There is growing evidence that adenosine receptors could be the promising therapeutic targets in
a wide range of conditions. In fact, purines and pyrimidines nucleosides and nucleotides are
molecules involved in several physiological and pathophysiological processes through the
activation of cell membrane receptors called purinergic receptors. These receptors are classified
in P1 receptors (G-protein-coupled receptors whose natural ligand is adenosine), and P2
receptors (whose agonist and antagonist respectively are ADP and ATP)1. The P2 receptors are
classified in two main groups: P2Y receptors that are G-protein linked, and P2X receptors,
ligand-gated ion channels2. Among the different human P2Y subtypes, our attention was focused
on the P2Y12 or P2T receptor, with a tissue distribution restricted to platelets, and subregions of
the brain and vascular smooth muscle cells3. The P2Y12 receptor is a well-established target of
antithrombotic drugs like ticlopidine, clopidogrel4, prasugrel and cangrelor which have proved
efficacy in many clinical trials and experimental models of thrombosis. Beside the important
activity as antiaggregant therapeutic candidates, P2Y12 receptors seem to be involved in the
neuroprotection. They are present in high concentration in the astrocytes where they preserve the
integrity of the nervous tissues5. Consequently, it's reasonable to hypothesize an important role
as therapeutic candidates in pathologies which involve a degeneration of the tissues in the some
areas of the brain, such as the Huntington's disease and the Parkinson's disease.
In order to find possible new antagonists for this receptor subtypes, we explored some 6-amino-
2-mercapto-3H-pyrimidine-4-one derivatives as extremely simplified analogs of the known
ATP-congeners antagonists. In this series, the compound 1 showed a weak activity in inhibiting
platelet aggregation, becoming our lead compound. Several substituents on hydroxy and thiol
functions were introduced with the purpose to improve the activity (2). Some of the newly
synthesized compounds showed only a slight improvement in the inhibition of platelet
aggregation.
The poor activity of this series of compounds could be explained with the lack of interaction
with the receptor considering the very simplified utilized structure. For this reason we focused
our attention on some bicyclic derivatives (3) in order to increase hydrophobic interactions into
the binding site.
Unfortunately and in contrast of our expectations all the derivatives of general formula 3 showed
an activity comparable with the more simplified compounds (2). A possible explanation of this
effect could be done considering the absence of negative charge on the core, which seems to be
essential for the activity at the P2Y12 receptors as recently reported in literature6.

References:
1. G. Kauffentein et al. "Adenine Triphosphate nucleotides are antagonists at P2y12 receptor" J. Thromb.
Haemost. 2004, 2, 1980-1988.
2. G. Burnstock et al. "P2 purinergic receptors: modulation of cell function and therapeutic potential" J.
Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2000, 295, 862-869.
3. I. von Kugelgen. "Pharmacological profiles of cloned-mammalian P2Y-receptors subtypes" Pharmacol. &
Therapeutics. 2006, 110, 415-432.
4. P. Savi et al. "identification and biological activity of the active metabolite of clopidogrel" Thromb. Haemost.
2000, 84, 891-896.
5. L. K. Mamedova et al. "Regulation of death and survival in astrocytes by ADP activating P2Y1 and P2Y12
receptors" Biochem. Pharmacol. 2006, 72, 1031-1041.
6. Y. Baqi et al. "High- affinity, non nucleotide-derived competitive antagonists of platelet P2Y12 receptors" J.
Med. Chem. 2009, 52(12), 3784-3793.


We propose a Predictable Dual-View Hashing (PDH) algorithm which embeds proximity of data samples in the original spaces. We create a cross-view hamming space with the ability to compare information from previously incomparable domains with a notion of 'predictability'. By performing comparative experimental analysis on two large datasets, PASCAL-Sentence and SUN-Attribute, we demonstrate the superiority of our method to the state-of-the-art dual-view binary code learning algorithms.


We present a systematic numerical analysis of the magnetic properties of pyramidal-shaped core-shell structures in a size range below 400 nm. These are three-dimensional structures consisting of a ferromagnetic shell which is grown on top of a non-magnetic core. The standard micromagnetic model without the magnetocrystalline anisotropy term is used to describe the properties of the shell. We vary the thickness of the shell between the limiting cases of an ultra-thin shell and a conventional pyramid and delineate different stable magnetic configurations. We find different kinds of single-domain states, which predominantly occur at smaller system sizes. In analogy to equivalent states in thin square films we term these onion, flower, C and S states. At larger system sizes, we also observe two types of vortex states, which we refer to as symmetric and asymmetric vortex states. For a classification of the observed states, we derive a phase diagram that specifies the magnetic ground state as a function of structure size and shell thickness. The transitions between different ground states can be understood qualitatively. We address the issue of metastability by investigating the stability of all occurring configurations for different shell thicknesses. For selected geometries and directions hysteresis measurements are analysed and discussed. We observe that the magnetic behaviour changes distinctively in the limit of ultra-thin shells. The study has been motivated by the recent progress made in the growth of faceted core-shell structures.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising tool in regenerative medicine due to their capacity to differentiate into multiple lineages. In addition to MSCs isolated from bone marrow (BMSCs), adult MSCs are isolated from craniofacial tissues including dental pulp (DP) and periodontal ligament (PDL) tissues using various stem cell surface markers. However, there has been a lack of consensus on a set of surface makers that are reproducibly effective at isolating putative multipotent dental mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs). In this study, we used different combinations of surface markers (CD51/CD140α, CD271, and STRO-1/CD146) to isolate homogeneous populations of DMSCs from heterogeneous dental pulp cells (DPCs) and periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) and compared their capacity to undergo multilineage differentiation. Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) revealed that 27.3% of DPCs were CD51+/CD140α+, 10.6% were CD271+, and 0.3% were STRO-1+/CD146+; whereas 24% of PDLCs were CD51+/CD140α+, 0.8% were CD271+, and 2.4% were STRO-1+/CD146+. Sorted cell populations were further assessed for their multipotent properties by inducing odonto/osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic differentiation. All three subsets of isolated DMSCs exhibited differentiation capacity into odonto/osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages but with varying degrees. CD271+ DMSCs demonstrated the greatest odonto/osteogenic potential with strong induction of odonto/osteogenic and periodontal markers such as DLX5, RUNX2, BGLAP, DMP1, DSPP, and PLAP-1. Based on these results, the role of CD271 in odontogenic differentiation was further evaluated. CD271 is one of the receptors which Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) exerts its biological effects through. Although NGF is known for its role in the the development and maintenance of the nervous system, it's capability to promote odontogenic differentiation has made it an interesting candidate for its role as a mineralizing agent in regenerative therapies. We found that exogenous treatment of NGF further increased odonotogenic potential of CD271+ DMSCs from DP with induction of odontogenic markers DLX5, RUNX2, and BGLAP, and increased MAPK, AKT, MTOR, and NF-B signaling pathways in a time dependent manner. Furthermore, knockdown of tropomyosin trkA tyrosine kinase receptor (trkANGFR) and low affinity nerve growth factor receptor (p75NTR/CD271/LNGFR) decreased odontogenic differentiation of CD271+ DMSCs. Our study provides important insights into the use of DMSCs and growth factors for regenerative therapies in dentistry, and improves our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in odontogenic differentiation


Corvée labour (angary) and forced labour have been in existence since ancient times under different forms. This problematic area, is still an important topic in the agenda of today's globalized world. While legal regulations are being amended, methods are still sought for fighting these types of labour force use. This paper intends to highlight both socio-historical and legal aspects of the mentioned concepts. In light of national and international legislation and high court decisions this paper critiques the current discussions with regard to corvée and forced labour.


BACKGROUND
Metastatic breast cancer patients are now living longer but cope with potential symptoms of metastatic disease and prolonged cancer treatment. Nutrition can play a vital role in managing these sequelae, and eHealth tools are emerging as promising delivery options for nutrition interventions.

OBJECTIVE
To qualitatively assess nutritional problems and concerns of women with metastatic breast cancer and to explore how to address these problems within an existing eHealth platform.

METHODS
Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 women with metastatic breast cancer participating in an ongoing eHealth study. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a team-based content analysis approach.

RESULTS
Most respondents reported currently or previously experiencing nutritional problems due to adverse effects of cancer treatment or the disease itself; these were rarely addressed during routine clinical care. Five major themes emerged: (1) knowledge about nutrition, (2) nutrition information-seeking, (3) social aspects of nutrition, (4) nutrition interest, and (5) how to address nutrition with an eHealth platform. The respondents reported diverse experiences and perspectives regarding nutrition and diet in the context of metastatic breast cancer within each theme.

CONCLUSION
Findings indicate the importance of providing women with metastatic breast cancer with information about nutrition that is tailored to their specific disease, as these patients report both nutritional problems and uncertainty regarding nutritional strategies.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
These findings are a first step toward designing supportive care interventions that could fill the gap related to nutritional concerns not addressed during routine clinical care.


This research examined the predictors of illusory judgments of prediction under conditions of uncertainty. Study 1 investigated the believability of an experimental manipulation that required participants to choose a strategy for target object selection. Study 2 expanded upon Study 1 by giving participants an additional choice strategy (e.g., a computer's selection). In both Study 1 and Study 2, participants relied on the paranormal strategy (e.g., a psychic) to a greater degree under conditions of uncertainty than under conditions of certainty. Study 3 replicated these results using a between subjects design but also expanded upon Study 1 and 2 by examining individual difference and demographic predictors of paranormal strategy selection under conditions of uncertainty. Paranormal involvement and religious involvement were also analyzed. In Study 3, participants who chose the psychic more often were also more likely to overestimate the probability of correctly locating a hidden object. These results are discussed in terms of illusory prediction. Personal paranormal involvement and religious involvement were associated with less reliance on the psychic strategy, whereas general paranormal involvement was associated with greater reliance on the psychic strategy. Implications for this research include a possible increased predilection for gambling based upon personal paranormal beliefs. Further, this research indicates that individuals with high paranormal beliefs may be vulnerable toward psychic services during times of uncertainty.


This paper proposes a method to detect attractive phrases from musical lyrics. The method considers not only acoustic but also lyrical features which attract human attention. Through the interview on impression for lyrics, we have found that "uniqueness of co-occurred terms" and "repetition" significantly influence human attraction. Therefore, we modeled these linguistic expressions as mathematical features. The proposed method detected attractive phrases using support vector machine with the modeled features. The results of the model evaluation experiments showed the 69% accuracy and 86% precision. Moreover, the results were compared and discussed with the key sentences detected by the existing summarization methods. As the result of comparison, it is confirmed that the proposed method detected attractive phrases more accurate than the existing summarization methods.


This paper presents the capability of Time–delay artificial neural network models for predicting shelf life of processed cheese. Datasets were divided into two subsets (30 for training and 6 for validation). Models with single and multi layers were developed and compared with each other. Mean Square Error, Root Mean Square Error, Coefficient of Determination and Nash - Sutcliffo Coefficient were used as performance evaluators, Time- delay model predicted the shelf life of processed cheese as 28.25 days, which is very close to experimental shelf life of 30 days.


Background: Determination of sex from the skeletal remains is of immense importance in the field of forensic medicine, physical anthropometry and anthropology. Various previous studies have demonstrated sternum as an important tool for the determination of sex. Aims: Aim of the present study was to establish normal range of values for the width and the area of sternum in the studied population and evaluate the sexual dimorphism in the sternum. Material & Methods: The present study was conducted at M.P. Shah Govt. Medical College, Jamnagar on Computed tomography scans of a total of 83 adult Gujarati individuals (57 males, 26 females). The sternal width and the sternal area were measured and analysed. Results: The width of the sternum at 1 st and 3 rd sternebrae and sternal area were found to be larger in male and the difference was statistically significant. The sternal area was found to be the most accurate for determination of sex among all studied parameters, which accurately identified 59.63% of sterna as male and 30.77% as female by the method of identification point. Conclusion: The sternal area is the most reliable criteria for the determination of the sex of a sternum. The widths of the sternum were found to be non-accurate for the determination of sex of a sternum. The sternum of the female is on average narrower and smaller than the male sternum.


The thesis examines the growth of the Education Service in the Excepted District of the Borough of chesterfield from 1944 to I967. The negotiations leading to the granting of Excepted District status and the formulation of the Scheme of Delegation are discussed, together with the establishment of Managing and Governing bodies of schools and the production of the Development plan for the Borough. The Major and Minor works building programmes are examined and related to the proposals of the Development plan. The evolution of a transfer procedure is described end an analysis is made of the philosophy of Secondary Education maintained by the Borough Education Officer of the day which gave rise to a system of Secondary Schools which attracted interest and acknowledgement at national level and of the factors which caused dissatisfaction with the system in the late 1950's. The resulting discussion leading towards the reorganisation of Secondary Education and the effect of Circulars 10/65 and 10/66 on the decisions of the Council are also examined. The growth of Special Services, Further Education and the Youth Service and the Library Service within the functions delegated by the Scheme of Divisional Administration is outlined. The introduction of i.t.a. and French in the Primary Schools is included in the survey. The successful growth of the service in all its aspects is shown to be a justification for the belief expressed in 1944 that the small Authority of Chesterfield was well able to manage its own affairs within the Scheme of Delegation. The influence of the Borough's geographical position within N.E. Derbyshire, together with the willingness of the Local Education Authority to support bids for the provision of various establishments serving the Borough and N.E. Derbyshire, thus augmenting the development of the Borough Education Service, is analysed.


How fast should animals move when trying to survive? Although many studies have examined how fast animals can move, the fastest speed is not always best. For example, an individual escaping from a predator must run fast enough to escape, but not so fast that it slips and falls. To explore this idea, we developed a simple mathematical model that predicts the optimal speed for an individual running from a predator along a straight beam. A beam was used as a proxy for straight-line running with severe consequences for missteps. We assumed that success, defined as reaching the end of the beam, had two broad requirements: (1) running fast enough to escape a predator, and (2) minimizing the probability of making a mistake that would compromise speed. Our model can be tailored to different systems by revising the predator's maximal speed, the prey's stride length and motor coordination, and the dimensions of the beam. Our model predicts that animals should run slower when the beam is narrower or when coordination is worse.


Water vapor condensation is common in nature and widely used in industrial applications, including water harvesting, power generation, and desalination. As compared to traditional filmwise condensation, dropwise condensation on lubricant-infused surfaces (LIS) can lead to an order-of-magnitude increase in heat transfer rates. Small droplets (D ≤ 100 μm) account for nearly 85% of the total heat transfer and droplet sweeping plays a crucial role in clearing nucleation sites, allowing for frequent re-nucleation. Here, we focus on the dynamic interplay of microdroplets with the thin lubricant film during water vapor condensation on LIS. Coupling high-speed imaging, optical microscopy, and interferometry, we show that the initially uniform lubricant film re-distributes during condensation. Governed by lubricant height gradients, microdroplets as small as 2 μm in diameter undergo rigorous and gravity-independent self-propulsion, travelling distances multiples of their diameters at velocities up to 1100 μm s-1. Although macroscopically the movement appears to be random, we show that on a microscopic level capillary attraction due to asymmetrical lubricant menisci causes this gravity-independent droplet motion. Based on a lateral force balance analysis, we quantitatively find that the sliding velocity initially increases during movement, but decreases sharply at shorter inter-droplet spacing. The maximum sliding velocity is inversely proportional to the oil viscosity and is strongly dependent of the droplet size, which is in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. This novel and non-traditional droplet movement is expected to significantly enhance the sweeping efficiency during dropwise condensation, leading to higher nucleation and heat transfer rates.


The purpose of this study was to identify factors at organizational, team, and individual levels that are most predictive of quality improvement team effectiveness. Numerous studies have been conducted on the use of teams in health care. The majority of these studies have focused on organizational-level issues. A few others have focused on team-level issues or individual-level issues. The authors believe that successful use of teams requires a more integrated approach. This study addresses this need by providing a multiple-level analysis of teams in three hospitals. Structured interviews were conducted with hospital administrators as well as quality improvement representatives and team leaders, and written questionnaires were administered to team members. Eight factors were related significantly to the effectiveness of team effort: frequency of team meetings, hours per week conducting team activities, willingness of members to serve on team, selection method of team members, communication of team plans, team member position/composition, team leader performance, and facilitator performance.


The use of bone marrow-derived immunostimulants is a promising direction in poultry production. The objective of this research was to study the effect of introducing a bone marrow cell protein formulation on the immunity of chickens vaccinated against salmonellosis. According to the principle of analogues, a control and two experimental groups of chickens were formed with 20 heads each (in total 60 individuals). To Group 1 birds, a protein preparation from bovine bone marrow cells was administered with feed by irrigation with 10% suspension in physiological saline at a rate of 0.2 ml per head once per day from the first day of life for three days. In Group 2, the drug was administered once, on day 1, at a rate of 0.2 ml per head. Control chickens were injected with saline in the same volumes. All chickens were vaccinated against salmonellosis. Blood for analysis of cellular, biochemical and humoral indicators was taken on days 7 and 14 of bird life. The use of the bone marrow cell-derived protein preparation resulted in higher values in the blood of chickens of Groups 1 and 2, respectively, by day 14 of age in comparison with controls as follows: erythrocytes (15.51% and 22.28%) and leukocytes (3.93% and 3.70%), T- and B- lymphocytes (67.5% and 69.16%; 23.24% and 23.75%), neutrophil phagocytic activity (10.14% and 25.36%) and phagocytic index (17.25% and 18.74%), bactericidal (13.32% and 20.25%) and lysozyme activity (23.88% and 24.41%), total protein (13.23% and 14.21%), immunoglobulins (19.59% and 20.76%), specific antibody titre (47.50% and 51.25%). Our study confirms the suitability of using bone marrow-derived protein preparations in poultry production. In practical terms, our study has particular importance for the development and implementation of preparations based on proteins of bone marrow cells.


A method of encapsulating hazardous waste materials including heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, nickel and chromium residues, as well as radioactive materials. The method involves adding the hazardous waste material to a settable composition, forming a slurry, and allowing the slurry to set to encapsulate the waste material. The settable composition is a powdered flowable cement composition containing calcium carbonate and a caustic magnesium oxide. Tests conducted on the encapsulated material indicate that virtually none of the hazardous waste material is leached out of the set composition which has a concrete-like appearance.


Extensive photoelectric measurements of the δ Scuti variable 1 Mon were obtained from 1979 to 1985 at Odessa Astronomical Observatory. These data are presented and analyzed. The star shows an almost equidistant frequency triplet with a number of combinations of these three frequencies. The frequencies and amplitudes are in agreement with those found in previous years.


There is widespread agreement that tort (and criminal) law developed historically as an alternative to violence. Given that pedigree, it is not surprising that preserving the peace would be pursued as a goal of punitive damages, as is claimed in several cases and law review articles. The precise relationship between peace and punitive damages is left relatively vague. However, a recent article by Professor Anthony Sebok can be used to fill in the details.Professor Sebok constructs a private-law theory of punitive damages that emphasizes two features. First, punitive damages are awarded for violations of only a certain kind of right: the right to dignity. Second, punitive-damages awards are personal punishment. This Essay argues that those features can also be used to explain punitive damages' role in preserving the peace. Violations of the right to dignity are the most likely to be met with violence. Furthermore, the punishment's personal nature maximizes the appeal of the legal system as an alternative to violence. However, three significant changes-the increased reliance on criminal law as a means of social control, the advent of corporations, and the establishment of a general social norm against violent solutions to serious conflicts-have substantially decreased the necessity of a pacificatory function for punitive damages.


Students who are blind or have low vision (BLV) have traditionally been under represented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professions. This under representation may be due to a lack of methodologies and access technologies available to foster hands-on science learning. This presentation will discuss multi-sensory approaches for teaching science in a hands-on way to students who are blind or visually impaired. These approaches may also be implemented with non-visually impaired students to increase student engagement in the learning process. Some of these approaches include text-to-speech laboratory instrumentation that speaks critical data points out loud to qualitative sonification outputs of Cartesian graphical representations that involves the use of a tone change to represent the slope of a line that shows a data trend. It is these technological approaches that are complimented with extra description of visual and non-ambiguous oral representations of mathematical expressions that provide scaffolding for all learners. One additional motivation for the inclusion of persons with various disabilities into the STEM workforce is their innate ability to problem solves to overcome their physical and/or cognitive limitations. It is this lifelong population of problem solvers that should be fully integrated into the STEM workforce. Educational research has shown that students learn best when they are able to engage in hands-on learning activities. My research with students with blindness or low vision has also illustrates this to be true for the majority of students with BLV.


The lower part of the Pungo River Formation in the Aurora Embayment (units A and B) consists of phosphorite sands and interbedded dolomites that grade southward into calcareous quartz sand (unit CC) associated with a pre-Miocene topographic high. Within this embayment phosphate content decreases southward and becomes negligible in unit CC. Units A and B contain foraminiferal assemblages whose most abundant specimens range from rare to absent in these units. Similar assemblages persist as the units thicken to the east. The sporadic occurrence of more diverse species associations in units A and B suggests that the depositional embayment was not restricted; but conditions were not generally suitable for most open shelf species. The predominance of Buliminella elegantissima which flourishes in sewage outfall areas in modern seas suggests that water chemistry or organic nutrient supply perhaps related to phosphate genesis limited foraminiferal faunal diversity. Upper Pungo River sediments within the Aurora Embayment (units C D and DD) consist of phosphorite sands and interbedded phosphatic quartz-bearing moldic limestones. Units C and DD also grade southward into the calcareous quartz and of unit CC. These upper units contain richer more diverse benthic assemblages with high frequencies of middle and outer shelf species. Planktonic specimens are common within these units. Unlike the assemblages of units A and B those of unit C suggest no unusual depositional conditions. Phosphorites of unit C are richer in phosphatic sediments than are those of units A and B. The enrichment may reflect concentration by physical sedimentary processes. Faunal and sedimentary characteristics suggest that the phosphate of unit C was transported perhaps being derived from adjacent areas of the embayment or directly from underlying units (A and B) in which the phosphorites appear to have formed in situ.


The aim of this study was to isolate Salmonella species and other enteric bacteria in rats cohabiting with poultry; in order to consider the potential role of rats in their transmissions to poultry and humans. Four hundred samples comprising 200 oral swabs and 200 anal swabs were collected from rats cohabiting with poultry from 5 local government areas in Ibadan. The samples were subjected to standard bacteriological analysis. A total of 228 Gram negative bacteria including 21 different species of both Lactose fermenters and non-Lactose fermenters were isolated. The identified organisms include: Salmonella subspecies 1, Salmonella Arizonae, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli inactive, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter hormaechei, Enterobacter agglomerans, Enterobacter dissolvens, Enterobacter gergoviae, and Aeromonas hydrophila, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Hafnia alvei, Morganella morganii biogp 1,Morganella morganii subspecies Siboni 1, Citrobacter diversus, Serratia liquefaciens, Pragia fontium and Providencia alcalifaciens. The organisms were identified using Oxoid Microbact GNB 24E® (MB24E) and accompanying computer software package (Oxoid Microbact®) 2000 version 2.03.  Some of the isolated bacteria from rats' cohabitating with poultry have been associated with diseases in poultry and humans. The findings therefore serves to create fresh awareness among poultry farmers and other stakeholders in the industry from the studied area, that rats do not only constitute physical threat in terms of destruction of infrastructures and feeding on poultry feeds, they also pose a great risk in terms of transmission of bacterial infection to poultry and men associated with poultry production. Possible measures to control rats' infestations within poultry houses are highlighted.

 Key words: Rats, poultry, co-habitating, Gram negative Bacteria.


Nowadays, the educational system is submitted to some obvious quantitative and qualitative restrictions. Quantitatively speaking, the increase of teachers' number proportionally with the growth of educational request becomes ineffective and this is a phenomenon characteristic for all worlds' countries. It involves the need to find new means to diminish the specialists' pedagogical effort.
Simultaneously with the quantitative growth, the educational request also bears deep qualitative mutations. Fewer people want to attend standard and rigid courses which don't fully correspond to their real needs and their traced line in life. To the "massive growth" of educational offer is opposed a mainly new solution – the "navigation" that allows a massive, diversified and also personified access to the existent knowledge and competencies.
These both major restrictions are abolished by the e-learning (education from distance). Actually, the distinction between "stationary" and "distanced" becomes lest pertinent owed to the use of telecommunication networks and interactive media support increasingly integrating into the traditional forms of education and learning.
From "lifesaver" for the traditional education, the e-learning as result of appeared restrictions is transforming in norm or at least in distinctive form to organize the educational system.
If in the traditional form of education the teacher is the main source of knowledge for students, in the virtual learning, knowledge and skills contained in electronic teaching methodological set (keys) is sent to the student for each subject provided in the curriculum. The connection to the world circuit of values and knowledge does not imply unconditional import of foreign models, but others experience is required to be known to make a rational choice. One of the goals of education reform is the integration of national education in European and world educational space. This determines the importance and necessity of knowledge and critical analysis of everything that happens in the extra space of the national education.
Virtual education features brings new dimensions to provide the knowledge in education field, offering new alternatives at traditional methods.


The cultural determinants of contraceptive choice are usually poorly measured and the mechanisms through which they operate to influence individual behavior are often inadequately understood. Data from a 1994 household survey in 51 villages in Nang Rong a rural district in northeastern Thailand and a village survey in all villages in the district were used to examine the effects kinship networks on womens contraceptive choice and the mechanisms through which kinship networks affect contraceptive choice. Multinomial regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 1563 non-sterilized non-pregnant women aged 18-35 who had been married 10 years or less and microsimulations were performed to illustrate the results of varying numbers and types of kinship ties on contraceptive use levels. Extended kinship ties affect contraceptive choice. The more external kinship ties households have the more likely women in those households are to use modern forms of temporary contraception. For example if all households in a village had no kinship ties with other households in the village 35% of women would use the injectable and 33% no method; in contrast if all households had 5 extended kinship ties with other households in the village 41% of women would use the injectable and 25% no method. Extended kinship ties outside the village also affect contraceptive use: If all households had only two extended kinship ties outside the village 28% would use the pill 36% the injectable and 33% no method whereas if all households had 8 such ties 33% would use the pill 38% the injectable and 27% no method. Village-level patterns of extended kinship ties also affect contraceptive choice. If all villages were to average just 1 extended kinship tie outside the village per household 23% of women would use the pill 26% the injectable and 43% no method while if all villages averaged 3 such ties per household 31% of women would use the pill 38% the injectable and just 28% no method. Kinship ties at both the household and the village level affect contraceptive choice. Policymakers and program planners should be aware of the effects of patterns of migration and subsequent networks of extended kin on the distribution of information about and the acceptance of modern forms of contraception. (authors)


Time travel, true love and information-seeking behaviour converge on televisual terrain in this study of how a character on 'Lost' tries to make sense of his predicament in the season four episode 'The Constant.' To devoted viewers, each chapter in the story is fraught with meaning - screenshots were analyzed, sounds were played in reverse, names and numbers were treated as potential clues to the show's many mysteries. This paper focuses on a single hour in the labyrinth of 'Lost' and examines how memory, expertise, and trust are instrumental in bridging information gaps. In addition, this foray into imaginary information spaces describes the mechanics of collecting data from the fictional field and analyzing it within the context of sense-making theory.


Obesity is a chronic disease of multifactorial origin and currently is a serious public health problem. The treatment of morbid obesity can be effectively done by bariatric surgery. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of changes in food intake on body composition and some hematologic and biochemical variables in the period of eight weeks after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). The study included 22 women submitted to RYGB. We evaluated anthropometric, nutritional, hematologic and biochemical variables before and 14, 28, 42 and 56 days after surgery. The patients showed a decrease in caloric intake and hence macroand micronutrients, with significant loss of weight and decrease in body mass index (BMI). Decreases in body weight and BMI were associated with reduced blood levels of total cholesterol, VLDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides and glucose with time after surgery. The decrease in caloric intake was also associated with decreased intake of protein, iron and calcium, with a decline in hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood count, and RDW increased after surgery.


Spin Transfer Torque Random Access Memory (STT-RAM) is a promising alternative to DRAM memory for Last-Level-Cache due to low leakage power and the absence of refresh energy. Recent research has illustrated the performance and energy benefits of STT-RAM over DRAM memory via reducing the number of row buffer conflicts. However, state-of-the-art techniques do not fully exploit the cache access patterns which can lead to a reduced performance and energy efficiency. We therefore propose two row buffer bypass policies and an alternative row buffer organization to reduce the number of row buffer conflicts in STT-RAM based Last-Level-Cache architectures. We evaluate our policies and organization for different combinations of SPEC2006 benchmarks and compare their performance and energy with recent proposal for STT-RAM based memory. Our proposal reduces the average energy consumption by 19.5% compared to the state-of-the-art.


Research has shown that the more students carry out activities related to their vocational development for pleasure, the less they will be undecided. Thus, intervening to encourage the motivation of college students towards these activities could constitute a way to remedy their career indecision. The aim of this research is therefore to verify whether the motivation to carry out activities promoting vocational development leads to a decrease in the level of indecision of college students. In this longitudinal research conducted with more than 830 students, the results indicate that it is rather the level of indecision that determines the motivation of the students and not vice versa. Thus, the results suggest relying on intervention strategies with regards to student indecision rather than investing in motivational strategies to counter it. Yet, further studies are necessary to better understand this phenomenon among college students.
Keywords: motivation, autonomy, career indecision, vocational indecision, young adults, educational and vocational activities, psychological needs


Novel analytical design method for digital optimal equiripple FIR comb filters is presented. The filters are optimal in Chebyshev sense. The number of notch bands, the width of the notch bands and the attenuation in the passbands can be specified. The degree formula is presented. One example demonstrates the efficiency of the filter design.


Abstract The synoptic climatology of monthly mean surface temperature in the contiguous United-States is obtained by analysing and summarizing fields of simple linear correlation between the temperature anomaly at 109 stations during 102 winter months and the simultaneous anomaly of monthly mean 700 mb height at 133 grid points over North America and adjacent oceans. In addition, the correlation fields are multiplied by the standard deviation of height anomaly at each grid point to produce composite maps for warm (cold) temperatures at each station. On the basis of these correlation fields and composite maps, inferences are drawn concerning the relations between surface temperature and the surrounding 700 mb circulation, and geographical differences are highlighted. Schematic models are constructed showing preferred locations of above and below normal 700 mb heights for opposite extremes of winter temperature in each of several climatologically similar regions into which the United States can be divided.


The article investigates the grounds for determining transactions as invalid on the basis of the analysis of the civil legislation of Ukraine. The features of invalid transactions have been determined. Gaps in the legislation of Ukraine, as well as the unequal application of the legislation in the field of invalidity of the transactions by the courts have been manifested, ways to overcome them having been identified. The article defines the legal nature of invalid transactions and their place in the system of legal facts.


ABSTRACT This study investigated biomechanical differences between successful and unsuccessful jumps during a pole vault competition. Two hundred and seven pairs of successful and unsuccessful jumps at the same height were analysed. Participants included male and female athletes of three different age groups with bar height clearances ranging from 2.81 to 5.91 m. Run-up parameters were collected using an Optojump Next system and a Stalker Pro II radar gun. A 2D kinematical analysis was conducted to obtain selected parameters of the take-off. Only trivial and small differences were found between successful and unsuccessful jumps. The speed at last touchdown showed a significant small difference between successful and unsuccessful jumps, as the greater speed at take-off (+0.15 m/s) was observed at successful jumps compared to unsuccessful jumps. Furthermore, female athletes showed a significant small difference in horizontal hand–foot distance between successful jumps and unsuccessful jumps (+0.05 m and +0.06 m at pole plant and take-off, respectively). The results suggest that pole vaulters should produce a fast run-up and avoid a decrease in speed before take-off. Small adjustments in the take-off posture might increase the transfer of energy from the athlete to the pole and thus an improvement concerning the height of bar clearance.


An all-optical technique for multiplexing and self-referencing a number of intensity modulating fiber optic sensors is described. The optical transducers are fabricated as integral parts of recirculating optical fiber loops connected in parallel between transmit and receive optical fibers. A portion of an input pulse is tapped off by each sensor loop module. Successive fractions are tapped off on each circulation around the loop and transmitted to a detector. These form pulse trains that characterize each sensor's output. The relative magnitudes of the components of the pulse train are insensitive to lead and connector losses between the sensor modules and the source and detector. Time division multiplexing of the sensor return signals is created by the delays introduced by the fiber leads between the sensor modules. This paper details the response of a single sensor loop versus theoretical performance, and a three sensor system is demonstrated.


Mapping the origin of human cognitive traits typically relies on comparing behavioral or neuroanatomical features in human phylogeny. However, such studies rely on inferences from comparative relationships and do not incorporate neurogenetic information, as these approaches are restricted to experimentally accessible species. Here, we fused evolutionary genomics with human functional neuroanatomy to reconstruct the neurogenetic evolution of human brain functions more directly and comprehensively. Projecting genome-wide selection pressure (dN/dS ratios) in sets of chronologically ordered mammalian species onto the human brain reference space unmasked spatial patterns of cumulative neurogenetic selection and co-evolving brain networks from task-evoked functional MRI and functional neuroanatomy. Importantly, this evolutionary atlas allowed imputing functional features to archaic brains from extinct hominin genomes. These data suggest accelerated neurogenetic selection for language and verbal communication across all hominin lineages. In addition, the predictions identified strategic thought and decision making as the dominant traits that may have separated anatomically modern humans (AMH) from archaic hominins.


This excellent "how to" manual for initiating an employee health promotion program was prepared by knowledgeable and experienced health and fitness profe ssionals who know, understand, and successfully communicate the benefits of health promotion to business people. The Guidelines were wri tten in response to many requests from businesses on how to start up a program. The book is extremely well thought out and organized logicall y into four phases: Initial Planning, Conceptual Definition, Implementation, and Evaluation. Appropriately, the importance of communications and gaining top management support is emphasized in the first chapter. Throughout, the authors present information that is more practical than theoretical, even to the poin t of suggesting certain personality types for program personnel. The authors successfully convince the reader that an ideal health promotion program can be accomplished by following the recommendations in the Guidelines. One of the many strengths of this book is the reality based presentation. The authors rely on personal experience and published research to make concrete recommendations.


Alexander Kluge's oeuvre features aesthetic commentary as a process of problematization and investigation. With exemplary case studies of Kluge's films, his literary collections of short stories, his television interviews, and his theory volumes composed with Oskar Negt, this article analyzes not only various forms of questions posed in these genres but also the epistemological dimension of questioning. This perspective reveals how a Marxian model of writing becomes the point of departure for Kluge's work on artistic method. It demonstrates that his questioning concerns the disclosure of subtexts, contexts, and peripheral texts that otherwise remain unseen. As a form of dual documentation—both scientific and artistic, objective and subjective—aesthetic commentary can be read against contemporary claims that the fictionality of a "postfactual age" replaces reality after the end of the "critical age."


The interaction between biofuels and food markets remains a policy issue for a number of reasons. There is a continuing need to understand the role of biofuels in the recent spikes in global food prices. Also, there is an ongoing discussion of changes to biofuel policy as a means to cope with severe weather-induced crop losses. Lastly, there are potential interactions between food markets and advanced biofuels, although most of the latter are expected to be produced from non-food feedstocks. This study reviews the existing literature on the food market impacts of biofuels. Findings suggest that initial conclusions attributing most of the spike in global food prices between 2005 and 2008 to biofuels have been revised. Instead, a multitude of factors, in addition to biofuels, converged during the period. Quantitative estimates of the impacts of biofuels on food markets vary significantly due to differences in modeling approaches, geographical scope, and assumptions about a number of crucial factors. In addition, many studies do not adequately account for the effects of macroeconomic changes, adverse weather conditions and direct market interventions during the recent food price spikes when evaluating the role of biofuels.


The size of the mechanical contact between nanoscale bodies that are pressed together under load has implications for adhesion, friction, and electrical and thermal transport at small scales. Yet, because the contact is buried between the two bodies, it is challenging to accurately measure the true contact area and to understand its dependence on load and material properties. Recent advancements in both experimental techniques and simulation methodologies have provided unprecedented insights into nanoscale contacts. This review provides a detailed look at the current understanding of nanocontacts. Experimental methods for determining contact area are discussed, including direct measurements using in situ electron microscopy, as well as indirect methods based on measurements of contact resistance, contact stiffness, lateral forces, and topography. Simulation techniques are also discussed, including the types of nanocontact modeling that has been performed and the various methods for extracting the magnitude of the contact area from a simulation. To describe and predict contact area, three different theories of nanoscale contact are reviewed: single-contact continuum mechanics; multi-contact continuum mechanics; and atomistic accounting. Representative results from nanoscale experimental and simulation investigations are presented in the context of these theories. Finally, the critical challenges are described, as well as the opportunities on the path to establishing a fundamental and actionable understanding of what it means to be "in contact" at the nanoscale.


After its first wind tunnel test in 2015, the multiple swashplate system (META) as well as the DLR's rotor test
rig were modified and upgraded extensively to allow IBC operation on a five-bladed rotor system. In late 2016
a second wind tunnel test was performed on a Mach-scaled, five-bladed model rotor with the goal to reduce
Vibration, noise and required rotor power on a five-bladed rotor in different flight conditions using proven IBC
strategies. Highlights of the test matrix were 2/rev sweeps and the test of different localized pitch control
(LPC) strategies for reduction of noise and required rotor power. In simulated high-speed flight, the required
rotor power was successfully reduced using a 2/rev input with an amplitude of 1°. In descent flight condition,
significant BVI noise reductions relative to the baseline case were achieved on both sides of the rotor disk
through the application of 2/rev HHC as well as a localized pitch control (LPC) schedule. In addition the
5/rev hub vibration levels were reduced significantly both through the application of 3/rev IBC and a vibration
controller using a 4-6/rev multi-harmonic IBC signal. The highest reduction was achieved for the vertical 5/rev
force, nearby eliminating the most prominent component of rotor hub vibrations.


Production from organic-rich shale petroleum systems is extremely challenging due to the complex rock and flow characteristics. An accurate characterization of shale reservoir rock properties would positively impact hydrocarbon exploration and production planning. We integrate large-scale geologic components with small-scale petrophysical rock properties to categorize distinct rock types in low-porosity and low-permeability shales. We then use this workflow to distinguish three rock types in the reservoir interval of the Niobrara Shale in the Denver Basin of the United States: the Upper Chalks (A, B, and C Chalk), the Marls (A, B, and C Marl), and the Lower Chalks (D Chalk and Fort Hays Limestone). In our study area, we find that the Upper Chalk has better reservoir-rock quality, moderate source-rock potential, stiffer rocks, and a higher fraction of compliant micro- and nanopores. On the other hand, the Marls have moderate reservoir-rock quality and a higher source-rock potential. The Upper Chalks and the Marls should have major economic potential. The Lower Chalk has higher porosity and a higher fraction of micro- and nanopores; however, it exhibits poor source-rock potential. The measured core data indicate large mineralogy, organic richness, and porosity heterogeneities throughout the Niobrara interval at all scales.


The settling velocity of equiaxed dendrites can cause macrosegregation and influence the structure of the equiaxed zone during the casting solidification process. So an understanding of the settling characteristics is needed to predict the structure and segregation in castings. The settling velocity of NH4Cl equiaxed dendrites of non-spherical geometry was studied experimentally in an NH4Cl‐70wt.%H2O solution. A calculation formula was proposed to calculate the settling velocity of sediment equiaxed dendrites in a tube filled with saturated solution at a moderate Reynolds number region. The retardation effects of the wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity were taken into account in the development of the calculation formula, and the correction function B of the drag coefficient with consideration of the retardation effects of the wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity of the equiaxed dendrite was calibrated according to the experimental results. A comparison showed that the formula has a good accordance with the experimental results.


With the assistance of anion surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphonate (SDS), spindle-shaped nanostructured lithium iron phosphate (S-LFP) was synthesized in glycol-water media via a novel refluxing method under N2 atmosphere. FeSO4, (NH4)2HPO4 and LiOH were used as Fe, P and Li sources, respectively. The crystal phases were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology and spindle-shaped nanostructure were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that the purity of the product was greatly influenced by the volume ratio of glycol to water. With the increase of the ratio, the crystal phases tended to pure LFP. On the other hand, with the increase of SDS amount, the particles tended to uniform and spindle-shaped morphology.


Regardless of the supremacy of relational database management systems (RDBMS) in the databases, objectoriented database management systems (OODBMS) continue to play crucial role in the management of data. Generally, the complex data are often found in telecommunications, business, engineering and web based applications. The most common approach of accessing such data is navigation. However, the approach of navigational access of data has the potential of generating excessive disk IO because objects in the path of navigation may be placed in different disk pages. Excessive disk IO is becoming increasingly undesirable because disk IO performance improves at only 5-8% per year whereas CPU performance doubles approximately every 18 months. Thus disk IO is likely to be a bottleneck in an increasing number of OODB applications. This paper focuses on reducing disk IO effects to improve OODBMS performance. In database environment effective buffer management of the main memory is the key in increasing efficiency through reducing the disk IO bottleneck in OODBMSs. There has been much existing work, namely in the areas of: static clustering; dynamic clustering; buffer replacement; and pre-fetching. All of these techniques can be used together in a complimentary manner. Most existing research has focused on finding the best solution for each area with little regard on how solutions from the different areas affect each other. We believe synergy exists between the areas, and that exploiting the synergy leads to the best overall solution. This paper focuses on exploring whether synergistic techniques are both feasible to implement and outperform their non-synergistic counterparts.


Conventional e-mail systems are prone to problems that affect their dependability. E-mail systems operate following a "push-based" approach: the sender side server pushes the e-mails it wants to send to the corresponding receivers' servers. This approach may impose processing and storage overhead on the receiver side. This paper presents a peerto-peer e-mail system in which messages are sent directly from senders to receivers using a "pull-based" approach. The sender stores locally all e-mails it intends to send, and notify their receivers using a global, distributed notification service. Receivers can then retrieve such notifications and decide if they want to receive the corresponding e-mails. If so, e-mails can be retrieved directly from their senders. This proposal is inspired from file sharing peer-to-peer systems, in which users locate and retrieve the contents they are looking for. A prototype was built to show the feasibility of the proposal, and experimental results show its viability.


Study of phospholipids changes peculiarities in the liver and dorsal muscles of sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus Linnaeus) may be important to determine the etiology and pathogenesis of fatty liver. We established that the content of total phospholipids in tissues of the liver and dorsal muscles of three-year-old sterlet was less than for two-year-old fish by 15% and 20% (P ≤ 0.01), respectively. The amount of phosphatidylcholine (P ≤ 0.05), phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine (P ≤ 0.01), phosphatidylinositol (P ≤ 0.01) and cardiolipin in the liver of 3-year-old sterlet was lower than for the 2-year-old fish, while quantitative indices for lysophosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin were slightly increased. Similarly, in the cells of the dorsal muscles, the amount of phospholipid components (except lysophosphatidylcholine) was decreased with age. A decrease in the amount of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine in the dorsal muscles of 3-year-old sterlet was significant. The major phospholipids respective distribution was stable, except for phosphatidylethanolamine and particularly sphingomyelin.


Garbage collection is widely used and has largely been a boon for programmer productivity. However, traditional garbage collection is approaching both practical and theoretical performance limits. In practice, the maximum heap size and heap structure of large applications are influenced as much by garbage collector behavior as by resource availability.
 We present an alternate approach to garbage collection wherein the programmer provides untrusted deallocation hints. Usage of deallocation hints is similar to trusted manual deallocation, but the consequence of an inaccurate hint is lost performance not correctness. Our hinted collector algorithm uses these hints to identify a subset of unreachable objects with both better parallel asymptotic complexity and practical performance. On some benchmarks, our prototype collector implementation achieves 10-20% pause time reductions. We close with a discussion of the design trade-offs inherent in our approach and lessons to be learned from our collector.


Lack of cost information is a barrier to acceptance of 3D woven preforms as reinforcements for composite materials, compared with 2D preforms. A parametric, resource-based technical cost model (TCM) was developed for 3D woven preforms based on a novel relationship equating manufacturing time and 3D preform complexity. Manufacturing time, and therefore cost, was found to scale with complexity for seventeen bespoke manufactured 3D preforms. Two sub-models were derived for a Weavebird loom and a Jacquard loom. For each loom, there was a strong correlation between preform complexity and manufacturing time. For a large, highly complex preform, the Jacquard loom is more efficient, so preform cost will be much lower than for the Weavebird. Provided production is continuous, learning, either by human agency or an autonomous loom control algorithm, can reduce preform cost for one or both looms to a commercially acceptable level. The TCM cost model framework could incorporate appropriate learning curves with digital twin/multi-variate analysis so that cost per preform of bespoke 3D woven fabrics for customised products with low production rates may be predicted with greater accuracy. A more accurate model could highlight resources such as tooling, labour and material for targeted cost reduction.


Aims: To evaluate the clinical and histological status of tear film in patients with unilateral pterygium.
Settings and Design: Cross-sectional, case-control, double-blinded study.
Methods and Material: Cross-sectional study of both eyes of 102 patients with unilateral pterygium was conducted between March 2011 to December 2012. Patients were subject to fluorescein lower tear meniscus height (LTMH) evaluation, fluorescein tear break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer's test (using topical anesthetic), vital staining (viz. fluorescein, Rose Bengal and lissamine staining), LTMH imaging with anterior segment spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) cornea-anterior module (CAM-L and CAM-S), and conjunctival smear impression cytology. The normal eye acted as control.
Statistical analysis used: fisher's t-test and chi-square test.
Results: The study comprised of seventy males and thirty-two females in the age-range 28-76years. The mean fluorescein LTMH, mean TBUT, mean Schirmer's test value, mean OCT CAM-S and CAM-L values in the normal control eyes were 0.36 ± 0.03 mm, 12.3 ± 1.9s, 13.4 ± 2.5 mm, 0.338 ± 0.082 mm and 0.325 ± 0.088 mm, respectively. The comparable values in eyes with pterygium were 0.24 ± 0.03 mm, 8.2 ± 1.4 sec, 9.2 ± 2.4 mm, 0.212 ± 0.046 mm and 0.204 ± 0.058 mm respectively. Goblet cell count was decreased in impression cytology.
Conclusions: Both fluorescein and OCT LTMH were found to be significantly decreased (p<0.01) in eyes with pterygium compared to control eyes. Goblet cell count, TBUT and Schirmer's test values were also comparatively decreased. This study thus emphasizes that tear film abnormalities play a role in aetiology of pterygium and hence early institution of therapy for tear film stabilization can help prevent the disease.


OBJECTIVES: To elucidate factors contributing to hard metal asthma, the entire workforce of a corporation producing hard metal tools (n = 703) was examined. METHODS: The variables evaluated were the atopy reflected by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody against mite allergen, history of exposure to hard metal, smoking, concentration of airborne cobalt, specific IgE antibody reaction against cobalt, and the respiratory symptom of attacks of reversible dyspnoea with wheeze (asthmatic symptoms). RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that the prevalence of the asthmatic symptoms was significantly higher in formerly and currently exposed male workers than in non-exposed male workers. Positive IgE reaction against cobalt was found in seven men (2.0%), all of whom had asthmatic symptoms. Furthermore, it was found that atopy, positive IgE antibody against cobalt, and age of 40 or older were significantly correlated with asthmatic symptoms. Multilogistic analysis on the same factors and smoking in all of the workers showed that the age, experience of hard metal exposure, and atopy were significant risk factors associated with the asthmatic symptoms. Multilogistic analysis of data for currently exposed and non-exposed workers also showed that age and atopy were risk factors, and that the exposure to cobalt at the low concentration (at or below 50 micrograms/m3) but not at the higher concentration was a significant risk factor. Exposure to mist of coolants containing ionic cobalt, used during grinding, was not found to be any more hazardous in terms of onset of asthmatic symptoms than exposure to hard metal dust containing metallic cobalt. CONCLUSIONS: Accordingly, it is concluded that both environmental factors and individual susceptibility should be taken into consideration in efforts to reduce the prevalence of hard metal asthma.


Terms such as the 'new competitive landscape', 'hypercompetition' and 'inherent instability and change' have been used over the past decade to describe the changing global competitive environment. A plethora of strategic and operational measures have been used to enable firms to gain sustainable competitive advantage, with varying degrees of success. Yet we remain in largely uncharted territory with strategic preparation for the future becoming a critical activity. Strategy and Performance provides academics, practitioners and students with a highly focused approach to competing in the global marketplace.


Background During extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the risk of thrombosis is important due to the non-biological surfaces of the circuit. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is required in children during ECMO to maintain circuit patency and prevent thrombosis. The use of heparin induces consumption of antithrombin III (ATIII) and a decrease in ATIII levels may result in decreased efficacy of heparin. Therefore, an monitoring of anticoagulation should be done (anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa), activated clotting time (ACT) and ATIII.) Anti-Xa is monitored until levels are between 0.4 and 0.6 IU/mL. ACT must be increased more than three times. When ATIII activity is lower than 70%, addition of antithrombin concentrate (ATC) is considered. This use of ATC is off-label. In some studies, administration of ATC decreased UFH dose requirements and in other studies no difference was found in the heparin infusion rate. Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of administration of ATC on anti-Xa levels and heparin requirements among children on ECMO. Material and methods We carried out a retrospective study including all patients requiring ECMO in 2015 and with at least one administration of ATC. ATIII activity levels, UFH dose and anti-Xa levels were collected and compared before and after ATC administration (Student t-test). Results In 2015, 28 patients received ATC during ECMO in our hospital; 2 patients were excluded because of lack of biological results. Mean ATIII activity pre- and post-administration was 45.8% and 85.4%, respectively. ATIII levels increased significantly after ATC administration (p<0.001). Mean anti-Xa levels pre- and post-administration were 0.36 and 0.53 IU/mL, respectively. Anti-Xa levels were significantly different before and after ATC administration (p<0.001). UFH doses pre- and post-administration were 25.8IU/kg/h and 27.1IU/kg/h, respectively. ATC administration had no influence on UFH dose requirements (p=0.39). Conclusion ECMO is a common procedure associated with an off-label use of ATC. In this study, ATIII levels and anti-Xa levels increased significantly after ATC administration but UFH doses were not changed after ATC. This study could enable us to review our anticoagulation protocol during ECMO, particularly by decreasing UFH requirements. Future prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the benefits of antithrombin replacement. No conflict of interest


Activity recognition for human behavior monitoring is an important research topic in the field of mHealth, especially for aspects of physical activity linked to fitness and disease progress, such as walking and walking speed. Sensors embedded into smartphones recently enabled new opportunities for non invasive activity and walking speed inference. In this paper, we propose a data fusion approach to the problem of physical activity recognition and walking speed estimation using smartphones. Our architecture combines different sensors to take into account practical issues arising in realistic settings, such as variability in phone location and orientation. Additionally, we introduce a novel automatic calibration methodology combining accelerometer and GPS data while walking in unconstrained settings, in order to reduce walking speed estimation error at the individual level. The proposed system was validated in 20 participants while performing sedentary, household, ambulatory and sport activities, in both indoor laboratory and outdoor self-paced settings. We show that by combining accelerometer and gyroscope data, smartphone location can be distinguished between the two most commonly used positions (bag and pocket), regardless of phone orientation (97 % f-score). Location-specific activity recognition models can significantly improve activity recognition performance (p = 0.0010 <; α), especially helping in distinguishing activities involving similar motion patterns (91 % f-score overall, improvements between 4% and 11 % for walking and biking activities). Our proposed method to personalize walking speed estimates, by automatically calibrating walking speed estimation models during a short self-paced walk, reduced walking speed estimation error by 8.8% on average (p = 0.0012 <; α).


The clamp-on transit-time ultrasonic flow meters are widely applied for the advantage of noninvasive measurement and convenient deployment. Its key point lies on measuring of the time difference between the upstream and downstream. While high quality of the transducer transmitting/receiving ultrasonic signals is the premise of measuring time difference accurately. This paper studies on the main factors contributing to the uncertainty of the transducer's output signal and focuses on the transducer's frequency, incident angle and the separate distance. The selection principle of transducer's frequency is presented by the analysis of the ultrasonic attention characteristics in the liquid. The incident angle range and precise installation distance of the transducers are calculated and analyzed by Snell's law. Experiments are also carried out with the 1MHz transducers clamped on the aluminium pipe of 20mm outer diameter. The results show that the accurate calculation separate distance 18.16mm is effective to guarantee the output of high quality ultrasonic wave. If the axial installation error reaches more than 3mm, the one beam of ultrasonic signal cannot be guaranteed.


Cowpea is an important grain legume crop of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Leaf curl and golden mosaic diseases caused by Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) have emerged as most devastating viral diseases of cowpea in Southeast Asia. In this study, we employed RNA interference (RNAi) strategy to control cowpea-infecting MYMIV. For this, we generated transgenic cowpea plants harbouring three different intron hairpin RNAi constructs, containing the AC2, AC4 and fusion of AC2 and AC4 (AC2+AC4) of seven cowpea-infecting begomoviruses. The T0 and T1 transgenic cowpea lines of all the three constructs accumulated transgene-specific siRNAs. Transgenic plants were further assayed up to T1 generations, for resistance to MYMIV using agro-infectious clones. Nearly 100% resistance against MYMIV infection was observed in transgenic lines, expressing AC2-hp and AC2+AC4-hp RNA, when compared with untransformed controls and plants transformed with empty vectors, which developed severe viral disease symptoms within 3 weeks. The AC4-hp RNA expressing lines displayed appearance of milder symptoms after 5 weeks of MYMIV-inoculation. Northern blots revealed a positive correlation between the level of transgene-specific siRNAs accumulation and virus resistance. The MYMIV-resistant transgenic lines accumulated nearly zero or very low titres of viral DNA. The transgenic cowpea plants had normal phenotype with no yield penalty in greenhouse conditions. This is the first demonstration of RNAi-derived resistance to MYMIV in cowpea.


We investigate the loss mechanism in three-moded multimode-interference couplers that are the building blocks of a compact and low-loss waveguide crossing structure. Broadband silicon waveguide crossing arrays with <0.01  dB insertion loss per crossing are proposed using cascaded multimode-interference couplers, where lateral subwavelength nanostructures are used to reduce the insertions loss. We design and fabricate a 101×101 waveguide crossing array with a pitch of 3.08 μm. Insertion loss of ∼0.02  dB per crossing and crosstalk <-40  dB at 1550 nm operating wavelength and a broad transmission spectrum ranging from 1520 to 1610 nm are experimentally demonstrated.


Radiometric calibration of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) reflective solar bands relies mainly on the onboard solar diffuser (SD) observations. The SD reflectance degrades over time due to the exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. The uncertainties embedded in characterizing the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) directly affect the accuracy of sensor radiometric calibration coefficients, such as F-factors, which are proxies of detector gain. The Moon-based radiometric calibration provides an independent way of validating and correcting the SD-based calibration. This study focuses on the comparison of the long-term SD F-factors with lunar F-factors by using two independent lunar irradiance models, i.e., Miller and Turner (MT) model and the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System Implementation of ROLO (GIRO) model. To monitor the long-term detector response changes, the lunar F-factor differences are matched to the SD F-factors by applying the best fit scaling factors. Overall, the two lunar F-factors agree well, within 2% of one sigma standard deviation in the reflective solar bands compared to the SD F-factors. The lifetime standard deviations of difference between the GIRO-based lunar and SD F-factors show better long-term match than that of MT-based lunar F-factors. The GIRO-based lunar F-factors show increasing differences over time in comparison with the SD F-factors especially for bands M1 to M4, which indicates the underestimation of the VIIRS detector degradation by SD F-factors for these bands. Using standard SD calibration method and the GIRO-based lunar model, long-term difference between the lunar and SD F-factors shows there are 1.6%, 1.3%, 1.0%, and 0.9% increases in lunar F-factor trend for bands M1 to M4 at the end of year 2015. To mitigate these time-dependent biases, NOAA Ocean Color (OC) group and NASA VIIRS characterization support team (VCST) developed lunar correction methods and applied them to their specific products. However, the amounts of band-dependent lunar corrections are not consistent between these two teams, especially in the short-wavelength bands from M1 to M4, depending on the versions of lunar models and SD F-factor calculation algorithms. Using the standard SD F-factor algorithm and the multi-agency endorsed GIRO model, we derived lunar correction factors based on the quadratic fits between the SD and lunar F-factors. The differences with the NOAA OC group and NASA VCST team are compared and described in this study.


applications in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has increased dramatically over the last few years. There are many challenges in supporting QoS for MANETs. The contribution of this paper is a new framework based on the cross-layer design and integration between a new routing protocol and other components that deal with different types of traffic. We propose a Framework for QoS Multicast (FQM) to support QoS multicast applications for MANETs that is able to support QoS enabled applications. The first component of the framework is a new and efficient routing protocol for finding multiple paths meeting the QoS requirements and for maintaining these paths. Second, crosslayer bandwidth estimation is used to estimate the available bandwidth and support it for other schemes. Third, classifier, shaper, dynamic rate control and priority queue work together to support high priority real-time traffic. We implemented a hybrid scheme that uses unipaths and redundant paths to share the available bandwidth for forwarding data packets. The performance of FQM was studied using the GLOMOSIM simulation environment. Analysis of the simulation results showed the ability of FQM to exploit the available bandwidth efficiently and provide a balance between performance gains and protocol complexity. The results indicated a high packet delivery ratio associated with low control overhead, low average latency and low jitter compared with QAMNet [1]. The FQM framework outperformed QAMNet in most experiments.


Along with the feature size reducing and the increase of integration level rapidly in ULSI,the request for metal impurities contamination on silicon substrate surface appears specially rigorous. In this paper the chelating agent was added in cleaning solution in order to removing copper ion. FA/O, a new kind of chelating agent was studied in RCA cleaning solutions, which has 13 chelating rings and is free of sodium, stable and easily soluble. The XPS and GFAAS measured results indicate that FA/O is more efficient than NH4OH as a ligand. Cu contaminations on silicon wafer can be removed remarkably when adding a little FA/O to the cleaning solution or polishing slurry. When the chelating agent concentration of cleaning solution is 0.1% the removal rate of Cu atom reaches 83 percent. The FA/O chelating agent substituting NH4OH in SC-1 may simplify cleaning steps, and one cleaning step can remove Cu pollution on silicon wafer surface and meet the requirements of microelectronics technology.


In the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of public opinion surveys in Africa. While experts on economic development and health had long been collecting individual-, household-, and community-level data on the continent, efforts to gather information on what Africans thought about their governments, societies, and political and economic situations, more broadly, were limited before the late 1990s. Certainly, this expansion was enabled by the wave of political liberalizations that hit most African countries at the end of the Cold War, thus creating conditions under which citizens could be more open in discussing attitudes and behaviors, particularly with regard to politics. However, it also coincided with a growth in the popularity of public opinion surveys globally. The distribution of data-collection efforts has not been uniform across countries: more surveys have been conducted in countries with higher levels of economic development, political openness, and security, such as Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, than in more challenging settings, such as Eritrea, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thus, our knowledge of what Africans think about politics and economics varies significantly from country to country.
 Myriad organizations have been involved in these efforts. Academic organizations, both on the African continent and overseas, have been at the forefront of such work in Africa. The most prominent among these has been the Afrobarometer, which has conducted dozens of surveys, in about two thirds of the continent's countries, since 1999. The majority of studies, however, are made up of contributions by other entities, including for-profit companies, media houses, and even political campaigns. In total, these surveys vary in their methodologies, focuses, quality, and the accessibility of their data for researchers, policymakers, and the general public.
 These developments have had significant impacts on academic studies, policymaking, and even countries' domestic politics. Surveys have improved understandings of Africans' attitudes, assessments of the status quos in their respective countries, decision-making processes, and hopes and priorities for the future. For academics, these data have provided new opportunities for testing theories—oftentimes upending or at least complicating extant conventional wisdom—and catalyzing the development of new research programs. Candidates and parties use enhanced understandings of the electorate to develop different persuasive strategies. Governments frequently attempt to control, limit, or strategically use survey enterprises. Media in some countries regularly report on popular attitudes and campaign-time "horse races." In some instances, the release and interpretation of public opinion data have become quite politicized. And election observers frequently propose collection of public opinion data before elections as a guard against flagrant rigging. In sum, these developments have, in myriad ways, fundamentally changed how African countries are studied and governed.


This paper presents a method to accelerate algorithms that need a correct and complete visibility ordering of their data for rendering. The technique works by first pre-sorting primitives using three lists - one for each axis, and then combining them using graphics hardware, by either clipping the projected primitives while rendering, according to the current list being processed, or by rendering each list to a texture and merging the textures in the end. We show that our algorithm works by applying it to the splatting technique using several types of rendering, including classic splatting and volume rendering.


Graphite/epoxy composites are being applied to aircraft structures because of their demonstrated capability to reduce weight and increase life. Although composites have better fatigue properties than metals, their behavior differs significantly. Unlike metals, composites exhibit excellent tensile fatigue behavior-the constant amplitude fatigue strength at 10 7 cycles being close to static ultimate. Compression and reversed loading fatigue behavior in the presence of stress raisers, however, has not been well characterized. This program was therefore undertaken to determine the characteristics of composites under these conditions. Two stress raisers were considered; the first was an open hole and the second was damage resulting from low velocity, hard object impact. For the open hole specimen, constant and variable amplitude tests were performed to determine the significance of compression fatigue and to investigate the failure mechanism. These tests indicated that the fatigue life under compression and reversed loading is less than for tension-tension loading and will be an important design consideration in future composite applications. The failure mechanism appeared to be local progressive failure of the matrix near the stress raiser resulting in delamination, and final failure by fiber buckling. The variable-amplitude loading results also demonstrated the unconservativeness of Miner's rule for making analytical predictions. In order to determine the nature and significance of impact damage to generic composite structural elements, low velocity impact and residual properties tests were conducted on solid laminate specimens of 42 and 48 plies thick and on honeycomb sandwich specimens with 12-ply composite face sheets. Results of post impact properties tests indicate subvisual damage can degrade compression static and fatigue strength, although subvisual damage will not propagate under moderate (0.003) cyclic strain.


What is literature for us today? And what will become of it in the next few years? Our era only seems willing to recognize the complexity of the field of science; whereas as far as literature is concerned, it is still thought that a rigorous training is not necessary and many deceive themselves into thinking that it is possible to do without the analytical tools created in the twentieth century and more recently thanks to theory.
The refusal of theory is justified by the most tenacious prejudices, or simply by bad faith. It is believed (or some pretend to believe) that literary theory coincides with the years of structuralism, with the primacy of linguistics, and with the thesis of the intransitivity of language.
Reality is quite different. Literary theory is a hybrid space where linguistics, rhetoric, philosophy and the theories of desire merge and interweave. In this space, which undergoes constant renewal, literature is understood to be an intellectual and emotive experience, and an irreplaceable source of knowledge. Literary texts are studied as dynamic objects that are able to cross the borders of the era in which they were produced and enter the "great time" (as Bakhtin called it). However, a text can only expand, like the Japanese flowers that Proust spoke about at the beginning of
the Recherche, if it is immersed in the water of good interpretations. And good interpretations are not infinite as Derrida and the followers of reception theory believed. Only doxa is infinite. Literature is a way of thinking. It offers the opportunity for a complex mental experience that no algorithm could ever describe or envisage. By creating characters
with flexible identities, literature describes the human condition from the viewpoint of non-coincidence with oneself. It addresses all individuals inviting them to understand their higher possibilities.
Yet these possibilities, the investigation of which is where the very vocation of literature lies, have always encountered enormous obstacles. The difficulty in understanding and analyzing those virtually expanding multilateral objects that are literary texts has caused most scholars to limit themselves to reductive and peripheral investigations. This type of research should be called contextualism. It has presented itself in different versions: the history of literature in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, cultural studies (in other words the anti-theory) in
the last few decades; but also in the form of an unlimited intertextualism (Derrida), far removed from any social-historic interest. However, all types of contextualism share a common attitude: they deny the individuality of the text, they ignore (or fear) the "labyrinth of linkages" (Tolstoy) that form it, its complexity and its beauty.
Therefore, they take refuge in the contexts: the nation, the class, the race, the gender, the ideology, etc. or in the set of texts by the same author or by other authors. The inability to analyze and interpret literature has caused enormous damage. Contextualism destroys literature. These considerations are addressed not only to professors, but also to students in the hope that this damage is not (or will not become) irreversible. We can no longer postpone the rebellion against contextualism and the University requires innovation. The conceptually and methodologically reactionary studies must be fought, even when they masquerade as good intentions and try to hide their intellectual poverty behind stereotypes of ideology.


NEWRON application is a therapeutic sofware tool which focuses
on supporting the development of persons suffering from various
psycho-social disorders. The application consists of a set of
games which can continually influence the social perception and
social interactions of the target persons, it helps to activate
their psychomotor or decision functions and can optimize the
usage of modern information technologies to promote their
personal development. In the first phase, the target group
consists of children and teenagers with autistic spectrum
disorders. The application is the result of a close cooperation
between the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts and
the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the Faculty of
Informatics, both from the Masaryk University.


We describe the adaptive optical (AO) requirements, optical design, and expected performance of a near-infrared AO coronagraph for a 30 meter class giant telescope. The optical design of the instrument consists of back-to-back finite conjugate relays, each containing a collimated space between a pair of toric mirrors. The first collimated space contains the atmospheric dispersion compensator and the AO components, which are a tip/tilt mirror, a MEMS deformable mirror, and a beamsplitter for the wavefront sensing path. An occulting disk or similar focal plane mask is located at the intermediate image between the two relays, and a Lyot stop is placed at the pupil plane in the second relay. The required AO order of correction for a Strehl ratio of 0.9 at a wavelength of 2.2 microns is about 150 by 150, and the required control bandwidth is 42 Hz. The limiting magnitude at this level of performance is estimated to be 10.4.


The purpose of this work was to estimate the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and to determine the crop coefficient (Kc) of Typha latifolia in constructed wetlands. The experiment used two horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HFCWs) cultivated with T. latifolia . Each HFCW received 50 L of secondary effluent daily, resulting in 3.2 days of nominal hydraulic retention time (disregarding effects of evapotranspiration and precipitation). In order to determine the ETc, water mass balance of the HFCWs was performed. In this analysis, ETc was considered equal to the difference between the inflow (secondary effluent + precipitation) and the outflow. The Kc was calculated using ETc and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) data (Kc = ETc/ETo). The results showed that 7-day average ETc varied dramatically within the range of 4.9–20.0 mm day −1 , with an monthly average of 9.85 mm day −1 . The mean monthly values of Kc varied from 2.03 to 3.68 (mean: 2.74). ETc is very important with respect to the HFCW water balance because it decreases effluent outflow considerably. Therefore, the findings of this work indicate that water losses caused by evapotranspiration should be considered when designing constructed wetlands.


Pressure contact and do as it has done in the analysis of the easiest bolts in recent years due to the availability of high computing capacity and flexibility in the methods of calculation using finite element analysis. In this paper, is one such analysis of the mixture of manual calculations and finite element analysis to evaluate steady contact pressure in the casing of the steam turbine high pressure state. The work involves design considerations and controls design, validation and sensitivity analysis to achieve a design to meet the structural requirements for mechanical safety standards. In recent years fundamental changes focused on the design of the steam turbine to improve efficiency, reliability and reduced operating costs. Siemens power generation, for example, the efficiency and availability of steam turbines by reducing energy losses have improved vapor flow in each of the components of steam turbines. The steam turbine unit greatly affects the efficiency and reliability of the power plants. Any improvement in the design of steam turbine may be a more efficient use of fuel and results in cost reduction. The high pressure steam at 565 ° C and 156 bar pressure passes through the high pressure turbine. The exhaust steam of this section is returned to the boiler to heat before use. To exit heating boilers and redo, and enters turbines medium pressure steam at 565 ° C and 40.2 bar pressure. Turbine medium pressure steam expansion still in three low-pressure turbines. The steam entering the turbine is 306 ° C and 6,32 bar. For the most jobs steam remains in the exhaust pressure is too low. Thus, witnesses, and turned the envelope of steam power at work in stages HP and IP. Therefore, the cover design is a very important aspect.


. Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) is an advanced technology to produce quality gears of metals and plastics. Some significant benefits such as capability to handle complex gear shapes and design, and produce near net-shaped gears; resource efficiency; and rapid product development etc. make this process a sustainable alternate to the other processes of gear manufacturing. This paper sheds light on the development of some of the important additive layer manufacturing processes such as Stereolithography, Fused Deposition Modeling, and 3D Printing to manufacture gears. The article aims to facilitate researchers and encourages them to do further research and development for improved gear quality, process productivity, and sustainability.


In this paper, a model for tone-center perception is developed. It is based on an auditory model and principles of schema dynamics such as self-organization and association. The auditory module simulates virtual-pitch perception by transforming musical signals into auditory images. The schema- based module involves data-driven long-term learning for the self-organization of a schema for tone-center perception. The focus of this paper is on a retroactive process (called perceptual interpretation) by which the sense of tone center is adjusted according to a reconsideration of preceding perceptions in view of new contextual evidence within the schema. To this purpose, a metaphor is introduced, in which perceptual interpretation is described as the movement of a snaillike object in an attractor space. Additionally, the mathematical details of the model are presented, and the results of computer simulations are discussed.


In deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, after intracranial lead implantation, lead caps are tunneled into the subgaleal space for later connection to internal pulse generator (IPG) extension wires. In the subsequent IPG implantation procedure, the lead cap must be localized by palpation in order to plan an incision in the scalp to complete this connection. However, if the IPG implantation is done the same day as the intracranial lead implantation, palpation of the lead cap may be challenging in a thick or postoperatively edematous scalp. Manufacturers suggest using fluoroscopy in these instances, but fluoroscopy provides poor soft tissue visualization, requires further unnecessary radiation exposure to both the patient and the surgical team, and can be cumbersome. Portable ultrasound (US) machines are readily available in many operating rooms, and can be used to easily and accurately localize the lead cap prior to IPG implantation.


OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether ceramic workers exposed to silica experience an excess of end stage renal disease. METHODS: On the basis of a health surveillance programme, a cohort of 2980 male ceramic workers has been enrolled during the period 1974-91 in Civitacastellana, Lazio, Italy. For each worker, employment history, smoking data, and x ray film readings were available. The vital status was ascertained for all cohort members. All 2820 people still alive and resident in the Lazio region as in June 1994 were searched for a match in the regional end stage renal diseases registry, which records (since June, 1994) all patients undergoing dialysis treatment in public and private facilities of the region. Expected numbers of prevalent cases from the cohort were computed by applying the rate of patients on dialysis treatment by the age distribution of the cohort. RESULTS: A total of six cases was detected when 1.87 were expected (observed/expected (O/E) = 3.21; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.17 to 6.98). The excess risk was present among non-smokers (O = 2; O/E = 4.34) and smokers (O = 4; O/E = 2.83), as well as among workers without silicosis (O = 4; O/E = 2.78) and workers with silicosis (O = 2; O/E = 4.54). The risk was higher among subjects with < 20 years since first employment (O = 4; O/E = 4.65) than among those employed > 20 years. CONCLUSION: These results provide further evidence that exposure to silica dust among ceramic workers is associated with nephrotoxic effects.


This paper is an introduction of preliminary research for Ph.D. thesis 'Machine Learning methods for Urban Flows: spatial effects in Origin-Destinations'. It examines the biggest challenges in the theory of Gravity models and Spatial Interaction models for urban flow prediction, including the nature of the human spatial decision-making. It also outlines the biggest concerns with the methodological approaches for predicting urban flows and presents the future steps of this research.


The motion of a quantum particle in a periodic potential can generate rich dynamics in the presence of a driving field. Such systems include, but are not limited to, semiconductor superlattices which exhibit a very anisotropic band structure that results into pronounced nonlinearities and high carrier mobility. In this thesis, we investigate the semiclassical dynamics and electron transport in a spatially periodic potential driven by a propagating wave.

Firstly, we examine the transport features of an electron in a single miniband superlattice driven by a high-frequency acoustic plane wave. In this system, the nonlinear electron dynamics crucially depends on the amplitude of the acoustic wave. The transport characteristics are studied by means of a non-linearised kinetic model. In particular, to provide a realistic description of the directed transport, we employ the exact path-integral solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation. The calculated electron drift velocity and the time-averaged velocity show a nonmonotonic dependence upon the amplitude of the acoustic wave with multiple pronounced extrema. We found out that the changes in the velocity-amplitude characteristics are directly associated with a series of global bifurcations due to topological rearrangements of the phase space of the system. These dramatic transformations are connected with superlattice intraminiband transitions, and accompanied by inelastic emission (absorption) of the quantum particle. The bifurcations also signify the transitions between different dynamical regimes, involving unconfined electron motion, wave-dragging and phonon-assisted Bloch oscillations. Each regime has a characteristic spectral fingerprint, which manifests itself in appearance of specific high-frequency components in the spectra of the corresponding averaging trajectory.

Secondly, we consider to use the acoustically pumped superlattices for an amplification of THz electromagnetic waves, involving the mechanisms similar to the Bloch gain in electrically biased superlattices. In particular, we predict the tunable THz gain due to nonlinear oscillations which are associated with the localised motion of electrons confined by a propagating potential wave. Traditionally, one of the key issues which emerges from considering different schemes for achieving small signal gain in superlattices, is the control of electric stability. Here, it is shown that for our case of the fast miniband electrons driven by an acoustic wave, terahertz gain can occur without the electric instability. Additionally, we find that the characteristic changes in the averaged velocities are connected to the shape of gain profiles.
Consequently, the analytic findings, which determine the transitions between different dynamical regimes at the bifurcations, hold up for the behaviour of amplification of high-frequency electromagnetic waves. The increase of the miniband width, results in an enhancement of the effect of phase space restructuring on the drift velocity and high-frequency gain.

Finally, we analyse the case for a superlattice device utilising acoustic waves with a very slow propagation speed. Benefiting from a simple solution of the Boltzmann equation, here we clarify the role of spatial nonlinearity both in miniband electron dynamics and in amplification of an electromagnetic wave. We show that nonlinear Bloch oscillations occur at a single critical value of the wave amplitude, inducing high negative differential drift velocity. Within this model, we also explain how the amplification of a high-frequency signal can arise below the threshold for an excitation of Bloch oscillations.


Traditional method that is commonly been used in hotels is by taking the customer's orders and writing it down on a piece of paper. Many solutions have been proposed for solving this issue. This Project is again one attempt in the same direction. In this paper we discuss the automation for food ordering system. This system makes use of Bluetooth as a communication device and TFT LCD touch plus display module compatible with Arduino Mega 2560 as hardware.