The invention relates to an idler wheel arrangement for rail vehicles, consisting of a wheel (2) rotatably mounted on an axle stub (4) of an axle (6), in particular of a cranked Straddle axle, and having an inside (12) facing the axle (6) and an opposite outside (16) and of holding means for three func tional devices, Specifically for an earth-contact arrangement (18), a transmitter arrangement (20) of an anti-slip device and a braking device (22). The holding means having a carrier element (24) fixedly connected on the end face to the axle stub (4) on the outside (16) of the wheel (2). The carrier element (24) has reception means for fixed components (18a, 20a, 22a) of all three functional devices (18, 20, 22), the wheel (2) being assigned reception means for corre spondingly associated components (18b, 20b, 22b), rotating with the wheel (2), of the three functional devices (18, 20, 22), in adaptation to the arrangement of the fixed compo nents (18a, 20a, 22a).


Based on the current management situation of emergency equipment in our hospital, this paper put forward the necessity of centralized deployment of emergency equipment. On the basis of integrative equipment management system, the management module for centralized deployment was developed. With the application of online centralized deployment platform, the management module was optimized, the informatization and refinement as well as real-time dynamic of management were realized, and the social benefit of emergency equipment was maximized.


A general fuzzy clustering analysis theory method is introduced at first, then a GAFCM algorithm and its implement steps are given. The diagnosis types of the test samples are judged by getting across the most of the Euclid pressing close degree choosing approximately principle. Practice proves that this method can be used to diagnose the diesel engine vibration faulty.


This study investigates pulp chamber temperature rise during composite resin polymerization by plasma arc(Group III : Flipo 3 sec, Group IV : Flipo 5 sec) and LED curing units(Group V : Lux-O-Max, 40 sec) as well as conventional halogen lamp curing units(Group I : VIP mode3, 20 sec, Group II : VIP mode6, 20 sec). The results are as follows : 1. All of the investigated pulp chamber temperature rises are lower than the boundary temperature could result in irreversible damage to the pulpal tissue (). 2. In the group II, it is found the significantly higher pulp chamber temperature rise than any other groups(p


Fresh meat product retailing at traditional markets in Taiwan causes concerns over meat safety issues.The agricultural administration has established programmes to raise consumer awareness of potential risks of fresh meat that have remained at room temperature for several hours. Although supermarkets sell chilled and frozen meat products, the majority of grocery shoppers in Taiwan still prefer purchasing fresh meat products at traditional markets where meat is displayed on counters or hung on hooks. This study utilizes survey data to segment meat shoppers in Taiwan. Results indicate the shoppers who purchase meat products at supermarkets tend to continue shopping at that location. Potential shoppers of supermarkets, who may switch from traditional markets to supermarkets for meat products, are identified and the major concerns of this group are the meat safety issues. Factors that influence the possibilities of selecting supermarkets for meat products are examined.


Abstract Possibility of selective dissolution of silicate components of TUFF in alkaline water solution (NaOH) has been investigated. Insoluble slime mainly contains minerals of clay type as well as indefinite quantities of quartz, tridymite and amorphous SiO2. By changing Na2O/SiO2 and H2O/SiO2 ratios, temperature and duration of treatment we searched for conditions of simultaneous maximum silicate and minimum aluminosilicate component solubility. In our experiments composition of the slime was successfully determined by IR method.


Spatial analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signal sources is a technology based on the methods solving EEG inverse problem. In this field, the human brain is often considered as a quasi-static electromagnetic system. Combined with boundary element method results, the spatial distribution of EEG sources is analyzed by a hybrid weighted minimum norm solution. The simulation experiments are given to show the promising ability of the proposed approach.


Samora et a1 have stated that if the goal of medicine is concern with the person who is sick and the purpose is to relieve, reassure, and restore him, then the quality of communication with the patient assumes instrumental importance, and anything that impedes or distorts it needs to be ascertained, and, if possible, removed.( 1) According to the authors, barriers to effective patient-practitioner communication arise out of such factors as: "the physical inability of the patient to hear what is said to him; his psychological unwillingness to receive unpleasant information or to impart information about private matters; anxieties and inhibitions stemming from perceived status differences or from uncertainties about the clinical situation; and his inability to remember clearly past experiences or to formulate and relate what he does remember. Still other barriers are to be found in differences in what patients and physicians know about disease and about normal and pathological functioning of the body; in factors associated with social class or ethnic group membership; in the differing role expectations patients and physicians may have of themselves and each other; and in differences in ability to comprehend terms commonly used in medical discourse."


A student-built unmanned aerial system (UAS) was developed by the University of Hawaii Drone Technologies team for the 2017 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Student Unmanned Aerial System (SUAS) competition, which simulates a search-and-rescue (SAR) mission. The UAS comprises a fixed-wing airframe integrated with flight control and communication components, and is capable of autonomous waypoint navigation, in-flight data transfer, aerial image capture with onboard image processing, and aerial payload delivery. The UAS is capable of executing a 30-minute SAR mission in search of a simulated lost hiker. SAR tasks include autonomously navigating to a designated area, conducting a search for alphanumeric targets over a 370,000-m2 search area, and autonomously dropping an 8-oz care package to the lost hiker. Image-processing and computer-vision algorithms can correctly sense and identify the alphanumeric targets with 75% accuracy.


Investigators of medical problem solving, and of problem solving in general, appear to use the term problem solving to denote different concepts.


The aim of this essay is to introduce readers to recent work on the concept of 'civil religion', what might be regarded as the democratic variant of political religion. Ever since 1967, when the sociologist Robert Bellah published his article 'Civil Religion in America', the concept has been the subject of intense debate and ongoing refinement. The essay reviews the recent contributions of Marcela Cristi and Emilio Gentile. However, it also seeks to introduce readers to some old and recent work on the history of democratic modernity (including Charles Taylor's A Secular Age), which, it is argued, represents an alternative way of thinking about the sacred dimensions of ostensibly secular national republics. Given the increasing tendency to question the equation of modernity and secularity, the concept of civil religion is likely to be the subject of further scrutiny in years to come. The essay concludes by highlighting a key problem which still awaits satisfactory resolution: whether or not civil religions might be understood in relation to an underlying set of universal, anthropological needs.


The Eleme locative-applicative =inline image is a non-canonical applicative that demonstrates morphosyntactic properties commonly associated with clitics. It is employed in one of two functions: (i) to indicate an increase in the transitivity of a clause and (typically) to introduce an otherwise oblique function as a core argument of a base verb, or (ii) to indicate the presence of an atypical verbal complement. It is usually found in constructions containing a verb stem that expresses location, directed motion or transfer, but also functions as an obligatory component of the Eleme progressive construction. While locative and comitative expressions are common source-constructions for progressives in Niger-Congo languages, Eleme is apparently unique within the literature in that it includes an applicative with comitative function that must be enclitic to a verb of location to express progressive aspect.


thereby lift the foot during the swing phase of gait. The condition is characterized by dragging the foot, which causes tripping or a steppage gait where the person raises their knee high during swing phase to avoid tripping over the hanging down foot and then, at the beginning of stance phase, the foot slaps the floor. Gait changes caused by foot drop decrease gait safety and efficiency, limit mobility, increase the risk for falls, and greatly increase energy expenditure during walking.


This study investigated the asymmetric effect of oil price shocks on stock market performance in Nigeria. Secondary data covering the period between 1986 and 2019 were employed for this study. Quarterly data of brent crude price, all share index, real exchange rate and inflation rate were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2019), OPEC Statistical Bulletin (various publications) and Nigerian Stock Exchange Fact Book (2019). Data collected were analysed using Non-Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL). The NARDL results showed that in the long run, positive oil price shocks, (t= 5.39; p<0.05) had significant positive effect on stock market performance. Negative oil price shocks (t= 5.81; p<0.05) had significant positive impact on stock market performance. In the short run, current period negative oil price shock (t= 2.01; p<0.05) exert significant positive effect on stock performance while previous period positive oil price shocks (t= 1.94; p<0.05) pose significant positive effect on stock market performance in Nigeria. The study concluded that oil price shocks is a deterrent to stock market performance in Nigeria and the impact of oil price shocks on growth rate in Nigeria is both positive and negative.


Purpose: This work is an analysis of the burial rites conflicts between Agiriama Christians and adherents of African traditional religion in Kilifi County with specific reference to PEFA church in Mariakani; Kilifi County in Kenya. Burial rituals and practices vary across cultures and are often heavily influenced by religion. The objectives of the study was to establish an analysis of the burial rites conflicts between Agiriama christians and African religious adherents, Kilifi County Kenya
Methodology: The study was guided by inter-faith dialogue theory and Native/non-Native relations by Jonathan Napier. The study utilized both primary and secondary sources. Secondary materials such as books, journals and articles were used to gather the necessary information. The study equally utilized some primary sources such as oral interviews, focus group discussion and participant observations. Through snow ball sampling technique seventy respondents of Agiriama community took part in the study. The study sample comprised of pastors, church elders, kaya elders and bereaved family members, based on criteria such as gender, age, social status and length of period in the church. The data was then coded and analyzed in the themes following the objectives, thus forming the chapters which make the work complete.
Findings: The research findings include: the similar burial practices between the Christians and the adherents of African traditional religion, are treatment and care for the sick, prayers, unity preparing the body upon death, breaking the news of a death and burring the body. The differences include many restrictions to the close family member, categorizing death, and the funeral songs, talking to the dead, the belief that death is a rite of passage, the burial of young babies and the way the body is laid in the tomb. The Christian burial rituals lack post burial rituals unlike that for the adherents of African traditional religion.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The researcher recommends further research on the post burial rituals like throwing of the death if there are any alternatives to such indigenous burial rituals which are even violating human rights. It would also be of great interest to explore further the challenges faced by those who throw the death in contrast to those who do not cleanse their homes nor throw the death.


The challenging requirements of 5G, from both the applications and architecture perspectives, motivate the need to explore the feasibility of delivering services over new network architectures. As 5G proposes application-centric network slicing, which enables the use of new data planes realizable over a programmable compute, storage, and transport infrastructure, we consider information- centric networking as a candidate network architecture to realize 5G objectives. This can coexist with end-to-end IP services that are offered today. To this effect, we first propose a 5G-ICN architecture and compare its benefits (i.e., innovative services offered by leveraging ICN features) to current 3GPP-based mobile architectures. We then introduce a general application-driven framework that emphasizes the flexibility afforded by network functions virtualization and software defined networking over which 5G-ICN can be realized. We specifically focus on the issue of how mobility as a service (MaaS) can be realized as a 5G-ICN slice, and give an in-depth overview on resource provisioning and inter-dependencies and coordination among functional 5G-ICN slices to meet the MaaS objectives. The article tries to show the flexibility of delivering services over ICN where virtualization of control and data plane can be used by applications to meet complex service logic execution while creating value to its end users.


In order to solve the technical problems of prevention and control of dynamic mining pressure in coal seam mining at the lower part of the room and pillar goaf with short distance coal seam, based on the surface movement deformation monitoring, the internal multipoint displacement monitoring of rock mass, the working face support resistance monitoring, the working face micro-seismic monitoring joint undermine and surface, integrated monitoring of stability of room and pillar goaf was realized, and the technical measures for preventing and controlling the dynamic pressure of longwall fully mechanized mining in the lower coal seam under the room and pillar goaf are proposed. The results show that integrative monitoring technology is a comprehensive, real-time and reliable method for monitoring the stability of room and pillar goaf, integrative monitoring technology has a good application effect on guiding the safe production of long wall fully mechanized mining under room and pillar goaf in western mining area and controlling the dynamic mining pressure.


2,4-Disuhstituted-1,5-henzodiazepine compounds ·possess various biological activitics 1 . By comparing the structures of 1.4and I ,5-benzodiazepines vi s-avis I ,5-henzothia7cpinc~. it is observed that despite the absence of any substituent in the fused benzene ring: 1,5-benzothiazepine class of drugs ~how intensive cardiovascnlar2 and psychophannacological 3 properties, wllile chemotherapeutic properties arc exhibited only by 1,4aml1,5-benzodiazepines possessing a substituent 111 the fused benzene ring4 .


FIELD: radio engineering and communication. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to radar and can be used in radar stations (RLS), using high repetition frequency of probing pulses. Increased area of clutter suppression during operation of RLS with high repetition frequency of probing pulses is achieved by pseudocoherent RLS comprising timer connected to each other in a certain manner, a modulator, radio frequency generator, switch reception-transmission antenna, a heterodyne, two coherent heterodyne, two phase detectors, band-stop filter consisting of a comb-shaped device delay and subtraction device, audio frequency amplifier, circular scan indicator, two mixers, intermediate frequency amplifier, three switch two delay circuits, four generator, three switches, wherein the first and second generators of generated pulses duration equal to duration of the probing pulse, and run through the repetition period of sounding pulses, third and fourth generators are used to generate pulses duration equal to repetition period of sounding impulses, and run through repetition period of sounding pulses synchronously with the first and second generators, respectively. EFFECT: increased area of clutter suppression during RLS operation with high repetition frequency of probing pulses. 1 cl, 1 dwg


Previously a framework for integrating web resources providing educational services in dotLRN was presented. The present paper describes the application of this framework in a rural school in Cauca – Colombia. The case study includes two web resources about the topic of waves (physics) which is oriented in secondary education. Web classes and educational resources are designed for a group of 35 tenth graders using the LMS. The academic performance was compared with a second group of 35 students oriented in the traditional way. The objective is to compare the academic performance and effectiveness of using LMS during the educational process.


Biliary precipitation of ceftriaxone as a calcium salt is a known cause of sporadic cases of pseudocholelithiasis, sludge formation and biliary colic. Ceftriaxone is between 33% and 67% excreted as in the urine and the remainder is secreted unchanged in the bile. Because bile acids and ceftriaxone might share the same transport mechanism, biliary secretion of the ceftriaxone might inhibit the secretion of the bile acids. Precipitation of the calcium-ceftriaxone salt in the gall-bladder leads to the formation of gall-bladder sludge and cholelithiasis. This occurs in both adults and children, but it may be more common in children who, by weight, receive proportionally higher doses than adults. Risk factors for billiard pseudocholelithiasis and sludge formation include giving high doses of ceftriaxone (≥2 g/day), increase calcium secretion into bile, sepsis, fasting or total parenteral nutrition, renal failure and patients recovering from major surgery (gall-bladder stasis). The incidence of ceftriaxone-associated biliary pseudolithiasis and sludge formation varies among studies (from 17% to 50%). Recently in prospective study performed by Bor et al. abnormal gallbladder sonograms were demonstrated in 36.8% of patients at the tenth day of ceftriaxone therapy. Reports indicated that gallbladder sludge can be detected as early as the second day of drug treatment and most often is resolved spontaneously after the drug has been stopped. 15 June 2006 Dear Editor,


Background: Catestatin is an active neuropeptide derived from chromogranin A, which can suppress catecholamine to release. Since catecholamine plays an important role in cardiovascular remodeling secondary to hypertension, we therefore hypothesized that catestatin would affect structural changes of hypertensive target organs. Methods: Spontaneous hypertensive rats were used to observe the effect of catestatin. After 8-week-intervention, removing the heart, abdominal aorta and left kidney, calculating mass index and conducting VG staining. The intima-media thickness of vessel and collagen volume fraction were measured by image acquisition and analysis system, and the expressions of proliferative genes in abdominal aorta were detected by Real Time RT-PCR. Results: The cardiac mass index, left ventricular mass index, kidney mass index, intima-media thickness, collagen volume fraction of acquired tissues and proliferative genes of abdominal aorta all increased notable in spontaneous hypertensive rats, comparing with Wistar Kyoto rats. With intervention of catestatin, the cardiac mass index and left ventricular mass index both decreased significantly, the collagen volume fraction decreased nearly by 30% in heart, by 25% in vessel and by 10% in kidney, samely the intima-media thickness and expression of proliferative genes. Conclusions: The present study indicated that catestatin could ameliorates proliferative changes in cardiac, renal and vascular in hypertension, especially to interstitial collagen deposition, which suggest that catestatin maybe a novel protective factor for hypertensive target organs.


Abstract In this paper, the problem of adaptive tracking control is addressed for a class of nonlinear systems with parametric uncertainty, unknown actuator nonlinearity and disturbance. Two type of actuator nonlinearities, that is, backlash-like hysteresis and symmetric dead-zone, are considered simultaneously. Without constructing the inverse function of actuator nonlinearity, unified control framework is established. An adaptive control scheme, capable of guaranteeing the exponential tracking with zero tracking error, is proposed. Two simulation examples are provided to clarify and verify the proposed approach.


Drift waves are a likely cause of anomalous transport in fusion devices. The basic mechanisms of instability should be the same for both tokamaks and stellarators alike. Stabilization of drift waves, on the other hand, is mainly achieved through global and local shear damping, and by effective localization of modes through toroidicity and helical ripple wells. These stabilizing effects can differ for specific geometries, and it is in principle possible to optimize a stellarator in this respect.


Stationary GPS receivers provide time information for critical infrastructures, such as phasor measurement units (PMUs), communication networks, and financial systems. Therefore, they are prone to a specific type of spoofing attack called time synchronization attack (TSA), which affects time information such as clock offset and clock drift. The receiver's position remains constant during the attack; hence, attack detection and mitigation are challenging. Various countermeasures have been suggested to mitigate TSA effects. However, they are mainly software-based and are exploited to protect software implemented software-defined radios (SDRs). In this research, two hardware protection approaches are contributed for hardware-based SDRs based on multi-layer perceptron neural network (MLP NN) with sigmoid activation function. The most challenging part of MPL NN implementation is the activation function approximation. Therefore, two lightweight architectures are proposed for sigmoid function implementation. Linear approximation and look-up table (LA-LUT) and piece-wise linear approximation (PLA) are exploited for this task. The synthesis results demonstrate that the PLA approach has a slightly higher resource utilization in comparison to LA-LUT, while this method is more accurate. The mean squared error (MSE) of the PLA approach is equal to 0.019, which is 57% better than the LA-LUT approach with an MSE of 0.033. Furthermore, the designs are evaluated by two conventional types of TSA. According to the results, both methods are lightweight, and they only consume less than 0.3% of slice registers, 5% of slice LUTs, and 8% of DSP48E1Ss. Furthermore, they are real-time, and can mitigate the attack consequences; however, the PLA architecture has a better performance compared to LA-LUT.


With the abundance of vast amounts of "-omic" biological data from multiple sources that span diverse biological processes, approaches for answering critical questions become a vital mission. To grasp more comprehensive view of the biology of the organism, recent research has focused on integrating multiple sources of data. This integration provides more insights and helps reduce the impact of problems each source may have. Recent research showed that differentially expressed, or dysregulated, patterns of interacting proteins exhibit more interesting properties with respect to many complex phenotypes. In this work we follow an integrative approach by combining the physical protein-protein interaction, PPI, network with gene expression data for a number of diseases and phenotypes. In this study, we propose an algorithm for mining Dysregulated Phenotype-Related interacting genes, DPRs. Experimental results on 88 Human gene expression datasets that were annotated by employing UMLS mapping demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in discovering biologically and statistically significant DPRs.


The wettability of polypropylene fiber was improved by DBD.Contact angles of polypropylene fibers were measured by a wetting balance and the adhesion power was calculated,and then the effect of treating power and time on the decay of wettability of polypropylene fiber was researched when using DBD treatment.The results indicate that any slight change of contact angle of the treated polypropylene fiber will bring about marked change of adhesion power decay of the fiber.The rate of decay of polypropylene fiber treated by DBD at different powers and durations of treatment exhibits very fast in the first 5 days and slows down and tends to equilibrium after 18 days.The decay of wettability of polypropylene fiber treated by DBD at power=200 W and time=0.31 s is slower and residual adhesion power is larger.


In the paper titled "Convolution and differential sub-
ordination", T.N. Shanmugam [5] has defined certain subclasses of analytic functions, viz, S g(h) and C g(h). In the present article, it has been shown that these classes are preserved under Noor inte- gral operator and Bernardi integral operator. Also, a new integral transform J n on the class A of analytic functions has been defined recursively, under which the classes S g(h) and C g(h) are closed.


The solid wall convection melting physics is computed with coupling external boiling physics based on the volume-of-fluid model in the STAR-CCM+ code. A three-dimensional rectangular computational sample domain is used with 5.0 cm height, 4.0 cm width and 1.0 cm depth. This domain is separated by carbon steel representing a reactor vessel section in contact with water channel representing the gap between the reactor vessel outer surface and the insulation. The flow rate of the bottom inlet flow in the water flow channel is 2 × 10−2 kg/sec with temperature at 92 °C. The concentrated heat flux of 2.1 MW/m2 obtained from a typical APR1400 reactor condition is imposed at the center of the left wall of the solid region. At the same time, subcooled water entering the right channel boils and the vapor film covers the surface which expedites melting process in the solid heated region. Important finding is that solid wall melt-through is not expected as far as for the present analysis conditions and there is a minimum water flow rate below which the rate of solid melting is saturated.


Over the last three decades, the ecological basis for the generalized use of even-aged silviculture in boreal forests has been increasingly challenged. In boreal mixed-wood landscapes, the diminishing proportion of conifers, to the benefit of intolerant hardwoods, has been a primary concern, coupled with the general rarefication of old-growth conifer-dominated stands. In this context, partial cutting, extended rotations and forest renewal techniques that eliminate or reduce regenerating hardwoods have been proposed as means of regaining greater conifer cover. As a result, experimentation and industrial application of various forms of both variable retention and partial harvesting are occurring across the commercial Canadian boreal forest. In this study, we compared the effects of two harvesting intensities, clearcutting and low-intensity partial cutting (removal of 25–31% of tree basal area), on hardwood and conifer regeneration levels 7–19 years following treatments in aspen (Populus tremuloides)-dominated stands and verified whether regeneration differences existed between micro-sites on and off machinery trails. The abundance of aspen regeneration increased with percent basal area removal and was positively correlated to the abundance of mature aspen prior to harvesting. The abundance of fir (Abies balsamea) regeneration after partial cutting was similar to controls and higher than after clear-cutting and was positively correlated with ground cover of mixed litter (i.e., mixture of needles and leaves) and negatively correlated with ground cover of broadleaf litter. These results suggest that it is possible in boreal mixed-woods to control aspen abundance and promote or maintain conifer regeneration through silvicultural treatments that limit canopy opening and promote mixed forest floor litter.


The variety of brake discs is determined by the presence of different geometries of the ventilation device. Modern brake discs are subdivided according to the geometry of the ventilation device by the presence of fins, which form channels and studs for heat transfer to the cooling air. In turn, ventilation channels can be radial and curved. Studs are subdivided by geometry into cylindrical, prismatic and complex configuration. The paper proposes the calculation of the power required to overcome the inertial forces of the brake disc for various variants of the ventilation device. The power expended to overcome the inertial forces of a brake disc with radial channels is 44 % less than that of a brake disc with curved channels. Brake discs with a ventilation device with prismatic studs have 1.22 times less power required to overcome inertial forces than with cylindrical studs and 1.31 times with DBA studs. When comparing the results of the method for determining the moments of inertia of brake discs with various ventilation devices and CFD models of similar brake discs created in the ANSYS Workbench Mechanical program, the discrepancy was 5.52 %. The study shows the dependence of the power of overcoming inertia forces on the number of ribs. With an increase in the number of ribs by 60, the power to overcome the inertial forces of the radial channels of the disk increased by 1.16 times, while the power of the curved channels of the disk increased by 1.07 times. With an increase in the number of studs by 50 pieces for a disc with cylindrical studs of the apparatus, the power expended to overcome inertial forces increases by 1.15 times, while for prismatic studs there is an increase of 1.05 times. With an increase in the number of studs by 50 pieces, the power to overcome the inertial forces of the ventilated brake disc from DBA increases by 1.17 times. When designing ventilation brake discs, in addition to the heat dissipation parameters, it is necessary to take into account the parameters of the power to overcome the inertial forces of the brake discs, which affect the operational parameters of the braking system as a whole.


Hypothesis / aims of study Gap junctions are intercellular channels that facilitate electrical and metabolic communication between the intracellular compartments of adjacent cells and exchange of electrical signals. Connexin 43 is the most predominant connexin expressed on rat detrusor muscle cells [1]. Many previous studies have reported increased connexin 43 expression in overactive bladder or partial bladder outlet obstruction [2-3]. However, no sex or age-related changes of connexin 43 expressions were reported on normal bladder yet. We investigated connexin 43 expressions in various age groups in either sex in normal rats.


Blood is a wonderful and complex substance which contains many chemical compounds to perform various functions. For describing the dynamics of blood flow, the viscoelastic parameters such as viscosity and elasticity, should be obtained from the measurements under oscillatory shear flow.


This paper presents evidence that literature for children can be effectively used to acquire English as a foreign language in students of all ages. Students benefit from being challenged with language input that is slightly beyond their independent level of comprehension. This comprehensible input can be provided by listening to the reading or the telling of a story. Suggestions for practical applications of language acquisition and learning principles are included in five categories of activities using English language literature—story selection, listening, shared reading, independent reading, and drama.


PurposeThis paper examines the extent to which noise demand and limits of arbitrage affect the pricing of acquirer stocks both at the announcement period and over the longer horizon.Design/methodology/approachAn event study approach was adopted to measure announcement-period cumulative abnormal returns. Long-horizon returns are measured using buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHARs), calendar time portfolios (CTPRs), and subsequent earnings announcement period abnormal returns. Main methodologies include ordinary least squared (OLS) regressions, Logit regressions, and portfolio analysis.Findings(1) Acquirer stocks with high idiosyncratic volatility (the proxy for the security level characteristic most directly associated with limits to arbitrage) earn higher announcement-period abnormal returns. (2) The return pattern reverses over the subsequent longer horizon, resembling news-driven transitory mispricing. (3) The mispricing is greater when deal and firm characteristics exacerbate the limits of arbitrage, and it weakens over time. (4) Transactions by higher idiosyncratic volatility acquirers are more likely to fail.Originality/valueLimits of arbitrage theory have been tested mostly in information-free circumstances. The findings in this paper extend the supporting evidence for limits of arbitrage explaining mispricing beyond the boundaries of information-free circumstances.


Usually, smeared crack techniques are based on the following features: the fracture is represented by means of a band of finite elements and by a softening constitutive law of damage type. Often, these methods are implemented with nonlocal operators that control the localization effects and reduce the mesh bias. We consider a nonlocal smeared crack energy defined for a finite element space on a structured grid. We characterize the limit energy as the mesh size h tends to zero and we establish a precise link between the discrete and continuum formulations of the fracture energies, showing the correct scaling and the explicit form of the mesh bias.


The heat capacity of polystyrene was measured between the temperatures of 275 to 315 K by quasi-adiabatic low-temperature calorimetry. The experimental data were fit to the equation -0.5 Cp = -362.39 + 0.88904T + 3910.9T with an average deviation of about 0.1%. The heat capacity of the polystyrene was required for corrections to the thermal terms for an absorbed-dose-rate calorimeter. Introduction A portable absorbed-dose-rate calorimeter was constructed by Steve R. Domen (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD) and Wei-Zhen Ba (Xinjiang Institute for Physics, Academia Sinica, China). The calorimeter was constructed by embedding a calibrated thermistor on the axis of a polystyrene rod. The polystyrene rod was positioned on the axis of a cylindrical array of 60Co rods. Knowledge of the heat capacity of the polystyrene as a function of temperature was necessary to calculated the dose of ionizing radiation reaching the calorimeter. Assuming that the energy absorbed by the calorimeter was converted to heat, then the absorbed dose, D, is equal to the specific heat capacity (J-g'^K) times the observed temperature rise, AT Experimental data A sample of polystyrene was provided by Steve Domen (NIST). The sample weighed 23.832 g and was cut from a 50 mm thick slab from which the calorimeter was fabricated. The density of the sample was 1.05 g/cm3 . No information was provided on the molecular weight distribution of the polystyrene. The molar weight of the polystyrene is 104.15 g. Heat capacities in the temperature interval 275 to 315 K were measured using a quasi-adiabatic low-temperature calorimeter. The calorimeter has been described previously (Hemingway and Robie, 1984). The experimental values (T in Kelvins and C p in J^mol'^K" 1 ) are: T C p T CP T Cp 299.6 130.03 278.9 119.67 300.3 130.13 301.7 130.97 282.1 121.44 303.3 132.02 303.8 131.46 285.2 122.70 306.2 133.42 305.9 133.48 288.4 124.16 309.2 135.51 307.9 134.04 291.4 125.79 312.1 136.34 309.9 134.95 297.4 129.00 The experimental data were fit with a three term equation, C p = -362.39 + 0.88904T + 3910.9T with an average deviation of about 0.1%. At 298.15 K the heat capacity calculated from the equation is 129.2 ± 0.3 J-mol'^K" 1 . Smoothed values of the heat capacity calculated from the equation are:


Research purposes: With the powerful development of the urban rail transit,three are more and more new tracks to cross the existing track engineering.However,it is difficult for the traditional construction technology to control the settlement of the existing structures and it needs higher cost.In this paper,combined with the construction of the Gongzhufen Station of the Line 10 of Beijing metro to under-cross the Gongzhufen Station of the Line 1,the introduction is given to the construction technology that is available for effective control of the settlement of the existing structure with the appropriate cost to provide the reference to the similar works. Research conclusions:(1) The settlement of the bottom plate structure of the existing station is affected by the release of stress of the working face,the disturbance to bottom during excavation,the excavation height,the long closure time of the primary support structure and no timely jacking of the jack,and the release of the stress of the working face is the main reason for the settlement of the existing structure.(2) The settlement of the existing structure can be effectively controlled by taking the measures of adding the temporary columns and jacks,reinforcing the foundation base with steel frame,grouting to the back of the primary support with extreme fine cement paste and jacking up by jacks,and the jacking up by the jacks is the most powerful means to control the settlement.(3) The CRD + top brace control technology is available for effective control of the settlement of the existing station and meet the settlement of 3 mm.


Image registration, also known as matching or warping can be defined as the process of aligning two or more images. Image registration is a crucial step for image analysis in which valuable information is conveyed in more than one image, ie.images acquired at different times, from distinct viewpoints or by different sensors can be complementary .This research paper proposes a recently developed new variant of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) called Accelerated Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) in image registration application.. APSO is simpler to implement and it has faster convergence when compared to the standard PSO (SPSO) algorithm. Here the extraction of interest point area from an image is optimized using Accelerated Particle swarm Optimization as well as PSO and a comparative analysis has been shown.


The research focused on the design, fabrication and measurement of a low actuation voltage micro electro mechanical high frequency switch. The fabricated micro switch offers outstanding radio frequency parameters for a very large frequency band, with actuation voltage and switching time less than 20 volts and 3 micro seconds, respectively.


Purpose: To develop a system of liquids that can mimic the x‐ray properties of breast tissue having varying percentages of glandular tissue. These liquids are being used to provide a variable tissue composition for a cylindrical phantom designed for experimental studies of x‐ray spectra for breast CT. Methods: A mathematical algorithm for designing tissue substitutes has been described in the literature. The method requires knowledge of the elemental composition of the tissue being simulated. Information for breast tissue can be obtained from the paper by Hammerstein et al., or from ICRU Report 46. The method also requires the use of three materials to form the substitute. The three materials chosen for this application are isopropyl alcohol, glycerin, and water. These materials are inexpensive, readily available, miscible, and relatively non‐toxic. Many other choices are possible. Results: The calculated linear attenuation coefficients of the mixtures match the calculated coefficients of the tissue being simulated with errors of a fraction of a percent over the energy range 10 to 100 keV. The measured linear attenuation coefficients of the mixtures match the calculated coefficients of the tissues being simulated to an accuracy of 5%. Conclusion: A system of common, readily available liquids that can accurately match the narrow‐beam attenuation properties of breast tissue with glandular percentages from 100% to 22.5 % has been described. Computational results were confirmed by experiment.


Most exercises for teaching students Response Surface Methodology deal with setting up the experiment itself or analyzing the data after the fact. As such, the experience of "learning-bydoing" and drawing intermediate conclusions is lost. For this reason a web-based application was developed, based on a real-life problem dealing with the multi-objective optimization of a garden sprinkler having 8 design parameters and 3 responses. Participants interact with the tool to get the response data for their own designs. Depending on the choice of the considered response(s), different design parameters are active and should be analyzed. By inserting a design into the application, the corresponding responses are generated and can be used for analysis and follow-up experimentation. The tool has been successfully used both in company training and academic courses.


Burnout syndrome (SB) seems to be ubiquitous in every work context where the worker expresses a constant and high degree of emotions, interest and expectations of effective work. In the teaching activity, this type of situations is usual, and therefore is more prone to occur SB. Indeed, the experience of SB in universal in teachers, and occurs in greater magnitude, in contrast to other professions (Fernet, Guay, Senecal & Austin, 2012). It is known that during the teaching-learning process, the teacher faces several challenges, such as the lack of effective distribution of work activities, low salaries, low administrative effectiveness, high workload, conflicts with students, and lack of opportunities for growth. In this context, the SB is a strong response that can have consequences that impact on the quality of life and health of workers, and in the educational institution. In Peru, there is scattered research on SB in teachers, and there is no clear knowledge about its characteristics in this population. This knowledge, if it exists, is potentially useful for integrating into SB prevention activities, as well as for mitigating its effects on the quality of mental health of teachers. The objective of the present study is to characterize existing information on scientific research on SB in Peruvian teachers, to evaluate their quality, and to generate substantial knowledge about its characteristics and possible implications within the educational organization. For this purpose, a systematic review was made of the literature on SB in Peruvian elementary and secondary school teachers, following guidelines for this type of study under the Cochrane criteria (Higgins & Green, 2008). A search was made in databases of scientific articles published between the years 2000 and 2016, maintaining as essential criterion that the sample of participants are Peruvian teachers. Six studies published between 2002 and 2015 were found. Five (83.3%) of the articles are published in Peruvian journals, and none are registered in databases with international impact such as Scopus. The first authors of the studies were mostly psychologists (83.3%) and the predominant research design was the simple correlational (66.7%). The most used version was MBI-ES (66.7%), of which only one study uses its own version and the rest external adaptations. The interpretation of the scores was made through external cut points to the research itself (66.7%) and only two cited the bibliographic source (33.3%) of these criteria. The reliability of MBI dimension scores was reported only in three studies (50%) and their confidence intervals were none. The description of SB was performed through central tendency statistics and percentages, as well as associated psychological variables such as perceived self-efficacy, teacher performance, sources of labor pressure, personality. It is concluded that SB research on Peruvian teachers is still at an emerging stage, and quality data are required to generate safe, valid and reliable knowledge and understanding that can influence locally appropriate intervention strategies, and generate specific lines of research. References Fernet, C., Guay, F., Senecal, C., & Austin, S. (2012). Predicting intraindividual changes in teacher burnout: The role of perceived school environment and motivational factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(4), 514-525. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2011.11.013 Higgins, J. P., & Green, S. (2008). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.


Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "InterVU - Podcasts - Audio: Art Makes Place continues on campus and downtown library - Colorful, portable sculptures and panel discussions with Vanderbilt faculty members are all part of Art Makes Place, a year-long project to bring more contemporary art to Nashville's public spaces." AMP artists include the socially engaged Let's Re-make Collaborative, sculptor Mike Calway-Fagen, muralist Michael Cooper, fiber artist Lindsay Obermeyer, interdisciplinary artist Bonnie Fortune, public artist Mel Zeigler and sculptor and installation artist Adrienne Outlaw. By Vanderbilt University.


We examine changes in inequality and instability of the combined earnings of married couples over the 1980–2009 period using Social Security earnings data matched to Survey of Income and Program Participation panels. Relative to male earnings inequality, the inequality of couples' earnings is both lower in levels and rises by a smaller amount. We also find that couples' earnings instability is lower in levels compared to male earnings instability and actually declines in these data. While wives' earnings played an important role in dampening the rise in inequality and year-to-year variation in resources at the family level, we find that marital sorting and coordination of labor supply decisions at the family level played a minor role. Comparing actual couples to randomly paired simulated couples, we find very similar trends in earnings inequality and instability.


Conscious awareness of our environment is based on a feedback loop comprised of sensory input transmitted to the central nervous system leading to construction of our ''model of the world,'' (Lewis et al, 1982). We then assimilate the neurological model at the unconscious level into information we can later consciously consider useful in identifying belief systems and behaviors for designing diverse systems. Thus, we can avoid potential problems based on our open-to-error perceived reality of the world. By understanding how our model of reality is organized, we allow ourselves to transcend content and develop insight into how effective choices and belief systems are generated through sensory derived processes. These are the processes which provide the designer the ability to meta model (build a model of a model) the user; consequently, matching the mental model of the user with that of the designer's and, coincidentally, forming rapport between the two participants. The information shared between the participants is neither assumed nor generalized, it is closer to equivocal; thus minimizing error through a sharing of each other's model of reality. How to identify individual mental mechanisms or processes, how to organize the individual strategies of these mechanisms into useful patterns, and to formulate these into models for success and knowledge based outcomes is the subject of the discussion that follows.


'Creation revealed' examines key observations on planetary systems. Astronomers at first could probe the Universe only through the medium of visible light. In the early 1600s, the invention of the telescope allowed the Universe to be observed in much greater detail. With the discovery of 'heat rays', the seeds of infrared astronomy were planted. Meanwhile, throughout the course of the nineteenth century, one of the grandest unifications in physics was accomplished. It was discovered that the forces of electricity and magnetism were in fact different aspects of the same phenomenon: electromagnetism. Other important topics include blackbody radiation; infrared observations of young stellar objects; and the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA).


In this letter we determine the theoretical limit of the magnetic-field sensitivity of the flux-gate magnetometer. In order to do so, we have developed a model for the white noise of a flux gate based on the fundamental dynamics of the magnetic material forming the flux-gate core. Solving this model, we predict that the white noise of a physically realizable flux gate with a volume of 2×10−8 m3 is less than 100 fT/Hz. The white noise varies with the lossy susceptibility of the core and inversely with the volume. We also compare the measured white noise of a thin-film flux gate with the predictions of our model and find that the measured and predicted noise agree reasonably well.


Automated passive sensing applications and self-reported smart diaries seem to hold promise for the management of anxiety in autism and other mental health conditions. However, passive sensing often struggles with noisy data, ambiguous feedback and weak user agency over the device, whilst self-reporting relies on user-entered data which can be time consuming and cognitively demanding. To address these limitations, we explore a different approach, whereby individuals consciously actuate personal data capture and are in control of it at all times; yet, the interaction solely involves clicking a button, thus avoiding cognitive overload whilst supporting immediate reflection. We call this approach intentive computing. Through our initial investigations we found that conscious interactions cannot only provide real-time relief in anxiety management, but can also function as memory anchors irrespective of the content captured and even prior to data visualization.


Carbohydrate antigen-19-9 (CA19-9) is an abnormal tumor marker in the blood of many patients with esophageal cancer, thus a rapid test for CA19-9 is conducive to the diagnosis of cancer. The end of MXene surface is rich in -OH, -O and F functional groups, which can be used as a modification to construct electrochemical sensors. This work reports on a MXene-based electrochemical sensor for the highly sensitive detection of CA19-9. XPS and XRD were used to characterize the materials. Under optimal conditions, this sensor can quickly detect CA19-9 from 0.002 to 30 U/mL. The detection limit can be as low as 0.001 U/mL. In addition, the sensor was successfully adopted to detect the CA19-9 in the serum.


The compound and integrated parallel Reed-Solomon (RS) codes for multichannel communication systems are suggested. The matrix model of errors for such codes is investigated. Methods of coding and decoding of parallel RS codes, and also methods of increase of their error correcting capability are developed.


To meet with the demands of OAS, the article discusses the application of a new workflow model in constructing and developing a robust and efficient OAS with high integration and overall function, combined with the standards of workflow meta-model, with the center of system modeling and flow control.


Abstract Twelve years of scholarship in the field of black-Atlantic-meets-American studies has resulted in a substantial body of knowledge around the extraterritorial excursions of US subjects and their cultural output. Despite the opportunities that the black Atlantic offered, it has begun to seem that the repositioning of academic perspective it stems from has itself become part of the discursive problems surrounding US American studies. This article suggests that it is time to rethink (black) Atlantic studies in the context of its partial institutionalization within the academy. First, it revisits the methodological and theoretical possibilities the field offered. Second, it examines some of the shortcomings which, in the early stages of the project, it was possible to overlook if not entirely ignore. Third, it looks at developments in the field of postcolonial studies, suggesting some conceptual tensions of relevance to postcolonial, US American, and American studies more generally.


Chinese children books design is small from what to changing since the seventies. In science and technology develops at full speed,information knowledge numerousness brings about information redundancy,resource to be in flood today,Our country children books has come this far being short of the spirit of the times and linking an ability up already gravely,has no way to arouse children's reading interest. Children the most advanced science and technology intense emotion such as pair of TV,network,computer game excels books over. Reforming and innovation that therefore,books designs to children are to brook no delay,this designs a field to children book industry,children books of our country and children's education has significant significance equally.


The recent development of in-pipe robots (IPR) with locomotion and inspection functions provides a new possibility to water distribution pipe maintenance - to rehabilitate pipe defects internally. Yet only a limited number of Rehabilitation in-pipe robots (R-IPR) have been proposed. One primary concern that impedes the development of Rehabilitation in-pipe robots is the excessive amount of contamination generated during the rehabilitation process. Correspondingly, we propose a novel concept: Contamination-Less in-pipe Rehabilitation (CLR) and develop the CLR in-pipe robot as an innovative solution.The proposed robot contains three modules for pipe-surface sealing, pipe-wall cleaning, and in-pipe manipulation. This paper centers on the comprehensive design of the manipulator module. First, the manipulator features a high-DoF configuration to deploy the other two modules simultaneously. Second, the configuration adopts a nested-outer-inner architecture to ensure the seal always encloses the pipe-wall cleaning device. The holistic and detailed design process of the manipulator, including design concept, kinematics, load requirements, design for manufacturing, and simulated deployment, are presented. Eventually, the fully implemented robot accomplished the first Contamination-Less in-pipe Rehabilitation.


Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a leading cause of pneumonia and exacerbates other respiratory diseases in humans. We investigated the potential role of surfactant protein (SP) A in antimycoplasmal defense using alveolar macrophages (AMs) from C57BL/6NCr (C57BL) mice, which are highly resistant to infections of Mycoplasma pulmonis. C57BL AMs, activated with interferon (IFN)-γ and incubated with SP-A (25 μg/ml) at 37°C, produced significant amounts of nitric oxide (⋅ NO; nitrate and nitrite production = 1.1 μM ⋅ h-1 ⋅ 105AMs-1) and effected an 83% decrease in mycoplasma colony-forming units (CFUs) by 6 h postinfection. Preincubation of AMs with the inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N G-monomethyl-l-arginine abolished ⋅ NO production and SP-A-mediated killing of mycoplasmas. No decrease in CFUs was seen when IFN-γ-activated macrophages were infected with mycoplasmas in the absence of SP-A despite significant ⋅ NO production (nitrate and nitrite production = 0.6 μM ⋅ h-1 ⋅ 105AMs-1). These results demonstrate that SP-A mediates killing of mycoplasmas by AMs, possibly through an ⋅ NO-dependent mechanism.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the enablers of growth that need to be deployed in construction companies in India.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case‐based approach which attempts to compare the enablers of growth amongst the selected companies, based on interviews of the top management, secondary published literature review and analysis based on strategy diamond framework. The companies are selected on the basis of theoretical sampling of polar performances.Findings – The study explores a cross‐section of construction companies having diverse growth performance on the basis of several parameters and assesses them in terms of enablers of growth. It attempts to record the reasons behind the success and failures of the select companies.Research limitations/implications – The lessons derived can be utilized to orient aspiring construction companies in India towards growth and enhancing their chances of successfully competing with the large and international players.Origin...


PLATO is an M-class mission (M3) of the European Space Agency (ESA) whose launch is scheduled in 2026. The main aim of the mission is the detection and characterization of terrestrial exoplanets orbiting around bright solar-type star. The payload consists of 26 small telescopes: 24 "normal" cameras and 2 "fast" cameras. The huge amount of data produced by the PLATO telescopes is acquired and processed on-board by the Data Processing System (DPS) made up by various processing electronic units. The DPS of the PLATO instrument comprises the Normal and Fast DPUs (Data Processing Units) and a single ICU (Instrument Control Unit), are data routed through a SpaceWire network. The topic of this paper is the description of the architecture of the ICU and its role within the DPS, the status of the Avionic Validation Model (AVM) testing at the end of the Unit Preliminary Design Review (UPDR) performed by ESA and the results of the test of the first engineering model.


Abstrcat With the three cucumber varieties"Jinlu3","Baiyuchun" and "Ludao1" as the materials, with their seeds treated with different concentrations of Na_2SO_4 and CaCl_2, germination,growth of root,electric conductivity,content of chlorophyll in seminal,and seedling fresh weight changing under the stress of double salt of the 3 varieties were studied. The results showed that with double salt concentration rising,germination percentage and germination vigor of "Jinlu3" and "Baiyuchun" decreased,but germination percentage of"Ludao1" was all upwards 96.6%. Length of main root and number of branch root gradually rolled off in the 3 varieties,when in advance of 200 mmol/L very prominent. The rate of electrolye seepage increased. At first,the content of chlorophyll in 0~(100 mmol/L) increased slightly,after that,the content gradually rolled off. Plant fresh weight in 0~150 mmol/L increased slightly.


>Engineering correlations based on experimental studies are presented for the application of batch accumulation of solids separated from solid-liquid feed to a cyclone. This method of cyclone operation simplifies the problem of flow control involved with continuous underflow. The efficiency and capacity correlations for hydroclones with continuous underflow also apply to this type of operation. The volume flow exchanged with the underflow receiver may be varied from 0.2 to 6% of the feed flow volume by varying the hydroclone dimensions. Minimum ratios of the feed to underflow receiver concentrations can be predicted, and values of up to 10/sup 4/ were obtained experimentally. This technique was used for both the concentration of solids and the clarification of the liquid phase with hydroclones in the size range of 0.16 to 3.5 in. diann. (auth)


Spatial outliers in remotely sensed imagery represent observed quantities showing unusual values compared to their neighbor pixel values. There have been various methods to detect the spatial outliers based on spatial autocorrelations in statistics and data mining. These methods may be applied in detecting forest fire pixels in the MODIS imageries from NASA's AQUA satellite. This is because the forest fire detection can be referred to as finding spatial outliers using spatial variation of brightness temperature. In this paper, we propose a new forest fire detection algorithm which is based on local spatial association analysis, and test the proposed algorithm to evaluate its applicability. In order to evaluate the proposed algorithm, the results were compared with the MODIS fire product provided by the NASA MODIS Science Team, which showed the possibility of the proposed algorithm in detecting the fire pixels.


Karang Taruna Kliwonan is an organization engaged in social and community scope, financial activities such as financial recording and reporting in the organization is an important activity for the sustainability of an organization. In recording and financial reporting, Karang Taruna Kliwonan still uses manual way by writing it in the treasurer's ledger. Based on these problems, this study aims to create a web-based financial reporting information system. The purpose of this research is to facilitate the organization in processing their finances. This system will be designed by using PHP and MySQL programming language as database processor. Features of this financial statement application can be used to add information, manage cash data, know recapitulation monthly or year, printing cash data, manage user data. Functional test results state valid with the results in the form of applications that have helped in regulating news data, user data, cash inflow data, cash out data, activity data, get monthly or annual recapitulation information, print financial statements.


The present research was carried out to investigate the effect of packing materials (metal bin, earthen bin, plastic bag, cloth bag and gunny bag) and grain moisture content at packing (10% and 16%) on quality of wheat grain for ten months of storage in the laboratory of Farm Structures, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan. The quality characters (insect-pest infestation, 1000-grain weight, and protein and starch contents) were determined throughout the storage period and the changes in the quality of stored grain were evaluated in terms of these variables. When the gunny, cloth and plastic bags were used as the packing material, the 1000-grain weight, protein and starch contents were decreased and insect-pest infestation was increased with the increase of storage period despite the moisture content (10 and 16%) of wheat grain at packing. When grain was packed in metal and earthen bins the reduction in quality characters with time of storage varied with the moisture content of grain. Wheat grain stored in metal and earthen bins with initial moisture content of 10% showed satisfactory qualitative characters throughout the storage period than those packed with 16% moisture. Higher the moisture content of grain at packing higher was the rapidity of quality loss and shorter the time of storage of wheat grain in metal and earthen bins. Therefore, it is evident that packing grain with 10% moisture in metal and earthen bins keeps the grain in good quality. Wheat grain, stored in metal and earthen bins, was good in terms of 1000-grain weight, protein, starch and low insect-pest infestation in comparison with those in gunny, cloth and plastic bags.


An eye-gaze tracking system-EyeSecret for real scene, is developed based on pupil-cornea reflection vector method. The general structure and software design are introduced. In the hardware of EyeSecret, design and optimization of optical system and control circuits were proposed. In the software, implementation algorithms of key modules, cornea reflection detection, pupil center extraction and calibration, etc, were described. Besides, deviation of EyeSecret was analyzed. Analysis result shows that the average deviation of the system is approximately 1°. It lays a foundation for application of eye tracking.


The oil industry has been a major contributor to Nigeria's economy and that is why over 80 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings come from this sector. Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantity, Nigeria has been experiencing consistent increase in revenue earning. But this increase notwithstanding, Nigerians are yet to enjoy certain basic necessities of life. It has been strikes and protests against inadequate supplies and incessant increases in the pump price of refined products. In order to reduce the burden on the citizenry, the federal government introduced the policy of subsidy, which was to make the prices of fuel in the country cheaper for consumers to buy. But, in spite of the whooping amount of money spent on subsidy, the prices of the refined products continued to rise astronomically. It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine the issue of deregulation in the downstream oil sector and to find out if the crisis being generated can be resolved. During the course of this paper, it was discovered that a group of dissidents and saboteurs have been working against the functionality of the existing refineries and equally engage in fuel importation for the purpose of satisfying their selfish interests. In order to ameliorate the ugly situation, introduction of deregulation in the downstream oil sector becomes imperative. The paper believes that the policy, if properly implemented, will go a long way in eliminating market distortions, promotes free market competition, and encourages private ownership of refineries in the downstream petroleum sector.


A new kind of buck in buck, boost in boost grid tied inverter is analysed in this paper. In this family of inverters only a single power stage works at high frequency at a time. This reduces the losses due to switching and hence improves efficiency. There is only minimum filtering inductance in the power loop and over filtering does not take place. The analysis of the operating modes of the inverter is done through the equivalent circuits of various stages in a half-bridge configuration of the inverter. The closed-loop simulation of a 230V/50 Hz, 2kW is included.


Data of four automatic weather stations (AWSs) are used to calculate the turbulent exchange of sensible heat at the Antarctic snow surface for a 4 year period (1998–2001). The AWSs are situated on the ice shelf, in the coastal/inland katabatic wind zone and on the interior plateau in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Sensible heat flux (SHF) is calculated using the aerodynamic 'bulk' method between a single AWS sensor level and the surface, in combination with surface temperature derived from upwelling longwave radiation and surface roughness derived from eddy correlation measurements. Good agreement is found between calculated and directly measured SHF. All AWS sites show a downward‐directed average sensible heat transport, but otherwise the differences between the various zones are large. The surface roughness for momentum differs by an order of magnitude between the interior plateau (0.02 mm) and the katabatic wind zone (0.16 mm). On the ice shelf, frequent clouds limit surface cooling, and annual mean SHF is small (8 W m−2). In contrast, clear skies prevail on the interior plateau, but weak winds, an aerodynamically smooth surface and stability effects limit annual mean SHF to an equally low value (8 W m−2). The most favourable conditions for sensible heat exchange are found in the katabatic wind zone, where a combination of strong winds, relatively little cloud cover and a rougher surface results in annual mean SHF values of 22 to 24 W m−2. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society


The impact of the environment upon living organisms constitutes a crucial problem examined by today's science. Detailed examination of the overall influence of environmental factors upon humans is performed within, for example, a large number of medical disciplines. By extension, research institutes worldwide have analyzed diverse positive and negative factors affecting the biological system of the human body; one such factor consists in the influence of the surrounding electromagnetic field. This paper presents the results of an investigation focused on ionosphere parameter changes and their significance for the basic functioning of the nervous system. Let us note in this connection that the frequency of the alpha waves of an active brain [1] ranges between 6 and 8 Hz and that, interestingly, changes in the electromagnetic and chemical structure of the Earth's surface may cause variation of signals in the given frequency region. Within the present article and the related research [2, 5-7], the authors evaluate very low frequencies of the electromagnetic field, applying suitable theoretical and experimental procedures to define the effects that influence brain activity.


Objective: To discuss the role orientation of the blood collecting nurse in the blood bank so as to provide high-quality services for blood donors.Methods: Investigate the importance of the role orientation and the role features and define the role function of the blood collecting nurse in the blood bank.Results: Blood collecting nurse serves to propagate and recruit the blood donors,guide and teach health education to blood donors,support and help blood donation,observe and give care to the donors with adverse reactions.To successfully realize nurse's professional role,good professional ethics,communication skills,psychological quality and professional image,qualified nursing skills,efficient learning capacity and executive ability are required.Conclusion: Through an accurate role orientation can blood collecting nurse better serve blood donors and promote the retention of donors and eventually realize their own professional values.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To encode speech without causing any local allophone by using a predictive quantization. SOLUTION: A vector code book 1094 where plural representative samples of a quantization object vector are stored is prepared. Each vector is the values corresponding to a logarithmic value of an AC or SC gain, or the adjustment coefficient of a predictive coefficient of SC. Coefficients for predictive encoding are stored in a predictive coefficient storage part 1095. These coefficients are predictive coefficients of MA, and two kinds of coefficients of AC and SC the number of which corresponds to prediction degree. A parameter calculation part 1091 calculates parameters required for distance calculation by a frequency weighting input speech, a frequency weighting LPC synthesized adaptive sound source, a frequency weighting LPC synthesized probable sound source, decoded vectors (AC, SC, and adjustment coefficients) stored in a decoded vector storage part 1096, and predictive coefficients (AC and SC) stored in a predictive coefficients storage part 1095, which re inputted.


Bone age assessment is a procedure performed in pediatric patients to quickly evaluate parameters of maturation and growth from a left hand and wrist radiograph. Pietka and Cao have developed a Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) method of bone age assessment based on a digital hand atlas. The aim of this paper is to extend their work by automatically select the best representative image from a group of normal children based on specific bony features that reflect skeletal maturity. The group can be of any ethnic origin and gender from one year to 18 year old in the digital atlas. This best representative image is defined as the "average" image of the group that can be augmented to Piekta and Cao's method to facilitate in the bone age assessment process.


ApoA5 has a critical role in the regulation of plasma TG concentrations. In order to determine whether ApoA5 also impacts ectopic lipid deposition in liver and skeletal muscle, as well as tissue insulin sensitivity, we treated mice with an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) to decrease hepatic expression of ApoA5. ASO treatment reduced ApoA5 protein expression in liver by 60–70%. ApoA5 ASO-treated mice displayed approximately 3-fold higher plasma TG concentrations, which were associated with decreased plasma TG clearance. Furthermore, ApoA5 ASO-treated mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) exhibited reduced liver and skeletal muscle TG uptake and reduced liver and muscle TG and diacylglycerol (DAG) content. HFD-fed ApoA5 ASO-treated mice were protected from HFD-induced insulin resistance, as assessed by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. This protection could be attributed to increases in both hepatic and peripheral insulin responsiveness associated with decreased DAG activation of protein kinase C (PKC)-ε and PKCθ in liver and muscle, respectively, and increased insulin-stimulated AKT2 phosphorylation in these tissues. In summary, these studies demonstrate a novel role for ApoA5 as a modulator of susceptibility to diet-induced liver and muscle insulin resistance through regulation of ectopic lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle.


The operational reliability of civil aircraft is one of the core indexes in the reliability design of civil aircraft. This article establishes a reliability growth process based on fault analysis during the operational phase, analyzes in detail the collection and analysis methods of operation faults and reliability growth methods, and takes SPC as an example to give the practical application of this method, provide a theoretical basis and technical approach for the reliability growth work in the operational phase.


We describe a class of spin foam models of four-dimensional quantum gravity which is based on the integration of the tetrad one-forms in the path integral for the Palatini action of General Relativity. In the Euclidian gravity case this class of models can be understood as a modification of the Barrett-Crane spin foam model. Fermionic matter can be coupled by using the path integral with sources for the tetrads and the spin connection, and the corresponding state sum is based on a spin foam where both the edges and the faces are colored independently with the irreducible representations of the spacetime rotations group. The approach of defining a quantum theory of gravity by using a path integral quantization has been revitalized by the appearance of the idea of spin foams [1]. A spin foam model can be described as a lattice gauge theory for a BF theory, and although a BF theory is a topological theory, the Palatini action of General Relativity (GR) can be represented as a constrained BF theory, where the two-form B is a wedge product of the spacetime tetrade one-forms. This then leads to the idea that the GR path integral could be defined as a modification of the path integral for a topological theory. This was the approach used for the construction of the Barret-Crane (BC) models [2, 3], which culminated when a finite partition function for GR was constructed for any non-degenerate triangulation of the spacetime manifold [4]. However, it was soon realized that one can obtain several finite BC models with different convergence properties [5]. This ambiguity is a problem because it is still not clear which one of these has GR as the classical limit. The source of the ambiguity is the fact that the edge amplitudes of the dual two-complex cannot be fixed in the BC quantization procedure, which then leads to many possible models. Another problem with the BC type models is that it is difficult to couple matter, especially fermions, because matter fields couple to the tetrades and it is often impossible to rewrite the matter actions coupled to gravity as functionals of the B and matter fields only. One can couple matter to BC models algebraically [7], but the algebraic constraints are not strong enoguh to determine the exact matter amplitudes.


This paper describes cure and health monitoring of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) textile composites both during a resin transfer molding (RTM) process and in loading tests. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) textile composites also were used for a comparative study. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) fiber optic sensors were embedded in FRP to monitor internal strain. From the results of cure monitoring, it was found that the embedded FBG sensors were useful to know when cured resin constrained fibers. It also appeared that specimens were subjected to friction stress resulted from difference of coefficient of thermal expansion between FRP and a stainless steel mold in cooling process of RTM molding. After the molding, tensile and fatigue tests were conducted. The results of tensile tests showed that output of the embedded FBG sensors agreed well that of surface-bonded strain gauges despite deterioration of reflected spectra form the sensors. From the results of fatigue tests, the FBG sensors showed good status until 100,000 cycles when specimens had no damage. From these results, it can be concluded that embedded FBG sensors have good capability of monitoring internal strain in textile FRP both during RTM process and in service.


A case is reported of an adult who presented with acute renal failure and who was subsequently found to have widespread deposition of oxalate in many tissues.


Despite extensive research efforts and recent advances achieved in chemotherapy treatment of metastatic disease, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) prognosis remains dismal and it has been estimated that PDAC deaths will be second only to lung cancer by 2020 in United States (1). Therefore new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed.


This paper presents results of experimental investigation on elimination of
 combustion oscillations caused by new low pollution burner which was
 integrated in a gas heater. The method is known as a passive method, based on
 introducing the air in the combustion chamber. Because the efficacy of the
 method is highly dependent of the way the air is injected some methods were
 investigated and compared. The paper also presents effects on pollution
 characteristics during its operation in the unstable regime.


I give a brief introduction of the book Quantum Motion: Unveiling the Mysterious Quantum World. This book presents a clear exposition of the intriguing idea of random discontinuous motion and its implications for quantum theory, relativity and consciousness etc. The ideas in the book come out of my lonely exploration in the past twenty years. A short recollection of my quantum exploration is also given.


There is near-ultraviolet and yellow light absorption in AlN crystal. The defect of this absorption hampers the transmittance of ultraviolet light, which, in turn, limits the application of aluminum nitride substrate in deep ultraviolet electronic devices. In this paper, the sources of absorption defects are determined through the first principle simulation method and the cathodoluminescence test of four samples with different growth modes on two substrates. The peak positions of the two AlN grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition were observed at 370 and 480 nm; two AlN samples grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy only observed luminescence near 370 nm. Through the characterization of sample components by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it is speculated that O impurity component and Al vacancy in AlN crystal form donor–acceptor pairs, which are the source of 370 nm luminescence; with the increase in O concentration, a composite defect with Al vacancy is formed, which is the source of 480 nm luminescence. This is very important for further research on eliminating impurity absorption in an AlN epitaxial layer.


A star tracker is one of the most accurate sensing devices for measuring attitude of satellites. A set of two star trackers is widely used to guarantee the measurement consistency. If the sun, earth, or moon is included in the field-of view of the star tracker, the attitude of the satellite can not be measured. In this paper, we present a method of the determination of mounting direction on a satellite of star trackers using STK(Satellite Tool Kit) and Matlab. In this method, the best mounting direction of one of the star trackers is first determined to maximize the observation time of stars. The direction of the other star tracker is then determined to entirely exclude the chance of observing the sun, earth, or moon.


For the professional faced with making sense of the reams of governmental regulations surrounding waste handling and disposal from the EPA, OSHA, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, untangling the legal jargon can be as challenging as managing these materials and wastes. Explaining how these complex regulations interrelate and when they apply, the first edition of Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Waste Management became an instant reference staple–offering practical, comprehensive guidance on current definitions of hazardous wastes and materials as well as their use, management, treatment, storage, and disposal.


There are, thus, potentially high costs (dis-benefits) in undertaking roadworks in a sub-optimal manner, and substantial uncertainties in accuracy of evaluations undertaken using the existing software and models. This arises from uncertainties in the capacity of motorways during the roadworks; the speed of traffic traversing the roadworks; and the behavioural responses of drivers to the presence of roadworks.


Most of the hypervascular lesions in retained products of conception (RPOC) are considered to fall into one of the three categories: arteriovenous malformations (AVM), pseudoaneurysms and hypervascular placental polyps. An AVM is defined as large arteries feeding into a mass of communicating vessels that empty into large draining veins without an intervening capillary network. An AVM accompanying RPOC usually represents a single artery joining a single vein. A pseudoaneurysm differs from a true aneurysm, which is usually congenital and almost never complicated with RPOC, in that its wall does not contain the components of an artery, but consists of fibrous tissue. As a result, a pseudoaneurysm is liable to enlarge and eventually create a pulsating hematoma. A placental polyp is defined as an intrauterine mass formed by fibrin deposition around degenerated retained placental tissue, which also occasionally acquires prominent vascularity. In any of these three conditions, recognition of prominent vascularity in the RPOC is of great importance, because simple dilation and curettage can lead to life-threatening hemorrhage. If massive bleeding from hypervascular RPOC develops and cannot be controlled by conventional hemostatic procedures (e.g. compression), then uterine arterial embolization (UAE) or hysterectomy is undoubtedly indicated. The question to be addressed here is whether prophylactic UAE is necessary to prevent future possible hemorrhage from hypervascular RPOC. In our opinion, the answer is 'No'. We believe that, irrespective of the type of the hypervascular RPOC, spontaneous occurrence of intractable hemorrhage is relatively uncommon without temerarious dilation and curettage. Considering the potential adverse effects of UAE on future fertility, prophylactic UAE should not be performed. In one of our cases, we chose to perform emergency UAE for fear of a possible relapse of heavy bleeding. Retrospectively, however, we feel that expectant management could also have been an option in this case, since bleeding had already subsided and the patient was generally stable at the time of admission. Expectant management would have told us whether this patient actually required UAE. According to the study from Timmerman et al., only eight out of 30 patients with uterine AVM required UAE. In other words, spontaneous resolution of AVM was achieved in 22 out of 30 patients during the period of expectant management. Although they measured the pulsatility index, resistant index, peak systolic velocity and time-averaged maximum velocity of the arteriovenous malformations, none of these parameters could accurately predict the patients who developed subsequent massive hemorrhage requiring UAE. Therefore, at the present time, we propose that as long as the condition of the patient is stable and bleeding is controllable, expectant management instead of prophylactic UAE should be applied to all patients with hypervascular RPOC, including those with an AVM, pseudoaneurysm or placental polyp. Although such expectant management should only be practiced in institutions in which an interventional radiologist is always available for emergency UAE, and the patient should be informed of the possibility of spontaneous massive hemorrhage; this would certainly lead to the reduction of unnecessary UAE procedures. In addition, monitoring various parameters, such as Doppler indices, size and position, during the waiting period will contribute to the establishment of measures that can be used to determine those patients with high-risk, hypervascular RPOC.


In two proof‐of‐concept studies, we established and validated the Bacterial Growth Inhibition Screen (BGIS), which explores recombinant protein toxicity in Escherichia coli as a largely overlooked and alternative means for basic characterization of functional eukaryotic protein domains. By applying BGIS, we identified an unrecognized RNA‐interacting domain in the DEK oncoprotein (this study) and successfully combined BGIS with random mutagenesis as a screening tool for loss‐of‐function mutants of the DNA modulating domain of DEK [1]. Collectively, our findings shed new light on the phenomenon of recombinant protein toxicity in E. coli. Given the easy and rapid implementation and wide applicability, BGIS will extend the repertoire of basic methods for the identification, analysis and unbiased manipulation of proteins.


[WOMEN CAN'T JUMP] A Script for a Longform Television Piece Produced by Anna Bloom May 5, 2010 [SEE] Chairlift goes up hill at Utah Olympic Park, you get a wide shot of the ski jumps Alissa Johnson, ski jumper, takes a jump Lindsey comes down to sit on steps with her father at the top of the jump Interview with Lindsey Van, U.S. ski jumper Van's dad at top of jump Van jump Van at top of the hill -— close up of face, wide jump Van jumps Van training Interview with Alissa Johnson and Jessica Jerome, both U.S. ski jumpers [HEAR] music; sound of lift music, the natural sound of the jump Lindsey Van: My family's been behind me the whole time. but you know they're also in the same position i am they're sick of it they don't, its like, they just want it to go away. Which is probably why my dad didn't talk to you. It stresses him out, he gets angry and he really doesn't have anything good to say about it anymore. LINDSEY VAN IS THE BEST WOMAN SKI JUMPER IN THE WORLD SHE CURRENTLY HOLDS THE DISTANCE RECORD FOR THE 90-METER HILL AT THE SITE OF THE 20-10 OLYMPIC GAMES FOR BOTH WOMEN AND MEN. VAN TRAINS AND COMPETES 11 MONTHS A YEAR. SHE'S BEEN SKI JUMPING SINCE THE AGE OF SEVEN. BUT WHEN ATHLETES GATHER IN VANCOUVER FOR THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS, VAN WILL NOT BE THERE. Jerome: You know as far as anybody else is concerned you know women's ski jumping not being in the olympics, we're at the same level as underwater basket weaving -- (Johnson: beer pong, really yeah) -- beer pong you know like, you know, what is it? um, you know, sitting in an


In Solomon Islands, community-based resource management (CBRM) is the main strategy for managing coastal fisheries. Although hundreds of communities have implemented CBRM already, the majority of Solomon Islands communities have not, and it is not realistic for partner organisations such as non-governmental organisations and government agencies to spread the concept of CBRM by engaging communities individually. More efficient and cost effective approaches, such as the "lite-touch" that uses relatively few, infrequent visits and appreciative facilitation methods, are required to build on community strengths and capacities. In this article we describe how the lite-touch approach was used to support the Mararo community to successfully implement CBRM, and to act as a "core" community to inspire and guide surrounding communities to follow suit. A community resource person or "champion" was supported to lead activities in Mararo; this person maintained momentum within the community, even in the absence of a partner organisation. Training workshops designed to accelerate CBRM spread were also provided to the community, and these increased community confidence to be better CBRM advocates in their visits to adjacent villages. The approach helped build community ownership of and pride in their own CBRM programme. In this test case we found the lite-touch approach worked well, in part because this community was wellorganised, with relatively few apparent conflicts over resources. We found that the use of the community's informal networks was effective for spreading CBRM information, and helped to overcome challenges of geographic isolation and high costs of logistics. Mararo went on to register itself as a community-based organisation, which means it is eligible for small grants and shows signs of being self-sustained. Our findings highlight that rural communities, in certain contexts, are able to support themselves and nearby communities in implementing CBRM activities to achieve their community visions, with relatively little support from external CBRM partners.


The in vitro shoot proliferation responses of 4 Vitis genotypes in the presence of 3 cytokinins was examined. All genotypes grew best in media containing 6-benzyladenine (BA), but the concentration response was variable. Kinetin had no effect upon the 2 interspecific hybrid cultivars but evoked a slight response with 2 genotypes of V. labrusca and V. labruscana. Adenine sulfate had no effect alone; however, when combined with BA, it decreased the rate of shoot proliferation. Addition of the auxin picloram (PIC; 0.1–2.5 μm) to BA-containing (5.0–10.0 μm) medium reduced the rate of shoot proliferation. Using low concentrations of PIC combined with 0.0 or 1.0 μm BA, there was a small increase in shoot tip multiplication. Callus growth was rapid in the presence of 5–10 μm BA and 1–2.5 μm PIC. In summation, the rate of shoot proliferation in grape shoot tip cultures is governed to a large extent by the interaction of cytokinins and genotypes.


The article discusses issues related to the introduction of a new concept of interaction between the state and citizens and business on the basis of omnichannel, proactivity of services within the framework of the policy of digital transformation of all spheres of society. Infocommunication client services are becoming a new stage in the development of the provision of state and municipal services. The purpose of the research is to develop proposals for the development of client services in the Rostov region. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of infocommunication services of the leading regions in this matter was carried out: Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Tatarstan. It is noted that for the development of such services and their distribution, its own regional portal is needed, despite the fact that the services exist separately from the main platform. Proposals for the creation of infocommunication services in the provision of state and municipal services in the Rostov region have been formulated, and the possibility of their integration into existing regional projects is shown.


Entrainedflow Gasifier with Large Capacity and Slagging Tap is Usually Use for IGCC and Largescale Chemical Industrial Factory. while, there are 57% of Reserved Coal is Highfusion Temperature Coal, which Cannot Satisfy the Requirement of Thegasification for Slagging Tap. . Therefore, Two Typical Kinds of Chinese Coals Wereselected and Gasified in a Lab-Scale down-Flow Gasifier with Feeding Rate Ataround 1kg/h. the Results Show that along with the Increasing Temperature, Thecarbon Conversion and Cold Gas Efficiency will be Increased Quickly Whentemperature is below 1400°C, and then Increased Slowly when above 1400°C. the Optimum O/C Molarratio is around 1:1, the Cold Gas Efficiency and Carbon Conversion under Thisexperimental Condition (1300-1400°C) are Separately 31% and 80%. at the Optimumgasification Condition, Increasing the Residence Time will also Increase Thecoal Gas Concentration, Carbon Conversion and Cold Gas Efficiency. under Thisexperimental Condition, the Best Residence Time is at Least 1.5~2.0s.


In this paper, we first investigate the concept and measuring models of system operational availability, and their limitations. To overcome the limitations of the existing models, we present an instantaneous operational availability model and an average operational availability model, as well as a simulation-based method for evaluating those two models. The distinction between the two models is illustrated by simulation examples. The sensitivity analysis of impacting factors shows that the inherent reliability of a system is the key factor affecting the operational availability, thus improving system inherent reliability is the most effective way to improve the operational availability. The second most important factor is the number of initial spare parts. Analysis results also show that the operational availability has not increased significantly by increasing the number of maintenance personnel or cutting down the mean maintenance time.


....................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9 1. Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 10 1.1 Business ecosystems ............................................................................................. 10 1.2 Network Business Models ...................................................................................... 12 1.3 Smart Service Systems .......................................................................................... 15 1.4 Industrial Symbiosis (I-S) ........................................................................................ 16 1.5 Cyber-Physical Systems ......................................................................................... 18 1.6 Service Dominant (S-D) Logic ................................................................................ 19 1.7 Value Networks ....................................................................................................... 22 1.8 Value Network Analysis .......................................................................................... 24 2. Business research – Escalation of the knowledge blocks to NEWBITS Case Studies ....... 28 2.1 The concept of Business Models in NEWBITS ............................................................. 28 Literature review on BM ...................................................................................................... 28 NEWBITS BM Definition...................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Escalation of the knowledge blocks to NEWBITS Case Studies .................................. 31 2.3 Business Ecosystem Dynamics .............................................................................. 37 Systemic Business Dynamics ............................................................................................. 39 Business Ecosystem Modeling ........................................................................................... 41 ABM Business Ecosystem in NEWBITS ............................................................................. 44 Discretization at Business Ecosystem Milestones .............................................................. 44 3. Justification of the tailored VNA method ................................................................................ 46 3.1 The "Bridging" section ............................................................................................. 46 Business Ecosystems ......................................................................................................... 48 Network Business Models ................................................................................................... 50 Smart service systems ........................................................................................................ 51 Industrial symbiosis ............................................................................................................. 52 Cyber-Physical Systems ..................................................................................................... 53 Service Dominant Logic ...................................................................................................... 55 D4.1 Formalization of NEWBITS modelling method and systemic business dynamics © NEWBITS consortium www.newbits-project.eu Page 5 of 67 Value Networks ................................................................................................................... 56 3.2 Proposed tailored made VNA ................................................................................. 58 3.3 Justification of tailored made VNA .......................................................................... 61 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 64 D4.1 Formalization of NEWBITS modelling method and systemic business dynamics © NEWBITS consortium www.newbits-project.eu Page 6 of 67 List of Figures Figure 1 Simulation model frameworks considering time evolution and abstraction level ......... 42 Figure 2 Logical sequence from the literature review to justification of Network business models and tailored made VNA .............................................................................................................. 47 Figure 3 Literature review: an incremental knowledge advancement exercise .......................... 48 Figure 4 Tailored VNA method blocks ........................................................................................ 59 Figure 5 Methodological Stages of the Value Network Analysis ................................................ 60