BER) performance obtained for BPSK and QPSK modulation schemes. The digital communications system consists of an MPSK modulator, an additive White Gaussian noise channel, and a receiver that employs a wavelet de-noising operation followed by a matched filter detector. Overall system performance for each modulation type considered is described by means of BER curves over a range of Eb/N0 values. It has been found that the significant improvement in BER compared to systems wherein the matched filter detector is not preceded by a wavelet de-noising operation is due to the effective increase in pre-detection signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Statistical analysis of the de-noised modulated signals is presented. The corresponding analytical evaluation of BER for receivers using wavelet de-noising is derived.


BACKGROUND The interaction of glomerular epithelial cells (GEC) with their underlying basement membrane is of critical importance in maintaining normal glomerular function. Little is known regarding their expression and use of extracellular matrix adhesion receptors in normal conditions and during pathogenic states. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN To examine the use of such receptors, we have produced monoclonal antibodies that inhibit the function of the rat alpha 2 beta 1 integrin receptor (VLA-2) and the common beta 1 subunit. The monoclonal antibodies have been used to examine the expression and functional use of these receptors by rat glomerular cells cultured in vitro. RESULTS Rat glomerular visceral epithelial cells are unusual in that, unlike many of the epithelium seen in vivo, these cells do not express VLA-2, an integrin receptor with affinity for laminin and collagen. Our results demonstrate that differentiated GEC, newly isolated from glomeruli, do not use VLA-2 for attachment to collagen and laminin-coated surfaces. However, after 3 days of in vitro growth, approximately 50% of these cells express this receptor and, upon their first in vitro passage, selectively utilize VLA-2 for attachment to collagen but not to laminin-coated surfaces. After long-term maintenance in culture, all GEC express VLA-2, and utilize this receptor for binding to collagen and in their interaction with laminin. In contrast, VLA-2 plays only a partial role in the adherence of mesangial cells to collagen and is not involved in their attachment to laminin-coated surfaces. CONCLUSIONS These results show that, as GEC become adapted to in vitro growth, they begin to synthesize and use the VLA-2 integrin receptor suggesting a simultaneous downregulation or inactivation of other beta 1 type integrin receptors. This ability to modulate their receptor repertoire may allow GEC to respond to pathologic conditions in vivo.


Estimating the number of sources and locating the direction-of-arrival are important problems in array signal processing. In this paper, we propose noneigenvalues decomposition fast algorithms for radiating source detection and localization by using LU and QR factorizations of the sample cross-spectral matrix. The threshold values between the signal subspace and the noise subspace eigenvalues of the cross- spectral matrix are proposed. The developed algorithms improve the performance and reduce the computational loads of eigendecomposition based methods when the number of multiple sources is much lower than the number of array sensors. Simulations results, show the high performance and accuracy of the proposed algorithms, are presented.


Abstract This paper suggests that advocates of the 'knowledge turn' have been united in their opposition to Young and Muller's (2010) Future 2, but that this 'union' has masked very different views of the relations between Young and Muller's Future 1 and Future 3. Whereas some who subscribe to the 'turn' see a 'weak boundary' between Futures 1 and 3 (and therefore consider them similar), others construe these Futures as very different and strongly bounded. We argue that these positions are often underpinned by irreconcilable political persuasions and conceptions of education, society and the curriculum. In order to illustrate the argument, we discuss the political project of the UK-based Academy of Ideas, many of whose members have been involved in advocating implicitly or explicitly for a weak boundary between Futures 1 and 3. This position is then contrasted with those in the UK who are more strongly committed to exploring a distinctive Future 3, and the situation in South Africa, where the tensions between different educational Futures are acutely visible due to the social, cultural and political context and academic and policy debates around the curriculum. We conclude with some implications of our arguments for the Future 3 principles of disciplinarity and sociality.


Abstract : The Army is changing to remain an essential element of the United States national power in the information age. The first step of the Army's doctrinal journey into the future was Force XXI. This concept provides the Army's vision of future operations for the strategic Army of the early 21st Century. The essential features of Force XXI are utilization of information-age technologies; integration of service components into effective battle teams; more lethal, survivable, and agile systems; and more capable soldiers and leaders. Will the modernization efforts of these features coupled with declining defense budgets, an ambiguous threat perception and a strength reduction create a readiness challenge that obviates the Army Reserve as a credible part of the total force? The answer to this question is pursued by examining doctrine, training, leader development, organizations, materiel and soldiers in the transition through Force XXI. The Army of the future will be equipped with the most modern weapons and equipment the US can provide, relevant to the needs of the nation and adapting to meet the demands of today and the 21st Century. The Army Reserve will transition through Force XXI as the Army's combat service support connectivity from the tactical to the strategic. The degree of modernization will be directly proportional to the funds available based on the priorities established. In order to remain a relevant part of the Total Army, modernization programs must balance the tiered resourcing within the strategic force packages. The Army Reserve must be proactive in the transition to ensure that the new technology interfaces with existing systems.


Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes (C) 1 and 2 play important roles in determining the differentiation and function of immune cells. While suppression of mTORC1 antagonizes dendritic cell (DC) maturation and suppresses graft rejection, the role of mTORC2 in DC in determining host responses to transplanted tissue is undefined. Utilizing an innovative mouse model in which mTORC2 was deleted specifically in CD11c+ DC (TORC2DC-/-), we show that transplantation of minor histocompatibility (m-Ag) antigen (HY)-mismatched skin grafts from TORC2DC-/- donors into wild-type recipients results in accelerated rejection, characterized by enhanced CD8+ T cell responses in the graft and regional lymphoid tissue. Augmented CD8+ T cell responses were also observed in skin grafts from TORC2DC-/- B6 donors into major histocompatibility (MHC) mismatched BALB/c recipients, and in a delayed-type hypersensitivity model in which mTORC2 was absent in cutaneous DC. These responses could be ascribed to an increased T cell stimulatory phenotype of TORC2DC-/- and not to enhanced lymph node homing of the cells. These findings suggest mTORC2 in skin DC plays an important role in initiation of rejection and restrains effector CD8+ T cell responses. In addition, we describe a novel metabolic regulatory role of mTORC2 in DC, whereby mTORC2 restrains glycolytic bias and mitochondrial dysfunction by regulating mTORC1-driven metabolic function. These studies have implications for understanding the impact of conventional and new generation mTOR inhibitors that target mTORC2 in the multiple clinical contexts, including transplantation and cancer therapeutics.


Introduction. Spine deformities in genetic syndromes may be of various shape and size. The goal of this study is to describe scolioses in rare congenital diseases, taking into consideration morphology of deformity and to evaluate the results of treatment. Material consists of 11 patients who underwent surgery in one hospital between 2003 and 2010. The mean patients' age at surgery was 13.5 yrs. Their primary diseases included: Melnick, Williams, Willi-Prader, Bardet-Biedl, Freeman-Sheldon, Rubinstein-Taybi, Langer-Giedion, Gorlin-Goltz, DiGeorge syndromes and deletion in 13th chromosome. Patients were operated with spine fusion in 9 cases and with "growing spine" implants in 2 cases. The mean follow up period was 2.7yrs. Results. Prior to surgery, an average Cobb angle was 90.5o in thoracic spine and 65.2o in lumbar spine. After surgery, the mean Cobb angle was 53oin thoracic spine and 45,2o in lumbar spine (42% and 29% of correction,). After follow up period, the mean Cobb angle was 55.8o and 44.3o, respectively (final correction: 38% and 31%). Trunk decompensation in all planes that was not possible to correct during treatment was a problem occurring in most cases. Complications were noted in 6 patients: "growing rods" implants destabilisation that required changes of implants' levels – in 1 case, screws breakage, hook displacement – 3 cases, pain due to increasing lumbar spine decompensation – 1 case, curve progression below fusion – 1 case (lumbar fusion was done 2 years after primary surgery). Conclusions. Spinal deformities in rare congenital syndromes are various, and their treatment should be assessed individually. There is a significant probability of different balance disturbances both in coronal and sagittal planes, and decompensation existing before treatment is very difficult to be corrected.


The release of vast quantities of DNA sequence data by large-scale genome and expressed sequence tag (EST) projects underlines the necessity for the development of efficient and inexpensive ways to link sequence databases with temporal and spatial expression profiles. Here we demonstrate the power of linking cDNA sequence data (including EST sequences) with transcript profiles revealed by cDNA-AFLP, a highly reproducible differential display method based on restriction enzyme digests and selective amplification under high stringency conditions. We have developed a computer program (GenEST) that predicts the sizes of virtual transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) of in silico-digested cDNA sequences retrieved from databases. The vast majority of the resulting virtual TDFs could be traced back among the thousands of TDFs displayed on cDNA-AFLP gels. Sequencing of the corresponding bands excised from cDNA-AFLP gels revealed no inconsistencies. As a consequence, cDNA sequence databases can be screened very efficiently to identify genes with relevant expression profiles. The other way round, it is possible to switch from cDNA-AFLP gels to sequences in the databases. Using the restriction enzyme recognition sites, the primer extensions and the estimated TDF size as identifiers, the DNA sequence(s) corresponding to a TDF with an interesting expression pattern can be identified. In this paper we show examples in both directions by analyzing the plant parasitic nematode Globodera rostochiensis. Various novel pathogenicity factors were identified by combining ESTs from the infective stage juveniles with expression profiles of approximately 4000 genes in five developmental stages produced by cDNA-AFLP.


Abstract.
 Estimation of connectivity for multiple species could increase the efficiency of resource management and elucidate trade-offs among maintenance of connectivity for different taxa. We identified potential areas of high connectivity for 5 species of mammals on the Navajo Nation and adjacent lands in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, USA: mountain lion (Puma concolor), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), American black bear (Ursus americanus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). These species were identified by the Navajo Nation as relevant to the benefit of their present and future generations. We used telemetry data to calculate utilization distributions, derive model permeability (the probability that a given location facilitates animal movement), and assess connectivity (the realization of permeability across a landscape) for desert bighorn sheep, black bear, and pronghorn. We based models of connectivity for mountain lion and mule deer on expert-identified environmental variables and corresponding permeability values. We used Circuitscape software to model omnidirectional connectivity for each species, and then used maps of connectivity to identify potential dispersal areas. Different environmental features were associated with connectivity for each species. The rank correlation between the geographic distribution of connectivity for pairs of species ranged from −0.45 to 0.95. All but one of the estimated pairwise overlaps in potential dispersal areas were greater than would be expected if dispersal areas for each species were independent. The percentage of overlap generally decreased as a greater number of species was considered, but was greater than expected in 6 of 10 cases for 3 species and all cases for 4 or 5 species. Potential dispersal areas for all 5 species occurred within 83 km2 of the approximately 72,000-km2 analysis area. Our work illustrates use of a flexible method for estimating connectivity and potential dispersal areas, particularly where data on the distribution and movements of populations are limited.


Children are the victims of a spectrum of pathological lesions which usually lead to varying degrees of jaw swelling. Dentigerous cyst is the most prevalent type of odontogenic cyst and is associated with crown of an unerupted or developing tooth. Radicular cyst is one of cysts in association with non vital teeth. Radicular cysts arising from deciduous teeth are rare. This report presents a case of radicular cyst associated with a primary molar following pulp therapy and a case of dentigerous cyst in right maxillary region in a 10-year-old child. Diagnosis and early treatment of these lesions in children is of great importance, especially in cases where the lesions enclose permanent teeth. The purpose of this case report was to describe the management of two odontogenic cysts in children.


Various data analysis approaches are used to gauge recent pre-primary enrolment trends in South Africa and the level of compliance with official age-grade norms in Grades R and 1. An analysis of the circumstances of Grade R learners finds that large class sizes are a problem. Two separate logit models are used to examine what factors are associated with better pre-school participation and whether participation in pre-school leads to better learning outcomes in primary school.


Edenopteron keithcrooki gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Famennian Worange Point Formation; the holotype is amongst the largest tristichopterids and sarcopterygians documented by semi-articulated remains from the Devonian Period. The new taxon has dentary fangs and premaxillary tusks, features assumed to be derived for large Northern Hemisphere tristichopterids (Eusthenodon, Hyneria, Langlieria). It resembles Eusthenodon in ornament, but is distinguished by longer proportions of the parietal compared to the post-parietal shield, and numerous differences in shape and proportions of other bones. Several characters (accessory vomers in the palate, submandibulars overlapping ventral jaw margin, scales ornamented with widely-spaced deep grooves) are recorded only in tristichopterids from East Gondwana (Australia-Antarctica). On this evidence Edenopteron gen. nov. is placed in an endemic Gondwanan subfamily Mandageriinae within the Tristichopteridae; it differs from the nominal genotype Mandageria in its larger size, less pointed skull, shape of the orbits and other skull characters. The hypothesis that tristichopterids evolved in Laurussia and later dispersed into Gondwana, and a derived subgroup of large Late Devonian genera dispersed from Gondwana, is inconsistent with the evidence of the new taxon. Using oldest fossil and most primitive clade criteria the most recent phylogeny resolves South China and Gondwana as areas of origin for all tetrapodomorphs. The immediate outgroup to tristichopterids remains unresolved – either Spodichthys from Greenland as recently proposed, or Marsdenichthys from Gondwana, earlier suggested to be the sister group to all tristichopterids. Both taxa combine two characters that do not co-occur in other tetrapodomorphs (extratemporal bone in the skull; non-cosmoid round scales with an internal boss). Recently both 'primitive' and 'derived' tristichopterids have been discovered in the late Middle Devonian of both hemispheres, implying extensive ghost lineages within the group. Resolving their phylogeny and biogeography will depend on a comprehensive new phylogenetic analysis.


The reactions of NADPH oxidation by quinones and inorganic complexes catalyzed by NADPH: adrenodoxin reductase were studied. The catalytic constant for the enzyme at pH 7.0 is 20-25 s-1; the oxidative constants for the quinones vary from 5 X 10(5) to 1.1 X 10(3) M-1 s-1 and show an increase with a rise in the one-electron acceptor reduction potential. The mode of adrenodoxin reductase interaction with oxyquinones differs from that of the enzyme interaction with alkyl-substituted quinones and inorganic complexes. NADPH competitively inhibits electron acceptors, whereas NADP+ is a competitive inhibitor of NADPH and a uncompetitive inhibitor of electron acceptors. (Ki = 25 microM). The depth of FAD incorporation into the enzyme molecule as calculated according to the outer sphere electron transfer theory is 6.1 A.


Tourism as an industry is increasing rapidly in developing countries. Tourism is simultaneously portrayed as a destroyer of culture, undermining social norms and economies, degrading social structures, stripping communities of individuality and as a savior of the poor and disadvantaged, providing opportunities and economic benefits, promoting social exchange and enhancing livelihoods. The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of community capacity building with respect to tourism development. I discuss how the processes of community capacities (individual, organizational and community) and community empowerment draw from and contribute to the physical, social and human capital essential to community based tourism. In this way, I review literature on community capacity building and discuss the related concepts of community capacities, community empowerment and community participation, with particular attention to how they may apply to community based tourism. The literature included in this review, draws from experience in a variety of disciplines, namely community psychology, personnel management, natural resource management, sociology and international development.


Arthropods dominate our seas, land, and air and have done so for hundreds of
millions of years. Among the arthropods the crustaceans present us with an extremely
rich history of morphological change, much of which is still represented among extant
forms (morphological disparity among the crustaceans is much higher than in any other
group of arthropods). With regard to the Crustacea, several characteristics of the
amphipod crustacean embryo make it particularly well suited to embryological
manipulations. These include early holoblastic (complete) cleavage coupled with early
cell division asymmetries that facilitate microinjection. The high diversity of crustacean
taxa near Carrie Bow Cay presents a unique opportunity to extend previous findings in
laboratory strains of the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis. In addition, the exploration of
standing genetic variation in natural populations may yield important clues in the search
for mechanisms by which genes influence organismal development and sculpt
morphology through time. The principal collection sites are at south Twin Cays (Twin
Bays, Hidden Creek), Manatee Cay (Pelican Cays), and outside the barrier reef near
Carrie Bow Cay.


Lida sits on the floor together with her three friends and a teacher. She holds a little plastic bowl in her hand and gaze at a bowl with water, which is placed on the floor in the middle of the group. Her friends fill the bowl with different kind of toys. They are laughing and shouting while they throw toys in in the bowl whith wide gestures. When the bowl on the floor is full of toys they start to pick up the toys again. Meanwhile, Linda leans forward and fills the little plastic bowl she holds in her hand with water. She leans back and waits while her friends fill the bowl on the floor with toys again. When the bowl is full with toys she leans forward and pours back the water from the little plastic bowl in the bowl on the floor. The same procedure continues over and over again. This paper starts with a concrete science learning situation in a Swedish pre-school. The purpose is to discuss how early years science teaching and learning can be understood as a process of meaning making. From a social semiotic perspective focus of interest is on signs and sign making in early years science teaching and learning. The emphasis is on young children and their teacher as sign-makers and their situatde use of modal resources. The discussion is based on authentic examples from an on-going Swedish study. The main object is to describe and analyze the signs young children make in concrete learning situations in science. How do four chlidlren and their teacher use different semiotic resources and how do they invent new ways to combine the resources in science learning as a multimodal meaning making process? The study is based on micro level analysis of the multiplicity of modes of communication that are active in the learning situations. The analysis focuses on a number of modes including: gesture, speech, gaze and movement as well as the teacher and children´s use of artifacts.


Strains (103) of yeast from Pichia genus: P. anomala, P. guilliermondii and P. membranaefaciens species have been investigated. The researchers have found 87 strains (84.5%) capable to form extracellular and surface lectins with activity to 512 hemagglutinating units. The overwhelming number of strains (75.7-92.6%) synthesized lectins of the both forms. Considerably less quantity of lectin producers of some form--extracellular or surface ones--have been found. Availability of producers of extracellular lectins was characteristic to greater extent of the yeast of P. anomala and P. guilliermondii, and producers of surface lectins--mainly of P. guilliermondii. The most active producers of lectins have been isolated from human and animal organisms, soils and wine.


Abstract Protocols in the transport layer are basically classified by the amount of reliability they offer. Adoption of customized protocol, wherein the user can select the level of reliability for the pertinent communication, finds importance specifically in situations of activation and/or information retrieval of/from a robotized system. The developed architecture, Variable Reliability Dataflow Protocol (VRDP), provides transmission accountability in a transparent way, wherein users can select the degree of reliable connection necessary for the application.


It has long been realized that condensation in a chamber prefilled with condensable vapor leads to chamber depressurization, and the condensation rate can be cooling controlled. While the final state can be reasonably estimated based on the thermodynamic equilibrium, the dynamic process or rate of depressurization has not been satisfactorily modeled, which is due to the complicated coupling mechanisms of heat and mass transfer, the transient nature of non-equilibrium during the process, the complication by the co-existence of non-condensable gas (NCG) within vapor, as well as the complex geometry and material properties of chamber and cooling device involved. In this paper, we have conducted an experimental study on depressurization by steam condensation onto an internal cooling coil in a steam-prefilled closed chamber. To reveal various parametric effects on the depressurization process, a parametric model consisting of a set of coupled ordinary differential equations has been established, with some simplified assumptions including lumped heat capacity sub-models for chamber walls, cooling coils and the gas phase. To further explore the thermal non-equilibrium characteristics during the process, a simplified and transient simulation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is also conducted using FLUENT with user-defined function (UDF) on boundary of condensation. Both parametric and CFD models consider the existence of NCG that is pre-mixed with the vapor as impurity. By comparison with the experimental measurements, both models correctly predict the dynamic and asymptotic characteristics of depressurization with time. The CFD simulation indicates an almost instant equilibrium in pressure within the chamber and yet non-equilibrium in temperature with noticeable temperature gradients over the gas phase. The simplified parametric model provides quick and quantitative assessments of some major parametric effects (e.g., vapor purity, coolant flow rate, and vessel volume) on the rate of depressurization. The detailed mechanistic understanding, gained from proposed models, provides insights essential to the optimized design and operation of the depressurization by cooling-controlled condensation.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Cerebral oximetry and internal carotid artery stump pressures were measured during carotid endarterectomy to assess whether cerebral oximetry could be used as a noninvasive and reliable alternative to monitor cerebral blood flow and the need for selective carotid artery shunting. Carotid endarterectomy procedures were performed in 27 patients wherein a cerebral oximeter was placed on the ipsilateral forehead preoperatively. Stump pressure data as well as cerebral oximetry readings at baseline and before and after carotid artery clamping were gathered. The differences between baseline and clamped carotid artery oximetry readings were calculated for each subject and divided by the baseline reading to provide an adjusted measure of percent oximetry change. This normalized percent change in cerebral oximetry readings was then correlated with stump pressure. Carotid artery stump pressures correlated closely with the normalized change in cerebral oximetry readings (r = -0.57, p = 0.002). Based on the regression analysis, stump pressure readings of 50 and 25 mm Hg were predicted by at least a 15% and 30% drop in cerebral oximetry readings, respectively. Based on low intraoperative stump pressure and changes in cerebral oximetry readings, arterial shunt placement was used in eight patients. There was no morbidity or mortality from the 27 carotid endarterectomy procedures performed. Carotid endarterectomy can be performed safely with cerebral oximetry as a simple, noninvasive, and reliable alternative to internal carotid artery stump pressure measurements in determining the need for selective carotid artery shunting.


The current study attempts to find out the research productivity and trends in Library and Information Science (LIS)subject in India during 1944 to 2017 by using bibliometric and content analysis methods. The publication data for the study was extracted from the Scopus database which consists of 1944 publications published by Indian authors.Thebibliographic data were analyzedby different bibliometric indicators which include most preferred journals, most prolific author, author collaboration trends, most prolific institutions and highly cited papers. The study reveals many important facets of LIS research in India. Gupta, B. M. the as recognized as the most prolific author with57papers; whereina context toa totalnumber of citations received Garg, K. C. topped in term of 406 citations. DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technolgy was identified as the most preferred journal with highest publications followed by Scientometrics Journal. The content analysis of the publications shows three major clusters in LIS research includes "Use and User study,""Bibliometric/Scientometrics" and "Digital Library Research."


Oro-caecal transit time assessed by the lactulose/hydrogen breath test was prolonged in cystic fibrosis patients experiencing distal intestinal obstruction syndrome (DIOS); compared to those without the syndrome, and normal controls. Jejunal intraluminal pH was lower in cystic fibrosis patients compared to controls, but no difference was observed between those patients experiencing DIOS, and those cystic fibrosis patients without the syndrome. The prolonged oro-caecal transit time observed in cystic fibrosis patients with DIOS may contribute to the syndrome, however intraluminal pH is unlikely to be a factor in the aetiology of DIOS.


Indonesia is an agricultural country that produces any agricultural product. Garlic is one of the horticulture products that are currently cultivated vastly. According to the national garlic development plan by the Ministry of the Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, the way to obtain self-sufficiency in garlic is developing seed centers and import arrangements. The objective of this research is to analyze the sustainability of garlic farming and to determine the leverages factors for garlic development. The study was conducted in Tegal, which is one of the central of Garlic Development in Central Java Province. The methodology used is analysis using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). There are 43 attributes of 5 dimensions involved in the study, which are ecology, economic, social, infrastructure, and legal-institutional aspect. The result of the research showed that Garlic cultivation has a status as sustainable, with a sustainability index value of 66.44. The leverage factors that affect garlic development are pesticide use, waste management, planting plan, consumption level, productivity, labor efficiency scheme, land management, community empowerment, agriculture extension, storage technology, access to technology, marketing institution, and implementation of land conversion regulations.


The aim of present project was to find out if in vivo contact of Haemonchus contortus with benzimidazole an- thelmintic flubendazole (FLU) during treatment of its hosts (sheep) with low doses of FLU affects helminths' drug- metabolizing enzyme activities. Four groups of lambs, experimentally infected with H. contortus, were treated three-times orally with 0.0, 0.25, 0.50 or 1.00 mg per kg of body weight of FLU in three consecutive days. Twenty four hours after the last FLU dose, the nematodes were isolated, homogenized and subcellular fractions were prepared. In these subcellular fractions, biotransformation of FLU and the activities of carbonyl reducing enzymes and conjugation enzymes were as- sayed. The results showed that H. contortus enzymes were able to conjugate p-nitrophenol with glucose but not with glu- curonic acid. The exposure of H.contortus to FLU (the highest FLU dose) caused a significant increase in activities of FLU reductases, D,L-glyceraldehyde reductases and glutathion S-transferases.


The self-diffusion coefficient of hydrogen (H(2)), carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H(2)O) in n-alkanes was studied by molecular dynamics simulation. Diffusion in a few pure n-alkanes (namely n-C(8), n-C(20), n-C(64) and n-C(96)) was examined. In addition, binary n-C(12)-n-C(96) mixtures with various compositions as well as more realistic five- and six-n-alkane component mixtures were simulated. In all cases, the TraPPE united atom force field was used for the n-alkane molecules. The force field for the mixture of n-alkanes was initially validated against experimental density values and was shown to be accurate. Moreover, macroscopic correlations for predicting diffusion coefficient of H(2), CO and H(2)O in n-alkanes and mixtures of n-alkanes were developed. The functional form of the correlation was based on the rough hard sphere theory (RHS). The correlation was applied to simulation data and an absolute average deviation (AAD) of 5.8% for pure n-alkanes and 3.4% for n-alkane mixtures was obtained. Correlation parameters vary in a systematic way with carbon number and so they can be used to provide predictions in the absence of any experimental or molecular simulation data. Finally, in order to reduce the number of adjustable parameters, for the n-alkane mixtures the "pseudo-carbon number" approach was used. This approach resulted in relatively higher deviation from MD simulation data (AAD of 18.2%); however, it provides a convenient and fast method to predict diffusion coefficients. The correlations developed here are expected to be useful for engineering calculations related to the design of the Gas-to-Liquid process.


Separating oil and water from oil-in-water or water-in-oil systems is immensely important. Such separation is typically achieved through specially fabricated surfaces that demonstrate distinct differences in wettability between water and the specified oil; in other words, these surfaces are either hydrophobic–oleophilic or hydrophilic–oleophobic. While this difference is sufficient to trigger the separation – and this has been the fundamental basis of preparing all surfaces meant for oil–water separation – the spontaneity of the separation process is not a single-valued function of this difference. Considering the free energy change associated with the separation process as an indicator of the extent of the spontaneity of the separation, we show that this spontaneity is additionally dictated by the oil–water interfacial tension. More intriguingly our analysis establishes that for a hydrophobic–oleophilic surface, the separation of oil from oil-in-water systems is more spontaneous than the separation of water from water-in-oil systems, whereas for a hydrophilic–oleophobic surface the separation of oil from oil-in-water systems is less spontaneous than the separation of water from water-in-oil systems.


Synthetic polymers represent one of the most important class of material in the 20th century and beyond. Particularly, stimuli-responsive polymers (so called smart polymers) build an outstanding and fascinating class of synthetic polymers which have become a versatile material in designing functional devices in material science, medicine and bioengineering. Controlled reaction schemes, such as ATRP (atomic transfer radical polymerization), allows one to have precise control over polymer architecture. One such example is the buildup surface-grafted polymer brush films with thicknesses down to the sub-100 nm range on almost any surface geometry. Due to their low film thickness, high sensitivities and fast response times can be achieved. However, in order to tailor efficient and powerful applications with high performance, a detailed fundamental knowledge of the switching thermodynamics and kinetics is essential. Unfortunately, kinetic and thermodynamic data of stimuli-responsive polymer brushes are still largely missing.

Tanaka and co-workers discovered in the 1980s that thermoresponsive polymer gels with dimensions in the micro and millimeter range exhibit response times on a second to hours timescale due to the diffusion-limited switching process. Nevertheless, much shorter response times in the milli/microsecond range are expected for ultrathin polymer films. Although, most previous studies revealed fairly long response times of several seconds or more for ultrathin polymer brushes.

Using a novel facile noncontact laser manipulation technique, this work reveals an unprecedented insight into the switching kinetics (rate constants, activation energies, frequency factors) and switching thermodynamics (change in Gibbs free enthalpy, free enthalpy, entropy and heat capacity) of thermoresponsive polymer brushes of PNIPAAm (poly(n-isopropylacrylamide)) and PDMAEMA poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate). In detail, the impact of internal brush parameters such as grafting density, brush thickness and micro/nanopatterns are studied. Moreover, external parameters, i. e. the impact of salts, alcohols, gold nanoparticles and proteins (bovine serum albumin, BSA), are addressed. These results are expected to further support the progress on new innovative applications based on switchable polymer brushes and provide an essential reference on the way to unpuzzle the molecular driving forces of the switching mechanisms.


The aim of this thesis has been to investigate self-diffusion behavior of host-guest complex,
microemulsion and polymer solution. Pulsed Field Gradient NMR (PFG-NMR) was shown to
provide detailed molecular information in all system studied. The general strategy was to measyre
the diffusivities of the species and from there get molecular insight into the aggregation and
dynamics of the system.
Guest host interaction has been studied between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and different
cationic surfactant. The equilibrium constant (K11) increases as a function of the number of CH2
groups in the surfactant chain. It could be concluded that the cavity of β-CD could incorporate
approximately 10-12 CH2 groups and that it is the hydrophobic interaction that mainly is
responsible for the inclusion complex formed. The interaction between the gemini surfactant and
β-CD formed a 2:1 (CD:gemini) complex in a two step mechanism with the first association
constant higher than the second one (K2:1), but both relatively small in comparison with the
analogue singled tailed surfactant. The values of the K11 and K21 increased with gemini spacer
length which indicate that the available space on the gemini molecule is important. The second
association constant shows no cooperatively and its magnitude are discussed in terms of steric
constrains. Bolaform surfactant complexation was investigated with both β-CD and α-CD with
Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC). The K11, enthalpy and entropy of formation were
obtained. From ITC a molecular interpretation is made explaining the enthalpy and entropy
difference between α- and β-CD. In a second study diblock copolymers of the type methoxy poly(ethylene oxide)-
poly(alkylene oxide) were incorporated into the nonionic bicontinuous microemulsion at 298 K.
An enhancement of the microemulsion in solubilising water and oil were observed with a
boosting factor of 9. The self-diffusion coefficients of the components in the system were
measured and provided molecular information on how the microstructure of the bicontinuous
microemulsion changed upon addition of the polymers. The diffusion study concerning the aqueous solution of the synthetic polymers, PEO-
PPO-PEO, is focused towards analyzing the PFG-NMR decay correctly. The polydispersity has
consequences on the polymer self-assembly, which were highlighted, modeled and discussed
based on PFG-NMR data. The main conclusion is that the curved NMR decay as obtained for
self-assembly can be explained with a multi-component ideal solution.


Metal sulfide (MeS) is well known and widely used an additive for enhancing machinability, but the problems is extremely sensitive to reaction with moisture and thermal decomposition during sintering. In this study, micron or nano size compound powders of FeS were produced by mechano-chemical process. The machinability was also evaluated at the metal sulfide added sintered steel. Compared with the MnS additive, addition of the FeS powders to the iron resulted the formation of the sintering materials containing a spherical shape of pore, partly remained FeS rich-phase in iron matrix. Relative machinability behavior of sintering materials was investigated by the lathe manufacturing. Mechanical properties of sintering material with 1.2%FeS powders were improved rather than its using MnS powders.


There is a constant need for the fire and rescue service to develop new methods, materials and extinguishing media to implement the most effective firefighting operations as possible while minimizing environmental impacts. The effect of additives in the extinguishing water is fairly unknown. In this report small-scale experiments shows that additives and fire retardants can provide a significant improvement in extinguishing effect on fire with class A fuel. A total of nine additives in water were tested. The extinguishing media was applied to a bonfire of pine studs. The effect was measured as the time it took for the media to reduce the temperature just above the fire to 200 degrees Celsius and a visual observation regarding when no flames was visible.
Depending on which part of the extinguishing process that is studied various products show different effect. Some of the additives gave a good effect in the gas phase of the fire and some were better at surface cooling. The products that show the overall best results have a good effect throughout the whole process. It is clear that this area of research can develop the efficiency of extinguishing operations but more work has to be done. As an example a method to evaluate the environmental impact should be developed.


A harmonized strategy for breaking the striations in the fluorescent lamp is proposed. The harmonized circuit (HC) presented is a dependent current source and is used to modulate the lamp current by making the amplitudes of the even harmonics nearly the same as the neighboring odd harmonics. The time and frequency responses of the lamp current without and with HC are respectively simulated and experimented for describing the striation behavior. The dimmer system with HC can actually provide better immunity from striation for the lamp during a wide dimming range from 10% to 100%. In addition, the lighting efficiency increases up to 16.2%.


This research evaluates the effects of normative beliefs toward citizen engagement on eParticipation. Normative beliefs herein were assessed from the perspectives of citizenship norms, which include engaged-citizenship norms and duty-based norms, as well as the perspective of subjective norms, namely civic norms. A questionnaire was devised as the research instrument, and a survey was conducted as a means for data collection. The respondents were citizens who reside in the Greater Jakarta Region, in Indonesia, whom have had previous experiences with eParticipation. A total of 172 valid responses were collected in this study. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equational Modeling (PLS-SEM), aided with SmartPLS 3 as a tool. The research results confirmed that perceived public value and perceived public satisfaction both concertedly shape citizens' engagement in eParticipation. Furthermore, perceived public value as a pre-transactional norm also served as an antecedent to the post-transactional norm of perceived public satisfaction. The results also revealed that perceived public value was affected by a sole citizenship norm, namely, duty-based norm. Additionally, perceived public satisfaction was not affected by neither engaged-citizenship norm nor duty-based norm. Conversely, civic norms showed significant effects on both perceived public value and perceived public satisfaction.


Our nation has immense potential for growth of exports in various sectors. The purpose of this research is to determine the export potential of various spices from India on the basis of their past export performances. The present study is based on the Secondary data taken from the website of Spices Board of India and the Trend-Analysis method has been applied on the available statistical data so acquired, to derive the export potential of our country. This study will help stake-holders in encouraging and initiating the exports of concerning sectors along with the sustainable growth and that will definitely lead to promotion of exports of India.


Housing composite commodity as a one of the most important property of households, has been interesting for researchers and planners in last years. Hedonic pricing, estimating the value of housing characteristics through the use of transactions data. For this purpose, the main aim of this paper is to evaluate the factors affect housing prices in the Niyavaran region of Tehran, Iran. Nowadays, the housing planning tries to meet the needs of users, which this subject is one of the important factors in sustainable housing scheduling. To achieve this objective, first of all the variables influence the housing price have been determined and then, data was collected via the survey and was analyzed, using the Hedonic price model. The empirical results of this paper showed that variables: the building age, number of rooms, house view side, Interior decoration, lighting and distance to school are significant and positive and Parking, education and road traffic were significant and negative in this study. By applying these results in urban projects eventually can lead to the better life quality and sustainability in urban life.


OBJECTIVES To assess the utility of a new modality of video-urodynamic for study of lower urinary tract dysfunction and other uropathies in kids, replacing voiding cystourethrography by echo-enhanced cystosonography, without ionizing radiations. MATERIAL AND METHODS Prospective study with simultaneous performance of filling cystometry and cystosonography in 43 kids during the last two years. The sonographic contrast was infused trough the urodynamic catheter. RESULTS 18 girls and 25 boys, with an average age of 6.18 years (between 2 months and 14 years). The most frequent indication was micturition disfunction in boys and vesicoureteral reflux follow-up in girls. 60,5% presented urodynamic alterations, predominating low bladder accommodations (N = 9), mixed detrusor overactivity (N = 5) and bladder sphincter dyssynergia (N = 4). 15 children had vesicoureteral reflux: 8 passive, 5 active (associated with contractile activity of the detrusor or in the voiding phase) and two mixed. Urethral pathology was seen in two males (urethral valves and stenosis) and two girls (spinning top urethra). A statistically significant relationship was found between the presence of vesicoureteral reflux and other variables: bladder capacity (t = 4.98; p <0.005), detrusor activity (t = 3; p = 0.005), sex (t = 2.543; p = 0.015) and high post-void residual volume (t = 3.75; p <0.005), so that it was more frequent in girls with big bladders, with detrusor activity and high post-void residue. CONCLUSIONS Cystosonography can replace conventional cystourethrography as an imaging test associated with urodynamics. With this type of exploration we have been able to indicate the treatment to our patients, subjecting them to a single catheterization and without exposing them to ionizing radiation.


Abstract This paper uses wealth changes driven by housing market variation to estimate the effect of family resources on fertility decisions. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we show that a $100,000 increase in housing wealth among home owners causes a 16% to 18% increase in the probability of having a child. There is no evidence of an effect of MSA-level housing price growth on the fertility of renters, however. We also present evidence that housing wealth growth increases total fertility and that the responsiveness of fertility to housing wealth has increased over time, commensurate with the recent housing boom.


The present study was undertaken to investigate the postsynaptic effects of aminoglycosides on contractions evoked by acetylcholine (ACh), KCl, electrical field stimulation (EFS) and Na(+)- and Ca(2+)-free Ringer solution with 0.2 mM Na2 EDTA (NaFCaFR) in the isolated frog rectus abdominis. Neomycin inhibited contraction elicited by ACh, NaFCaFR, and EFS at the higher frequencies (8 and 10 Hz) but not those elicited by KCl and EFS at the lower frequencies (2, 3 and 5 Hz). D-tubocurarine inhibited ACh-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, drug reduced EFS-evoked contractions to a limited extent. Lower concentrations (10(-5), 5 x 10(-5), 10(-4), 2 x 10(-4) and 3 x 10(-4) M) but not higher concentrations (4 x 10(-4) and 5 x 10(-4) M) of methoxyverapamil exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibitory action on NaFCaFR-induced contractions. Similar inhibitions of the same type of contraction were displayed by aminoglycosides (neomycin, streptomycin, netilmycin, gentamycin and amikacin). These results suggest that in addition to their antagonistic action on nicotinic receptors in the frog rectus abdominis, aminoglycosides may exert stabilizing effects on some functional components contributing to contractions at the membrane.


WS-BPEL is the standard for modelling executable business processes. Recently, verification of BPEL processes has been an important topic in the research community. While most of the existing approaches for BPEL process verification merely consider control-flow based analysis, some actually consider data-flows, but only in a very restrictive manner. In this paper, we present a novel approach that combines control-flow analysis and data-flow analysis, producing a logical representation of a process model. This logical representation captures the relations between process variables and execution paths that allow properties to be verified using Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers under constraints represented by the modelled assertions.


This study examined the environmental factors controlling the daily shell deposition of the intertidal bivalve Phacosoma japonicum from Seto Inland Sea, west Japan, and Tokyo Bay, central Japan. Sclerochronological analyses of microgrowth patterns in marked-and-recovered specimens in- dicate that a pair of 2 etch-sensitive increments and 2 etch-resistant lines is formed every lunar day (duration 24.8 h). The accretionary pattern of the lunar day growth increments (LDGIs) reflects tidal cycles. Prominent growth lines were formed during spring tides, when the bivalves were subaerially exposed, and weak ones were deposited during neap tides, when they were continuously submerged. The bivalves stop secreting shell carbonate during winter and early spring. The time interval encom- passed by the winter break in the specimens from Tokyo Bay lengthened as the shells grew older. Although seawater temperature is the main controlling factor for shell growth, a number of mutually related environmental factors such as salinity and food availability also affect shell growth. In Tokyo Bay, the broadest LDGIs were deposited between temperatures of 21 and 24°C. Our findings provide a basis for the interpretation of the temporal changes in shell microgrowth patterns in terms of environmental conditions of extant and fossil P. japonicum specimens.


This article explores the use of `company culture' as a means of management control. It reports on research conducted in a consultancy that aimed to secure loyalty from its employees through a conscious policy of organised `play' at company socials. Employees were given a certain amount of freedom over their working lives in exchange for accepting company regulation of their social time. Here it is argued that this normative control differs from historical attempts to ensure that employees were of good moral character. In earlier interventions social and community obligations were emphasised, now every `virtue' encouraged is designed to be exercised in the workplace, often at the expense of the individual or the community. Further, that while control through organisational culture does have some of the advantages claimed for it in the prescriptive literature, it also extends the employment contract to areas previously outside the managerial prerogative.


Effective public response to a pandemic relies upon accurate measurement of the extent and dynamics of an outbreak. Viral genome sequencing has emerged as a powerful approach to link seemingly unrelated cases, and large-scale sequencing surveillance can inform on critical epidemiological parameters. Here, we report the analysis of 864 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from cases in the New York City metropolitan area during the COVID-19 outbreak in Spring 2020. The majority of cases had no recent travel history or known exposure, and genetically linked cases were spread throughout the region. Comparison to global viral sequences showed that early transmission was most linked to cases from Europe. Our data are consistent with numerous seeds from multiple sources and a prolonged period of unrecognized community spreading. This work highlights the complementary role of genomic surveillance in addition to traditional epidemiological indicators.


Passive and active ammonia (NH(3)) sampling devices have been tested for their nitrogen (N) capture potential and delta(15)N fractionation effects. Several sampling techniques produced significantly different delta(15)NH(3) signals when sampling the same NH(3) source released from field site fumigation campaigns. Conventional passive NH(3)-monitoring systems have shown to provide insufficient N for isotope-ratio mass spectrometry and various modified devices have been developed, based on existing diffusion tube designs, to overcome this problem. The final sampler design was then tested in a wind tunnel to verify that sampling NH(3) in different environmental conditions did not significantly fractionate the delta(15)N signal.


Regarding this project, the micro size of iron powder had been investigated. Therefore, the problem statement needs to be solved by providing the methods in order to study the behaviour of micro material of metal powder. Explosibility of micron material was determined and compared according to explosion severity and likelihood using standard dust explosion equipment. ASTM methods were followed using a 20L Spherical Explosion Test System. The explosibility parameters investigated for both size ranges of iron include explosion severity (maximum explosion pressure (Pmax) and size-normalized maximum rate of pressure rise (KSt) and explosion likelihood (minimum explosible concentration (MEC), minimum ignition energy (MIE) and minimum ignition temperature (MIT). Iron particle concentration based on different weigh of metal powder. The results show a significant increase in explosion severity as the different concentration show the different severity and explosibility.


This article has two main goals: to describe the automatic creation of a digital library and to provide an overview of the metaalgorithmic patterns that can be applied to increase the accuracy of its creation. Automating the creation of useful digital libraries - that is, digital libraries affording searchable text and reusable ("repurposable") output - is a complicated process, whether the original library is paper-based or already available in electronic form. We outline the steps involved in the creation of a deployable digital library (>1.2 /spl times/ 10/sup 6/ pages) for MIT Press, as well as its implications to other aspects of digital library creation, management, use and repurposing. Input, transformation, information extraction, and output processes are considered in light of their utility in creating layers of content. Interestingly, in some aspects, scanning directly from paper offers extra opportunities for error-checking through feedback-feedforward combination. Strategies for quality assurance (QA) at the document, chapter and book level are also discussed. We emphasize the use of metaalgorithmic design patterns for application towards improving the content generation, extraction and remastering. This approach also increases the ease with which modules and algorithms are added to and deprecated from the system.


A calc-silicate–rich terrain in northwest Queensland exhibits spectacular examples of heterogeneous fluid/rock interaction attending regional amphibolite facies metamorphism and deformation. Large areas of pristine calc-silicate rocks show evidence for internal buffering of fluid composition and low fluid/rock ratios (F/R), as inferred from δ 18 O and δ 13 C signatures typical of metamorphosed marine carbonates, the progress of calc-silicate reactions, and scapolite compositional variations between layers. In contrast, high-variance assemblages are developed in pretectonic intrusive rocks, as well as in metasomatic zones in calc-silicates around their margins. Scapolitized metadolerites, albitized calc-silicates, and large calcite pods and veins with 18 O- and 13 C-depleted values are typical of these regions and indicate localized throughput of predominantly externally derived fluid, at high F/R, accompanying the metamorphic peak. Major competency contrasts between meta-intrusive and calc-silicate rock types influenced stress and strain patterns around the igneous bodies, which in turn controlled fracture permeability and the focusing of the metamorphic fluid. The relatively brittle behavior of the meta-intrusive rocks favored the development of small-scale fracture permeability and consequent pervasive alteration of these bodies. Calcite vein systems and intensely albitized calc-silicate breccias are localized in shear zones and dilatant areas around the meta-intrusions, either where shear stresses were high or where all stresses were low, resulting in shear and tensile failure, respectively. Thus, permeability enhancement and the development of major fluid pathways during regional metamorphism of the terrain are systematically related to variations in the stress field accompanying deformation. Similar factors may strongly influence the channeling of fluids during metamorphism of other terrains.


In this chapter, three-dimensional digital rock models can be constructed by the micron X-ray computed tomography (CT). Then, lattice gas automata was applied to simulate the flow of electrical current in the saturated digital rocks to reveal the non-Archie relation of resistivity index and water saturation (I-Sw). The flow of single-phase Newtonian fluid in pore space had been studied with LBM for calculating the absolute permeability. Moreover, we have developed a model based on digital rock to simulate thermal neutrons transporting for imaging the anisotropy of pore structure. The advan- tages of the model over traditional methods indicate that it can simultaneously consider both the separation of matrix and pore and the distribution of mineral components. The results of numerical simulation with Monte Carlo are in good agreement with the pore distribution from X-ray CT, which can further verify the validity of the new model. In contrast to the conventional conclusion, we find that the porosity calculated with neutron data can be affected by the anisotropy. Therefore, a new formula to relate the resolution of array detectors to the quality of imaging, had been proposed to analyze the critical resolution and to optimize the number of neutrons in each simulation.


The paper aims to trace how important state policies, cultural differences and neighborhood of developed countries are as driving forces attracting foreign capital inflows. Authors overview the inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) tendencies in Lithuania and Estonia, reveal similarities and differences of the neighbor countries. Authors distinguish and discuss a role of privatization policy in attracting foreign direct investments. The assumption about different inward FDI sources caused by different privatization strategies adopted by considered countries is to be elaborated. Another focus of presented paper is outward FDI structure in terms of capital origin, and differences of its in scale in two Baltic countries ‐ Lithuania and Estonia. Phenomenon of Scandinavian FDI channeling through Estonia is to be traced and interpreted.


The UK Open University offers tutorial support to students in a variety of ways, including face-to-face, by telephone and online via discussion forums (Simpson, 2002). This paper describes an ongoing research project investigating the use of Elluminate, an online audio- and video-enabled whiteboard collaboration tool, to give numeracy tutorial support to students on the Level 1 Technology module T175 Networked Living. Some of the students struggle with mathematical parts of the module and therefore ways to provide additional support are of value.

Synchronous communication using voice and whiteboard can provide considerable interactivity between students and tutor, and among students (Mason & Rennie, 2008). This should be of particular value for students' understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures. The real-time communication may also help students to feel a sense of belonging within their tutor-group (Haythornthwaite, Kazmer, Robins & Shoemaker, 2000).

Elluminate is new to the Open University (although the Lyceum in-house audio-conferencing facility was used previously (Hampel, 2006). In this research project, initial training was therefore offered to T175 module tutors to introduce them to the numerous features of the interface, to identify aspects where additional scaffolding was required, and to enable cascading of training to the students.

The focus of the numeracy tutorial is the use of a formula 'triangle' (Open University, 2004) to manipulate simple algebraic equations in order to carry out calculations. Sample tutorial content was created for the tutors as a set of interactive whiteboards which can be loaded into Elluminate. However, tutors are free to design their own tutorial resources from scratch, if they prefer.

The research uses a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis to elicit the views of students and tutors on using Elluminate. A major aim is to investigate the value of the synchronous online tutorial in aiding the students' understanding of numeracy concepts. Students and tutors will be surveyed to elicit their views on the usability of Elluminate, any obstacles to using it, and its value for learning. Additionally, recordings of the Elluminate sessions will be viewed and analysed.

This paper will describe the approach taken for familiarisation of tutors and students with the Elluminate interface, and for the numeracy tutorial itself. Initial research findings from the surveys and interviews will be presented.

References

Mason, R., and Rennie, F. (2009) Elearning and social networking handbook, London, Routledge.

Hampel, R. (2006) Rethinking task design for the digital age: A framework for language teaching and learning in a synchronous online environment, ReCall, No 18, (01) pp 105-121

Haythornthwaite, C., Kazmer, M., Robins, J. & Shoemaker, S. (2000) 'Community development among distance learners: temporal and technological dimensions', Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 6(1), [Online] Available from:
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol6/issue1/haythornthwaite.html (accessed 26th June 2009)

Simpson, O. (2002) Supporting students in online, open and distance learning, 2nd edition, London, Routledge.

The Open University (2004) Open Learn IT and Computing, T175_8, ICTs: information [Online] Available from: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1725 (accessed 26th June 2009)


The measurement of the volume of information is fraught with difficulties. However, trends in availability and usage can be very revealing, as is shown by some examples. This article argues that considerations of the volume of information should not be divorced from those of the value of information. In communications, informative comparisons appear to be possible by classifying technologies in just a few dimensions, associated with the features of cost, speed, availability, and usability. An argument also is made that as a rough approximation, the value of information in terms of its volume is best thought of on a logarithmic scale. This approach provides a rough quantitative guide to the diminishing marginal utility delivered by the rapid progress in computing, storage, and communica¬tion technologies. It offers a partial explanation for slow uptake of ultra-high speed broadband and related phenomena.


In the past five years or so, numerous blockchain projects have made tremendous progress towards improving permissioned consensus protocols (partly due to their promised applications in Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies). Although a significant leap has silently taken place in our understanding of consensus protocols, it is rather difficult to navigate this body of work, and knowledge of the new techniques appears scattered. In this paper, we describe an extremely simple and natural paradigm called Streamlet for constructing consensus protocols. Our protocols are inspired by the core techniques that have been uncovered in the past five years of work; but to the best of our knowledge our embodiment is simpler than ever before and we accomplish this by taking a "streamlining" idea to its full potential. We hope that our textbook constructions will help to decipher the past five years of work on consensus partly driven by the cryptocurrency community --- in particular, how remarkably simple the new generation of consensus protocols has become in comparison with classical mainstream approaches such as PBFT and Paxos.


This paper provides an overview of low-power techniques for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). It covers system-level design techniques and device-level design techniques that have targeted current commercial devices. It also describes current research on circuit-level and architecture-level design techniques. Recent studies on power modelling and on low-power computer-aided design (CAD) are also reported. Finally, it proposes future work that would enable the use of FPGA technology in applications where power and energy consumption is critical, such as mobile devices.


Made in France: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary French popular music. The volume consists of essays by scholars of French popular music, and covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of pop music in France. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music in France, followed by essays that are organized into thematic sections: The Mutations of French Popular Music During the "Trente Glorieuses"; Politicising Popular Music; Assimilation, Appropriation, French Specificity; and From Digital Stakes to Cultural Heritage: French Contemporary Topics.


Effects of soil structure on solute transport were studied in a clayey, well-aggregated Oxic Dystropept under grass and secondary forest at La Selva, Costa Rica. Both fine pores ( 30 µm) are abundant, as indicated by a water content of 0.37 m³ m⁻³ at −1500 kPa matric potential, the shape of the moisture release curve, and an initial infiltration rate (at field capacity) averaging 3900 mm hr⁻¹. Field application of Rhodamine B dye without ponding (simulating heavy rainfall) showed preferential flow along decayed-root channels, animal burrows, cracks, and other macropores. Dye application to intact cores under conditions of ponded steady-state flow gave a good correlation between flow rate and total stained area (p <0.01 under forest; p < 0.05 under grass). Solute (CaCl₂) breakthrough occurred very rapidly, often after < 0.1 pore volumes had percolated; however, relative concentration of the effluent did not exceed 0.95 even after five pore volumes had percolated. These results indicate that most water flows between aggregates or through macropores (as preferential or channelized flow), even when the fine pores are not fully saturated, and in effect bypasses the fine pore space. When solution inflow was interrupted after ∼1.8 pore volumes, then resumed after 10 min pause, relative concentration of the effluent dropped by 10 to 40%, then rose again. This indicates that solute diffused slowly into the aggregates. Taken together the results suggest that this soil strongly resists leaching. Preferential water flow may serve to prevent nutrient loss from the matrix of all highly aggregated soils and of all noncultivated soils in which animal activity and turnover of woody roots create abundant macropores. Research supported by NSF Grants BSR 83-17198 and BSR 86-05047 to the Organization for Tropical Studies, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27706.


The first foot used during bouts of ground scratching in 16-day-old chicks searching for food in the floor of an arena covered with sawdust was recorded in animals with normal binocular vision and in animals with an eye temporarily occluded by an eye-patch. Binocular chicks showed a significant right foot bias, whereas monocular chicks tended to use the foot contralateral to the eye in use. Data for monocular chicks thus suggest that the activated hemisphere (contralateral to the eye in use) is the one that takes control of posture, leaving to the other hemisphere reflex-like responses associated with ground scratching or body wiping. It is argued that footedness in chicks might have arisen from the limb that is used to maintain postural and positional control, rather than from the limb that is used during motor activities.


In recent years, inequality has risen in the region alongside rapid economic growth. The widening income gap strengthens the case for a government response, and fiscal policy is one of the most suitable policy instruments to promote a more equitable society that provides opportunities for all. Developing Asia has trailed other parts of the world in equity-promoting fiscal expenditures, namely education, health care, and social protection, and thus the region needs to do more. Expanding public expenditures without boosting fiscal resources can, however, jeopardize fiscal sustainability. The key challenge is how to use fiscal policy to make growth more inclusive while maintaining fiscal sustainability.


Current antitrust orthodoxy focuses on short-term price/output factors. This increasingly criticized model does not adequately protect competition in industries in which individuals and small firms thrive. Small entrepreneurs may be efficient for a variety of reasons, including the incentives that flow from owner operation, the personal relationships that lead to superior service, or the strong creative component of the business. Despite advantages in efficiencies and superior willingness to innovate, small providers have been forced out of the market by intended or unintended effects of antitrust enforcement decisions and regulatory initiatives. This Article explores the concept of entrepreneurial choice and its application to small entrepreneurs. Recognizing the metric of entrepreneurial choice, along with consumer choice, is critical to protecting competition and restoring antitrust relevancy. To address these issues, the Article examines shortcomings in enforcement and regulatory policies in three critical industries—agriculture, healthcare, and communications and entertainment—and compares these industries to the wine and beer industries, where creative small entrepreneurs have a revitalized presence. This Article concludes by offering an approach for protecting efficient and in-demand small entrepreneurs while enhancing life choices for consumer and seller alike. In industries in which small entrepreneurs are efficient, this formula includes enhanced merger control, more vigorous antitrust enforcement to maintain open distribution, and greater tolerance for small seller collective actions needed to offset monopsony power. † Irving D & Florence Rosenberg Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School. The author is grateful to participants in a Chicago Loyola Law School symposium and to Christine Bartholomew, Peter Carstensen, Larry Hannah, Stacy Mitchell, Albert Foer, John Kwoka, Christopher Sagers, and Spencer Waller for comments on earlier drafts. My thanks also to Greg Gundlach for his assistance in opening the door to the rich business-management literature addressing small firms and to Charlie Wang for his careful research on the beer and wine industries. Case Western Reserve Law Review·Volume 68·Issue 1·2017 Restoring a Relevant Antitrust Policy


The deployment of fingerprint sensors is increasingly becoming common and has now gained high user acceptance. However, fingerprint sensors are susceptible to spoofing using artificial materials or in worst case to the dismembered fingers. Fake/gummy fingerprints have shown to fool most commercial fingerprint systems. This paper proposes a new method of anti-spoofing using reliable liveness detection. The proposed method of liveness detection is based on the principle of pulse oximetry and involves the source of light originating from a probe at two wavelengths. The light is partly absorbed by haemoglobin, by amounts which differ depending on whether it is saturated with oxygen or deoxygenated haemoglobin. We then perform the computations for the absorption at two wavelengths to estimate the proportion of haemoglobin which is oxygenated. The computed percentage of oxygen in the blood, along with the heart pulse rate, determines the liveness of the enrolled biometric. Our experimental results demonstrate that the developed prototype can successfully thwart the spoof attacks (including those based on dismembered fingers).


The politics, social issues, and cultural impacts of Latin American migration to the United States are often studied by historians and political scientists, but the regional focus is typically on the Southwest and California. This study examines the phenomenon of the impact of Latin American migration on the southeastern United States, a region that now has the nation's fastest growing immigrant population.Incorporating a political demography approach, this study seeks to provide a clear understanding of the complex dynamics of migration with particular emphasis on the unique demographic "fit" between the United States and Latin America. This fit arises from one region needing young workers while the other has more than its economy can absorb. Although a relatively simple concept, it is one that has largely been ignored in the political discussions of migration policy. This study argues that the social and political ramifications of and policy responses to Latin American immigration can best be understood when viewed in light of these circumstances.


PURPOSE: to map and characterize the occurrence of oral and / or written language disturbances in a group of institutionalized juvenile offenders, checking how possible language and communication difficulties impact on these subjects' social life. METHOD: exploratory and descriptive study, with 40 interns of Fundacao Casa / IU 25 unit - Rio Negro/ Franco da Rocha city complex - SP, between 15 and 18 year old. For collecting the data we applied the Mini-Mental State Examination - MMSE test, to detect individuals who may have cognitive impairment; the Montreal test, to examine simple oral and written language abilities and a semi-structured an interview, whose script was related to General Health, School Path, Vocational Path and perceptions of criminal behavior. RESULTS: the results showed that the majority of the population was literate and there was no occurrence of cognitive impairment. There was a high rate of school dropouts due from difficulties in following school curriculum and adapting to school rules and dynamics, indicating the impacts referring to language difficulties, especially written language, on condition that, in combination with other factors favored the conduct infractions. CONCLUSION: the young offenders had problems to develop and to engage in socio-cultural patterns and values, including school rules, which impose limits on their discursive access and movement, by restricting the uses of language, as a path to the development of personal social practice and citizenship. The findings provide evidence, among other factors, on the social impact that poor schooling and socialization of young people may come to cause. The study demonstrates that language should be designed as a social practice, mostly in the expression and communication forms of these subjects.


We adapt to neutrino physics a general formulation for particle propagation in fluctuating media, initially developed for applications to electromagnetism and neutron optics. In leading approximation this formalism leads to the usual MSW effective Hamiltonian governing neutrino propagation through a medium. Next-to-leading contributions describe deviations from this description, which arise due to neutrino interactions with fluctuations in the medium. We compute these corrections for two types of fluctuations: (i) microscopic thermal fluctuations and (ii) macroscopic fluctuations in the medium{close_quote}s density. While the first of these reproduces standard estimates, which are negligible for applications to solar neutrinos, we find that the second can be quite large, since it grows in size with the correlation length of the fluctuation. We consider two models in some detail. For fluctuations whose correlations extend only over a local region in space of length l, appreciable effects for MSW oscillations arise if ({delta}n/n){sup 2}l{approx_gt}100m or so. Alternatively, a crude model of helioseismic p-waves gives appreciable effects only when ({delta}n/n){approx_gt}1{percent}. In general the dominant effect is to diminish the quality of the resonance, making the suppression of the {sup 7}Be neutrinos a good experimental probe of fluctuations deep within the sun. Fluctuations can also provide a newmore » mechanism for reducing the solar neutrino flux, giving an energy-independent suppression factor of 1/2 away from the resonant region, even for small vacuum mixing angles. {copyright} 1997 Academic Press, Inc.« less


Determining the relative role of various cues on seed germination in Mediterranean plants is important to understanding their response to variable conditions. We studied germination responses of 12 eastern Mediterranean Basin species (Alyssum caricum, A. minus, Carthamus dentatus, Daucus broteri, D. carota, Hypericum aviculariifolium, Muscari comosum, Onopordum caricum, Rumex crispus, Sarcopoterium spinosum, Silene vulgaris, Smyrnium rotundifolium) to different smoke and nitrate concentrations in laboratory. Smoke treatments resulted in significant increase in germination of D. carota, O. caricum, and S. spinosum, but had a negative effect on germination of Hypericum aviculariifolium. Of the 12 studied species, five showed significant improvement in germination after at least one of the nitrate treatments compared with the control. In total, smoke and nitrate treatments significantly increased the germination percentage in six of the 12 studied species. All the species that have smoke- and/or nitrate-stimulated germination were propagule-persisters (P+), able to recruit after fire. The results reveal that both smoke and nitrate improve germination of Mediterranean species. Our results also suggest the presence of species-specific germination response to smoke and nitrate in Mediterranean plants.


The putative risk of haematopoietic cancer in relation to modern strong immunosuppressive treatment in inflammatory bowel disease C hronic diseases have become an increasing portion of modern medicine in the Western world and the goals for treatment are not only to relieve symptoms and their influence on daily life for patients but also to avoid long term complications of the disease and of the treatment given. The rules for obtaining evidence of the benefit of a new treatment have been widely accepted, with the rando-mised controlled study as the ''gold standard''. Such studies give some guarantee of the effect of a given treatment modality. The possible long term side effects however cannot be secured against in studies carried out over a few months, the usual length of a controlled trial. The natural history of a chronic disease—how will the disease proceed if no medical intervention is carried out—should ideally be the background for any therapeutic trial. For the immediate short term course, the placebo arm of a controlled study is sufficient. Knowledge of the long term natural course of the disease however does not exist as both the medical profession and patients themselves have continuously interfered and tried to relieve the consequences of the disease. Gradually therefore, the meaning of ''natural course'' has changed to ''the course of the disease when treated in accordance with established and well defined treatment policies''. Studies of this kind, systematic collection of clinical data, have extended the subject of clinical epidemiology from estimation of incidence and prevalence of diseases in a population, to long term follow up of cohorts of patients. Good epidemiological studies imply avoidance of selection of patients using regional patient cohorts, securing complete follow up with a minimum of untraced patients, and use of well described and unambig-uous definitions of diagnosis and clinical parameters. If the pitfall of selection is not avoided, the created patient group may be unrecognisable, and the results obtained become misleading. Modern information technology has facilitated the creation of large databases which, combined with epidemiologically correct data collection, give the possibility of depicting prognosis and the long term course of chronic diseases during a given treatment regimen. Although it is both costly and time consuming to maintain such databases, it is our professional responsibility to cumulate clinical experience in order to inform patients properly and to find strategies for improvements in treatment. With regard to inflammatory bowel …


: A brief description of the pathogenesis and immediate and long-range outcome following certain maternal viral infections in pregnancy has been presented. As evidence has accumulated from the follow-up of infants with specific congenital infections, it is clear that the consequences can be disastrous but not just for the obviously affected neonate - the normal-appearing infant at birth may have problems which appear much later. So-called "silent" congenital infections of the central nervous system may be a more frequent cause of mental retardation and specific learning disorders than we realize.


A vast array of transformations have inundated the scientific exhibition world in the past fifty years, bringing considerable challenges to museum professionals who had to ride with difficulty the wave of change from object-based professional practice to reconsiderations of social purpose and communicative efficiency. Spatial and sensory factors that make up the holistic embodied experience of the visitor may emerge as increasingly relevant in the future - especially with regards to recent 'experientially-based' approaches to practice – affirming a role at the very core of communicative and learning processes. This paper illustrates the revolution with the learning, communication in museum environment through times, argues that the understanding of the scientific exhibition as a medium 'unique to itself', but also play a significant part in the learning process, as a constant and complex series of experiences. Strengthening reflection on the place of the embodied experience in communication and learning may thus encourage practitioners in the future to imagine new roles for science museums, with a more complex understanding of 'what it does the best through times' and 'how to move it forward'.


Paper presented in national symposium on future goals of physiological research for the improvement of plant resources, held at Annamalai University, December 18-20, 1998.


Coda-final consonant deletion has been extensively documented in Eastern Andalusian Spanish; however, its effects on neighbouring segments is still unknown. Scholars working on consonant deletion in Eastern Andalusian Spanish have mainly focused on /s/, given the semantic importance of this consonant in Spanish. As a result, other consonants which are often deleted syllable-finally in this geolect have been studied to a much lesser degree. The present paper aims to expand the traditional view on vowel doubling by analysing /s/, /-r/ and /-Ɵ/ deletion before /a/. Firstly, the speech of 24 speakers from El Ejido (Eastern Andalusia) is analysed to ascertain how the deletion of word final /s/, /r/, and /Ɵ/ changes the quality of a preceding /a/. Secondly, a perception test is carried out with native speakers from the local area to confirm whether these speakers can differentiate perceptually between word-final /a/ and /a/ preceding underlying /-s/, /-r/, or /Ɵ/. This paper presents two main conclusions: 1) /-s/, /-r/, and /-Ɵ/ deletion changes the quality of a preceding /a/ to different degrees; 2) EAS speakers can identify whether /a/ is followed or not by an underlying /-s/, /-r/, or /-Ɵ/, but they cannot identify which consonant has been deleted in each case. Disciplines Arts and Humanities | Law Publication Details Herrero de Haro, A. (2017). Four low central vowels in Eastern Andalusian Spanish: /a/ before underlying /s/, /-r/, and /-θ/ in El Ejido. Dialectologia et Geolinguistica, 25 (1), 23-50. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/3326 DiG 25 (2017), 23–50 DOI 10.1515/dialect-2017-0002 Four low central vowels in Eastern Andalusian Spanish: /a/ before underlying /-s/, /-r/, and /Alfredo Herrero de Haro


Endotoxin concentrations were measured in paired samples of cerebrospinal fluid from 38 patients with Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis. On admission, the median concentration of endotoxin in cerebrospinal fluid was 104 ng/mL and decreased rapidly in follow-up samples. From 17 to 48 hours after admission, 50% of the patients had concentrations of less than 1 ng/mL. Endotoxin concentrations correlated significantly with concentrations of interleukin 1 beta, protein, and glucose in cerebrospinal fluid, duration of secondary fever, and neurologic abnormalities during hospitalization and on follow-up examinations. Twenty-eight percent of patients with endotoxin concentrations of 100 ng/mL or more on admission had long-term complications, compared with none of those with lower endotoxin concentrations (relative risk, 2.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.53 to 3.48). These results indicate that quantitation of endotoxin in cerebrospinal fluid could be a valuable aid in identifying those children at increased risk of complications during Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis and provide additional evidence that the Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis lipo-oligosaccharide is important in the pathogenesis of meningitis.


Sodium Alginate/bentonite clay composites of different compositions were prepared by solution casting method. The electrical properties (Conductivity, Dielectric constant) of the composites were investigated by standard methods with Impedance Analyzer. The electrical properties were found to improve with the incorporation of bentonite clay. The thermal, physical and mechanical properties of sodium alginate/bentonite clay composite were investigated by Thermo-Mechanical Analyzer (TMA), X-ray Deffraction (XRD), and Universal Testing Machine respectively. . Tensile Strength (TS) and Elongation at break (Eb) of 2% clay containing composite film were found to be 7.6 MPa and 55% respectively. The XRD demonstrates the enhancing crystallinity of sodium alginate/bentonite clay composite with the increasing clay content. TMA results showed a higher thermal stability in the composite. Water absorption properties of the sodium alginate/clay composite were studied and found to decrease with the increase of clay content. . The inter action between sodium alginate and bentonite clay were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). All of the results indicate that the developed composite is promising for use in a wide variety of optoelectronic applications.


Turnout, where a train changes its running track, is one of the crucial technologies in China's high-speed railway construction, turnout is always the important and difficult to maintenance. In order to keep the high technology of turnout and reduce the maintenance work, we based on the experience of accumulated from the design, manufacture and laid technology of high speed turnout, and the scientific maintenance method of high speed turnout was explored. Maintenance of high speed turnout should be in accordance with its high performance requirements and take appropriate measures of maintenance to ensure the high speed turnout working safely.


Abstract. This study used simulation techniques to evaluate the technical adequacy of three methods for the identification of specific learning disabilities via patterns of strengths and weaknesses in cognitive processing. Latent and observed data were generated and the decision-making process of each method was applied to assess concordance in classification for specific learning disabilities between latent and observed levels. The results showed that all three methods had excellent specificity and negative predictive values, but low to moderate sensitivity and very low positive predictive values. Only a very small percentage of the population (1%–2%) met criteria for specific learning disabilities. In addition to substantial psychometric issues underlying these methods, general application did not improve the efficiency of the decision model, may not be cost effective because of low base rates, and may result in many children receiving instruction that is not optimally matched to their specific needs.