The rapid and profound, changes in modern social life have caused great pressure on human psychology. The number of people undergoing psychological adjustment has increased, and some of them have serious physical and mental health problems due to psychological disorders. Research shows that college students are gradually becoming a group facing the risk of psychological crisis. College students are in an important transitional stage of life, their bodies and mind are becoming more and more mature, and their new life can easily make them psychologically dangerous. The article uses artificial intelligence to start with image resolution recognition, upscaling image sharpening, reconstruction-based higher resolution, and recognition-based higher resolution processing. The project aspires to solve development problems by researching recognition-based advanced solution techniques. Investigative experiments use questionnaires, interviews, case analysis, comparative analysis, action research, etc., to describe and analyze the current situation of college students' mental health education. On this basis, a guiding reflection on future development is carried out. The survey results show that 34.5% of students in independent colleges feel inferior, and 28.7% of students in ordinary colleges also feel inferior. Among ordinary college students, 59.6% felt the burden of psychological problems.


Until the advent of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems it was necessary for users to rely on large and expensive central UPS installations. The introduction of portable low-power UPS systems has extended to users of computers and other electronic systems a local and cost-effective solution to total powerline conditioning


In classical Athenian discourse, there are many examples that can usefully be summarised in terms of an opposition between the private, domestic, interior space of women and the public, civic, exterior space of men. Recently there have been a number of attempts to critique this discourse on several grounds. Some of these arguments are persuasive, but the net effect has been to allow the discourse itself to be neglected as a banal cliché or even as the product of a Liars School of Elite Male Authors. In this paper, I wish to re‐examine the discourse, hoping to demonstrate that, far from being banal, it is complex, resonant and consequential, and worthy of study in itself. The first part examines the gender terms andrōn/gynaikōnitis to refer to parts of houses and the evidence for men's and women's bodies as differently coloured by the spaces in which they spend time. The second part examines space and sexuality, the peculiar 'spatial subjectivity' linked to experiences of fear and desire. The third part suggests ways in which the discourse connects with other elements of the dispositif: images, architecture, urban topography and habitual practices.


Friendship in the Hebrew Bible. By Saul M. Olyan.

The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017. Pp. xiii + 191. $50.


Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the Overton policy document database, describing the makeup of materials indexed and the nature in which they cite academic literature. We report on various aspects of the data, including growth, geographic spread, language representation, the range of policy source types included, and the availability of citation links in documents. Longitudinal analysis over established journal category schemes is used to reveal the scale and disciplinary focus of citations and determine the feasibility of developing field-normalized citation indicators. To corroborate the data indexed, we also examine how well self-reported funding outcomes collected by UK funders correspond to data indexed in the Overton database. Finally, to test the data in an experimental setting, we assess whether peer-review assessment of impact as measured by the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 correlates with derived policy citation metrics. Our findings show that for some research topics, such as health, economics, social care, and the environment, Overton contains a core set of policy documents with sufficient citation linkage to academic literature to support various citation analyses that may be informative in research evaluation, impact assessment, and policy review.


Mangroves prove a habitat for Batillaria zonalis as nursery ground, feeding ground and reproductive ground. This research was conducted from September 2016 - August 2017 and to determine the spasial and temporal pattern  with based on mangrove zone  and environmental characteristics. The gastropods and environmental characteristics were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results showed that significant changes in gastropod assemblages were primarily due to changes in the water quality and season. Correlation between gastropod and physico-chemical parameters in A. marina  revealed significant relationship with gastropod B. zonalis distribution.


The last decade has witnessed an exponential growth of sequence information in the field of biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids and their interactions with other molecules. Computational analyses for structure-function predictions based on such information are increasingly becoming an essential and integral part of modern biology. With rapid advances in the area, there is a growing need to develop efficient versatile bioinformatics software packages, which are hypothesis driven. 'Gene to Drug' is an attempt in this pursuit and an integration of heterologous applications of different technologies developed in-house and their translation into in silico products that cater to a majority of bioinformatics applications. This paper briefly presents the science behind gene to drug and how grid services and high performance computing platforms can be harnessed to bridge the gap between biomolecular sequence, structure and function


The transition of the eastern European countries into market-based economies and their potential integration into the European Union raise questions about how their capital income tax systems should be structured and to what extent they are in line with the rest of Europe. This note presents a brief analysis of the tax systems currently in place and considers what issues should be of concern in setting tax policy in the future. The impact capital income taxes have on the incentives for firms to invest in the Czech Republic and Poland is described using a marginal effective tax wedge and an average effective tax rate. Simulations of some simple reforms are also presented. First, some brief comments are made on what the optimal tax policy for smaller capital-importing countries might be and how this should inform policy in the transition economies. The standard theoretical literature on optimal taxation in a small open economy suggests that residence-based taxation is optimal, implying that the tax


Genome‐wide association studies have been successful in elucidating the genetic basis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but there remains unexplained variability in genetic risk. To identify new risk variants and to confirm reported associations, we conducted a genome‐wide association study in 1,701 CRC cases and 14,082 cancer‐free controls from the Finnish population. A total of 9,068,015 genetic variants were imputed and tested, and 30 promising variants were studied in additional 11,647 cases and 12,356 controls of European ancestry. The previously reported association between the single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs992157 (2q35) and CRC was independently replicated (p = 2.08 × 10−4; OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.06–1.23), and it was genome‐wide significant in combined analysis (p = 1.50 × 10−9; OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08–1.16). Variants at 2q35, 6p21.2, 8q23.3, 8q24.21, 10q22.3, 10q24.2, 11q13.4, 11q23.1, 14q22.2, 15q13.3, 18q21.1, 20p12.3 and 20q13.33 were associated with CRC in the Finnish population (false discovery rate < 0.1), but new risk loci were not found. These results replicate the effects of multiple loci on the risk of CRC and identify shared risk alleles between the Finnish population isolate and outbred populations.


Objective : The objective of this paper is to estimate the impact of urban green areas on dwelling prices in Poznan. Research Design & Methods : In order to identify the influence of the green spaces on dwelling prices, the hedonic method was used. In the analysis, transaction prices of residential units in Poznan were used. Findings: The application of the log-linear model allows to identify the percentage difference in the price of the same dwelling located with different distances to green areas. In case of this research, the results indicates that increase the distance from green area by one kilometer lowered the price of a dwelling by 3% in Poznan in years 2013-2015. Implications & Recommendations: It is necessary to conduct research on impact of green areas on other types of properties. Different types of urban green areas may affect in different way. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this work lies in studying some aspects of influence of green areas on dwelling prices in Poland.


Being a technology that encompasses the capacity to capture geographic and spatial data and their analysis, as well as being able to combine both digital maps and features of traditional database systems, GIS is used in a variety of projects in different fields of specialization. This paper contains a preliminary database containing coordinates of facilities in the campus of Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE, Manipal, which were then used in the formation of Facility Maps using GIS concepts. This paper also attempts at compiling different applications of GIS products being used in the Education sector in order to showcase the potential of a further detailed spatial database for facility mapping in the campus.


The article analyzes the potential for improving rationing in the public procurement system to increase their transparency and efficiency. An original method of procurement rationing based on a matrix approach to management is proposed. The methodology includes a combination of mathematical methods, scenario and predictive methods, which allows us to take into account the alternative solutions in procurement management. The fundamental principle of applying the matrix approach in procurement is not to optimize the procedures within a specific order, not to save budget funds as such, but to increase the efficiency of procurement planning in order to implement the entire set of projects, taking into account the factors of time, the need for procurement for the customer and public interests.


Negotiating Community and Nation in Cho Lon: Nation-building, Community-building and Transnationalism in Everyday Life during the Republic of Viet Nam, 1955-1975 Mok, Mei Feng. Negotiating Community and Nation in Cho Lon: Nation-building, Community-building and Transnationalism in Everyday Life during the Republic of Viet Nam, 1955-1975. Diss. University of Washington, 2016. Chair: Christoph Giebel.


The Jacobian Conjecture is established : If f1, · · · , fn be elements in a polynomial ring k[X1, · · · , Xn] over a field k of characteristic zero such that det(∂fi/∂Xj) is a nonzero constant, then k[f1, · · · , fn] = k[X1, · · · , Xn]. Let k be an algebraically closed field, let k be an affine space of dimension n over k and let f : k −→ k be a morphism of algebraic varieties. Then f is given by coordinate functions f1, . . . , fn, where fi ∈ k[X1, . . . , Xn] and k = Max(k[X1, . . . , Xn]). If f has an inverse morphism, then the Jacobian det(∂fi/∂Xj) is a nonzero constant. This follows from the easy chain rule. The Jacobian Conjecture asserts the converse. If k is of characteristic p > 0 and f(X) = X +X, then df/dX = f (X) = 1 but X can not be expressed as a polynomial in f. Thus we must assume the characteristic of k is zero. The conjecture can be stated as follows: The Jacobian Conjecture. Let k be a field of characteristic zero, let k[X1, . . . , Xn] be a polynomial ring over k, and let k[f1, . . . , fn] be a subring of k[X1, . . . , Xn] generated by f1, . . . , fn over k. If the Jacobian det(∂fi/∂Xj) is a nonzero constant then k[X1, . . . , Xn] = k[f1, . . . , fn]. The Jacobian conjecture has been settled affirmatively in several cases. For example, Case(1) k(X1, . . . , Xn) is a Galois extension of k(f1, . . . , fn) (cf. [4],[6] and [14]); Case(2) deg fi ≤ 2 for all i (cf. [12] and [13]); Case(3) k[X1, . . . , Xn] is integral over k[f1, . . . , fn]. (cf. [4]). A general reference for the Jacobian Conjecture is [4]. Our objective of this paper is to give an affirmative answer to this conjecture. Throughout this paper, all fields, rings and algebras are assumed to be commutative with unity. For a ring R, R denotes the set of units of R and K(R) the total quotient ring. Our general reference for unexplained technical terms is [10]. 1. Etale Morphisms k → k and the Jacobian Conjecture In this section, we devote ourselves to proving the Jacobian Conjecture. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 13C20, Secondary 13F99.


Designing and deploying a manufacturing system that has the flexibility to deliver customised product at low cost and short turnaround times is one of the main challenges that must be overcome by potential mass customisers. Configuring the system as a collection of modules, by creating minicells that are dedicated to option families, which can be recombined as necessary is one approach to achieve this flexibility. This paper presents a genetic algorithm-based approach to design a minicell configuration for mass customisation. The method is illustrated using a numerical example and results are compared with those from traditional manufacturing cells. The findings are promising and show potential for further improvement to achieve higher flexibility and shorter delivery times for dynamic demand environments as seen in mass customisation.


We demonstrate the self-optimisation of the breather regime in an ultrafast fibre laser through an evolutionary algorithm. Depending on the specified merit function, single breathers with controllable breathing ratio and period, and breather molecular complexes with a controllable number of constituents can be obtained.


3036Background: Immune-checkpoint inhibition has been shown to be effective in a variety of cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and melanoma. However, only a subset of patients with RCC a...


The biotransformation and excretion of imiprothrin ([2,5-dioxo-3-(2-propynyl)-1-imidazolidinyl]methyl (1R)-cis, trans-chrysanthemate), a novel pyrethroid, was examined by dosing (1R)-trans- or (1R)-cis-[imidazolidinyl-5- 14 C]imiprothrin orally to male and female rats at 1 (low dose) and 200 mg/kg (high dose). Elimination of the trans- and cis-isomers was rapid, and almost all of the dosed 14 C was excreted into urine, feces and expired air within 7 days, with the former route predominating (more than 83% of the dosed 14 C). 14 C-Tissue residues on the 7th day after administration were generally low in all dosed groups. There were no marked sex-related differences in the rate of 14 C-excretion and the 14 C-tissue residues within either treatment group. To elucidate metabolic pathways of imiprothrin, major urinary metabolites were isolated using (1R)-cis-[imidazolidinyl-5- 14 C]imiprothrin and chromatographic techniques, with identification by spectroanalyses (NMR and MS). Metabolites in urine or feces were also identified and quantified by HPLC analyses using these isolated metabolites as standards. No marked sex-related differences in the metabolite profiles were observed within dose groups. Based on the identified metabolites, the main metabolic reactions of imiprothrin in rats are 1) cleavage of the ester linkage, 2) cleavage of the imidomethylene linkage, 3) hydroxylation of the imidazolidine ring, 4) dealkylation of the 2-propynyl group and 5) oxidation at the ω-trans-methyl group in the isobutenyl side chain.


With the rapid development of social economy and the deepening of China's higher education system reform,the issue of applied talents cultivation is more and more concerned by society. As an important part of college education,ideological and political theory courses plays an important role in the applied talents training. So we should update the ideological and political theory teaching philosophy,explore new teaching methods to amplify the effectiveness of ideological and political theory courses,making ideological and political theory courses play better and bigger roles in applied talents cultivation.


We study the low-energy properties of a sawtooth chain with spin-1's at the bases of the triangles and spin-$\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{'}\mathrm{s}$at the vertices of the triangles. The spins have Heisenberg antiferromagnetic interactions between nearest neighbors, with a coupling ${J}_{2}$ between a spin-1 and a spin-$\frac{1}{2},$ and a coupling ${J}_{1}=1$ between two spin-1's. Analysis of the exact diagonalization data for periodic chains containing up to $N=12$ unit cells shows that the ground state is a singlet for exchange couplings up to approximately ${J}_{2}=3.8,$ whereas for larger ${J}_{2}$ the system exhibits a ferrimagnetic ground state characterized by a net ferromagnetic moment per unit cell of 1/2. In the region of small interactions ${J}_{2},$ the mixed spin sawtooth chain maps on to an effective isotropic spin model representing two weakly interacting and frustrated spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg chains composed of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ sites at odd and even vertices, respectively. Finally, we study the phenomenon of a macroscopic magnetization jump which occurs if a magnetic field is applied with a value close to the saturation field for ${J}_{2}=2.$


Excerpt To the editor:The recent article by Geokas and Branson (1) on recruiting students for medicine was very interesting, especially considering how much has been written recently on similar the...


EJD, vol. 31, n◦ 2, March-April 2021 formation [10], which may be the molecular mechanism underlying the concurrence of HS and KTS. To our knowledge, we report the first case of HS and concomitant KTS, harbouring a novel NCSTN mutation. Our results provide further evidence that NCSTN mutations may play an important role in the phenotypic heterogeneity of HS, and expand the spectrum of gene variants associated with HS. Unfortunately, the patient refused a skin biopsy, therefore whether the co-manifestation of HS and KTS is aetiological or coincidental remains equivocal and requires further investigation.


Facility-sizing is more essential on small sites due to limitations on the space and the effects of imprecise judgement of facility size. The aim of facility-sizing problem is to efficiently install the facility to minimize the cost of installation and lower the probability of violating demand. In this work, an approach integrating bat algorithm (BA) to ordinal optimization (OO) is developed to rmd an optimal facility size for minimizing the cost of installation in manufacturing facilities. The solution method has two phases. The first phase utilizes the BA aided with a crude evaluation to construct a selected subset of candidate solutions. The second phase is to identify a near-optimal solution among the selected subset using the optimal computing budget allocation (OCBA) technique. The proposed approach has been tested on an example with m=10 facilities. Test results demonstrate that the proposed approach can yield a near-optimal solution within a reasonable computing time.


It has been increasingly suggested that the world's climate is going to change in the next several decades, primarily as a result of anthropogenic perturbations to the global carbon cycle brought about by fossil fuel burning and large-scale deforestation. In order to cope with these future climatic changes, it is necessary that tools be developed to predict how complex systems respond to a given change of conditions. This report summarizes the status of our ability to model the planetary system that determines the climate. (ACR)


The formation mechanisms of ND3+ and ND4+ are investigated in weakly ionized nitrogen-hydrogen plasmas with electron densities ne ∼ 1016 m−3 and electron temperatures Te ∼ 3 eV. The plasmas are created by an inductively coupled RF (13.56 MHz) discharge of 500 W at the total pressure of 10 mTorr in the nitrogen partial pressure ranging from 0.02 to 2.9 mTorr. The ion density fractions are measured by an electrostatic quadrupole plasma analyzer, which is a combination of ion energy analyzer and mass spectrometer, after calibration with neutral gases. A zero-dimensional rate equation model, sometimes called a global model, is used to understand the source and loss processes of each ion and neutral species in the plasma. The ion density fractions calculated by the model show qualitatively good agreement with the experimental results. Model calculations suggest that ND3+ and ND4+ generation is dominated by electron or D+ exchange reactions of deuterium atomic/molecular ions with ND3. These processes are thought to play an important role in the recombination process of D plasma with ammonia formed in the N2 seeded divertor region.The formation mechanisms of ND3+ and ND4+ are investigated in weakly ionized nitrogen-hydrogen plasmas with electron densities ne ∼ 1016 m−3 and electron temperatures Te ∼ 3 eV. The plasmas are created by an inductively coupled RF (13.56 MHz) discharge of 500 W at the total pressure of 10 mTorr in the nitrogen partial pressure ranging from 0.02 to 2.9 mTorr. The ion density fractions are measured by an electrostatic quadrupole plasma analyzer, which is a combination of ion energy analyzer and mass spectrometer, after calibration with neutral gases. A zero-dimensional rate equation model, sometimes called a global model, is used to understand the source and loss processes of each ion and neutral species in the plasma. The ion density fractions calculated by the model show qualitatively good agreement with the experimental results. Model calculations suggest that ND3+ and ND4+ generation is dominated by electron or D+ exchange reactions of deuterium atomic/molecular ions with ND3. These processes are though...


In the article are analyzed the effect of technological modes and processing parameters on the stress of spinning (cold flow turning) details of aluminum alloys. Аs the object of the study was used a detail of aluminum alloy AMg5, obtained after 3-stage spinning with intermediate heat treatments between the stages. As a control criterion was used non-destructive resistive electro contact method, based on the correlation between the integral electric and mechanical characteristics of metals and alloys – specific conductivity or electrical resistivity within the h-layer of the metal and the amount of deformation in the crystal lattice of the material due to the residual stresses.


The Art of the Strategist William A. Cohen, Major General, USAFR, Ret. AMACOM (2004) 228 pages, Hardcover, $24.95 Respected management authority and best-selling author William Cohen's new book, The Art of the Strategist, sets an ambitious goal: to distill strategy, primarily military strategy, into ten principles universally applicable to all strategic planning. This is a daunting task, especially given the book's length-only about 220 pages. But Cohen, a retired general and combat veteran who earned his PhD studying with Peter Drucker, rises to the challenge and delivers a useful framework for helping those of us in the trenches think about how to formulate strategy. Cohen's is not the first list of such principles; hi fact, he reviewed other lists to create his list. Cohen's ten principles come from "7,000 years of genius-level thinking" about warfare. While he is not a fan of the "business is war" school of thought, Cohen nevertheless argues that ignoring military strategy just because it was developed from military campaigns risks missing valuable learning opportunities. Specifically, Cohen's ten principles include: 1) Committing fully to a definite objective: Have a clear objective; plan to achieve it; expect obstacles and plan ahead for them. 2) Seize the initiative and keep it: Dictate the terms of competition; continually look for new ways to improve service to your customers and employees. 3) Economize resources in non-critical areas to mass them in critical areas: Take resources from less-promising areas and focus them in more promising areas; accept the risks this poses. 4) Use strategic positioning: Mass resources on areas that maximize your inherent advantages, provide significant opportunity for the future, serve as a stepping stone to future success, or allow the opportunity for a decisive victory hi a market. 5) Do the unexpected: Whether it is going first with an innovative strategy or holding back to let a competitor go first (and stumble), do something the competitors are not expecting. 6) Keep things simple: Streamline organizations, actions, and lines of communication. 7) Prepare multiple, simultaneous alternatives: Answer the question, "What if?" What if your competitor does not just roll over? What if your forecasts are off? Have fallback options ready. Implementing multiple alternatives simultaneously can overwhelm competitors. 8) Take the indirect route to your objective: Craft strategies your competitors cannot mimic, that they cannot discern until it is too late to react, or that position you to win no matter who takes the lead in the industry itself. 9) Practice timing and sequencing: When should you act? …


Objective To improve the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy. Methods Ti film was successfully deposited on the surface of AZ31 using magnetron sputtering technology. The morphology and component of the interface of the film and the substrate were studied by scan electronic microscopy( SEM) and the binding energy of the film and the substrate was analyzed. The wear resistances of the blank magnesium alloy and the titanized samples were contrastively analyzed by the friction and wear test,and the corrosion resistances of the blank magnesium alloy and the titanized samples were contrastively analyzed by the electronic-chemical workstation. Results The film layer was compact and uniform,and bound well with the substrate. The friction coefficient and wear weight-loss rate declined. The corrosion potential shifted by +430 m V to the positive direction,and the corrosion current density decreased from 10.83 m A / cm2 to 2.62×10-7m A / cm2 after the magnesium alloy was plated with Ti film. Conclusion The wear resistance and corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy were improved by magnetron sputtering Ti.


Buckwheat has many physiological functions and good antioxidant capacity. These functions are given related compounds,understanding these compounds has important significance for understanding the function of buckwheat. This paper reviews the research progress of antioxidative substances from buckwheat. It can provide reference and theoretical basis for future research of Buckwheat.


Revenue management for airlines strives to maximise revenue as the sum of fares earned through customer bookings. Since the internet enables customers to make more informed choices and low-cost carriers introduced the concept of restriction-free fares, forecasting for airline revenue management has faced new challenges. In addition, advances in dynamic pricing allow for a more sophisticated approach to pricing, but also ask for more information on customer reactions. This paper summarises recent developments in demand forecasting with regard to the prediction of demand in the airline industry. A classification by demand arrival, level, detruncation and behaviour is applied.


The investigation of the Rangely oil field has shown that artificially raised reservoir pressure in the neighborhood of a fault could initiate sliding and trigger earthquakes. The pore pressure along the fault at the site and depth where most earthquake foci were located has been monitored. Knowledge of the local stress configuration was needed, however, to confirm the type and direction of slip along the fault, establish the critical pore pressure necessary for an unstable equilibrium, and provide a basis for critical pore pressure estimates in future research of earthquake control. The hydraulic fracturing method was used to determine the in situ stresses in the vicinity of the fault at a depth of more than 6,000 ft below surface. A newly drilled and cased well was extended by diamond coring and an appropriate 12-ft interval of solid rock was selected. The interval was packed-off and pressurized until fracture. Additional pumping extended the artificial fissure away from the well. With some limitations, the method of hydraulic fracturing appears to be suitable for stress measurements along other active faults where critical pore pressures could thus be predicted and hopefully prevented. (12 refs.)


On the basis of the PIB model and the theory of gas molecular kinetics, a differential equation for the population of space debris in low earth orbit(LEO) is established, and by using the statistic data and initial conditions given in foreign references, the equation is solved. The short term and long term evolutions of space debris environment are analysed.


A 12-week programme was designed for five children in a primary class (9-10 years of age) who were failing to keep pace with their peers in the maths curriculum. The programme drew on principles of precision teaching and emphasised fluency training in the component skills required for the performance of a composite maths skill. The class teacher identified a target composite skill, and the five children's scores were compared before and after the programme, and compared with the rest of the class. On post-programme measures, the precision teaching children out-performed all but one of their peers on the target skill. This paper adds to a growing database demonstrating the importance of fluency training and frequent monitoring of children's progress (fundamentals of precision teaching). It also shows that expensive and time-consuming additional resources are not required to successfully implement such programmes.


The study examined the profitability of sesame (Sesamumindicum L.) value chain along Jigawa-Kano Axis, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was employed for the selection of respondents (farmers, traders, processors and exporters). One hundred and twenty(120) sesame farmers were randomly selected at the entry point of the upstream level of the value chain. While in the downstream level, 112 actors which comprises of 60traders, 36 processors and 16 exporters were selected. Data were analyzed using gross margin and marketing margin. The results of the study showed that, sesame farmers, traders, processors and exporters were the Value Chain Actors (VCAs). It also revealed that, sesame farmer produce an average of 576.21Kg/ha. The profitability measures have indicated that farmers had a gross margin of N 35, 087.94/ha, traders had marketing margin of N 36, 499.85/ton while processors and exporters have N 35, 085.17/ton and N 19,851.63/ton as processing and export margins, respectively. These values indicated profitable enterprises along the sesame value chain. Challenges of the sesame value chain include problem of improved seed, high cost of input, transportation, price uncertainty/low price, contract transaction, and policy issues. The study therefore, recommended that, increased profitability, production and productivity along the sesame value chain could be achieved through the provision of improved varieties with desired characteristics, well managed contract transaction, provision of necessary infrastructures and a guarantee minimum price for all sesame enterprises along the chain.


Silvofishery is a mangrove ecosystem management model that combines fisheries and forestry aspects. This method is also a solution for cultivators to cultivate fish without damaging the mangrove ecosystem. It is hoped that the results of this service activity can be used as a model or input for the community in order to manage ponds with silvofishery technology without having to do open ponds which will slowly damage the environment. This community service activity aimed to provide information and skills to partner groups on the silvofishery method. Other aim was to assist partners in the tilapia rearing process. Based on the description of the problems and objectives of this community service activity, the activities that have been carried out are counseling about silvofishery. The second activity, provision of tilapia seeds and feed for fish rearing activities in silvofishery ponds. The results obtained were increased partners' knowledge and skills regarding silvofishery. The people of Tanjungrejo Village also get tilapia cultivation products that can be traded without cutting down mangrove trees. Keyword: cultivation, ponds, silvofishery, tilapia


Large numbers of electron-dense bodies, 700–1900 Å in diameter, usually seen each with its own limiting membrane, were found in axons of the ventral nerve of infective juveniles of H. contortus. Axons containing these granules merged, without limiting membranes, with a 'light', diffusely granular region, about 1·5–2 μm3. The 'light' area also merged without boundaries with the underlying cuticle which was different from the surrounding cuticle. This modified cuticle, of which the anterior border lies about 1·3 μm from the posterior edge of the excretory pore, extends slightly beyond the 'light' area. Otherwise it is a useful topographical marker for the extent of the 'light' area. It is considered that the 'light' region has a special role in the physiology of the cuticle. I wish to thank Mrs M. Ross for expert technical assistance and Mr R. I. Sommerville for valuable advice. This work was supported by a U.S. Public Health Service Grant, AI 04093–05. The use of the Siemens electron microscope was made possible by a grant from the Australian Research Grants Committee. Financial help from Parke, Davis and Co. (Australia) is also gratefully acknowledged.


This paper presents an asymptotic expansion of the ultimate ruin probability under Lévy insurance risks as the loading factor tends to zero. The expansion formula is obtained via the Edgeworth type expansion for compound geometric distributions. We give higher-order expansion of the ruin probability, any order of which is available in explicit form, and discuss a certain type of validity of the expansion. We shall also give applications to evaluation of the VaR-type risk measure due to ruin, and the scale function of spectrally negative Lévy processes.


The knowledge that customers have is one of the most valuable customer assets.By managing customer knowledge,companys should grasp the market opportunity more rapidly and more exactly than their competitors,enhance the company's core competence,thereby they could creat more values for the customers,shareholders,companies.Accordingly,this paper will analyze how to manage customer knowledge to creat more values for companies from the company's view.


The understanding of tourist needs is very complicated due to the extremely high number of tourists. Accordingly, providers cannot tailor their products or services to better match customers' needs and demands in each segment. This research proposes the model of domestic tourism in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, Thailand by using machine learning techniques. The principle aims of this research are to study the behaviors of related domestic tourists and to develop a clustering model using the combination of clustering and association rule techniques. A data set was collected from 704 travelers who visited Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. It was cleaned and prepared for clustering by the TwoStep cluster analysis. Then, the relevant association rules were discovered on each of these clusters. The experimental results revealed that the dataset could be divided into 4 different clusters, including senior tourists coming with a company trip (15.63%); elderly tourists traveling with family (37.78%), employee tourists (23.58%) and those who do enjoy traveling (23.01%). Each cluster showed as many as 8, 5, 3 and 6 association rules among their attributes with more than 80% confident. With insight into tourist travel behaviors, those involved can get engaged in strategic planning of products and services that are tailored to meet the specific needs of each cluster.


When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism sector in Indonesia, especially in Bali, it experienced a quite drastic decline, so many workers were laid off. Not only decreased of tourist arrivals, but also decreased knowledge of English communication among workers, due to a lack of communication with guests staying at the hotel. Seminyak is a fashionable destination in Bali, especially its beaches and home to famous resorts, restaurants and boutiques. One of the most luxurious resorts in the Seminyak area is The Samaya Resort Seminyak, which is located on Jalan Laksmana Seminyak. English communication improvement training is a very important point in everyday life, especially in the world of hospitality work in improving speaking skills especially to guests staying at The Samaya Resort Seminyak. This can improve the quality of staff service to guests, and minimize miscommunication. Community Partnership Program activities in the form of teaching English using role-play techniques and learning English while practicing it directly (Learning by Doing) are appropriate activities for staff at The Samaya Resort Seminyak in developing and improving their communication skills using the language English with good and correct English grammar and pronunciation. The method applied in teaching English communication uses the role play and learning by doing methods. This English teaching activity is held for 1 (one) month for purposes, starting from 6 to 27 June 2023. From the teaching provided, the materials needed for staff at The Samaya Resort Seminyak are English material for specific related to service and services in the hotel according to the department of each staff. Based on the background that has been described, the main problems of partners are: 1). How do the staff at The Samaya Resort Seminyak master the grammar and pronunciation of English for Specific Purposes? 2). What are the results of the application of English learning techniques by Role-Play and Learning by Doing for Specific Purposes to the staff at the resort? To solve the problems faced by partners, an English teaching program was carried out using the role-play method and learning English while practicing it directly (Learning by Doing). The participants in this English training were 28 staff of The Samaya Resort Seminyak from all departments. For this reason, English will be taught at an intermediate level, with specific vocabulary and grammar according to their respective departments. This training will be held with meetings once a week for each department.


The operation of single-phase Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is analyzed in the paper. A mathematical model of the converter is developed and described, based on which the structure and selection of parameters for Classical Control and Optimal Switching State Model Predictive Control (OSS-MPC) are defined. Additionally, the procedure for the determination of circuit parameters, such as submodule capacitance and arm inductance, is described and carried out. The listed control methods are designed and evaluated in Virtual Hardware-in-the-Loop together with single-phase MMC power circuit, regarding three control objectives: AC current control, voltage balancing control and circulating current control. Control methods are evaluated for both steady-state and transient performance and compared based on nine criteria: AC current reference tracking, THD of AC current and voltage, submodule capacitor voltage balancing, total submodule voltage control, circulating current magnitude and THD, number of control parameters and computational complexity. This is the first time that a fair comparison between Classical Control and MPC is considered in literature, resulting in superior performance of both control methods regarding four different criteria and the same performance regarding AC current reference tracking.


The Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) database holds the primary health care records of almost 1 million Canadians. Every health care system interaction for these patients results in data collection and a data set. Although anonymized, these data can be re-identified and


By computing reducibility points of parabolically induced representations, we construct, to within at most two unramified quadratic characters, the Langlands parameter of an arbitrary depth zero irreducible cuspidal representation π of a classical group (which may be not‐quasi‐split) over a non‐archimedean local field of odd residual characteristic. From this, we can explicitly describe all the irreducible cuspidal representations in the union of one, two, or four L ‐packets, containing π . These results generalize the work of DeBacker–Reeder (in the case of classical groups) from regular to arbitrary tame Langlands parameters.


INTRODUCTION One of the most important methods of controlling the corrosion rate is the use of polymer and composite coatings on the internal surfaces of refinement and pipelines. Epoxy base coatings containing anti-corrosion pigments are suitable coatings for this purpose [1]. The pigments used in these coatings can interfere with the surface of the steel and corrosive environments with different mechanisms such as damping or barrierity. The barrier pigments protect steel from corrosion by reducing the permeability of liquids and gases. The clay nanoparticles are introduced into the polymeric structure by solvent, in situ polymerization and direct mixing. Oxygen, water, and corrosive ions can control corrosion [2, 3]. Various studies have shown that the addition of the clay alone or with other nanoparticles to the epoxy matrix improves the anti-corrosion properties of the coating. In a study conducted in 2007, the effect of adding zinc, silicon dioxide, clay oxide and iron oxide on the resistance of epoxy coatings and reducing the rate of corrosion in a 3% solution of brine has been compared. According to the results of the impedance test, all of these particles reduced the corrosion rate and increased the coating strength, but the clay particles and iron oxide had the highest impact [4, 5]. These nanoparticles can form a barrier layer and slow down the electrolyte penetration pathway.


Listener's head movement is known to facilitate sound localization, which creates dynamic changes to the information input to both ears. For this study, we used a digitally controlled spinning chair to examine the effects of a listener's whole-body rotation and sound duration on sound localization accuracy. We measured their sound localization accuracy at locations from left 30 deg to right 30 deg with respect to the listener. Stimuli were 1/3-octave band noise burst (fc = 1 kHz, SPL = 65 dB) with duration of 50, 200, and 1000 ms. Each stimulus was presented from a loudspeaker in a circular array. The listener, sitting on the chair at the circle center, reported the position of the presented stimulus in chair-still (0 deg/s) and chair-rotation (10 deg/s) conditions. Results showed superior sound localization accuracy of chair-rotation condition to that of a chair-still condition. Moreover, a significant effect of sound duration was observed, but interaction of the test condition and the sound duration was...


We point out a simple equities trading strategy that allows a sufficiently large, market-neutral, quantitative hedge fund to achieve outsized returns while simultaneously contributing significantly to increasing global wealth inequality. Overnight and intraday return distributions in major equity indices in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan suggest a few such firms have been implementing this strategy successfully for more than twenty-five years.


This paper dwells on the harm resulting from over-limited transportation and analyzes various causes for its occurrence and expansion. On the basis of such a discussion, this paper puts forward some measure for a fundamental solution to such phenomena.


issue of Autonomous vehicle navigation has shown rapid progress due to advent of computer integration in mechanics. The field is developing due to tremendous size reduction in Electronic devices allowing us to embed the computing power into these mobile machines. The with final integration of Embedded Systems and Mechanics these vehicles will one day definitely become autonomous. Auto Cruise Control (ACC) is the technology in present implementation does this work efficiently. But ACC is just the start. Many more ways are available like, Path Tracking, Visual Target Tracking are being implemented using Fuzzy Logic and other Artificial Intelligence techniques. The sole aim is to make system Automatic. But every automatic system if given extensive degree of freedom then it tends to give unwanted or unexpected results, no matter how intelligent the system is. So aim of our idea is to confine the intelligence of these vehicles in some Protocols or Laws so that the domain of decisions by system is under control or even already known. Employing Fuzzy Logic we are making the decision structure of autonomous vehicles intelligent but also designing these in forms of protocols itself.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) findings with adenomyosis symptoms. METHODS: This prospective study conducted between January and December 2018 enrolled 78 women aged 18 to 40 years with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), infertility, and/or pelvic pain. All patients underwent 2D and 3D TVUS. Signs of adenomyosis on TVUS were identified according to the consensus of the Morphological Uterus Sonographic Assessment group. RESULTS: The prevalence of adenomyosis on TVUS was 55.12%. Patients with adenomyosis were older (p=0.002) and had more dysmenorrhea, AUB, and endometriosis than those without adenomyosis. When comparing the presence of symptoms with each adenomyosis feature, on 2D TVUS, severe dyspareunia was significantly associated with the presence of a poorly defined junctional zone (JZ) (p=0.023) and on 3D TVUS, patients with AUB had a more irregular (p=0.003), poorly defined (p=0.028), and interrupted JZ (p=0.011). After logistic regression analysis, signs of adenomyosis on TVUS remained significantly associated only with age over 30 years (OR: 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.2) and AUB (OR: 7.65; 95% CI: 2-29). Patients with diffuse adenomyosis were older and presented with more infertility and AUB than patients with focal or no adenomyosis. CONCLUSION: The findings of adenomyosis by 2D and 3D TVUS showed association with age and AUB. 3D TVUS alterations in the JZ were associated with AUB and dyspareunia. Diffuse adenomyosis was associated with older age, a greater prevalence of infertility, and AUB.


This is the first research paper on the topic of Taiwan fuel cell development to combine the two theoretical (AHP and FMCDM) approaches. The conclusion suggests that the priority for Taiwan to develop fuel cells are the fields of 3C electronics, power generation equipment, motorcycles and automobiles. The difficulties the industry has encountered and faced, in turn, are the technology bottlenecks, insufficient R&D investment, high costs, unclear government policy and short supply of R&D professionals. Experts believe the top five strategic actions needed to address the problems are to realise the clean energy policy, establish a national level research programme, increase R&D budget, carefully select the niche products and to plan the operating demonstration or pilot zone. The result will serve as a reference for the government to stipulate relevant industry policy.


In the limit of asymptotically small photon momentum, a Fokker–Planck equation for the center-of-mass Wigner function suffices to describe laser cooling of an atom. We have devised a procedure to compute the light pressure force and the diffusion tensor for an atom with an arbitrary level structure, traveling with an arbitrary velocity in any given three-dimensional light field. The scheme is based on solving a set of differential equations closely related to the density matrix equations of motion encountered in conventional recoilless laser spectroscopy. Computer programs have been written that automatically construct and solve the required equations from broad specifications of the problem, such as energies and angular momenta of the atomic levels. A Langevin equation stochastic simulation has been implemented to solve the Fokker-Planck equation of laser cooling using the computed force and diffusion. Comparisons of optical-molasses experiments and simulations carried out for a model sodium atom with a J = 2→J = 3 transition show qualitative similarities such as sub-Doppler limit temperatures, but the quantitative agreement of theory and experiment is not satisfactory.


Aim: There are various medical and surgical modalities available at breaking the vicious cycle of synovitis–hemarthrosis-synovitis at an early stage of synovitis in patients of haemophilia. Our study was planned to assess the short term clinical outcome in chronic knee synovitis among haemophilia A patients treated with phosphorus-32 (P-32) radiosynovectomy. Methods: Fifteen haemophilia A patients with chronic knee synovitis were injected with P-32 Samarium radiocolloid into the knees. These patients were clinically assessed at time of injection, at one and at three months post procedure. The parameters evaluated are the Tegner Lysholm Score (TLS), Modified Knee Society Clinical Rating System score (MKSS) and by measuring the circumference of the knee joint pre and post injection. Results: Among the fifteen haemophilia A patients studied, there was statistically significant difference in all three parameters recorded with TLS having χ2 (2) = 27.887 and p value


Existing literature does not adequately explain the phenomenon of partisan tides in American elections. This study builds upon existing literature by presenting and empirically testing a theory of how party brands affect individual voting behavior. The theory argues that parties affect voting not only though the stable, long-term party identification of the electorate, but also through how favorable an impression citizens have of each party brand label at the time of the election. The results of this study have important implications not only for our understanding of voters' behavior, but also the behavior of party organizations and parties in government.


The potential of electrochemical organic synthesis in achieving sustainable and efficient chemical syntheses, while offering unique reactivity and selectivity, makes it a promising avenue for addressing the challenges in synthetic organic chemistry. The past two decades have witnessed a remarkable advancement in organic electrochemistry, primarily due to the influx of passionate and innovative scientists. These trailblazers, armed with their unique perspectives, are driving the field into uncharted territories, often surpassing the visions of the early pioneers. Their groundbreaking work is carving out new frontiers and making significant scientific impacts, which are aptly highlighted in this special issue. Their pioneering contributions are projected to extend the core foundation of electrochemistry and usher in transformative insights. The articles featured in this special issue on electrochemical organic synthesis are the result of a diverse array of authors hailing from countries across the globe, including Brazil, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and the United States. This variety exemplifies the widespread adoption and universal appeal of electrochemistry in the realm of synthetic organic chemistry, confirming its global recognition and relevance within the international scientific community. In this special issue, a selection of review papers vividly illuminates the latest advancements and emerging topics in electrochemical organic synthesis. He, Pan and colleagues explore the evolution of spirocyclic compound construction via electrochemical synthesis strategies since 2000.1 Kong, Cao, and colleagues shed light on recent progress in electro-, photo-, and photoelectrochemical applications of quaternary ammonium salts.2 Qin, Li and co-workers present an indepth review of electrochemical difunctionalization of alkenes.3 Lu and his team delve into transition-metal electrochemical asymmetric catalysis including the recently emerged photoelectrochemical asymmetric catalysis (PEAC).4 Phillips, Pombeiro, and associates encapsulate the power of electrochemistry in catalytic enantioselective synthesis.5 Zhang, Liu, and their team offer a comprehensive summary of electrochemical cascade cyclization reactions used in carbon ring and heterocycle production.6 Mo and his team succinctly overview the latest breakthroughs in high-throughput experimentation technology for electrosynthesis.7 Gui and his team have provided a comprehensive summary of halogen-mediated electrochemical transformations of sulfur-containing compounds.8 Lastly, Chen and his team delve into the fascinating topic of photoelectrochemical cerium catalysis in their detailed review.9 Moreover, an assortment of research papers exhibits the cutting-edge methods and techniques in the field. A notable contribution from Charette, Poisson, Jubault, and their team delineates the synthesis of cyclopropylamines from the corresponding amides through a bromide-mediated, electroinduced Hofmann rearrangement.10 Mitsudo, Suga and colleagues described a bromide-mediated electrochemical cross-coupling reaction between arylboronic esters and aryllithiums.11 Zhang and associates presented a report on nickel-catalyzed electrochemical cyclizative carboxylation of alkene-tethered carbamoyl chlorides with atmospheric carbon dioxide.12 Powers and his team provided electroAuthor Information


Companies such as Toyota have achieved significant competitive advantage by treating product production as a system that can be planned and optimized. Software product line organizations can achieve similar advantage when they explicitly coordinate the actions of core asset and product developers. We describe a technique for planning the production system for a software product line organization. The technique encompasses a production strategy, which relates the production goals of the product line to the method of core asset and product development; and a production method, which coordinates the development of core assets with the production of products. The results of the technique are documented in a production plan, which guides the product developers through the steps of production. Data gathered from representatives of SPLC Product Line Hall of Fame members and our experience working with product line organizations are used to illustrate problems and specify solutions.


Instrumentation requirements at Argonne have necessitated the development of circuits capable of delivering megawatt-level pulses into various types of loads. The allowed delay time between the command signal and the output pulse has ranged from a few nanoseconds to a few microseconds and the allowed time jitter has generally been in the low nanosecond region. This report will consider some of the components and circuits and some of the system design concepts in current use at Argonne for high voltage-high current pulse instrumentation.


For sustainable and eco-friendly construction, more attention is being paid to the concept of 'green buildings'. The search for environmentally friendly materials in the concrete construction involves inquisition of natural material which could effectively substitute cement and aggregates. Moreover, disposal of agricultural waste materials such as rice husk, groundnut husk and coconut shell have constituted an environmental challenge, hence, there is a need to convert these naturally available waste materials into useful materials. The paper investigates about coconut shell and coconut fibre as an aggregate is a potential construction material. This paper experimentally investigates to replace fine aggregates with coconut fibres and coarse aggregates with coconut shell to improve the mechanical strength and bonding properties of the concrete mixture. Further, the compressive strength split tensile strength, of the concrete mixture, has been determined for mix concrete. The results shows the replaced natural material has significant potential for lightweight aggregates.


This work analyzes Jorg Haider, the charismatic but controversial leader of Austria's Freedom Party. To some he is a neo-Nazi and admirer of fellow Austrian Adolf Hitler. To others he is merely an artful opportunist, a telegenic master of coded sound bytes and slogans that mean different things to different people. And to that quarter of the country's voters who voted his Freedom Party to power in 1999, he represents a fresh alternative to the incestuous two-party oligarchy that had run Austria for half a century. It explains the "Haider phenomenon" in an environment that juxtaposes an admirable record of non-violence and social peace with residual anti-Semitism, socialist economics with enviable wealth, staunchly pro-Western values with equally ardent neutralism, and a relatively new Austrian identity with a dark German past.


In sport, the relative age effect (RAE) refers to a phenomenon that provides advantages of participation and performance to the athletes born in the first months of the year of selection in relation to the other athletes within the same age category. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relative age effect on Liga de Desenvolvimento do Basquete (LDB), Liga de Basquete Feminino (LBF) e Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) considering the geographic region, the final classification of the teams and the career period of athletes. The study sample consisted of 831 athletes enrolled in the main Brazilian basketball leagues, 2014-2015 season. The information of the teams and the quarter of birth were obtained through the website of the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (www.cbb.com.br) and the website of the Brazilian National Basketball League (www.lnb.com.br). The RAE was found in the Southeast and South teams of the LDB, in the Southeast NBB teams and it was not related to the final classification of the teams. In addition, the relative age effect was reversed in the NBB athletes who were in the career consolidation stages. It is concluded that the RAE is present in the Brazilian basketball players of the LDB e NBB, with an inverse RAE being observed in the athletes from 25 to 34 years and absence of this phenomenon in those who are in the final phase of the sports career.


The utility model provides a hollow abdominal cavity minimally invasive surgery endoscope channel which comprises an external combined platform (5) and an internal expansion hood (6). The external combined platform (5) and the internal expansion hood (6) are combined to be of a detachable structure through buckles. The hollow abdominal cavity minimally invasive surgery endoscope channel is characterized in that the internal expansion hood (6) is in a triangular frustum shape, the part, located under the triangular conical face, of the internal expansion hood (6) is a double-layer structure body, horizontal separation reinforcing ribs (7) are arranged between the inner layer and the outer layer of each face of the hood, and an inflation connector (9) arranged on each inner layer so as to form the integrated inflation and deflation structure.


TRIALS of the Rockwell International XFV-12A augmentor-wing V/Stol aircraft at Nasa's Langley, Virginia, centre have shown that the design is not yet ready for free flight. The US Navy is getting ready to launch what could be the final research effort needed to clear up the remaining problems. According to Cdr E. L. Lewis of the Advanced Aircraft Development and Systems Objectives Office in Washington, the tethered gantry tests at Langley have proved the basic concept of the design. The tailless XFV-12A obtains lift for vertical flight through four sets of three augmentor flaps, one in each wing and canard (see drawing below). Engine exhaust is ducted to each surface, then pushed downward through a slot nozzle formed by each set of augmentor flaps. The three airflows "hypermix," creating a low-pressure area which draws in large masses of additional airflow from above the lifting surface. Lewis says that trials at Langley


Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), is a global public health crisis that threatens the economies of all nations, particularly developing countries. Cardiovascular complications are the main cause of mortality in T2DM patients. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the role of acute-phase proteins (Orsomucoid 2 and hs-CRP) as predictors for subclinical atherosclerosis and their relation with dyslipidaemia and Carotid intima media thicknes (CIMT) in lean T2DM patients. Methods: 50 diabetic normal weight patients (22 males and 28 females) were recruited from internal medicine department, AL-Zahraa hospital and divided into two groups: Group 1; twenty five type 2 diabetics with increased CIMT (≥ 0.9 mm) and Group 2; twenty five diabetic patients with normal CIMT (<0.9 mm). All the participants were subjected to full medical history, full clinical examination, and routine Laboratory investigations: Serum fasting glucose, urea, creatinine, uric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, bilirubin, ALT, AST, albumin, complete lipid profile, hs-CRP and Orsomucoid 2 (ORM2) assay. Electrocardiogram (ECG), Echocardiography and B-mode ultrasonography of left and right carotid arteries were also assessed. Findings: Serum orsomucoid 2 and hs-crp were significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2 at (p≤0.001). Serum orosomucoid 2 at cut off 11.05 ng/L could discriminate patients with and without subclinical atherosclerosis. There was Positive correlation between serum orsomucoid level, hs-CRP and each of CIMT, LDL-C, and TG while negative correlation was found with HDL-C. Mean CIMT presented positive correlation with total cholesterol level, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that orsomucoid 2 and hs-CRP could be used effectively as biomarkers for subclinical atherosclerosis in lean T2DM patients.


Superresolution localization microscopy strongly relies on robust identification algorithms for accurate reconstruction of the biological systems it is used to measure. The fields of machine learning and computer vision have provided promising solutions for automated object identification, but usually rely on well represented training sets to learn object features. However, using a static training set can result in the learned identification algorithm making mistakes on data that is not well represented by the training set. Here, we present a method for training an artificial neural network without providing a training set in advance. This method uses the data to be analyzed, and the fitting algorithm to train an artificial neural network tailored to that data set. We show that the same artificial neural network can learn to identify at least two types of molecular emissions: the regular point spread functions (PSFs), and the astigmatism PSF. Simulations indicate that this method can be extremely reliable in extracting molecular emission signatures. Additionally, we implemented the artificial neural network calculation to be performed on a graphics processing unit (GPU) for massively parallelized calculation which drastically reduces the time required for the identification process. By implementing the neural identification on a GPU, we allow this method of identification to be used in a real time analysis algorithm.


Text messaging has become a standard form of communication between students. However, how texting can be used in higher education as a pedagogical practice has not been fully explored or articulated. This chapter provides critical insight into the value of text messaging as formal and informal communication both between faculty and students and also messaging led by students. Juxtaposing literature on the use of texting in educational environments with practical examples of university teaching in the United States and post-Soviet Kazakhstan, the chapter outlines challenges, benefits, and suggested methods of texting with students in higher education. Framed within concepts of 21st-century learning, multilingualism, and multiliteracies, the author suggests clear benefits for utilizing technology that students commonly use, while also creating an environment valuing students' changing modes of communication which puts less pressure on the traditional academic discussion, and gives a voice to the individual.


The notion of Brownian motions has been introduced by N. Wiener [1] [2] in the case of the real number space (or more generally the n-space)and by P. Lvy [3] in the ease of the circle. We shall here extend this notion in the ease of a general Lie group. 1. Definition ,and fundamental theorems. Let G be an ndimensional Lie group. A random process r(t) in G is called o be a right (left) invariant Brownian motion in G, if it satisfies the following five conditions M, C, T, $ and C*. M. r(t) is a simple Markoff process; we denote the transition probability law of r(t) with F(t, p, s. E) i.e.


In this paper, dimethyl malonate has been used to the reaction with P benzaldehyde forming the corresponding bis(Dimethyl malonate) which ciclyze with di amine compounds to produce bis ((5,6,7) aze cycles) and some of them reacts wi


It was proved by Ron Graham and the second author that for any coloring of the $N \times N$ grid using fewer than $\log \log N$ colours, one can always find a monochromatic isosceles right triangle, a triangle with vertex coordinates $(x, y),(x + d, y),$ and $(x, y + d).$ In this paper we are asking questions where not only axis-parallel, but tilted isosceles right triangles are considered as well. Both colouring and density variants of the problem will be discussed.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with loss of dopamineregic (DA) markers in the nigrostriatal system. Interestingly, expression of the neuropeptide, nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), increases in the substantia nigra following dopaminergic (DA) lesion with 6‐hydroxydopamine and deletion of the preproN/OFQ gene attenuates DA cell loss following MPTP, implicating N/OFQ as an important mediator of DA toxicity. N/OFQ does not directly enhance MPP+‐mediated cell death in DA‐expressing cells in culture, suggesting that in the brain it acts through indirect mechanism(s) (MPP+ is the neurotoxic metabolite of MPTP). Microglia are neuroimmune cells which, when activated, can cause DA cell loss similar to that seen in PD. Links between microglia, neuronal cell loss and N/OFQ have been previously proposed. We therefore determined whether microglia express the nociceptin receptor (NOP‐r). Using a microglial cell line, EOC‐20, and rat primary glial cells, expression of a variant NOP‐r mRNA and lower levels of the wild‐type NOP‐r mRNA were demonstrated. RT‐PCR analysis of mouse brain also demonstrated expression of both NOP‐r isoforms in vehicle‐treated mice, with increased expression of the variant form in MPTP treated mice. LPS‐activated microglia showed no alteration in levels of variant or wild‐type NOP‐r suggesting that the increase in variant NOP‐r levels in brain of MPTP‐treated mice reflects possible recruitment of microglia by MPTP. Studies are currently underway to evaluate the function of the variant NOP‐r mRNA and the role of microglia and N/OFQ in dopaminergic cell loss.


Soft magnetic composite (SMC) material has been fabricated using 9 different powder particle fractions (smallest fraction: <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$< 50~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and largest: <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$> 400~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The microstructure features and resulting magnetic properties have been quantified and correlated. A specific focus lies on simultaneous consideration of the effects of particle size and internal grain size. Analysis has been carried out on samples in green condition and samples annealed between 400 °C and 600 °C. Electron backscatter diffraction technology brings about a substantially additional value to characterize deformations inside the grains. By detailed advanced microstructure analysis, it is shown that the deformation and recrystallization behavior is significantly different for different particle sizes used. Particle sizes between 100 and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$200~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> show grain size distributions with the largest grains (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{d}_{50} \sim 44~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) in the volume of the particles resulting in the lowest hysteresis losses (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$P_{\text {H}} \sim 4$ </tex-math></inline-formula> W/kg, 1 T, 50 Hz). The relationship between particle and internal grain size distribution has been analyzed to enable further improvement of SMC materials concerning hysteresis loss reduction.


Alite–ye'elimite–ferrite (AYF) cement is a more sustainable alternative to Portland cement (PC) that may offer improved mechanical, rheological, and chemical performance. Using traditional raw materials and conventional clinker processing conditions, alite (C3S) and ye'elimite (C4A3$), the major phases in PC and calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements, respectively, cannot be coproduced. The typical formation temperature in the kiln for alite is >1350°C, but ye'elimite normally breaks down above 1300°C. However, with careful composition control and in the presence of fluoride, alite can be mineralized and formed at lower temperatures, thus enabling the production of AYF clinkers in a single stage. In this study, the production of AYF cement clinkers with different chemical compositions is attempted at 1250°C. The sensitivity of the fluoride content is initially assessed with a fixed target clinker composition to determine the optimal requirements. The effect of altering the target ferrite (C4AF) and alite (C3S) contents is also assessed followed by the effect of altering the target C4AF and C4A3$ contents. It is shown that AYF clinkers can be produced in a single stage through the careful control of the fluoride content in the mix; however, the formation/persistence of belite and mayenite could not be avoided under the conditions tested. It is also shown that ∼10 wt% ferrite in the target composition provides sufficient AYF clinker burnability and the amount of fluoride needs to be controlled to avoid stabilization of mayenite.


Remote information administrations have caught only a constrained piece of the pie in this way, because of the limitations on transmission rates. The general perception is that the future mobile communications technology will convey better quality of administration as the wired networks do now. Be that as it may, various hindrances should be handled before this could be accomplished. These issues emerge principally kom the band limiting nature of the remote link, which is to a great degree threatening because of multi-way fading. It has been all around concurred that a wealthier arrangement of QOS levels are still required for the emerging networks to successfully dispatch the upcoming applications. Subsequently, frightfully productive techniques, which could all the while meet the QOS certifications is exceedingly key. This incited for developing QOS solutions that are appropriate to meet the multifaceted prerequisites. In spite of the fact that, CDMA is the favored get to strategy, the predominant influence brought out by GSM frameworks has brought about TDMA cellular markets to catch around 75% of the remote population. These QOS components mirror the system's accessibility and transmission quality. Hence, the study concentrates on different versatile techniques by which the radio administration techniques can be better tuned to conquer the obstructions.  In this way, the remote schedulers ought to basically involve the channel condition of the client for making scheduling decisions. This unmistakably settled the requirement for the association of channel predictors with schedulers. A novel channel predictor has been introduced to empower the scheduler to take ideal decisions. Scheduling decisions absolutely in view of link conditions will have a tendency to enhance the execution without satisfying client decency. Henceforth, a link versatile scheduling plan that accomplishes a higher execution galn in terms of throughputs together with and without client reasonableness is executed in the second period of the work. The requirement for incorporating the circle delay has made ready for developing a prescient power control plot. The capacity to foresee the interference using kalman channel is the appealing component of this work. In the third stage, control and versatile modulation plans have been jointly executed to fulfill the goals. To further improve the execution, in the final stage an integrated QOS demonstrate has been recommended. This model can be realized by performing adaptation at two levels: adaptation by scheduling and adaptation by varying the transmission parameters. So, this examination contribution mainly has concentrated on enhancing quality using versatile components for different air interfaces from system viewpoint. It has been distinguished that improvement in quality and also phantom proficiency IS conceivable with the proposed solutions.


One single compact rack includes: Direct Digital Synthesizer (RF-generator), turn-on and protection devices. The system synthesizes a highly stable RF signal up to 120 MHz, turns the power on in the RF cavities through a step-ramp modulator, and protects the RF system against mismatching, sparks and multipactoring. A first prototype has been designed, assembled and tested on the RF system of the k-800 superconducting cyclotron at Infn-Lns. The hardware, the software, and the preliminary test results, are shown in this paper. This solution is part of the new computer-based RF control system.


Background
Acupuncture has long been used for treating many diseases including pain. In recent years, much attention has been paid to the application of acupuncture during the perioperative period, and correct selection of Acupoints is the key.

Objective
To summarize and analyze the recent progress in theoretical basis for Acupoints selection and clinical application during the perioperative period and provide reference for future research.

Content
The latest clinical progress of acupuncture application and relevant theoretical basis for Acupoints selection during the perioperative period was reviewed.

Trend
There are limitations in the selection of acupoints. With the improvement of application methods during the perioperative period, the effects of acupuncture will also be greatly improved.

Key words:
Acupuncture; Perioperative period; Acupoints selection; Clinical application


The production process of H65 copper strip used for socket connector is described, and the measures of enhancing and ensuring the product's quality are proposed.


In the Netherlands, like in many West European countries, demand for healthcare is already sharply increasing, with further acceleration expected soon. All parties involved are convinced that the resulting demand for funding of healthcare will not be met by economic growth. The resulting paradigma shift (live longer healthy, self-care and patient centred care) is a challenge not only for scientists, but for politicians and healthcare-providers as well. One of the solutions in the paradigma shift is eHealth. eHealth can refer to automated data-exchange between a device and a central database, but also to healthcare practices that use webbased communication. Strengthening patient participation, motivation and self-management is the hope for better therapy outcome. Early deviations need to be recognized, adverse reactions to be understood and appropriate action to be taken. In itself not new, diaries have been around for decades, but appropriate assessment of its content is too time-consuming. Therefore, the challenge is to involve both the patient and the attending professional (-s) and give eHealth solutions a place in the context of regular care. We combined the internet cloud with advanced security-technology to provide an answer to that: Curavista health, a database driven internetplatform for patient@home and doctor@work. Patient@home replies to webquestionnaires and fill online diaries. The responses are summarized in tables, graphs or automated follow-ups and the patient has immediate insight in the progression achieved. Not only does database technology allow for immediate processing of the responses into summaries; it is also possible to highlight differences, produce alerts or (refer to) educational information. Doctor@work, using an own account, has access to the responses as well as to the summaries, resulting in early insight. Because the patient@home does not necessarily record only biometrics, but also has the opportunity to add other types of replies, which gives a broader context to the actual situation the patient is in. Regular care is not only faced with an ageing population but, as a result of new interventions, also with an increased incidence of people with multiple diseases. Curavista health has therefore been designed with the process of chronic care as its cornerstone: the basic architecture for each indication is identical, the content is different. Multiple indications can be attained to one account (doctor or patient) and multiple relations (doctor to patients, patient to professionals) maintained. Started in 2002, today more than 20 indications are covered using this platform. It is used in both primary care (GPs) as well in out-clinic hospital care: 1000+doctors monitor(-ed) 50,000+patients. The first reports are that face-to-face consultations not only run more effective and more efficient when using the summaries, but also more satisfactorily: the available time can be devoted to the patient need, rather than to the inventory of the patient needs. Is it only a matter of time until timing of face-to-face consultations can be based upon cloud-based eHealth solutions?


We report an observation of electronic excited states of excitonic molecules in a semiconductor which are resonant with respect to the dissociation of the molecules into two free excitons. These states were observed using photoinduced far-infrared-absorption spectroscopy in uniaxially stressed silicon. The spectroscopic value of the trion binding energy was found to be 1.02±0.05 meV


We present an investigation of the effect of randomizing exchange strengths in the $S=1/2$ square lattice quasi-two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet (QuinH)$_2$Cu(Cl$_{x}$Br$_{1-x}$)$_{4}\cdot$2H$_2$O (QuinH$=$Quinolinium, C$_9$H$_8$N$^+$), with $0\leq x \leq 1$. Pulsed-field magnetization measurements allow us to estimate an effective in-plane exchange strength $J$ in a regime where exchange fosters short-range order, while the temperature $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ at which long range order (LRO) occurs is found using muon-spin relaxation, allowing us to construct a phase diagram for the series. We evaluate the effectiveness of disorder in suppressing $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ and the ordered moment size and find an extended disordered phase in the region $0.4 \lesssim x \lesssim 0.8$ where no magnetic order occurs, driven by quantum effects of the exchange randomness.


The sharing economy has been undergoing dramatic development in the past years. Didi, the leading sharing transportation provider in China, is deemed as one of the most successful cases. However, despite the great economic growth in the market, numerous issues regarding customer safety and data security lead to a decreased customer trust and public reputation, creating massive negatives impacts on its sustainable development. This study, thereby, would focus on the case of Didi by investigating the causes of its Crisis. According to the results, there are some solutions to help the share economy corporates to deal with reputation problems. Some suggestions based on management models are also proposed to help Didi regain its public trust, e.g. They can join some charity to rebuild their corporate image and win more social benefits and adjust the management of Didi's internal departments. This study would contribute to the field of corporate crisis management and public relations management.


This short note addresses a misconception that seems to be prevalent with regard to the use of compatibility conditions for the strains in both the linearized and non-linear theories of elasticity, when one uses a "stress-based" approach.


This paper studies financing channels in Chinese small and medium sized shipping companies and factors for the recent shipping market recession since 2008. Our data is based on a survey of opinions of more than one hundred top and middle level managers from shipping companies in Ningbo, which share typical characteristics of small and medium sized shipping companies in China. We develop two new influential scoring methods to analysing the data. The robustness test for our research findings are conducted by comparing the results from


Application of liquid microbial inoculants on legume seeds is a sustainable agricultural practice that can improve plant nutrient uptake and increase crop productivity. Inoculants should provide long-term survival of rhizobia in the final product and after application, to legume seeds. Ten different medium formulations of microbial inoculants were examined (yeast mannitol broth with the addition of agar, sodium-alginate, calcium chloride, glycerol or ferric chloride and combinations thereof) for the survival of the efficient nitrogen-fixing rhizobium, Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) meliloti L3Si strain. The most suitable liquid inoculant for survival of L3Si during a storage time of 150 days was the medium formulation containing glycerol in combination with agar or sodium-alginate. Alfalfa seeds were pre-inoculated with four formulations (yeast mannitol broth (YMB), YMB with agar (1 g L-1), YMB with 1 or 5 g L-1 sodium-alginate) for up to three months. Seeds pre-inoculated and stored for one month produced successful alfalfa plants. The nitrogen content in alfalfa obtained from pre-inoculated seeds one month before sowing was adequate and ranged from 3.72-4.19%. Using S. meliloti-based liquid inoculants for alfalfa and application of the pre-inoculation technique can increase the quality of alfalfa crops and reduce cultivation cost.


Inhalational induction is the preferred technique in paediatrics so as to ensure a pleasant induction, rapid recovery and minimal complications. Halothane has been used for this purpose for over four decades as the induction is pleasant and smooth. Isoflurane with the advantage of low blood solubility, stability of cardiac rhythm and reduced potential for organ toxicity is advantageous over halothane. However its association with increased airway problems and hypoxia during induction in unpremedicated children is deterrent .This may be prevented by rectal premedication by thiopentone (5%). This study was carried out in a group of 20 peadiatric patients aged from 1-6 years posted for elective paediatric, plastic and orthopaedic surgical procedure, belonging to ASA grade I and II. Aim is to compare inhalational induction with halothane and isoflurane in children premedicated with rectal thiopentone. The parameters that were compared were preinduction deamanour, oxygen saturation preinduction with and without premedication, mean lowest oxygen saturation during induction, airway problems, post-operative recovery. Statistical analysis is done by paired t test. The conclusion drawn was that rectal thiopentone premedication significantly reduces the incidence and severity of airway complications and quality of induction during inhalational induction with isoflurane and halothane There was significant fall in the preinduction pulse rate following rectal thiopentone premedication in both halothane and isoflurane group.


This article examines pathways among farmers' extension participation, the uptake of recommended farm management practices and economic and environmental sustainability. We explore the 'win-win', efficiency-based focus of the Irish hybrid extension programme using an unbalanced panel dataset of dairy farms from 2010 to 2019. We apply two-way fixed effects regression models and sensitivity analyses to ensure the robustness of our results to effect heterogeneity and omitted variable bias. Our findings reveal that extension participation has a limited association with the adoption of recommended practices. These practices might be associated with economic benefits, while their environmental effects are not evident. Additionally, extension participation is not found to have a direct association with sustainability outcomes. These findings have important implications for extension programmes that focus on economic and environmental outcomes.


Abstract Shortening the lead time for Product Development (PD) provides enterprises with a competitive advantage. Given the iterative nature of PD projects, two aspects are regularly considered to shorten the PD lead time, that is, conducting faster or fewer iterations. However, executing faster iterations usually causes more iterations and vice versa. Therefore, suitable coordination between faster and fewer iterations is necessary to minimize the PD lead time. We investigate this coordination from a strategic perspective, whereby a PD project is considered as a sequence of stages and characterized by the design rates and rework probabilities of those stages. We model the coordination as a decision to choose the appropriate design rates for each stage, wherein the rework probabilities are negatively related to the design rates. An absorbing Markov process is applied to calculate the expected lead time of a PD project. Further, we formulate a geometric programming model to determine the optimal design rates of the stages with respect to the minimal expected lead time. Several insights are extracted from the model to provide general guidance on the coordination, including the effect of the acceptance check rate of the project, rework risk of the stages on the optimal design rates, and decomposability of the coordination. Inspired by these insights, an efficient heuristic algorithm is designed. The algorithm performs well in numerical experiments, which in turn validates the insights. Additionally, a field case proves the effectiveness of our model. Compared with the current policy, 12.25% of the PD lead time is saved through appropriate coordination between faster and fewer iterations.


On the basis of the preminary investigation on the tunnel in Yichang-Enshi highway in Hubei Province, the paper discussed the validity and limitation of engineering geophysical exploration in the engineering survey. It shows that the exploration method can be greatly helpful for the the exploration of tunnel.


The flux of CH 4 from Xihe canal Shenyang measured by closed chamber method. The results showed that Xihe canal is a significant source of CH 4,the annual flux of CH 4 has reached to 280.8~mg(CH 4)·m -2·d -1.in average. The CH 4 flux was strongly affected by the water temperature and pollutants (BOD-5).0.366*!mg(CH 4)·L -1 was emitted from the canal into atmosphere, which is higher than that in the secondary treatment.


Black silicon is surface modification of silicon like nano-structure, that significantly decreases reflectivity of the silicon wafer surfaces. An effective and economical fabrication process for black silicon is metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) method. In this paper, Cu particles were deposited using solution of $\mathbf{Cu(NO_{3})_{2}:HF=0.1M:1.8M}$ and wafers were etched by $\mathbf{HF/H_{2}O_{2}}$ solution. The reflectance of 5.92% was obtained with etching time of 90 min. This is because the wafer was non-uniformly etched with the increasing of etching time. With the etching time of 5 min, it showed the lowest reflectance of 3.96% because of uniform structure and reduced pore size.


This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of malaria parasites in pregnant women attending Bamalli Nuhu Maternity Specialist Hospital Kano. A total of 250 blood samples of pregnant women were tested using field stain method and the parasites were identified using the standard identification keys. Out of which, 180 (72%) were found to be malaria parasite positive. The result of the present study revealed that Plasmodium falciparum had the highest rate of infection with about 68.8% while Plasmodium ovale was found to have an infection rate of 3.2%. The result revealed a highly significant difference within the means levels between the observed species (P. falciparum and P. ovale) (00000.1904***). Based on parity 94 (78.33%) Primigravidae, 61 (72.62%) Secundigravidae and 25 (54.35%) Multigravidae were infected respectively. The result of the findings also reveals that there is a significant difference within the levels of pregnant women Parity (0.01719*). It was concluded that more than half of the pregnant women were infected with malaria infection and P. falciparum was the predominant species then P. ovale. The findings of the study further proved that Primigravidae and Secundigravidae are more susceptible to malaria infection. More effort should be made in order to control malaria infection by providing better clinical management of the disease that includes curative and preventing measures.  Keywords: Prevalence, Parity, Plasmodium, Pregnant Women, Infection rate


ditor's introduction: The constantsp and e dominate the mathematical landscape, making them the rock stars of the real numbers. However, their welldeserved fame often overshadows and limits the exposure of other interesting math constants. Sure, some constants like t = 2p,f and ln(2) get their fair share of press, but even they don't grab as much attention as e and π. For those that have tired of all the hype surrounding the numbers p and e, I asked members of the Math Horizons editorial board to share brief explanations about some of their favorite lesser-known constants. The result is this collection of five constants connected to various areas of mathematics including prime numbers, fractals, infinite series, a Fibonaccilike sequence, and the confounding Collatz conjecture. Of course, if you still love e and p, you can always check out many Math Horizons articles featuring these "mathematical celebrities" (such as "The Square Root of Pi" in the February 2021 issue and "The Marble Collection of Mrz. Omega" in the April 2021 issue, both connecting the two constants together in surprising ways).


A second-order interferometric correlation technique is used to provide new experimental data on the residual coherence of diffused femtosecond laser pulses in turbid media. A coherence factor is defined and time-resolved results are compared to ones from other experimental approaches, leading to a refined definition of the coherence of snake photons, which are present in large numbers in true biological media. Coherence and time-broadening measurements are reported for samples of diluted milk, with from 0.5 to 3.5 mean number of diffusions.


Hybrid mode in a circular hollow anisotropic dielectric guide is reported here. The use of such guide in fabricating gas laser is compared with its isotropic counterpart. It has been shown that proper choice of anisotropic material can increase the net gain of gas lasers.


The system of labor dispute mediation is an important part of the system of labor dispute settlement.It plays a very im- portant role of coordinating labor relations.Although the Law on Labor Disputes Mediation and Arbitration has made progress of es- tablishing the system of labor dispute mediation,but in general,the system has not carried it's legislation point of stressing on me- diation.


The Upper Mannville reservoirs in West-Central Alberta consist of fluvial sandstones filling incised valleys. The valley infills are made of lithic sandstones with a complex mineralogy. These sandstones are made up of various amounts of quartz, feldspars, clay minerals and rock fragments. They were subjected to a complex diagenetic history and the resulting paragenesis influenced the actual reservoir properties. Consequently, heterogeneities in the petrophysical properties result in significant exploration risks and production issues.


Introduction: Inter-arch elastics exert specific amount of force for the required tooth movement, therefore it is necessary for the orthodontist to be familiar with force extension characteristics of selected elastic band. Aim of this study was to compare claimed and actual force of four brands of inter-arch orthodontic elastics with respect to their initial force produced and force decay over a 24-hour period in dry and moist conditions. Material and methods: Two hundred non-latex elastics of four brands (Dentaurum, Ortho care, Opal and Class one) and five sizes (1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 inch) with five elastics in each group were investigated in both dry and wet conditions statically. Force measurements were made by stretching elastics with orthodontic stress and tension gauge from to 10mm to 45mm. Samples were immersed in water for 24 hours, in starched state. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance was used for comparisons among the groups. Dry and wet measurements were tested with paired sample T tests. Results: Statistically no significant differences were found among the groups ( P = 0.09). Class one elastics showed consistently higher values than the claimed values, conversely Dentaurum elastics showed consistently lower values. The pre and post immersion data comparison revealed significant differences at 15mm stretch ( P =0.009). Conclusions: Though statistically significant differences were found between claimed and actual force, but they seem to have no clinical impact. Force extension comparisons between dry and wet samples showed some degree of force degradation but the difference was not statistically significant.


We present a new set of medium-resolution spectra and high-resolution coronographic images of the nebula around the Galactic luminous blue variable (LBV) candidate HD 168625. The observations were carried out at the WHT and INT (La Palma) in 1994 June and 1995 October, and at the ESO/New Technology Telescope (La Silla) in 1995 May. We find that, between 1995 May and 1995 October, HD 168625 has dimmed by ≃0.3 mag, and its temperature has diminished from 15,000 to 12,000 K.With the coronograph, we clearly resolve the structure in the circumstellar nebula. We find that the nebula has a complex morphology, which includes an inner elliptical shell (12″ × 16″ in size), and fainter filaments that form two outer loops in the northern and southern regions, suggesting an overall bipolar structure. The nebula is clearly associated with the star, on the basis of evidence from dynamical and chemical considerations. The nebular dynamics show a shell expanding at ≃40 km s–1, centered on the star, and the N enrichment detected suggests that the nebula is formed by material ejected by the star. We also find that the nebular parameters are very similar to those found in most nebulae around LBVs: although the mass of the ionized gas of 0.5 M☉ (from the integrated Hα flux) is somewhat small, the temperature (an upper limit of 7000 K) and the electron density (average 1000 cm–3) are fairly typical. Given the position of HD 168625 in the H-R diagram (at the lower end of the LBV strip, in close proximity to HR Carinae), we conclude that, although HD 168625 has not displayed LBV-type variations in the past few decades, it has certainly undergone an LBV-type outburst ≃ 103 years ago. In addition, the observed nebular bipolar morphology strengthens the suggestion (Nota et al. 1995) that all LBV-type nebulae are shaped by the same mechanism, involving a wind interacting with a density contrast.


Food can never be entirely safe. In recent years, food safety concern has grown significantly following a number of highly publicized incidents worldwide. These incidents include bovine spongiform encephalopathy in beef and benzene in carbonated drinks in the United Kingdom, dioxins in pork and milk products in Belgium, pesticides in contaminated foods in Japan, tainted coca-cola in Belgium and France, melamine in milk products in China, salmonella in peanuts and pistachios in the U.S. [1], and phthalates in drinks and foods in Taiwan [2]. Governments all over the world have taken many measures to increase food safety, resulting in a marked increase in the number of regulated compounds. The European Union (EU) made a considerable effort to centralize food regulatory powers. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the national competent authorities are networks for food safety. The European Commission has designated food safety as a top priority, and published a white paper on food safety [3]. Legislative documents, such as 657/2002/EC, which sets out performance criteria for veterinary drug residue methods, are published as European Commission Decisions [4]. The Japanese government implemented a "positive list" to regulate the use of pesticides, veterinary drugs, and other chemicals in 2006, which replaced the old "negative list" regulations [5]. Over 700 compounds have to be monitored and reported. A certified safety report is now a requirement for both importing and exporting countries. The new regulations are listed as addendums to the positive list. In Japan, strengthening regulations for industrial use of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), additives, and residual pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment is progressing, which in turn creates a demand for instrumentation that provides reliable trace determination.