I. INTRODUCTION One may wonder. . . how far today's holding may unsettle accepted governmental practice elsewhere. By recognizing an abstract property right to interest "actually 'earned'" by a party's principal,. .. does the Court not raise the possibility of takings challenges whenever the government holds and makes use of the principal of private parties, as it frequently does? When, for example, the National Government, or a State, has engaged in excessive tax withholding, it does not refund the interest earned between the time of withholding and the issuance of a refund.' By holding that interest earned on principal constitutes "private property" for purposes of the Takings Clause,2 the majority in Phillips v. Washington Legal Foundation may have encouraged Takings Clause challenges to the tax withholding system.3 If successful, such challenges could potentially require the federal government to pay interest on all tax refunds in order to compensate taxpayers for the "fruit of the fund's use."4 Nevertheless, justice Souter concluded, without any analysis, that it is "unlikely that such withholding practices would violate the Fifth Amendment."5 The previous passage indicates justice Souter's concern that the majority's holding would "unsettle accepted governmental practice elsewhere." However, a taking is a taking is a taking. If "governmental practice elsewhere" effects a taking, then such practice must be "unsettle[d]."6 In the United States, the federal government collects the majority of federal income taxes at the source of earnings in a pay-as-you-go system,7 which requires employers to withhold a portion of their employees' income and turn it over to the government during the year.8 This practice is intended to satisfy the employees' federal income tax liability.9 After the end of the year, taxpayers calculate their federal income tax liability and file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.10 If more income has been withheld than is owed in taxes, the taxpayer is entitled to a tax refund." Under the Internal Revenue Code,12 if the federal government pays a tax refund within 45 days of either the due date of the return or the date it is filed, whichever is later, it does not pay interest on the refund.13 Because the government does not compensate the taxpayer for use of such overwithheld income during the year, tax refunds are essentially repayments of interest-free loans.14 One main reason for the disparity between withheld income and income tax liability is that the federal income tax system imposes tax liability based upon an end-of-year determination of taxpayers' income.15 Consequently, it is impossible to know a taxpayer's exact tax liability until the tax year in question has ended. Nevertheless, the federal income tax withholding system appropriates income during the year, before there is any guarantee of tax liability.16 In this way, the tax withholding system stands fundamentally opposed to the end-of-year accounting concept prevalent in federal income tax law.17 Income tax withholding virtually never matches taxpayers' tax liability because there are several contingencies affecting tax liability that must be determined at the end of the year, such as computation of income, determination of filing status, eligibility for exemptions, and calculation of deductions and credits.18 Consider the following: [I]f a taxpayer earns $30,000 in the first six months of a taxable year and in the second six months suffers $30,000 in deductible expenses, the taxpayer will have no tax liability. Nevertheless, if the taxpayer pays withholding during the first six months of income, his only recourse will be to file for a refund following the termination of the tax year. Since the 1RS normally computes over-withholding refunds without interest, the system causes taxpayers to forego the use of their funds during the year without compensation.19 The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution makes this lack of compensation significant. …


: Foliar surface of plant is continuously exposed to the surrounding atmosphere and is the main receptor of dust. Dust affects the photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and allows the penetration of phytotoxic gaseous pollutants. The present exploration was undertaken to study the seasonal variation in dust deposition on leaves and its impact on chlorophyll content of two common tree species namely Azadirachta indica and Bauhinia variegata. This research was conducted during March 2019 to February 2020 on both these plant species in the region of JP cement plant. Authors found that cement dust had a significant effect on the photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll 'a', chlorophyll 'b' and total chlorophyll content. Maximum dust deposition occurred during winter followed by summer and rainy season in both plant species. The authors reported a significant negative correlation between dust load and chlorophyll content in all the three seasons. Azadirachta indica showed more dust deposition rates in comparison to Bauhinia variegata. Thus, plants can be used in the abatement of dust pollution as they act as natural filters.


We develop a generalized production framework with endogenous "production techniques" that serve to organize raw factor inputs in an efficient manner. We establish a positive relationship between production flexibility and cost efficiency. By allowing firms to differ in technology scales,capital constraints and technique limitations, we illustrate an amplification of the detrimental effects of technique limitations by production flexibility. We apply the structure to studying, both theoretically and quantitatively, the consequences of capital and technique misallocation across firms for theTFP and the interplay of their TFP effects with production flexibility. Using firm-level data from U.S. manufacturing industries, we find that, due to the ampli…fication effect of production flexibility, technique misallocation generates more TFP losses than capital misallocation. Our quantitative results suggest that the relative importance of technique misallocation on TFP is substantial for a broad range of manufacturing industries –with larger TFP gains from removing technique misallocation in industries using more flexible production technologies.


Abstract The development of measuring devices such as sensors and transducers appeared as a necessity imposed by technical progress and the need to control certain processes in real time. The paper proposes the analysis and implementation of an automated greenhouse where the "heart" of the circuit is the Atmega328P microcontroller integrated on an Arduino Nano development board.


In the previous paper authors had reported that much amount of extract (moreover 70% in dry matter) and aluminium was contained in pyloric coeca of skipjack, however in this experiment they studied on the distribution of nitrogen compound and the variation of its component occurred by acid hydrolysis, and at the same time they tried to analyse this extract by the fractionally analytical method which was already known as Wasteneys' incomplete protein hydrolysates, (3), and obtained the following result. 1) As dry matter about 58.62% of amino acid was included in this extract, but it increased to 73.79% by acid hydrolysis, and they ascertained to contain much amount of higher molecu ?? ar nitrogen component in pyloric coeca. 2) Main component of this extract was not protein, but peptone, subpeptone and poly peptide. 3) It was very easy to hydrolyse the extract, when they used HCl for reagent, hydrolysation completed within 30 minutes.


This article outlines in simple terms the considerations which architects and engineers should keep in mind for the structural use of steel ropes and strands in New Zealand. It deals with general rules and also with the local availability of the various types of strand and rope which can be used. Some very general guidance about physical properties is also provided.


Let be a directed nonseparable network composed of a finite set ℬ of branches and F(u,i), an operator defined on the set of all ordered pairs of voltages and currents. It is proved that, if is neither a cutset nor a loop, and contains both a loop and a cutset with unequal numbers of opposite directed branches, and for all branch voltages and currents satisfying Kirchhoff's voltage and current laws respectively in every loop and cutset of , then F is biadditive. This substantially strengthens an old theorem of Kishi and Kida in which, was allowed to vary over the set of all networks and physically reveals that the power is essentially the only continuous voltage-current operator which, when associated with a branch, yields Tellegen's famous theorem. It is also proved that, conversely, if F is biadditive, then the above sum is zero for an arbitrary network . The topological assumptions imposed on are thoroughly examined and shown to be necessary. Finally, similar analytic characterizations of eulerian and bipartite networks, respectively in terms of voltage and current operators with zero sums of values over all network branches are given.


Purposes: Dental cavities and gingivitis are prevalent among the pediatric population. The purpose of the present work was to describe the knowledge in cavity and gingivitis prevention among kindergarten teachers in the province of Santiago and to assess their declared practices during the full school day which might prevent such conditions. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and quantitative study was conducted with proportional stratified probabilistic cluster two-stage to select a sample of 209 professionals from the National Board of Kindergartens of the province of Santiago, who answered a previously validated selfadministered survey (Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.78). . Results: The degree of knowledge was rated as good (0.69, Confi dence Interval 0.67-0.70). As for preventive practices, toothbrushing was carried out in 98% of the facilities. With regard to the kind of food consumed, fruits and milk prevailed, with 52.3% and 58.3% respectively. The topics with the lowest correct answer rates were those regarding the use of topical fluoride, the onset of toothbrushing habits and toothbrushing frequency. Conclusions: There is an adequate degree of knowledge among teachers. Such knowledge constitutes a valuable tool to generate and sustain behavioral changes favoring oral health. In the fi eld of declared practices, practically all the teachers surveyed reported that their pupils toothbrush on a twice a week basis, thus being in accordance with the recommended effective toothbrushing practice in the specialized literatura


This article introduces some of the theoretical principles that inform the use of play in the treatment of children with disabilities. A number of competing definitions of play and its functions are briefly discussed. Both educationalists and child psychotherapists make claims for the value of play but tend to offer quite different explanations of why it helps vulnerable children, whilst animal ethologists stress the role of play in promoting survival and adaptation. Some of the key ideas of historically important play theorists, including Freud, Klein, Winnicott, Froebel, Montessori and Piaget, are mentioned.


Abstract : Adrenal function and cortisol metabolism during acute exposure of sea level natives to 4,300 meters of altitude were studied. The results show the following: (a) Cortisol secretion rate is temporarily increased correlating with increases in its plasma concentration and in the urinary excretion of its metabolites; (b) Hypoxia does not result in a maximal stimulus for the adrenal cortex since it can be further stimulated by exogenous corticotrophin; (c) The adrenocortical response to high altitude can be blocked by the administration of dexamethasone; (d) The second compartment in which cortisol is distributed is diminished. This may be related with the contraction of the radiosulfate space, observed under the same experimental conditions; and (e) The metabolic clearance rate of cortisol is not significantly altered. Corticotrophin half-life (t 1/2) was also studied. Results indicate that a 24 aminoacids ACTH has a t 1/2 slightly longer than a 39 aminoacids ACTH. Using the same type of experiments the t 1/2 of the 39 aminoacids ACTH in 11 high altitude natives was also investigated. The results were similar to the ones obtained in the sea level controls. (Author)


Introduction. The relevance of this topic is due to the results of studies on the level of reading literacy of adolescents conducted as part of the international program to evaluate the educational achievements of PISA and, as a result, the need to develop a program for the development of the personality of a student who is able to understand, use, evaluate texts, reflect on them and engage in reading in order to achieve his own goals, enrich knowledge and expand opportunities for participation in social life. The purpose of this work is to analyze the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions for the development of reading literacy of students in humanitarian lessons. Materials and methods. During the experimental study, the authors carried out subjective and activating diagnostics of the level of reading literacy of students in grades 8-9 of educational institutions in the city of Orenburg (Russian Federation), which not only helped to determine the level of reading literacy, but also contributed to the manifestation of student activity in classes and in extracurricular activities. A set of valid diagnostic methods was used: a test conversation that provides monitoring of schoolchildren's knowledge; methodology of motive ranking; activity satisfaction methodology. For the statistical evaluation of the effectiveness of formative influences, the Pearson's χ2 test was used. Results. The content was replenished by updating texts of various types and types, various thematic orientations, stylistic colors in the lessons of the Russian language, history, social studies and outside time; elective courses were organized on students' mastery of semantic reading; disputes, communication games and situations, trainings, research projects were organized. On the basis of a comparative analysis of empirical data, statistical analysis, positive dynamics and an increase in the values of indicators according to cognitive (reading observability) criterion, motivational (reading orientation) criterion and practical (reading susceptibility) criteria (p<0.05) were established. The data indicate a positive increase in all aspects of reading literacy of students. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate that with the consistent implementation of pedagogical conditions, the level of reading literacy of students reaches a higher level of development. The results obtained can be used to enrich school education programs, as well as to design long-term programs for the younger generation.


Abstract The effects of predeformation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 1020 dual phase steel were investigated. It was found that predeformation showed a significant refinement effect on the microstructures of both ferrite and martensite. The amount of twin martensite was found to increase with increasing predeformation. Ferrite twins were found to form close to martensite/ferrite boundaries. The reasons for the formation oftheferrite twin and the increase of the martensite twin due to predeformation were analysed. Results of tensile tests have shown that both yield strength and tensile strength increase with increasing predeformation, and predeformation was also shown to have a complex influence on the uniform elongation and total elongation of this dual phase steel.MST/1181


The combination of the fuel cell (FC) and supercapacitor for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has the benefit of compensating for the slow dynamic response and avoiding reactant starvation of FC. Energy management system (EMS) is critical to HEV and a fuzzy controller plus low-pass filter is proposed to prolong the FC lifetime and decrease the hydrogen consumption. The constrained biobjective optimization problem for fuzzy EMS is then solved by an improved genetic algorithm (GA), where the decimal and rule base encoding, constraint handling, the pruning and maintain operator are designed to optimize both the fuzzy rule base and the parameters of the membership functions. Simulation results of highway fuel economy certification test, urban dynamometer driving schedule, and new European drive cycle illustrate that the proposed approach can smooth the output of FC with robustness and be implemented in real time, which decreases 19% current variation with about 10% increase of H2 consumption.


A computer execution method and an apparatus of automated pace-mapping for identification of cardiac arrhythmic conductive pathways and foci are provided to identify and excise arrhythmic foci through high recognition of cross correlation between induced signals and one or more of the pace-mapped signals. An apparatus for identifying a cardiac arrhythmic focus or conductive pathway includes a mapping catheter(14), a position processor(22), and an analysis processor(23). The mapping catheter stimulates a heart(12) at a plurality of positions of an endocardium or epicardium, detects each set of pace mapped electrocardiographic signals at each of the positions of the catheter, and has a position sensor. The position processor receives a position signal from the position sensor and determines each of the positions of the catheter. The analysis process receives a reference set of the electrocardiographic signals and the set of pace mapped electrocardiographic signals from the catheter.


The present invention relates to Gibbs Fracture Patients that can be used by anyone easily removable facilitate the activities are free, patients are lighter, particularly as the weight of the patient Gibbs Fracture. That is, the present invention is the body top to inject one end to the body with a length section in the direction, detachable unit that is formed to be detachable in the incision site of the main body, air or hot water inside to wrap the fracture site comprising a lower portion formed in the main body so that the installation and the air inlet and a hot and cold water, and the gap prevents the air, and hot and cold water inlet, hot water or the air can be injected into the exhaust outlet and protection pack; As surrounding the protective pack, the two sides inside the neck length is cut in a direction comprising a first and a second body, and a connection unit to which the first and second dog can form at the incision site to combine into one body consisting of split of; Characterized by configured to include.


This paper presents a highly robust space-frequency block coded (SFBC) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. The proposed system is based on applying a short block length Walsh Hadamard transform (WHT) after the SFBC encoder. The main advantage of the proposed system is that the channel frequency responses over every two adjacent subcarriers become equal. Such interesting result provides an exceptional operating conditions for SFBC-OFDM systems transmitting over time and frequencyselective fading channels. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed system using various wireless channels with different degrees of frequency selectivity and Doppler spreads. The simulation results demonstrated that the proposed scheme substantially outperforms the standard SFBC-OFDM and the space-time block coded (STBC) OFDM systems in severe time-varying frequency-selective fading channels. Moreover, the proposed system has very low complexity because it is based on short block length WHT.


Abstract Results of a nationwide measuring programme in Germany are presented where long-lived natural radionuclides of the uranium and thorium series in samples of daily total diet were analysed. Typical ranges and average values of the specific activities are given. There are neither differences between the specific activities in total diet for adults and the age group ≤1 year nor meaningful regional differences. The resulting dose due to ingestion of natural radionuclides has been deduced for all age groups and evaluated. The radionuclides 210Pb, 210Po, 228Ra and 226Ra are responsible for about 90 % of the total ingestion dose which is 0.09 mSv per year on average without 40K contribution.


We have studied the wave guiding properties of a planar air waveguide with anisotropic metamaterial cladding. Through complete analysis of the guiding modes for different cladding metamaterials, we demonstrate that slow and even frozen electro-magnetic wave can be supported by such an air waveguide. We have also proposed practical realization of the metamaterial by multilayer structure consisting of silver and silicon dioxide thin films, and constructed such air waveguide. We show that the slow and frozen wave can still be supported in this practical structure with consideration of the material dispersion.


This work focuses on the evaluation procedure to determine the elastic-plastic J-integral and CTOD fracture toughness based upon the η-method for C(T) fracture specimens made of homogeneous and welded steels. The primary objective of this investigation is to enlarge on previous developments of J and CTOD estimation procedures for this crack configuration while, at the same time, addressing effects of strength mismatch on the plastic η-factors. The present analyses enable the introduction of a larger set of factor η for a wide range of crack sizes (as measured by the a/W-ratio) and material properties, including different levels of weld strength mismatch, applicable to structural, pipeline and pressure vessel steels. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain models of square groove, center cracked C(T) fracture specimens provide the evolution of load with increased crack mouth opening displacement required for the estimation procedure. Overall, the present study, when taken together with previous investigations, provides a fairly extensive body of results to determine parameters J and CTOD for different materials using C(T) specimens with varying overmatch conditions.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


There are many coal seams in high-gas mining area of China. The permeability is low. The gas extraction from the original coal seam is difficult and the commercial value is little. The conception of the safe high-efficient exploitation of coal and gas is put forward in this article. It changes the conventional exploitation sequence that is from the upper to below. When we exploit coal seams, the initial coal seam with low gas content and without coal and gas outburst danger is exploited firstly. Then the permeability of the coal seams increases greatly making use of the exploiting effect. The gas effusion can be divided into short-distance gas emission, intermediate-distance gas emission and long-distance gas emission according to the difference of the comparative interval. The high-efficient gas extraction method is adopted to realize the high-efficient extraction of the gas resource. The high-efficient extraction of the gas resource affords advantageous condition to the safe high-efficient exploitation of the coal resource. Consequently the safe high-efficient exploitation of the coal and gas resources can be realized. The practice of the long-distance gas extraction and the safe high-efficient exploitation of coal and gas in the mining area of Huainan China proves that the safe high-efficient exploitation of coal and gas is the important technical method of the safe high-efficient exploitation of coal and gas together in high-gas coal seams.


Abstract The flow field generated by the impingement of a della-wing vortex on a plate is examined computationally. The flow is simulated by solving the unsteady, three-dimensional Navier-Slokes equations on an overset grid system using a time accurate, implicit Beam and Warming algorithm. Comparison of the computed solutions for two levels of mesh resolution indicates that no additional flow features appear with grid refinement. Both the mean and unsteady flow structures are examined. Over the delta wing the (low exhibits a spiral vortex breakdown induced by the plate. Underneath the plate a highly unsteady, large-scale (owl-type) stall region is formed and results in the shedding of hairpin-like vortical structures. On the top surface of the plate a shallow separation region also exists outboard of the vortex impingement location. These separated flow features result from the spanwise variation in effective angle of attack created by the incoming vortex system. Also present over the upper surface is a m...


To understand the metabolite dynamics and genetic regulatory mechanism of apricot shell, a typical endocarp, before and after lignification are unknown, we investigated the metabolite differences of the endocarp of 'Youyi,' a popular kernel-using apricot cultivar, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry strategy. The endocarp thickness increased rapidly from 8 to 37 days after flowering (DAF) and lignin deposition began at 37 DAF. In total, 626 non-volatile metabolites were obtained from the endocarp tissues before (33 DAF) and after (41 and 45 DAF) lignification. The relative sugar and organic acid contents decreased continuously and those of L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine increased after lignification. In the non-lignified endocarp, the phenylpropanoid metabolites were mainly in the form of p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, neochlorogenic acid, dicumarol, coniferin, and some lignans. After lignification, the metabolites were mainly in the form of glycoside lignin or lactone coumarins, and the relative contents of L-asarinin and forsythin increased. The results of transcriptome confirmed the upregulation of genes related to lignin biosynthesis, including β-glucosidase and coniferyl-alcohol glucosyltransferase and laccases, accelerated lignification. This study provides insights into the formation of lignified endocarp in a kernel-using apricot and clarifies the role of monolignin transport and oxidative polymerization.


As with much of the nation's infrastructure, people are becoming more and more aware of the condition of levee systems in the United States. The media cast a spotlight on the New Orleans levee failures during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries during May and June 2011. And more recently, levee failures in the vicinity of Houston, TX, contributed to the devastation associated with Hurricane Harvey in September 2017. Moreover, predictions that the climate is becoming more volatile or extreme have only heightened the public's concerns. A 2013 news report stated that repairs are urgently needed along 3,200 km distributed among 326 levees (out of 1,451 levees that had been assessed). And we can presume that even more levees are in need of repair, because only about 60 percent of the 2,487 levee structures in the U.S. had been assessed when that news report was released.


This study investigated the pattern of landuse/landcover change and wetland fragmentation in the Lower Ogun River Basin between 1984 and 2007. Two sets of topographical map, a Land Sat TM image of 1984 and a SPOT image of 2007 were used for the study. The topographical maps and satellite images were digitally processed using ILWIS 3.3 software and exported to ArcGis 9.2 for further processing and analysis. The processed images were subsequently classified using the maximum likelihood classification algorithm, resulting in the identification of seven land use classes, which are, farmland, forested wetland, light forest, non-forested wetland, shrub, urban and water body. Furthermore, change detection analysis was carried out using the cross module of the ILWIS software. The result of the change detection analysis indicated that between 1984 and 2007, 60.90% of the land cover in the area has been converted to other land uses while only 39.10% remained unchanged. Also, light forest, water body and forested wetland decreased at average rates of 2.39, 1.88 and 0.32% per annum respectively. On the other hand farmland, shrub urban/built up and non-forested wetland expanded at the rates of 6.31, 4.94, 0.26 and 0.29% respectively. At the same time, forested wetland patches decreased from 145 to 57 and non-forested wetland patches decreased from 136 to 70, while mean patch size increased from 16.19 ha to 35.98 ha. Five composite soil samples each to the depth 0-20 cm were randomly collected and analyzed for their physicochemical properties using standard methods to determine the impact of landuse/landcover change on soil quality in the selected forested and non-forested wetlands. This study shows that changes in wetland fragmentation patterns negatively affected soil quality in the study area. There is therefore an urgent need to evolve sustainable management and utilization of fragile ecosystem such as wetlands.


Agility will be crucial if professional services firms are to withstand the fallout from international economic uncertainty, writes David McCarthy.


Introduction. The advances in medical research and technology favor survival of children exposed to high neurological risks (HNR) determining the increase of sequelae linked to development. Neurodevelopment deviations (NDD) do not imply necessarily a progress to disability. However, the importance of early detection resides in modifying future responses and offering the acquisition of abilities in programs of early stimulation (PES). Methods. Retrospective and transversal study with data registration of patients undertaking PES at the Hospital infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez from January 2000 to October 2006. Patients either sex with diagnosis of HNR starting PES in the first months of life were included. Biological and environmental risk factors, age at PES inclusion and exclusion, neurodevelopment deviations, evaluation of neurological optimity test, neurological exploration, and psychomotor development by Gesell and Amatruda were registered. Results. Eighty-seven patients, 42 female and 45 male, were studied; 100% showed biological risk factors, 48.3% showed environmental risk factors, 100% presented signs of alarm in the first evaluation, 20.7% evolved with NDD, from which 25% presented cerebral palsy, 25% presented global psychomotor development retardation, 15% presented language acquisition retardation, 15% problems in fine and gross motor skills, 10% hypoacusis, 5% visual weakness and 5% problems in personal-social area. Conclusions. An early detection of HNR patients is advisable and has a NDD predictive value. PES are effective and favor CNS development. A long-term follow-up of HNR patients to detect NDD related to cognition should be pursued.


Summary: This article outlines the reasons that detection of subtle changes in the cognitive system is difficult in geriatric assessment. A new assessment approach is introduced that examines cognitive patterns and facilitates the evaluation of subtle changes.


Application of data processing of complaints made ??to the network disruption replace the old system which still manual in recording complaints enter the Com- mand Center at Bank Syariah Mandiri. This application aims to obtain quality information provided by network ser- vice providers network or provider so it can be used as a benchmark in determine whether or not satis ed Bank Syariah Mandiri to service providers them. In the man- ufacturing process rst, conducted an analysis of the old system and new system, then the design system using The Uni ed Model Language (UML), database design and in- terface. After that uses the same practice made ??with- programming languages Personal Home Page (PHP) and MySQL database. Once theapplication is complete made application to the trial. The result of this application 100


Despite the rapid progression of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices, the thermal characteristic evaluation during power cycling at high temperature (>200 °C) is an issue. In this article, a fast and miniaturized evaluation system with online thermal characteristic measurement function was introduced by an n-doped 4H SiC thermal engineering group (TEG) chip. Online thermal resistance measurement of a power module structure by Ag sinter joining with micron/submicron Ag particles paste in low temperature, low pressure, and cooling system by a thermal interface material bonding was performed. High-temperature reliability was systemically investigated by power cycling tests by switching on/off the power source which is connected to the SiC-TEG chip by Au wires. The total thermal resistance of the power module from the SiC-TEG chip to the cooling system increased from 0.5 to 0.53 K/W with the enhanced power source, and remained almost same after 20 000 power cycling at a swing temperature ΔTj of 150 °C. Furthermore, the SiC-TEG power module structure with the die attached with Pb and Pb-free solders, alongwith the same power source as sinter Ag paste was also measured. The Ag sinter joint possesses the lowest thermal resistance and highest high temperature reliability during power cycling compared with Pb and Pb-free die-attach materials.


Pharmacological inhibition of AQP1 prevents H2O2 transport and hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes. Help for hypertrophy One way that cardiomyocytes respond to injury or stress is by increasing in size (hypertrophy). Montiel et al. studied the role of oxidative stress in myocardial hypertrophy. They saw that the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1) was increased in mouse and human hypertrophic heart tissue and that AQP1 regulated hydrogen peroxide transport within myocytes. Deletion or pharmacological blockade of AQP1 abrogated hypertrophy in response to different stressors in cells and in a mouse model of angiotensin II–induced cardiac hypertrophy, identifying a potential therapeutic target for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Pathological remodeling of the myocardium has long been known to involve oxidant signaling, but strategies using systemic antioxidants have generally failed to prevent it. We sought to identify key regulators of oxidant-mediated cardiac hypertrophy amenable to targeted pharmacological therapy. Specific isoforms of the aquaporin water channels have been implicated in oxidant sensing, but their role in heart muscle is unknown. RNA sequencing from human cardiac myocytes revealed that the archetypal AQP1 is a major isoform. AQP1 expression correlates with the severity of hypertrophic remodeling in patients with aortic stenosis. The AQP1 channel was detected at the plasma membrane of human and mouse cardiac myocytes from hypertrophic hearts, where it colocalized with NADPH oxidase-2 and caveolin-3. We show that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), produced extracellularly, is necessary for the hypertrophic response of isolated cardiac myocytes and that AQP1 facilitates the transmembrane transport of H2O2 through its water pore, resulting in activation of oxidant-sensitive kinases in cardiac myocytes. Structural analysis of the amino acid residues lining the water pore of AQP1 supports its permeation by H2O2. Deletion of Aqp1 or selective blockade of the AQP1 intrasubunit pore inhibited H2O2 transport in mouse and human cells and rescued the myocyte hypertrophy in human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived engineered heart muscle. Treatment of mice with a clinically approved AQP1 inhibitor, Bacopaside, attenuated cardiac hypertrophy. We conclude that cardiac hypertrophy is mediated by the transmembrane transport of H2O2 by the water channel AQP1 and that inhibitors of AQP1 represent new possibilities for treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathies.


ABSTRACT. There are many diseases that may impact patients' sexual health and psychological well-being. Despite the importance of sexual health care (SHC), insufficient SHC occurs across care settings and the patient population. Studies investigating the essential elements of SHC behaviors of nursing students in clinical practice have been scant. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of senior nursing students' multilevel interventions for patients' SHC in primary clinical practice. An anonymous 19-item instrument entitled Nursing Intervention on Sexual Health was distributed among senior nursing students at two central Taiwan nursing schools. We analyzed overall nursing intervention in SHC in clinical practice by levels. The results of this study indicate that the frequency of nursing intervention in sexual health is low. Another important finding is that following the PLISSIT (Permission, Limited Information, Specific Suggestion, Intensive Therapy) model, from permission level to the specific-suggestion level, the behavioral frequency of nursing intervention shows a decrease along with the model. Nursing students omitted each level of SHC in clinical practice, even if they had sufficient time and extensive preceptor resource, in this study. The nursing students' SHC on different levels would help educators to frame the sexuality education program.


The aspirationi levels of highl I. Q., male high school students were found to be positively associated with the motivational directives of parents and the students' interaction in higher status reference groups. Similarly, the authoritarian and conforming respondents tended to follow the motivational directives of their parents more frequently than did the non-authoritarian and non-conforming individuals. These findings have possible implications for the role of the educational counselor in the academic setting. his paper attempts to further explain the developnment of male adolescents' aspirations. After a brief analysis of some of the conceptual problems concerning this topic, a discussion of the hypotheses tested in this researc'h is presented. The specific variables which are considered in the present study in rnlation to the development of the aspirations of students are (1) the direct education,al and occupational motivations of parents, (2) tile interaction of students in higher status reference groups, (3) authoritarianism, and (4) conformity ranks of the respondents. Since social class position and I.Q. tend to exert signiificant effects upoln childrens' aspirations these two factors are held constant. The educational and occupational aspirations anid the general social mobility of the Western citizenry has been one of the most frequently studied dimensions in our relatively brief sociological history, and these numerous research efforts have borne much fruit. Many factors hiave been singled out which contribute to the clevelopment of the aspirational levels of adolescents. Social class position of parents,' parents' aspirational urges,2 I.Q.,3 an individual's socio-emotional adjustment,4 social class composition of one's school,5 social status of an individual's close peers,6 early-sclhool performaice,7 downward social mobility of parents,8 special talents in sports, "personality" and so forth,9 and need for achievement,10 have all been reported to contribute to the formation of adolescents' ambitions. At first glance these ten factors appear to be separate entities. However, upon closer scrutiny it becomes apparent that these dimensions may be classified into four more or less dis* Revised and expanded version of a paper read at the annual meeting of Eastern Sociological Society, 1963, New York. The author is indebted to Elton F. Jackson for helpful criticisms of an earlier draft of this paper and to Judson B. Pearson and Blaine Mercer's aid in the formulation of the research. Hubert M. Blalock, Richard F. Curtis, and August B. Hollingshead also made acute comments at various poilnts throughout the writing of this paper. 1 August B. Hollingshead, Elmntozun's Youth (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1949). 2 Richard L. Simpson, "Parenital Influence and Social Mobility," Atmerican Sociological Review, Vol. 27 (August 1962), pp. 517-522; Joseph Kahl, "Adolescent Ambition," unpublished doctoral (lissertation (Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1951), p. 144; and David Bordua, "Educational Aspirations and Parental Stress on College," Social Forces, Vol. 38 (March 1960), pp. 262-269. ' William H. Sewell, Archie Haller, and Murray Straus, "Social Status and Educational and Occupational Aspirations," Amnerican Sociological Review, Vol. 22 (February 1957), p. 71. 4 Ralph Turner, "Some Family Determinants of Ambition," Sociology and Social Research, Vol. 46 (July 1962), pp. 397-411. 5 Alan Wilson, "Residential Segregation of Social Classes and Aspirations of High School Boys," Americant Sociological Review, Vol. 24 (December 1959), pp. 836-845. 6 Simpson, op. cit. 7 Kahl, op. cit. 8 Seymour M. Lipset and Reinhard Bendix, Social Jl4obility in Industrial Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962), p. 238. 9 Kahl, op. cit. 10 Bernard D. Rosen, "The Achievement Syndrome," American Sociological Review, Vol. 21 (April 1956), pp. 191-204. This content downloaded from 22.214.171.124 on Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:10:04 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms


The spring back is a major source of diametrical error occurring in turning of workpieces. In order to analyze diametrical error, an elastic deflection model of workpiece should be available. Many assumptions are usually taken into consideration when analyzing the elastic deformation of workpiece. Many studies have been done to find the analytical model of work-piece spring back and its suitable cutting force model. When compared with experimental data, developed models in these works are associated with considerable errors. In this paper, through using experimental results, an efficient elastic deformation model of workpiece has been obtained which can be compared with analytical model. Many experiments were performed, and some different functions were produced which predict the trend of experimental results. Finally, an appropriate model with the lowest error was suggested. The same process has been performed in ultrasonic vibrations assisted turning. The obtained functions will be suitable to compensate for the diametrical error occurring by machining forces. Finally this model has been used to obtain the amount of elastic spring back of tool and spindle.


Abstract : This report provides an overview of the present status and envisioned future role of fiber optics for naval applications. Subjects addressed include state-of-the-art materials and fibers, their optical and mechanical properties, environmental testing, design of fibers and cables, and fiber systems. Present problem areas are outlined as well as their recommended or anticipated solutions. Some specific avionic, undersea, and shipboard applications of fiber-optic systems are discussed along with the advantages and expected payoffs with deployment. A listing of key Navy and industrial laboratories, manufacturers, and principal investigators in the fiber-optic area has also been provided.


One classic algorithm usedin template matching is normalized cross correlation method. It often achieveshigh precision. But it does not meet speed requirements for time-criticalapplications. To solve that issue, a speed-up way of template matching isproposed. The fast matching way bases on pyramid hierarchical searchingalgorithm. It adopts two template matching methods to match images, which baseon rough matching proceeds local matching precision. Firstly, the coarsematching is performed based on gray-scale projection algorithm. Secondly, theprecise matching is made based on several small block matching. The new way iscompared to conventional approach without pyramid hierarchical searching byexperiments. Experimental result demonstrates that the proposed way efficientlyimproves the speed of template matching and the precision is unchanged.


Islam within the world today is associated with many ideas both good and bad. Islam is an old religion that is very misunderstood in the minds of many westerners today; it has moreover been degraded and associated with violence, war, and actions that are inhumane because of recent events. This is a problem on the world stage because of religiously motivated terrorism and the links that have been forged, wrongly so, by terrorist groups. The questions often asked is "Is Islam a violent religion" or "Why does their religion cause Muslims to hate us." The sad part is often these questions are not even asked; most people just assumed these are true because Muslims are different and they see that the terrorists on television are often Muslim. Islam, however is not violent or inhumane, it is a religion based upon peaceful principles and loving commandments. This paper will compare Islam to Christianity in hope of establishing similarities; it will give a deeper understanding into what is to be a Muslim; and finally how the terrorist are using a peaceful religion to motivate Muslim into violent acts of terrorism.


Five male students (19 20 years old) with normal ears were given exposures to (1) steady‐state noise, (2) vibration, and (3) noise and vibration at the same time. In a control experiment the subject sat beside the moving vibrator with ear plugs and earmuffs. Temporary threshold shift (TTS) occurred after both 20 and 60 min of exposure to the vibration of acceleration 500 cm/sec2 and frequency 5 Hz, which is regarded as a resonance frequency of human body. The TTS by a steady‐state noise [101‐dB sound‐pressure level (SPL) broad band] was increased by simultaneous vibration (500 cm/sec2 and 5 Hz).


Abstract This study describes the influence of improved lignin homogeneity on the adhesive properties of lignin-based phenolic resins. Softwood kraft lignin was separated by applying an ethanol-bas...


A thin film transistor and an organic light emitting display device having the same are provided to reduce an operation voltage and to improve light emitting efficiency by applying a P-type zinc compound semiconductor layer to the organic light emitting display device. A thin film transistor(200) includes a substrate(210) and a semiconductor layer(240b), a gate electrode(220), a source electrode(250a), and a drain electrode(250b) which are provided on the substrate. The semiconductor layer is formed by a P-type semiconductor layer by diffusing phosphorous(245) to a zinc oxide semiconductor. The phosphorous is doped on the semiconductor layer at a concentration of 1 x 1014 to 1 x 1018 cm^-3. The semiconductor layer is formed by diffusing the phosphorous to at least one selected from a group consisting of ZnO, ZnGaO, ZnInO, In2O3, ZnInGaO, ZnSnO, and ZnSnO.


The study examines the status of urban water delivery in India through a case study of the state of West Bengal in India. The state has been selected as a unit of study to bring out the regional variances that are not captured at a more aggregate or country level study. The study focuses on various types of urban local bodies in the state, the organizational and institutional structure for water delivery and issues around them. The study also benchmarks various urban local bodies for their water service delivery through data envelopment analysis. The study finds that in the current state of fragmented institutions and shared responsibilities between various water organizations, there needs to be a focused policy guideline for integrated development of the water sector in the state. The study also identifies certain categories of urban local bodies, for which there are further scope for efficiency improvement.


An experiment conducted in a 35-acre Tineapple' orange grove compared 6 low volume sprayers with a standard dilute sprayer in the application of a citrus spray program. The overall superiority of the dilute sprayer was demonstrated in this experiment. The dilute sprayer and the S.S. 607 Hi-con provided significantly longer citrus rust mite control than the RSM, S.S. 757 at 6X, l/8th gal and 3X, l/4th gal at 2 mph. A signi ficantly higher percentage of fruit were damaged by scale insects from plots sprayed by the Myers 2A42 and the S.S. 607 Hi-con. Melanose control was poor in plots sprayed with the RSM and Myers 2A42 sprayers. Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Journal Series No. 4192. Introduction Methods of pesticide application are often over shadowed by reports on the effectiveness of the pesticides themselves. The thoroughness of appli cation of citrus pesticides is equally as important as the selection of the pesticide. In the case of citrus snow scale control, thorough coverage of all the woody portions of the tree is more important than the choice of a pesticide. Workers at the A.R.E.C. (Citrus Experiment Station at Lake Alfred) have conducted research on a continuing basis to evaluate the effectiveness of spray equipment offered to the Florida citrus grower. Thompson (3) and King et al. (2) sug gested improvements in existing equipment. Brooks (1) reviewed the contributions of various Florida workers in improving application equipment. In recent years, Florida citrus growers have expressed considerable interest in low volume ap plications to supplement or replace dilute applica tions. Whitney (4) suggested reducing gallons per acre as a possible way to reduce application costs. The experiment reported here compared BROOKS AND WHITNEY: AIR-BLAST SPRAYERS 45 various types of low volume applications with a standard dilute sprayer in the application of a citrus spray program. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted in a 35-acre block of 'Pineapple' orange trees 16' to 18' high planted 20' x 25' with average foliage density located near Auburndale, Florida. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with the types of applications serving as treatments. Each treatment was replicated 5 times with individual plots 6 rows wide and at least 10 trees long. Sample trees were selected from the center 2 rows with at least a 2 tree buffer at each end of the plot. Data were subjected to an analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range test at the 5% level. Pest populations were measured periodically from both top and skirt portion of the sample trees. Citrus rust mite infestations were measured by determining the percentage infested in samples of 25 leaves and 25 fruit randomly selected from around each of 4 sample trees in each plot. Popula tions of scale insect and whitefly larvae were determined by counting the number of mature female scales and whitefly larvae on 50 leaves picked at random from around the skirt and top of the 4 sample trees. The sprayers and a description of their types of application are listed in Table 1. Each low volume sprayer applied the same amount of pesti cide per acre but in varying amounts of water. However, the dilute sprayer applied 25% more material because of spray run off (1). All appli cations were made in winds less than 8 mph. The rates of materials and dates of application are shown in Table 2. The nutritional mix listed on this table was custom made to the grove owner's specifications. Commercial fruit harvesters inadvertently partially picked the grove at the end of the first year and prevented the collection of fruit samples. However, fruit samples were picked at the end of the second year on January 11-12, 1971. Twentyfive fruit were picked at random from around the top and skirt of each of the 4 sample trees per plot. The fruit was examined for citrus rust mite, scale insect, melanose, and injury from wind scarring. Results and Discussion Citrus rust mite control was satisfactory with each type of sprayer from the postbloom spray of 1969 to the summer spray of 1970. However, serious citrus rust mite infestations developed after the 1970 summer spray following treatment by some of the sprayers. The data presented in Table 3 indicate that the dilute sprayer (Treatment 1) and the S.S. 607 Hi-con (Treatment 7) provide significantly longer citrus rust mite control on the fruit in the tree tops and skirts than the RSM (Treatment 2), S.S. 757 at 6X, l/8th gal (Treatment 3) and 3X, l/4th gal (Treatment 5). The Myers 2A42 (Treat ment 4) was superior to the RSM and S.S. 757 at 6X, l/8th gal in the tree tops but only better than RSM on the tree skirts. Table 1. Characteristics of airblast 1969-70. sprayers used in the application of a citrus pest control program, Make and model John Bean Speed Sprayer 757 with aux engine RSM Super 500 with aux engine Myers 2A42 with aux engine Kinkelder Royal pto driven John Bean Speed Sprayer 607 Hi-con with aux engine Concentrations used IX, 3X, 6X.


Background: Chronic kidney disease is a major worldwide problem. Although epidemiologic and experimental studies suggest that n–3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n–3 LCPUFA) supplementation may prevent or slow the progression of kidney disease, evidence from clinical trials is inconsistent. Objective: The objective was to combine evidence from controlled clinical trials to assess the effect of n–3 LCPUFA supplementation on the change in urine protein excretion (UPE) and on glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Design: We performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials that tested the effect of n–3 LCPUFA supplementation on UPE, a marker of kidney damage, and on GFR, a marker of kidney function. A randomeffects model was used to pool SD effect size (Cohen's d) across studies. Results: Seventeen trials with 626 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Most trials focused on patients with a single underlying diagnosis: IgA nephropathy (n 1⁄4 5), diabetes (n 1⁄4 7), or lupus nephritis (n 1⁄4 1). The dose of n–3 LCPUFAs ranged from 0.7 to 5.1 g/d, and the median follow-up was 9 mo. In the pooled analysis, there was a greater reduction in UPE in the n–3 LCPUFA group than in the control group: Cohen's d for all trials was 20.19 (95% CI: 20.34, 20.04; P 1⁄4 0.01). In a patient with 1 g UPE/d , this corresponds to a reduction of 190 mg/d. Effects on GFR were reported in 12 trials. The decline in GFR was slower in the n–3 LCPUFA group than in the control group, but this effect was not significant (0.11; 95% CI: 20.07, 0.29; P 1⁄4 0.24). Conclusions: In our meta-analysis, use of n–3 LCPUFA supplements reduced UPE but not the decline in GFR. However, small numbers of participants in trials, different methods of assessing proteinuria and GFR, and inconsistent data reporting limit the strength of these conclusions. Large, high-quality trials with clinical outcomes are warranted. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:1937–45.


User authentication is a very important online environment issue. More researches are needed to focus on enhancing user authentication methods for online examination. This paper is a review of online authentication methods for online examination and propose a novel authentication method called "Preferences Based Authentication" PrBA. The proposed method based on the exam taker design preferences chosen for online exams. A lot of design features could be applied to the exam interface, such as font (size, face, and style, colour), background colour, the number of questions per page, group question by (Type, difficulty) and timer type. These preferences have a close relationship with user characteristics, whether physical (vision, hearing, etc.), cognitive (memory, etc.), psychomotor (attention, focus, etc.), demographics (age, gender, etc.) or experiences (professional skills). The PrBA proposed in this paper could be used as an alternative to resolve the problem of user authentication within online exams.


Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined as a sudden reduction in kidney function, which ranges from mild changes in kidney biomarkers to severe conditions that require renal replacement therapy (RRT). RRT is the most effective treatment for patients with severe AKI, and the most used RRT methods are: conventional hemodialysis (HD), continuous hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD). Objectives: This study aims to analyze the epidemiological profile and outcome of patients diagnosed with Acute Kidney Injury undergoing renal replacement therapy in the Intensive Care Unit. Methods: For this, a descriptive, observational, crosssectional study was carried out through the retrospective collection of data obtained through the electronic medical record system. Results: Among the hospitalizations during the study period, 3.67% required RRT due to AKI, with sepsis as the main cause (48.57%). Most patients underwent RRT through HD. The mortality rate was 45.7%, showing higher mortality in those who developed AKI during hospitalization compared to those who were already admitted with AKI. Conclusion: It is possible to conclude that most patients undergoing RRT due to AKI are under 2 years of age and more than 50% have comorbidities. The presence of comorbidities and PIM2 are related to mortality.


Many physical systems are modeled by nonlinear parabolic differential equations, such as the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky (KS) equation. In this paper, the existence of a concurrent optimal controller and actuator design is established for semilinear parabolic systems. Optimality equations are provided. The results are shown to apply to optimal controller/actuator design for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation and also nonlinear diffusion.


The practical teaching method of "Principle of Computer Organization" is discussed in this paper.In the first place,that how to organize teaching content is analyzed.In the second place,the arrangement of design of the basic experiments and the synthetical and innovative experiments is also analyzed.A new teaching method comes to pass through adopted EDA technology.In a word,students not only improve practicing ability but also exert a subtle influence on and digest theory knowledge through doing experiments step by step and designedly based on theory knowledge.


To identify relevant cellular proteins involved in human pathophysiological processes and thereby, improve our understanding in cell-signalling mechanisms; we merged signaling knowledge with proteomics-based approaches. Ln the resulting functional findings, we first provide evidence for the involvement of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase gamma (PI3Ky) in chemokine-induced Rac-signaling in macrophages, Second, we show the identification of protein tyrosine phosphatases with specificity for the ligand-activated growth hormone receptor. Finally, and as main project, we describe a functional signalling-proteomics approach that allows the selective identification and characterization of navet cellular proteins that differentially recognize 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositides (PIPs). This study provides a three-way intersection of biological chemistry, lipid-mediated signaling, and proteomics to create a target oriented protein discovery platform for predefined subsets of the cellular proteome.


To explore employed mothers' perceptions about influence of their working status on growth and development of their children through non-probability judgmental sampling mothers who were formally employed and were having children between the age of 0–5 years were selected from a single community. A total of twelve mothers who consented were enrolled in the study. Responses revealed that being employed their time spent with children is compromised which is impacting on children's emotional development, feeding practices, attachment and bonding with their children. It is concluded that first year maternal employment may form in-secure attachment; child may develop feeling of fear and insecurity, lack of confidence and a decline in performance at school.


(i) The theoretical developments made to analyse quantitatively the GISAXS patterns beyond the classical approximations, in particular to account for the profile of refraction index and the particle-particle correlations. (ii) The self similarity during the dynamic coalescence of Au/ TiO2(110) on the size distribution but also on the spatial ordering of the particles and its link with the randomness of the nucleation centers. (iii) The sintering of nanoparticles during the course of the CO oxidation reaction and the link between particle size and chemical reactivity measured by mass spectrometry.


Thermoacoustic generator using one kind of extended-range electric vehicle system, characterized in that it extender unit by a sound generator and a second heat converter composed of power; thermoacoustic power generator by the free-piston Stirling generator, the burner temperature cooling loop and the system composition; a fuel tank to fuel combustion; into the exhaust pipe mounted on the upper end of the combustion chamber are respectively connected to the counterflow heat exchanger; generating a free-piston Stirling free-piston Stirling engine and a linear oscillating motor coupled together, the expansion chamber of the engine, and the inner end of the endothermic heat exchanger to the combustion end of the outer chamber; cooling loop is connected to the inlet tube successively, water control valves, pumps, and the radiator and outlet side of the radiator fan composition; inlet and outlet pipe respectively connected to the end of the exothermic heat of the engine; a battery connected across the second power converter, respectively and the free-piston Stirling generator power; with high efficiency, wide applicability fuel, high reliability, mute the outstanding advantages and environmental protection.


Source and drain junction capacitance has been varied by utilizing different implant conditions for the MOSFETs to explore the possibility of improving SEU (single event upset) immunity of SRAM cells. It is found. that the junction capacitances of both the n/sup +//p-well and p/sup +//n-well can vary in a wide range. The resulting SEU FIT (failure in time) rate shows a significant reduction. HSPICE simulation indicates that critical charge of the SRAM cell increases by 5%. The reduction of funnel length due to the higher doping concentration in the source/drain area also improves SEU immunity.


An increasing number of people spend considerable amounts of their leisure time on video games. For aspiring eSports athletes and professionals alike, playing for ten to fourteen hours per day to gain proficiency has become the norm. Consequently, musculoskeletal pain and injuries are common among eSports athletes, while the increased risk for various health issues connected to prolonged sitting is often considered to be a necessary sacrifice for mastery. However, studies that show a decrease in player performance due to prolonged task execution have already emerged. These studies use rough estimates of player performance, such as overall win rates or kill-death-assist-ratio (KDA), and are often restricted to a rather modest number of participants. In this paper, we present an observational study that uses nuanced and individual performance metrics to measure performance in a large sample (n = 5, 000) of League of Legends players. Significant decreases in individual performance relative to the number of consecutively played matches are found and presented. Moreover, a considerable decline in the win rate is observed. This study highlights the potential improvement that the exploration of structured training methods could have on training efficiency and overall health in eSports enthusiasts.


Summary Based on a critique of Joachim Wach's typology of religious authority, the article attempts to describe religious specialists as agents of control within their religion's symbolic universe. Special attention is given to processes of professionalization. Whereas the external perception of religions is very much determined by their functionaries, religious specialists have received only limited scientific scrutinity. In describing these specialists, historians of religion frequently use a typology comprising terms like "priest," "prophet," "shaman," "healer," "magician"-terms that mostly derive from specific cultural contexts but are used transculturally. Thus, these types are defined by certain functions and performances that sometimes are embarrassingly missing from the culture just analyzed. Furthermore, as will be shown in analyzing the typology of Joachim Wach, a coherent scale or principle in constructing the different types is missing. The Christian concept of "mediation" cannot fulfil this role. A new approach in analyzing and describing religious specialists is badly needed. An attempt is presented below. The point of departure is the rather general question of religions' interest in an internal division of labour. The controverses about the priestly character of early kings demonstrates the difficulties in finding a historical answer to the question. Instead, a working hypothesis is advanced: For rather diffused social systems such as religions, the stabilization of its identity by the exertion of control is an important instigation for the division of labour. This hypothesis cannot be tested directly, but many features of the


The opportunity structure facing waged agricultural workers seeking basic statutory employment rights in the Canadian province of Alberta is hostile, reflecting the intertwined political and economic interests of farmers, the provincial government, and agribusiness. This article outlines the contours of the political opportunities and constraints facing labour groups and agricultural workers seeking legislative change. Analysis suggests there is little opportunity at present to alter this legislative exclusion.


Flexible composite propellers have a relatively large deformation under heavy loading conditions. Thus, it is necessary to accurately predict the deformation of the blade through a fluid-structure interaction analysis. In this work, we present an LST-FEM method to predict the deformation of a flexible composite propeller. Here, we adopt an FEM solver called OOFEM to carry out a structural analysis with an orthotropic linear elastic composite material. In addition, we examine the influence of the lamination direction on the deformation of the flexible composite propeller. Received 15 January 2019, revised 3 September 2019, accepted 16 October 2019 Corresponding author Byoung-Kwon Ahn: +82-42-821-6625; email@example.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0339-6069 It is noted that this paper is revised edition based on proceedings of the Annual Autumn Conference, SNAK 2018 in Changwon. c 2019, The Korean Society of Ocean Engineers This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution non-commercial license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


In recent years we have begun to see more of Sadeq Hedayat (1903-1951) as a political writer. An anonymously printed pamphlet of four previously unpublished works, including an excerpt from his political satire, Tup-e Morvari [The Pearl Cannon] (1947), appeared in Berkeley in 1973, giving us a glimpse of the other Hedayat, even at the height of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's power. In 1978 it became possible after many years to buy Haji Aqa (1945); and briefly in 1979 an edition of The Pearl Cannon was available. As we see more of Hedayat as an engaged political presence, and the Hedayat who spent two months in Uzbekistan in 1945 as a guest of the Soviet Government becomes less of an anomaly for us, Buf-e Kur [The Blind Owl] (1937, 1941) becomes more of a problem. It is patently his greatest work; and yet it is the work in which his referentiality is most in question. It is possible to treat The Blind Owl as an esthetic puzzle, as Joyce criticism treated Ulysses until very recently, a puzzle which becomes an occupation so total it replaces criticism altogether. It is harder to break through the hermetic self-enclosure and see The Blind Owl as a satire with a specific target. Jalal Ale Ahmad (1923-1969) implies that the book's very withdrawal, the narrator's isolation and distaste for the rabble, is politically determined by observing: "When a person is afraid to talk to his friends, his wife, his colleagues, or anyone else, then unavoidably the only person he can


Antibacterial potency of some seaweed against Escherichia coli has been known. The aim of this research is to know the species of seaweeds from Bayah beach Lebak Banten which may be used as antibacterial against Escherichia coli. Twenty one seaweed species samples from Bayah Beach Lebak Banten were exstracted by organic solvent of absolute methanol according to Espeche, Fraile, and Mayer (1984) and Darusman, Sayuti, Komar & Pamungkas (1992) methods. The antibacterial activities were examined by means of Kirby-Bauer or diffusion method. The results showed antibacterial activities occur from the extract of Boodlea composite, Chaetomorpha crassa, Ulva fasciata, Sargassum crustaefolium, Padina australis and Halimeda gracilis. Sofar, Padina australis extract had shown better inhibitory activities than others.


Abstract A study of the morphology of the brown alga Cystoseira squarrosa De Notaris, a rare and little known species, was carried out on numerous thalli collected at Torre del Serpe near Otranto (Apulia, Italy). Because the original material of this species, held in the Herbarium of the University of Genova (GE), was destroyed during the Second World War, a neotype is designed here. The species is well characterized by the combination of the following characters: not caespitose, bush-like habit; short primary axis bearing 1–2 secondary axes inserted at right angle; oblong and warty tophules; slightly prominent and smooth apex of the axes; robust, rigid, flattened, not spaced spinose appendages with bifid, trifid or multifid apices and conceptacles grouped at the base of the spinose appendages.


In this paper, robust networked control is investigated for remote motion/force control of robotic manipulators with random time delays. Both sensor-to-controller and controller-to-actuator random network-induced delays are considered in the remote networked control. These random-network-induced delays are modeled as Markov processes. Based on the stochastic Lyapunov method, sufficient conditions for the boundedness in probability of the system solutions are given. It is proven that all the signals of the the robotic manipulator system are bounded in probability. Finally, the extensive experiments are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Objective. To assess the clinical efficacy of an antioxidant therapy with Mexidol for the treatment of patients suffering from lichen acuminatus in the mucous coat of the oral cavity. Materials and methods. The study involved 62 patients suffering from the erosive and ulcerative form of lichen acuminatus in the mucous coat of the oral cavity. The severity of dermatosis was assessed based on the determination of the affected area of the mucous coat of the oral cavity. The activity of antioxidant protection was assessed based on the determination of the level of lipid peroxidation products, total antioxidant activity and individual antioxidants in the peripheral blood. Results. The use of Mexidol contributed to the remission in 53.13% and substantial improvement in 37.50% of the patients, which corresponded to the indices for the group of patients to whom Metypred was administered. The share of adverse effects when Mexidol was used was twice as low as in the group of patients who were taking Metypred. Conclusion. The use of an anti-oxidizing agent such as Mexidol reduces the intensity of inflammations and adverse effects and contributes to the epithelialization of erosions.


CASE DESCRIPTION The primary subject matter of this case is a review of challenges faced by the owner of a Chinese restaurant in a small island community that has an abundance of Chinese restaurants in proportion to the ethnic Chinese population. In particular, this case presents students with a scenario, along with data from restaurant survey, to encourage discussions on strategies to improve the restaurant's performance under these conditions. This case has a difficulty level of three and up, appropriate for junior level and beyond. The case is designed to be taught in two to three class hours in a management, strategic marketing management, or an entrepreneurship course, and is expected to require about three hours of outside preparation for students, consisting mainly of reading the case and familiarizing themselves with the business environments on the U.S. territory of Guam in the Western Pacific region. CASE SYNOPSIS Yummy Tummy Restaurant is one of many Chinese restaurants on the Micronesian island of Guam. The restaurant opened its doors in the year 2002 in the northern village of Yigo, Guam and later relocated to the central, more populated village of Tamuning, Guam in the year 2005. The business began as a sole proprietorship and was later acquired through a partnership. The partnership dissolved shortly due to irreconcilable differences between the two partners and the restaurant is now a family business. Through the change of ownership over the years, an individual by the name of Mr. Chen now solely owns the restaurant. A brief history of the business is provided along with Mr. Chen's struggles to keep the business running. The battles that the company faces today along with the company's internal and external environment are examined. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company are used in evaluating the business's current strategies. This study will examine the Chinese restaurant industry in Guam as compared to other similar communities in an analysis to measure the saturation of the market. It will then present recommendations for improvement in the restaurant's performance as well as changes to the company's current strategy. START OF THE BUSINESS The name Yummy Tummy Restaurant was given to a new ethnic restaurant to provide a catchy image with a different appeal to various customers on the island of Guam. The restaurant first opened its doors as a Chinese/Filipino fusion restaurant in the northern village of Yigo in the year 2002. The family that owned the restaurant at the time also owned a fish mart in the island's central village of Tamuning. The travel time between the villages for the owner to oversee both operations was ineffective and inefficient. The owner then found a commercial space that would accommodate both a fish mart and a restaurant in the village of Tamuning. Combining the fish mart and the restaurant created the opportunity to provide customers with fresh seafood, which differentiated the restaurant from many of the other Chinese restaurants in Guam. In 2005, business slowly thrived as the restaurant tried to rebuild its clientele in the new location. The slow growth of the business and the owner's loss of interest in the industry led to his decision to sell the business to a close friend, Mr. Chen, whom he trusted to maintain the culture of the restaurant in 2009. The owner chose to work closely with Chen before his departure from the business. Chen was aware of the slow growth in the restaurant and decided to take on a partnership with another close friend, Ms. Wong, to pool capital for improvements in the restaurant. In 2009, the partnership began as Ms. Wong and Mr. Chen joined forces to revamp the service in the restaurant. The partnership started as a friendly venture, but conflicting business philosophies soon became a recipe for disaster. Ms. Wong and Mr. Chen had different views on several aspects of the business and its future direction. …


Introduction. The subject of this work is the number, composition and structure of personnel of research organisations subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, located in regions that differ in terms of research and development conditions. Such information can be useful in identifying stable characteristics of the personnel model of a scientific organisation for the formation of a system of restrictions that will allow in the future to develop an optimal personnel model of a scientific organisation for a given target criterion. Methods. To achieve this goal, theoretical (analysis) and empirical (structuring the available data, generalization, classification, comparison) research methods were used. The empirical base of the research was information on the number and composition of personnel of scientific organisations subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, presented in the database of the statistical observation form, Form ZP-Science. Results and Discussion A review of the number, composition and structure of personnel of research organisations is carried out for a sample of 278 organisations in several regions of Russia, differing not only in the number of scientific institutions represented on their territory under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, but also in socio-economic conditions. Conclusion. The analysis made it possible to identify the characteristics of the personnel model of a scientific organisation subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, which is resistant to differences in the regional environment.


As they become increasingly aware of the importance of healthy eating and of the serious food imbalance caused by the overconsumption of industrial, ultra-processed and superorganoleptic food, consumers are now beginning to turn their attention to food choices guaranteeing both individual health and also of the environment . Thus, in recent years we are witnessing the rise of a cultural trend ? Slow Food. Slow Food has become an international movement that advocates for satisfying culinary pleasure, protects biological and cultural diversity, spread taste education, links green producers to consumers and believes that gastronomy intersects with politics, agriculture and ecology. Slow Food proposes a holistic approach to food problem, where the economic, sociocultural and environmental aspects are interlinked, being pursued as part of an overall strategy. In order to highlight the manner in which the principles of this cultural trend are perceived by the representatives of the new generation of consumers in Romania, exploratory research marketing was conducted among the students in the second year of the master's program Quality Management, Expertise and Consumer Protection, from the Faculty of Business and Tourism from the Buchares t University of Economic Studies . The results of this research have shown an insufficient knowledge of Slow Food phenomenon and, especially, the Slow Food network activity in Romania. To show that the Slow Food type of food is a healthier option towards which the future consumer demand should be guided, especially those belonging to the younger generation, an antithetical comparative analysis of the nutritional value of two menus was performed: a suggestive one for the Slow Food feeding style and other one, specific to the fast food style. Slow Food style was considered antithetical to the fast food because many previous studies have shown a preference of the young for the fast-food type products, despite the nutritional imbalance they generate. Comparative analysis of nutrition was produced by using the coverage degree method and the results have shown that the Slow Food type menu is a balanced food option. Given the issues that we highlighted, this paper can be a reference point in our endeavor to increase the awareness of the Romanian young people regarding the need to create a sustainable food system, in economic, environmental and socio-cultural point of view, as well as their orienting towards natural and healthy food options.


Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. Department of Community Medicine, Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Centre, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. 3 Department of Epidemiology and Geriatric Medicine, Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, Concord Hospital, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 4 Department of Psychiatry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.


Li metal with ultrahigh theoretical capacity and low electrochemical potential has the promise to become the next-generation anode material. However, uncontrollable dendrite growth correlated with irreversible Li loss and safety issue challenges the development of Li-metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, a novel "core-shell" additive with anionic Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM) cluster as "core" and N-containing cation of ionic liquid (IL) as "shell" is proposed to stabilize LMBs. The suspended POM derived complex in ether-based electrolyte is prone to be absorbed around the protuberances of anode and to trigger a lithiophobic repulsion mechanism for the homogenization of Li + redistribution. The gradually released POM "cores" with negative charge would then enrich Li + and co-assemble with Li mass. The Li + repulsion-enrichment synergism can compact Li deposition and reinforce solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). This sustained-release additive enables Li||Li symmetric cells with a long lifetime over 500 h and 300 h at high current densities of 3 and 5 mA cm -2 respectively. The complex additive is also compatible with high-voltage Li||LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) cells. Even with a NCA loading as high as ~ 20 mg cm -2 , the additive contained Li||NCA cell can still cycle for over 100 cycles at 2.6 mA cm -2 .


Though the key technology for 5G communication is the massive Multiple input and multiple output (MIMO), it has a major drawback when the user generated inference signals are to be handled by several other users. When these interference signals are used in various users, issues concerning system ability, power management issues and QoS related issues arises with the involvement of MIMO channel. Though internet of things (IoT) making use of MIMO is still under development, the requirements of the IoT is quite different when compared to several other connections. Thus, taking into account the demands, the solutions were framed with the help of the proposed system. One such solution is the Partition Square and Cross‐Processing method that can possess several antennas at the given destination. Based on this solution obtained the data rate can be drastically increased correspondingly reducing the power consumed thus producing the most desirable result with high signal to noise ratio (SNR). Best victory is another such solution that solves the issues relating to power reduction thereby providing the best solution with minimum SNR. These solutions produced by the proposed system still has some disadvantages with respect to the following case: when the number of destination antennas is less than the number of source antennas. This case is considered as most common in the model proposed. For the above‐mentioned case, near optimal solution is produced by both the algorithms. In this article, the transmitters are represented by the source antenna and the receiver is represented by the destination antenna. Thus, with the help of IoT connectivity, major benefits can be bought to the massive MIMO channel.


A new method has been developed for the determination of percent /sup 15/N enrichment in NO/sub 2//sup -/ and NO/sub 3//sup -/ that is both rapid and sensitive. NO/sub 2//sup -/ and NO/sub 3//sup -/ separation was done by use of reverse-phase liquid chromatography with a mobile phase consisting of ammonium acetate with tetrabutylammonium acetate as the ion pair reagent. The % /sup 15/N in isotopically enriched anions was determined by using thermospray liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Enrichment values were obtained on as little as 20 ng of NO/sub 2//sup -/-N/20 ..mu..L and 4 ng of NO/sub 3//sup -/-N/20 ..mu..L. The linear regression curve was plotted for the observed enrichment vs. the actual enrichment over the range from the natural abundance to 25% enrichment for each anion and the equation for the linear regression calculated (y = 1.16x + 0.7577 for NO/sub 2//sup -/ and y = 0.951x + 0.447 for NO/sub 3//sup -/). The coefficient of determination for the NO/sub 2//sup -/ and NO/sub 3//sup -/ curves was 0.988 and 0.987, respectively. The dynamic range of the method was found to be suitable for the range of NO/sub 2//sup -/ and NO/sub 3//sup -/ expected in plant xylem sap.more » Xylem sap samples obtained from NO/sub 3//sup -/ fed pea, Pisum sativum cv. Homesteader (3.9 ..mu..g of NO/sub 3//sup -/-N/mL, 24.7% /sup 15/N), contained a /sup 15/N enrichment of 25.4% +/- 0.7%.« less


An overview of liquid crystal technology for microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies is presented. The potential of liquid crystals as reconfigurable materials arises from their ability for continuous tuning with low power consumption, transparency, and possible integration with printed and flexible circuit technologies. This paper describes physical theory and fundamental electrical properties arising from the anisotropy of liquid crystals and overviews selected realized liquid crystal devices, throughout four main categories: resonators and filters, phase shifters and delay lines, antennas, and, finally, frequency-selective surfaces and metamaterials.


The purpose of this investigation is to explore the effect of objective and subjective personal income on perceived national security in the Baltic states, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. A representative quantitative survey was conducted in three Baltic countries in August 2021. The fieldwork was carried out by the public opinion and market research company Baltic Surveys. The sampling method in the three countries was the same: the probability multi-stage structural method, based on criteria of geographical region, size of settlement, gender, and age. The survey involved more than 1000 respondents per country. Multivariate statistical analysis, including correlation analysis and linear regression analysis was performed. The percentage distribution of the variable on the perception of safety reveals that more than half of the respondents in all Baltic countries agreed that they feel safe living in their own country. Moreover, it is notable that the feeling of safety in Estonia is higher than in the other two countries. Meanwhile, in Lithuania, the evaluation of the feeling of safety is lower than in Estonia and Latvia. The association of the feeling of safety in the country with the subjective perception of income is stronger than the objective income. Additionally, it is important to note that absence of financial difficulties, happiness with current income, and not worrying too much about spending on necessities are the strongest determinants for perceived security in each Baltic country. The findings that have been drawn from this investigation could be applied to ensure both national and economic security and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, such as no poverty (1SDG) and reduced inequalities (10 SDG).


1. A process for preparing the compounds 1- [cyano (phenyl) methyl] cyclohexanol of the general formula (I)! ! wherein ! R1 represents hydrogen, (C1-4) alkyl or (C1-4) -alkoxy,! characterized in that a compound of general formula (II)! ! wherein R1 is as defined above, is reacted with cyclohexanone, the reaction is conducted in the presence of an organic or inorganic base and an organic or inorganic base is present in the reaction mixture at least in an equimolar amount based on the compound of general formula (II). ! 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the reaction is carried out in the presence of an inert solvent or without solvent. ! 3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the reaction is carried out in the presence of a solvent selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, benzene, toluene and diethyl ether. ! 4. A process according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that R1 represents hydrogen or methyl, preferably hydrogen. ! 5. Method according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the organic base is elected from the group consisting of alkali metal alkoxides, alkaline earth metal alcoholates, aluminum alcoholates and tetrasubstituted ammonium hydroxides, preferably alkali metal alkoxides and / or alkaline earth metal hydroxides, tetra ammonium. ! 6. A method according to claim 5, characterized in that the organic base is an alkali metal alcoholate, preferably sodium or potassium alcoholate, particularly preferably sodium or potassium alcoholate of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, sec-propanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol or tert-butanol, and the most pref


As one of the poorest countries in the world Mozambique has a great need of development, especially among smallholder farmers within the agriculture sector which constitutes 80% of the population. ...


Receptor activities for cell-bound degradation products of the third complement component, C3b and C3d, were demonstrated on cells from nine cultured human lymphoid lines and spleen lymphocytes from eight strains of mice. These receptor activities were found with rosette formation and immune adherence assays by utilizing sensitized sheep erythrocytes coated with C3 derived from human, mouse, guinea pig, and rabbit serum. Some cultured human lymphoid cells displayed receptor activities for both C3b and C3d, others showed only the one for C3d, and two cell lines reacted negatively. All murine cells examined showed receptor activities for murine C3d and to a lesser extent for human C3d together with receptor activity for guinea pig C3b; however, human C3b-carrying cells could not be attached to murine lymphocytes. Sensitized sheep erythrocytes coated with C1-C5 of rabbit serum deficient in C6 were found to react much like erythrocytes coated with human C3b and thus provided a useful reagent for the detection of C3b receptor activities on human lymphoid cells. There was no correlation between the expression of C3b and C3d receptors and the H-2 or HL-A phenotype or the antigenic determinants of β2-microglobulin which suggests that these complement receptors have unique chemical structures representing additional and useful cell surface markers.


Abstract The solid solution of (U1−yFPy)O2±x has the same fluorite structure as UO2±x, and the lattice parameter is affected by dissolved fission product and oxygen concentrations. The relation between the lattice parameter and the concentrations of neodymium and oxygen in the fluorite structure of (U1−yNdy)O2±x was investigated using X-ray diffraction. The lattice parameter behavior in the (U1−yNdy)O2±x solid solution shows a linear change as a function of the oxygen-to-metal ratio and solubility of neodymium. The lattice parameter depends on the radii of ions forming the fluorite structure and also can be expressed by a particular rule (modified Vegard's law). The numerical analyses of the lattice parameters for the stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric solid solutions were conducted, and the lattice parameter model for the (U1−yNdy)O2±x solid solution was assessed. A very linear relationship between the lattice parameter and the Nd and O concentration for the stoichiometry and nonstoichiometry of the (U1−yNdy)O2±x solid solution was verified.


Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere. Air pollution can also be known as degradation of air quality resulting from unwanted chemicals or other materials occurring in the air. The simple way to know how polluted the air is to calculate the amounts of foreign and/or natural substances occurring in the atmosphere that may result in adverse effects to humans, animals, vegetation and/or materials. The objective of this study is to create a simulation of air quality dispersion in UTHM campus by using computer aided design mechanism such as software and calculating tools. Another objective is to compare the concentration obtained from the end result of calculation with past studies. The air pollutant in the scope of study is Particulate Matter (PM10). The highest reading recorded for E-Sampler was 305μg/m3. It was recorded in Structure Lab sampling point while the highest expected concentration by the Gaussian Dispersion Model was 184μg/m3 for UTHM Stadium. The recommended value for permissible exposure to particulate matter in 24 hours time is 150μg/m3 according to the Recommended Malaysian Air Quality Guidelines.


The paper has been written with a view to assess the various types of place making capabilities of a place. For this purpose, analysis has been done in retrospect of tourism and the architecture and design of the built forms that comprise the popular areas of Munich has been considered. These areas essentially entice tourists to visit the place and in turn enhance the economy, cultural importance and tourism of the place. The work has been guided by questions like what creates a sense of place in Munich; what kind of experiences are created by the volumes of built masses in the central areas of Munich; how do people except for citizens perceive the authenticity of the place. Moreover, an analysis of the story telling capabilities of the place with respect to art, architecture and design has been attempted.


Vocational colleges culture is low,compared with the general colleges and universities,and network is the main way to obtain culture in spare time.The network culture,some good and some bad,must pass a reasonable guide.This paper focuses on network technology and culture construction,from which discusses integration of culture construction and network technology.


Silver nanoparticles colloid was prepared by pulsed laser ablation of silver target for 10 min in distilled water at different repetition rate and laser fluence to study the effect of laser ablation parameters on the silver nanoparticles colloid.Particles size,morphology and absorption spectroscopy of the obtained nanoparticles colloid were characterized by ultraviolet to visible(UV-Vis) spectrophotometer and transmission electron microscope(TEM),and the average diameter and diameter distribution were analyzed by Image-ProPlus software.The results showed that the average diameter of the silver nanoparticles prepared at repetition rate of 10 Hz and laser fluence of 4.2 J/cm2 was the smallest(D=17.54 nm),the distribution of particle size was narrowest(δ=36.86 nm) and the morphologies were fairly homogeneous.So it was confirmed that control of nanoparticles size and shape was possible by laser ablation parameters.In addition,based on the experimental results,the effects of laser ablation parameters on the silver nanoparticles colloid was discussed in terms of fragmentation and melting induced aggregation of colloidal particles by self-absorption of laser pulses.


This study examines the norms of jury selection, determines which norms are most important in qualifying individuals for jury service, and discusses how the interpretation and application of these norms influence the racial composition of juries as blacks progress from the jury list to the jury panel and to the jury box. The data come from a questionnaire survey of 1,551 legal personnel-district clerks, jury commissioners, state attorneys, defense attorneys, and judges-who are most directly associated with state petit trial juries in 325 counties of eight Southern states with large black populations. The results indicate that blacks are significantly underrepresented at several jury selection stages. Some of the reasons for this underrepresentation are related to unsupervised and unauthorized discretionary jury selection procedures and the systematic striking of blacks.


The combination method of results of different space geodetic techniques gives two kinds of products. On the one hand, the Earth orientation parameters (EOP) that define the orientation of the Earth in space and, on the other, the coordinates of collocation stations by them the ITRF is realized. Obtained results are based on the method developed by authors, so called "non-rigorous" combination of the data. Approximately eight-year data was successively processed in order to obtain solutions of both products, which were then compared with the results given in ITRF 2005 solution.


. — We show that, if H is a random subgroup of a finitely generated free group F k , only inner automorphisms of F k may leave H invariant. A similar result holds for random subgroups of toral relatively hyperbolic groups, and more generally of groups which are hyperbolic relative to slender subgroups. These results follow from non-existence of splittings over slender groups which are relative to a random group element. Random subgroups are defined using random walks or balls in a Cayley tree of F k . In the free group F k , we also prove the following deterministic result: if a cyclically reduced word h ∈ F k contains all reduced words of length L , then F k has no splitting relative to h over a subgroup of rank (cid:54) ( k − 1)( L − 2).


Reviewer #1: 1. I suggest giving a more detailed description of this surgical procedure in the article. Thank you for your suggsetion. Pleased review the revised detailed description of multiple incisions and thread-dragging therapy as following. Treatment ... During the surgery, the main incision between the previous wound and the internal opening was completely excised and debrided. It was used probe and clamp to explore the infection area as well as scissors and diathotomy to remove the necrotic tissues. Multiple incisions were performed in the epidermis within a distance of 5cm to 8cm from the main incision. Later, other incisions were performed in the epidermis within a distance of 5cm to 8cm from the former ones until the outermost incision enveloped the entire area of infection. Rubber catheters were used as loose setons for adequate drainage between the incisions on two ends. Finally, the incision outside the level of the bilateral symphysis pubis reached outward of the skin on both sides of the ischium nodules and a total of 21 loose rubber setons were used for these incisions. It is important to keep the skin at the base of the scrotum intact to avoid extensive damage and postoperative sexual dysfunction (Figure 2). ...