According to the characteristics of low porosity and low permeability in Huaqing Oilfield,a kind of carboxymethyl hydroxypropyl(CMHPG) fracturing fluid was developed with concentration of 0.25%.The fluid has strong sand-carrying ability and through gel breaking.The residue content of CMHPG was only 128 mg/L.And reduce the effect on sand-carrying ability came from high concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in water.It has achieved good application results in Huaqing chang-6 reservoir of Changqing Oilfield.After fracturing transformation,the six months' average production index of 23 test wells was 1.4 times as high as the compared well of the same well group.Using CMHPG fracturing fluid is one of the highly effective ways to stimulate the lowpermeability reservoirs.


Cyber-Physical Systems integrate computer networks and physical process. The security aspect of such system is one of the challenges for the researchers. In this paper, we present an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system based Intrusion detection system for the cyber-physical system. The proposed intelligent intrusion detection system is a security tool that allows authorized access to the desired system by examining the network traffic and the previous record. The standard KDD Cup 99 dataset is used to identify different types of intrusion signatures and features. Chi-Square test and Correlation matrix is used to select relevant features and then the sets of features help to classify the attack types. Performance evaluation shows that our proposed work improves the accuracy for classification of different attack types.


Introduction A Brief History of Trans Theorising Intimacy: A Foucauldian Approach Gender: Governance and Resistance Sexuality: Categorizations and Complexities The Negotiation of Intimacy Towards an Ethics of Intimacy Appendix i: Interviewee Profiles Notes Bibliography


The textile industry is China's traditional manufacturing industries.Under the financial crisis,the textile export is very much affected,and the whole supply chain of the textile industry is faced with problem of increased inventory.This paper,by combining the characteristics of the textile supply chain,analyzes the problem of the supply chain of textile industry and its causes under the financial crisis,and proposes short-term and long-term recommendations.


Electronic transport is considered in dense fully ionized hydrogen. The equivalence of the Boltzmann-Ziman approach with the more deductive Kubo formalism for weak electron-ion interactions is established. The ionic structure factors obtained from recent and improved Monte Carlo simulation of the classical one-component plasma are used to obtain the linear time-independent transport coefficients. The effects of inelastic electron scattering from the ionic density fluctuations are taken into account. The electrical and thermal conductivities, the conductive opacity, the bulk viscosity, and the thermoelectric power at different densities and temperatures are tabulated. These results are compared with previous calculations.


A method is suggested for simultaneously recording paired pulse amplitudes. Fragments from a screened double ionization chamber are shaped on short-closed lines. The pulses formed retain a plateau for several microseconds. The pulses from one channel are transmitted to a horizontal and from the other channel to a vertical deflecting plate in a single-beam electron tube. The illumination initiated by one of the fragment bursts coincides with the plateau of the recorded pulse. The flash point on the screen corresponds to a pair of pulses, and the distance from the vertical and horizontal axes is determined by the first and second pulse amplitudes. (R.V.J.)


Road signs are essential for providing information to drivers. Understanding road signs are essential for ensuring traffic safety because doing so can stop 4484 accidents. The identification of traffic signs has been the focus of research in recent decades. Accurate real-time recognition is the cornerstone of a robust but underdeveloped traffic sign recognition system. This study provides drivers with real-time voice-advice traffic sign recognition technology. This system is composed of two subsystems. Using a trained convolutional neural network, the first recognizes and detects traffic signs (CNN). When the system notices a particular traffic sign, the text-to-speech engine is employed to play a voice message to the driver. An efficient- CNN model is built on the reference data set using deep learning methods for search and real-time search. This system's advantage is that it recognizes traffic signs and guides the car even if the driver overlooks, ignores, or doesn't understand them. Say. These technologies are also necessary for the development of autonomous vehicles.


This paper reviews the current Mexican debate on communication policies related to the promotion of cultural diversity through television. Using the concepts...


Morphological analysis of tajik word forms is presented in a block-scheme form describing the concept of functioning parts of subsystems as well as the system in whole.


Abstract Trophic State Index (TSI) of the Chilika Lake has been estimated using secchi disk transparency (SDT) as well as satellite data. An algorithm was developed to estimate TSI using in-situ observed SDT and band ratio of Landsat-8 OLI in exponential mode (R2 = 0.72). Different interpolation methods have been applied and the best one was considered to prepare two dimensional water quality images of the lake. The in-situ and satellite observed, TSI value shows the northern sector is always in eutrophic to hypereutrophic condition. During pre-monsoon season of 2015 the southern sector shows lake water is eutrophic condition. The analysis of satellite image indicate the lake water is in eutrophic condition from the year 2006 to 2015. However, the average TSI values were comparatively less during post-monsoon season of 2013 and 2015.


The significant effect of impurities or defects,especially oxygen vacancies,on the TiO2-based photocatalysts has intensively attracted much attention according to plentiful researches in these decades.Here,the main methods of introducing oxygen vacancies into the TiO2 are reviewed.Then the influence of oxygen vacancies on the properties of TiO2 is briefly discussed,such as visible light absorption,energy band structure,and photocatalytic performance,etc.Additionally,the controllability of oxygen vacancies is emphasized and then the challenges and opportunities of the application of TiO2-based photocatalysts in the future are pointed out.


Activate the potential activity is the main purpose of the study about the pozzolanic properties of fly ash.In order to eliminate the affection of Ca2+,NaOH,NaCl,Na2SO4 were used as activator in the experiment.Lime absorption method was utilized to evaluate the activation effect of three chemical activators(NaOH,NaCl and Na2SO4) on Tashan fly ash.Results show that alkaline,chloride and sulfate activator accelerate the growth of pozzolanic activity to a certain extent;alkaline and sulfate activator show more presentable effect,but the effect of chloride activator is poorer.Lime and gypsum activating agent can be used to activate fly ash and CaCl2 can be used as the early strength agent on the production of filling materials.


P olynomials are one of the most significant objects in many fields of mathematics. Polynomial root-finding has played a key role in the history of mathematics [2]. It is one of the oldest and most deeply studied mathematical problems. The last interesting contribution to the polynomials root finding history was made by Kalantari [2], who introduced the polynomiography as a method which generates nice looking graphics [3,4]. Polynomiography is defined to be the art and science of visualization in approximation of the zeros of complex polynomials, via fractal and non fractal images created using the mathematical convergence properties of iteration functions [5]. An individual image is called a " polynomiograph "and polynomiography combines both art and science aspects [6,7]. Polynomiography gives a new way to solve the ancient problem by using new algorithms and computer technology [8]. Polynomiography is based on the use of one or an infinite number of iteration methods formulated for the purpose of approximation of the root of polynomials e.g. Newton's method, Halley's method etc. The " polynomiographer " can control the shape and designed in a more predictable way by using different iteration methods to the infinite variety of complex polynomials [9]. According to Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, any complex polynomial with complex coefficients {an, an−1, ..., a1, a0}: p(z) = anz + an−1z + ... + a1z + a0 (1)


We demonstrate the effectiveness of the photoluminescence (PL) technique for a diagnostic characterization of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. Detection of PL exclusively from an ultrathin top Si layer was realized by the shallow penetration of ultraviolet light and the confinement effect of photo-excited carriers in the SOI structure. The confinement effect also induced a characteristic condensate luminescence that is sensitive to the crystalline and interfacial defects. We characterized generation and annihilation of dislocations and microdefects during annealing in SIMOX (separation by implanted oxygen) wafers. Oxygen precipitates were detected in Unibond® (bonded and H + split SOI) wafers. We found a positive correlation between the PL lifetime and the crystalline and interfacial quality in various SOI wafers. Characteristic nonuniformities peculiar to the wafer fabrication methods were observed in full wafer PL mapping of state-of-the-art 200 mm SOI wafers. We also discovered a micron-sized irregularity in the top Si layer of some wafers.


Laser intrinsic distortion during optical-phase conjugation in semiconductor-laser amplifiers is investigated numerically. It is shown that the amplitude and phase modulation due to the incoming modulated signal reduces the system performance and depends on the amplifier length. Both distortions can be reduced by increasing the input pump-power level.


The development of cloud manufacturing enables data-driven process monitoring methods to reflect the real industrial process states accurately and timely. However, traditional process monitoring methods cannot update learned models once they are deployed to edge devices, which leads to model mismatch when confronted time-varying data. In addition, limited resources on the edge prevent it from deploying complex models. Therefore, this article proposes a novel cloud-edge collaborative process monitoring method. First, historical data of industrial processes are collected to establish a dictionary learning model and train the dictionary and classifier in the cloud. Then, the model is simplified and deployed to the edge. The edge layer monitors the process states, including fault detection and working condition recognition, and determines whether a model mismatch has occurred based on an error-triggered strategy. Both numerical simulation and industrial roasting process results verify the superiority of the proposed method.


History Of Zionism * Land and State in Jewish Tradition * Early Glimmerings of Rebirth * The Rise of Political Zionism * From Herzl to Balfour * The Rise of a Jewish Polity * Zionism and Jewish Communal Politics * Zionism, Arabism, and the British * In the Shadow of the Holocaust * War and Catastrophe * Revolt and Rebirth Dictionary Of Zionist Terms


We consider a finite-sized dust cloud embedded in an infinite plasma. The dust cloud will generally be at a different potential from that of the ambient plasma, and particles which enter the cloud are accelerated or decelerated. We treat the two limiting cases: in case A, particles are not thermalized within the cloud, and in case B, the plasma is thermalized in the cloud interior to form a Maxwellian plasma with densities given by Boltzmann relations as functions of the local cloud potential. Qualitatively, both cases lead to similar results: In a tenuous cloud the dust cloud potential is low while the dust potentials are close to those of single isolated dust particles. In dense dust clouds the cloud potential approaches a maximum while the dust potentials decreases to zero with increasing dust density. However, the exact values of the potentials can differ considerably for the two cases for the same set of other cloud and ambient plasma parameters. Also, for case A we may have several sets of solutions for the two potentials, all giving charge balance in the cloud and current balance to the dust. We find, however, that case A may not easily be formed for all ranges of dust densities because the charging of dust can take a longer time than the time for scattering processes to lead to internal Boltzmann distributions for both plasma particle types. On the other hand, we expect semistable cases intermediate between case A and case B with multiple solutions to be found. Instabilities through the creation of double layers and transitions between two solutions may occur and lead to events in dust clouds. We suggest that such events may possibly occur in cometary comas and in planetary rings and lead to changes in the dust cloud structure. Conditions relevant for multiple solutions will probably be rather short-lived, at most a few times 10 days, before scattering collisions with diffusion in velocity space turn the plasma velocity distribution into that of case B. In this case there is only one solution for the potentials for each set of cloud and plasma parameters.


This article examines the extent to which some psychoanalytic ideas about dissociation and its correlates are useful in helping us to understand possession behavior and related phenomena in places such as Toraja, Indonesia. Although some of these ideas can be useful to us, data from Toraja challenge us to modify some key psychoanalytic assumptions about dissociation. The article demonstrates how cross-cultural data can be used to broaden our perspectives on the construction and breakdown of human consciousness.


In Natural Complexity: A Modeling Handbook, Paul Charbonneau introduces a number of computer models that are well known as complex systems, from Langton's ant, through sand piles and forest fires, to flocks of birds and traffic jams. The book takes a pragmatic, subjective view of complexity, in which a system of simple rules leads to an outcome that is in itself notable, but not at all obvious from the simple rule. Langton's ant, for example, traverses an infinite grid of black or white squares, turning left or right according to the color of each square as it advances, and changing the color of the cell it leaves behind. The first few thousand iterations appear to be a random walk, but eventually some kind of order emerges when the ant, seen from a distance, begins to carve out a straight, unending highway. An evocative notion then, that the overall behavior of a system can be described by an apparently simple if approximate rule that appears to be unrelated to the underlying mechanism. Complexity, as it is understood in applied mathematics, has over the years been discussed in numerous books from the technical to the popular. The proposition here, though, is to promote hands-on experience with a number of example systems. Although the book does not shy away from the mathematical discussion of the examples, needed especially to illustrate their properties in common, it guides readers to program and run a set of – at a first glance – straightforward models on ordinary computers using the freely available and widespread Python programming language. The subject matter and its treatment in this book might well answer a question for readers of The Holocene. How can students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, come to appreciate computer models in geographical science? The problem is that students must jump several hurdles before they can start to work with the complicated models of the ocean, atmosphere, and other earth system components that the field depends upon. They might need to learn a compiled programming language: FORTRAN, C or C++, which will seem loaded with arcane notions: isn't it obvious that x is a real number? A seasoned programmer might understand otherwise, but that is a lesson that can wait. Students might also need to come to grips with fluid mechanics, vector calculus, discretization methods, involved visualization techniques, statistical analysis, and a host of difficult material that they may or may not be prepared to tackle by their studies to date. All in all, it is a lot to ask for students to expend so much effort, especially if the model results are not themselves immediately illuminating. The beauty of the models described in this book, and the way in which they are described, is that students can start to explore scientific computing and see some exciting results in short order. Each of the models is complemented with a short Python program – and I appreciate the author's frequent reminders that they are designed for brevity not performance – which means that students with a laptop can start to work with them with minimum fuss, and learn a transferable skill to boot. More importantly, though, the complex systems discussed produce intriguing, elegant results that are not obvious given the simple rules embedded in the programs. These results can be appreciated at a face value, with their tendency to produce intricate pictures, and at a deeper level by considering properties such as self-similarity and quasi-periodicity. Take the forest fire case of Chapter 6 as an example. The rules of the game are simple and make immediate sense: a tree might grow in an empty space with a given probability, a lightning strike might ignite an existing tree with a different probability, fire jumps to neighboring trees, and burnt trees leave an empty space behind them. The obvious outcome is that an expanding front will cover the model forest, but turns out to be a partial description of the result at best, and varies substantially depending on the choice of the growth and lightning strike probabilities. For a realistic choice, where trees grow slowly compared to the advancing fire, and lightning strikes are infrequent, the model forest subdivided into domains, each with a distinct density, and not for the first time in the book we meet with self-organized criticality, with the relative frequency of larger and smaller fires described by the same power law that appears for avalanches, flooding, and of course, sand piles. The approach to Python programming is suitable for a novice, both in that it favors short programs over performance and in that it points to the next step for an improving programmer. Python's inbuilt data structures and iteration methods are not designed for substantial number crunching, with the result that a Python program that looks much like a C or FORTRAN program will run an order-of-magnitude more slowly, and a Python program that looks like an R or MATLAB program will not work as expected. The solution to this is to make proper use of the add-on NumPy library, which is introduced primarily to take advantage of its data structures, leaving the reader to find out how to work more efficiently with it should the need arise. The graphics library matplotlib also features, so that novice programmers will finish the book equipped with a practical apparatus of scientific computing on Python. The book itself is available in the common perfect bound paperback format. The style of writing is friendly and conversational, akin to a well-written popular science book. That said, there are more than a few formulae to follow, though nothing that should frighten a reader already with any pragmatic interest in scientific computing. Each chapter includes a number of good quality color and black-and-white figures, many of which have been generated by the Python programs. These are included in full, and are generally short enough to type by hand and certainly to read and understand. To paraphrase the author, 'no procrastinating, start modeling now'. Holocene book review 770749 HOL0010.1177/0959683618770749The HoloceneHolocene book review book-review2018


Employing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in localization and tracking system can bring many attractive advantages due to its high mobility, on-demand deployment and low cost. In this paper, we utilize the UAV as a mobile sensor to close up and track a mobile radiation source only based on the received signal strengths. We aim to maximize the sum of received signal strengths at the UAV receiver during a certain time interval, while taking the UAV's maximum speed and fly region constraints into account. However, it is very challenging since the positions of radiation source are unknown and dynamically changing. To address this issue, we propose a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based framework. We first reformulate the original problem into a Markov decision process (MDP). Then, we apply the double deep Q-network (DDQN) with dueling network structure and accordingly develop a multi-step dueling-DDQN learning algorithm for radiation source tracking. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm under various parameter settings.


Abstract Background The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptom Inventory (IBDSI) is a validated patient self-reported measure used to assess IBD disease activity. Purpose We aimed to assess the prevalence of symptoms, and examine which symptoms are most associated with disease activity as measured by a symptom index and objective measure of inflammation. Method The Manitoba Living with IBD Study is a prospective study of 156 participants with confirmed IBD who completed bi-weekly Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptom Inventory (IBDSI) surveys. Relative risks (RR) (with 95% confidence interval (CI)), positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV), and area under receiver operator curve (AUC) were reported for each symptom to predict active disease defined as: (1) active IBDSI, (2) self-reported flare, and (3) elevated fecal calprotectin (FCAL) (>250µg/g). Analyses were undertaken following stratification based on sex, and disease type (Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)). Result(s) In total, 69.2% of participants were female; 64.7% had CD. Fatigue was the most prevalent symptom in both inactive and active disease, across all 3 disease measures (IBDSI: 24.5% and 75.1%, self-reported flare: 42.2% and 72.2%, FCAL: 46.0% and 60.6%). Absence of fatigue had a high NPV for active IBDSI and self-reporting a flare in both CD and UC. Urgency had a consistently strong NPV, RR and AUC across all three disease measures in both IBD subtypes and sexes. The number of loose/liquid bowel movements predicted elevated FCAL in UC (RR in men = 3.5, 95% CI 1.2-9.9, RR in women = 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.7, AUC in men = 0.73, 95% CI 0.59-0.84, AUC in women = 0.65, 95% CI 0.56-0.72), as did blood in stool in females with UC (RR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.7). In men with CD, excessive bowel gas (RR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.4) and urgency (RR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.6-9.3) best predicted an elevated FCAL. No symptom was strongly predictive of elevated FCAL in females with CD. Conclusion(s) Fatigue was the most prevalent symptom irrespective of disease activity. Urgency stood out as being consistently associated with disease activity, irrespective of the disease measure. Individual symptoms have different impacts on subjective (IBDSI) and objective (FCAL) measures in IBD. Please acknowledge all funding agencies by checking the applicable boxes below None Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Original Research Article A descriptive cross-sectional design study was conducted at Al-Basra teaching hospital, starting from November 24th, 2019 to January 11th, 2020. The study aims to assess the nurses' knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to find out the relationship between knowledge of the nurses and their demographic variables (gender, age group, Academic qualification, Years of work experience and formal training). A non-probability (purposive) sample of (40) nurses, those who were working in the coronary care unit, intensive care unit, and emergency units. Data were collected through a questionnaire, and it consists of two parts, Part 1 Included (8) items and Part 2 (40) items. Data collected by means of structured self-report techniques with the subjects. The findings revealed that the majority of nurses had poor knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. There is a significant association between the nurse's knowledge and academic qualification at p-value 0.05 and there was no significant association between the nurse's knowledge and their gender, age group, Years of work experience, and formal training. The study concluded that the majority of the study sample is female; Most of the study sample has poor knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The study recommended programs training about cardiopulmonary resuscitation with a larger sample size to determine the effectiveness of CPR training on nurse's CPR knowledge.


The frequency dependence and magnitude of the far-infrared absorption of a small-metal-particle composite material has been measured over the range of 4-100 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. The composite samples consisted of spherical metal particles, with radii varying from 100-1000 \AA{}, randomly dispersed in an insulating host. In some samples, a nonlinear dependence of the absorption on the metal-particle concentration was observed, indicating that interparticle interactions can play an important role. It is shown that the magnitude of the absorption cannot be explained by classical electromagnetic theory.


We show that current correlations at the exit ports of a beam splitter can be used to detect electronic entanglement for a fairly general input state. First, we demonstrate that multi‐mode entanglement of electrons in a mesoscopic conductor can be detected by a measurement of the zero‐frequency current correlations in an electronic Hong‐Ou‐Mandel interferometer. By this means, one can further establish a lower bound to the entanglement of formation of two‐electron input states. Second, we include the situation where electron pairs can enter the beam splitter from the same port or be separated due to backscattering. The proposed scheme allows to discriminate between particle‐number and mode entanglement.


We have measured the mechanical strength (σ) of pure water ices V and VI under steady state deformation conditions. Constant displacement rate compressional tests were conducted in a gas apparatus at confining pressures from 400 250 K. Ices V and VI are thus rheologically distinct but by coincidence have approximately the same strength under the conditions chosen for these experiments. To avoid misidentification, these tests are therefore accompanied by careful observations of the occurrences and characteristics of phase changes. One sample each of ice V and VI was quenched at pressure to metastably retain the high-pressure phase and the acquired deformation microstructures; X ray diffraction analysis of these samples confirmed the phase identification. Surface replicas of the deformed and quenched samples suggest that ice V probably deforms largely by dislocation creep, while ice VI deforms by a more complicated process involving substantial grain size reduction through recrystallization.


Recently, modular multilevel converters (MMC) have gained more and more interest for Medium Voltage inverter applications. However, voltage ripple on submodule capacitors limits their application range as motor drives at low frequency and high torque demand. The flying-capacitor passive cross-connected arms MMC (FC-MMC) allows to solve this issue with a combination of high-frequency voltage and current injection to effectively control the capacitor voltage and ensure safe and reliable converter operation. However, in this topology, the pre-charge of the flying-capacitor and submodule (SM) bus capacitors are major issues to address, since resonance occurs between the sub-arm inductor and flying-capacitor, which can lead to uncontrolled phase current and even converter damage. This paper describes a novel pre-charge/start-up control strategy, which avoids uncontrolled oscillations. With respect to previous proposals, this strategy does not require a dedicated source (other than the SM capacitor itself) for the power supply of SM controller and gate drivers. Moreover, the method is robust with respect to possible capacitance mismatch between the dc bus of different SMs. Its effectiveness is validated considering the case of a FC-MMC based permanent magnet synchronous machine drive. The proposed strategy also guarantees that the machine current during the start-up procedure remains small enough, in order to ensure the uncontrolled torque generated remains negligible.


Hollow filaments having longitudinal grooves and ridges that are readily split along the grooves and are especially adapted for use in a flocking process to form flocked products with a surface similar to suede. The hollow filaments have a denier of about 0.8 to about 3.35 and have a void area of 15 to 30% of the total area of the cross section of the fiber.


This research aims to analyze whether the LDR, IPR, IRR, NPL, APB, BOPO, FBIR, and ROA have significant influence simultaneously toward Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks. The sample of this research are three banks, namely : Bank Mandiri, Bank BNI, and Bank BTN. Data in this research is secondary data and collecting data method in this research is collecting data from financial report of The State Banks.
The result of research shows that LDR, IPR, IRR, PDN, NPL, APB, BOPO, FBIR, and ROA have significant influence simultaneously toward Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks. FBIR partially have positive significant influence to Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks, APB partially have negative significant influence to Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks. IPR, IRR, ROA partially have negative unsignificant influence to Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks, On the other hand, LDR, PDN,NPL,BOPO partially have positive unsignificant influence to Composition of Core Capital on The State Banks.
Keywords : Liquidity, Asset Quality, Sensitivity Market, Efficiency, and Profitability


As-received desert sand from a Middle East country has been characterized for its phase composition and thermal stability. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of quartz (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3), gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), and NaAlSi3O8 phases in as-received desert sand and showed weight loss of approx. 35 percent due to decomposition of CaCO3 and CaSO4.2H2O when heated to 1400 C. A batch of as-received desert sand was melted into calcium magnesium aluminosilicate (CMAS) glass at approx. 1500 C. From inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, chemical composition of the CMAS glass was analyzed to be 27.8CaO-4MgO-5Al2O3-61.6SiO2-0.6Fe2O3-1K2O (mole percent). Various physical, thermal and mechanical properties of the glass have been evaluated. Bulk density of CMAS glass was 2.69 g/cc, Young's modulus 92 GPa, Shear modulus 36 GPa, Poisson's ratio 0.28, dilatometric glass transition temperature (T (sub g)) 706 C, softening point (T (sub d)) 764 C, Vickers microhardness 6.3 +/- 0.4 GPa, indentation fracture toughness 0.75 +/- 0.15 MPa.m (sup 1/2), and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) 9.8 x 10 (exp -6)/degC in the temperature range 25 to 700 C. Temperature dependence of viscosity has also been estimated from various reference points of the CMAS glass using the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman (VFT) equation. The glass remained amorphous after heat treating at 850 C for 10 hr but crystallized into CaSiO3 and Ca-Mg-Al silicate phases at 900 C or higher temperatures. Crystallization kinetics of the CMAS glass has also been investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Activation energies for the crystallization of two different phases in the glass were calculated to be 403 and 483 kJ/mol, respectively.


In recent years, reverse payment settlements in the pharmaceutical industry have attracted the attention of US and European competition authorities. Originator pharmaceutical companies facing patent challenges from generic companies may be incentivized to reach terms of settlement prior to a ruling at trial. Reverse payment settlements occur when the terms of settlement contain a transfer of value from the originator to the generic company. Competition authorities in particular are interested in reverse payment settlements that potentially delay the entry of the generic company's competing pharmaceutical product. The chapter reviews and compares the approaches of the US and European competition authorities in investigating reverse payment settlements.It also examines the economic incentives faced by originators and generic companies that result from the patent system and pharmaceutical regulatory framework in which they operate. When combined with originators' and generic companies' diverging beliefs as to the validity of the patent in question, these incentives lead to a set of feasible reverse payment settlement outcomes that include both a transfer of value and a specified date of generic entry. Economic theory indicates that, under certain circumstances, a set of reverse payment settlements that result in the delay of generic entry can be beneficial to the health systems and patients that pay for pharmaceutical products. This kind of beneficial settlement allows litigating parties to avoid costly and time consuming litigation and establishes a generic entry date that is earlier than the counterfactual (probability weighted) expected date of entry.Given the potential benefits from certain reverse payment settlements, it is that competition authorities investigating reverse payment settlements should use an effects based approach to ensure that potential benefits of such settlements to health care systems and patients are not overlooked in the analysis.


Main characteristics of sewage from highway service area(HSA) in Chongqing were studied.Results showed that sewage discharge capacity was 4.38~131.50 m3/d,with average 56.25 m3/d.Water quality of HAS sewage was similar to typical low concentration sewage and removal efficiency was 27.43%~71.39%,with average 51.76%.Gap between maximum and minimum values of day and seasons water quality index were 11%~33% and 36%~210%.The treatment technologies were discussed in details,and were classified as aerobic treatment,anaerobic treatment,aerobic-anaerobic treatment and ecological treatment.Based on analysis of sewage characteristics,the pretreatment-ecological soil filtering was suggested as sewage treatment method in HAS of Chongqing.


0. During the summer of 1953, a fourday conference on language archiving was held at Indiana University, in conjunction with the Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America. The papers here published represent a large part of that conference; those of Wells, Twaddell, Newman, Haugen, and Voegelin were read by their authors at the conference, and subsequently revised for publication, in the light of the conference discussion. Those of Allen, Emeneau, and Chao were preliminary statements, mimeographed before the conference and distributed for discussion; they are presented above without revision. Morris Swadesh and Kenneth Pike were not at the Conference, but they visited the University later in the summer, discussed the main issues of the Conference, and made important suggestions, some of which are incorporated in our paper on Collecting. This paper prefaces its main theme with an unweighted introductory summary of the central issues that had been discussed at the Conference. Three preliminary papers for the Conference appear above; other papers then follow this one, as separate journal articles rather than as chapters in a monograph. Each individual paper gives, very properly, the particular emphasis of its particular author. 1.0. Collecting, archiving, and analyzing are the three main tasks which need to be discussed by anyone who contemplates an Archive of Languages of the World. Of these, the archiving task is central; collecting precedes archiving, and analyzing follows archiving when the aim of the analysis is integrative. 1.1. One kind of collecting is concerned with assembling all available materials; such collecting is said to be undirected. In affect, we look for materials previously collected by others, or currently being collected by them. Thus, recently, Swadesh collected materials bearing on his Penutian problem; these materials will surely be suitable for an archive. With them in storage, one would want to have equally accessible the small but not unimportant published materials bearing on the far flung group of languages which flourish under the name of Penutian; so also, one would want to microfilm the few manuscript materials now in the Franz Boas collection of the American Philosophical Society, or in the Anthropology Department of the University of California, or in possession of private scholars. 1.2. In the other kind of collecting, we direct man-power resources, following some such plan as that authored by Boas. Such directed collecting constitutes the main burden of the present paper-after a consideration of archiving and analyzing. 2.0. The central task of archiving can be usefully subdivided into three major operations. These involve the storage of materials; the cataloguing of materials; the indexing of materials. 2.1. Collected materials are of necessity


It is generally accepted that it is important to involve the end users of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) in all stages of its design and development. However, traditional GUI development tools typically do not support collaborative design. TelePICTIVE is an experimental software prototype designed to allow computer-naive users to collaborate with experts at possibly remote locations in designing GUIs.
TelePICTIVE is based on the PICTIVE participatory design methodology, and has been prototyped using the RENDEZVOUS system. In this paper we describe TelePICTIVE, and show how it is designed to support collaboration among a group of GUI designers with diverse levels of expertise. We also explore some of the issue that have come up during development and initial usability testing, such as how to coordinate simultaneous access to a shared design surface, and how to engage in the participatory design of GUIs using a Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) system.


In this supplement statistical correctness of the procedure described in our paper Monte Carlo feature selection for supervised classification is assessed for two examples studied in that paper. 1 Statistical correctness of the MCFS procedure Let us perform the validation steps of the procedure, following their brief description given in the paper referred to in the Abstract. We shall confine ourselves to describing the first of them for the leukemia data only (for a similar analysis regarding the imputed lymphoma data, based on cRI gk , see [Drami´nski et al., 2004]). The first validation step consists of two experiments. In the first experiment, 15,000 subsets of genes, each with 2,000 randomly selected genes, were drawn from the set of all 7,129 genes. For each such subset of features we thus have 38 samples from two classes, AML and AL. Each such set of 38 samples was randomly split 30 times into a training set of 24 and a test set of 14 samples. Finally, 450,000 trees were constructed on all the 450,000 training sets obtained, and their weighted accuracies were stored. The choice of the number of features for each sample was rather arbitrary, as the only requirement was to include sufficient randomness into the whole experiment. The second experiment was started with 50 random permutations of the class labels of the samples. Then, for each permutation, the experiment was run similarly to the former one. The only difference was that only 300 subsets ⋆ these authors contributed equally ⋆⋆ to whom correspondence should be addressed


Soy milk coming from whim of soybean represent the nutritious food and
be of benefit to health. Soy milk not contain lactose, so that goodness consumed
for lactose intolerance patient. The content of protein in soy-milk is almost same
with cow-milk, so, it can be alternative substitute of cow-milk, so that can become
the alternative of substitution of cow milk. Beside that the price of which is cheap
relative, soy milk can be reached by society. Existence of soy milk start
recognized by society, although not yet widely.
This research aim to know the ideal attribute according to consumer and
consumer attitude to product of soy milk. Soy milk which is checked is liquid soy
milk with simple technology, liquid soy milk with UHT (Ultra High
Temperature), import liquid soy milk, and soy milk powder.
The basic method in this research use descriptive method. The research
execution method use survey method. The location of research is chosen
purposively (purposive), namely Surakarta city with take three supermarket in it.
The determination of sample is done by judgment sampling method with number
of respondent 100 people and it is taken 25 as sample for each product. The data
which are used are primary data and secondary data. Then, primary data is
analyzed with the ideal-point model analysis (The Ideal - Point Model).
Result of research indicate that the majority of consumer of product of soy
milk have gender a woman, age group 19-25 year, mount the education is master
graduation (S1), type of work is private sector officer, level of consumer's income
is Rp. Rp.2.000.000,00-Rp 2.999.999,00, number of family are four people.
Based on the important level analysis of attribute of the soy milk product is
known that the attribute which is prioritized by the consumer in consuming at
sequence are safety product, taste, practical, package, price, and promotion.
Based on each attribute of analysis according to ideal-consumer in
supermarket, it is known that the attributes of soy milk with simple technology
entirely almost close with ideal-consumer, namely attractive package, practical
product, cheap price, maximum promotion, good taste of soybean, and free from
chemical ingredient. In liquid soy milk UHT and import liquid soy milk their
attributes are almost close with ideal, except the promotion attribute of the liquid
soy milk with UHT and except the promotion and safety on the import liquid soy
milk. Meanwhile, the attributes of powder soy milk is entirely close with ideal,
except price. Result of research indicate that the consumer attitude to liquid soy
milk of simple technology is very good. while consumer attitude to liquid soy
milk of UHT (Ultra High Temperature), liquid soy milk import, and powder of
soy milk is good. From this research, it can be suggested are producer increase
quality of soymilk, emphasize safety product, add variation of soymilk flavour,
and give promotion for consumer.


ABSTRACT We test whether 35 stock characteristics can explain the cross-section of stock returns in India. We address the limitations of previous studies by using a comprehensive, survivorship bias free sample of all firms listed on the major Indian stock exchanges from 1994 to 2019. Results from Fama-Macbeth regressions show as many as 14 predictors breaching the significance threshold of t-stats greater than three. We also use machine learning methods to generate rolling one-month ahead out-of-sample forecasts of stock returns for all firms in our sample. We find substantial improvement in forecast accuracy when using machine learning compared to OLS. Further, we run additional tests for understanding the economic significance of our findings. Investment strategies based on model forecasts provide significant returns to investors.


The purpose of the study was to assess whether non‐enhancing adjacent cortical signal intensity abnormality detected on fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) can differentiate between multicentric and/or multifocal glioma and non‐glioma pathology in patients with multiple enhancing cerebral lesions. Nineteen MR studies were reviewed after a database search and exclusion criteria applied, to detect areas of FLAIR cortex involvement without enhancement. Statistical analysis was carried out using a 2 × 2 contingency table and Fischer's exact ratio. Non‐enhancing adjacent cortical T2 signal abnormality was seen in eight of eight multicentric and/or multifocal gliomas and four of 11 of the non‐glioma pathologies (10 metastatic disease and 1 lymphoma). The presence of non‐enhancing adjacent cortical T2 signal abnormality had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 63% for glioma. The positive predictive value was 67% and negative predictive value 100%. Fischer's exact probability test was P = 0.01 when applied to the glioma versus non‐glioma categories, indicating a significant difference. Non‐enhancing adjacent cortical T2‐weighted FLAIR signal appears to be more frequently seen in patients with glioma and multiple enhancing lesions compared with those with glioma and a solitary enhancing cerebral lesion. The absence of this sign favours metastatic disease and the presence suggests that multicentric and/or multifocal glioma should remain a consideration.


The controversy surrounding the impact of religion and religiousity on the growth of corruption is yet to be settled. The effects of prosperity gospel and growth of African Pentecostalism organizations on the prevalence and transmission of corruption have witnessed resurgence in the economics of religions literature especially after the proliferation of individual churches in Africa.  Using micro level data through survey and application of structural equation model, this study investigates the nexus between religiosity and prevalence of corruption in Ghana. The study reveals though that the two concepts are positively related it is insignificant. It also showed that socio economic status such as income directly influence corruption and trust of person positively promote prevalence of corruption. The policy implications are that religious leaders should take ethics preaching seriously. Again, there must be efforts to address public sector corruptions since it deepens poverty and its effects on society.


Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) is an entity of rare genetic skin disorders with abnormal keratinization (1). Harlequin ichthyosis is the most severe type of ARCI, usually caused by truncation mutations in ABCA12. In subtypes of ARCI, such as lamellar ichthy osis (LI) and, congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (CIE) mutations in TGM1, ABCA12, NIPAL4, ALOXE3, ALOX12B, CERS3, CYP4F22 and PNPLA1 have been reported (2–4). Mutations in NIPAL4, the gene encoding the NIPA-like domain containing 4 protein (NIPAL4/ichthyin) (5), have been identified in approximately 16% of patients with ARCI (2). We report here a case of ARCI with variable CIE symptoms. This is the first reported case with a mutation in NIPAL4 in East Asia.


Spontaneous focal synchronization of collective spiking followed by induced traveling waves can occur in the cortical sheet and in cultured planar neuronal networks. In the first case, it is well-known focal epilepsy leading to a seizure and, in the second, this synchronization originates from one of a few steady nucleation sites resulting in a so-called population spike. Assuming functional similarity between the nucleation sites and non-lesional epileptic foci, the major unsolved problem in both cases is that it is unclear whether activation of the focus originates internally (i.e., autonomously relative to interaction with surrounding neuronal tissue) or externally. The 'internal' scenario implies that the focus spatially contains some pacemakers. In turn, several experimental findings indicate a complex spatially non-local activation of epileptic focus. Here, we suggest a generative mechanistic model of planar neuronal network, where the spatial configuration of pacemaker neurons is artificially engineered in order to resolve the above mentioned problem: all pacemakers are placed within a circular central spot. Leaving the global dynamic regime unaffected, this crucially helps to clarify the activation process, visualizing of which is hindered in the natural spatially-uniform configuration. We show in simulations that the nucleation sites (i) can emerge in spatial regions, where pacemakers are completely absent and (ii) can be activated even without direct links from pacemakers. These results demonstrate the principle possibility of external, or remote, activation of a focal source of epileptic activity in the brain. The suggested deterministic model provides the means to study this network phenomenon systematically and reproducibly.


We numerically study the radiative properties of the reverberation phase of pulsar wind nebulae. Reverberation brings a significant evolution in a short period of time. We show that even the Crab Nebula, associated with the more energetic pulsar of the sample that we consider, has a period in its future time evolution where the X-ray luminosity will exceed the spin-down power at the time. In fact, all of the nebulae in our sample are expected to have a period of radio, X-ray, and GeV superefficiency, and most will also have a period of TeV superefficiency. We analyze and characterize these superefficient phases.


Grenoble taxpayers were not very happy to pay local taxes until 1992 in order to cover the fi nancial defi cit from the 1968 Winter Games! The 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal outperformed the Grenoble Winter Olympics in terms of defi cit: the latter was so large that Montreal taxpayers were repaying the debt until 2006, a period of 30 years. After Montreal's fi nancial mess, the number of candidate cities wishing to host such mega sporting events dropped, and since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles the watchword of local Olympics organizing committees (LOOCs) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became 'the Games will pay for the Games'. This was incentive enough to trigger an increase in the number of candidates to host the Olympics but not enough to cure the fi nancial defi cit disease. After having claimed for seven years that the Games would pay for the Games, the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville resulted in a $60 million defi cit.1 Were those three exceptions proving the rule that mega sporting events are usually organized at a reasonable and correctly anticipated cost? Unfortunately not. In the same vein, when the 2012 Summer Games was awarded to London in July 2005, the expected and advertised cost was about £2.4 billion. By the end of 2008, the cost estimates ranged from £9.4 billion to £12 billion. Some press articles have suggested that the promoters of the London candidature had deliberately underestimated the Olympics bill in order to be awarded the Games. In particular, the London candidature fi le had intentionally underestimated the overall cost in neglecting to account for the VAT, the Paralympics budget and a part of security expenditure. London 2012 promoters of course were neither talking about nor expecting the creation of a new fund in 2008 to cover the rising cost of the Games. There is an impression that having won a harsh struggle in bidding primarily over Paris 2012, London, its authorities, inhabitants and taxpayers are now cursed despite a study based on a contingent valuation method which found a positive willingness to pay for hosting the


To ensure process safety and product quality, multivariate statistical process monitoring (MSPM) has been widely used in industry for decades. Among the steps of MSPM, fault isolation is an important link between the fault detection and the root-cause diagnosis, which identifies the variables closely related to the detected process abnormality. The existing methods for fault isolation often suffer from the smearing effect or rely on the impractical requirement of a sufficient amount of historical fault data. To solve these problems, a reconstruction method based on the Bayesian Lasso (short for least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) is proposed in this work, which transforms the problem of statistical fault isolation to the variable selection in regression analysis and solves it in a Bayesian framework. If the posterior distribution of a Lasso coefficient changes significantly before and after the occurrence of the fault, the corresponding process variable has a large probability to be faulty. F...


Improving college students' English speaking competence is now one of the important aspects of college English teaching in China. This paper presents a whole picture of how well average college students speak English, points out how important it is to be able to speak English in present day society, and finally proposes how to improve students' English speaking competence both in and outside the classroom.


Here we present a new Michael addition reaction utilizing carbon-11 labeled acrylic esters and amides. Subsequently, reactions of these synthons with commercially available Schiff base precursors are performed to produce [11C]glutamate and [11C]glutamine. This methodology is especially useful for the development of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents as it offers a new array of potential carbon-11 labeled compounds with this original 11C–C bond forming strategy.


pnitrophenylphosphatase(pNPPase)is an enzyme with pnitrophenylphosphateas its substrate and is widely applied in nucleotide labeling. The cloning of the gene encoding thermostable pNPPase from Bacillus stearothermophilusby color screening to in situ is reported. The enzyme is composed of 255 amino acid residues according its DNA sequence.


The invention relates to a method for the inhibition of dehydroacetic acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, and the skin science, sebaceous gland activity in the skin of a mammal comprising the administration of a topical composition comprising an acceptable carrier. The invention also relates to a method comprising of a medicament for the treatment of acne and related skin disorders in the skin and the scalp of a medicament for regulating the oily and / or greasy appearance of the skin and also mammal and topical composition. How to use the dehydroacetic acid for reducing sebum synthesis, methods for the treatment of a method for controlling oily skin and / or greasy appearance, and acne and other skin disorders, are also included in the invention.


The exposure of an individual to external radiation may be monitored by simple dosage recorders such as the film badge. The condenser chamber or electroscope dosimeter is used to record the integrated dose at various positions In the environment. A small metal disk of natural isotopic uranium was found to be a convenient source for a calibration standard for personnel monitoring films. The quartz fiber pocket electroscopes were found to be of similar sensitivity to the photographic films when exposed under similar conditions. Dosimeters may be checked as frequently as required without the need for processing or maintenance. If the source of radiation is known, then pulse counting devices may be calibrated for assessment of dose rates from the natural background level upward. (M.C.G.)


Virtual Reality (VR) application in the field of education has been an ongoing endeavour. It is believed that VR provides an opportunity for students to learn in a real situation through the exposure of artificially created reality and the use of visual which improves the learning by enhancing study focus (Piovesan, Passerion and Pereira, 2012). The accessibility to VR is made even easier with the invention of wireless VR. Incorporating this technology in language learning is a logical step, particularly in combatting students' apprehension to carry out presentations. Thus, the focus of this study is to investigate UiTM Faculty of Education TESL postgraduates' attitude in using virtual reality speaking application to ease their presentation apprehension. A mixed-method study is adopted by incorporating both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interviews) approaches. A purposive sampling of twenty-four TESL postgraduates is used to gather data which was then analysed using SPSS version 23 for the questionnaire and thematic analysis for the interview. Descriptive statistics is used to present the findings. The findings show that the participants have a limited knowledge of VR speaking application. Nonetheless, they are very interested and motivated to use the application as part of their presentation preparation especially in easing their apprehension. VR speaking application provides a crucial connection in improving oral presentations skills, but it is not the best approach for teachers to develop speaking skills. As this study is based on the respondents' perceptions, future work is necessary to statistically study the effectiveness of VR speaking technology in language learning as well as investing if any significant relationship is formed between VR speaking application and language learning and teaching variables.


A new palaemonid species, Periclimenes variabilis, is described and illustrated on the basis of four specimens from the Ritto Seamount, West Marina Ridge, northwestern Pacific, at depths of 642-666 m. Specimens of the new species were collected with an unidentified hexacoral of Primnoidae (Cnidaria), an antipatharian octocoral Leiopathes sp. (Cnidaria), and an unidentified crinoid (Echinodermata), suggesting association with those invertebrates. Morphological comparison and molecular phylogenetic analyses using the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome C oxidase subunit I genes indicate that the new species is closest to Periclimenes uniunguiculatus Bruce, 1990 although the possession of more than two spiniform setae on either side of the telson in the new species is consistent with the generic diagnosis of Bathymenes Kou, Li & Bruce, 2016. In reference to the close relationship to the species currently assigned to Periclimenes Costa, 1844 and the unsettled taxonomy of the genus, the new species is provisionally assigned to Periclimenes. Differentiating characters between the new species and closely related taxa are discussed.


Although many studies have been conducted to investigate the hydrates formation and slurry flow during the transportation, studies on the hydrates slurry pressure drop properties using spiral flow in a loop are still almost blank. In the current work, a series of experiments about hydrate formation process and pressure drop properties were conducted in a spiral flow loop. The experiments in this work were conducted in a spiral flow loop, the loop is 97 ms, and the internal diameter is 25 mms. The experimental results showed that characteristics of hydrate formation process in a spiral loop, and the twist rate of twist tape had an influence on hydrate slurry pressure. Finally, the pressure drop model of hydrate slurry in a spiral flow loop was established, and the relative error were within 10%. This work helped to understand the effects of spiral flow on the gas hydrate formation process and slurry pressure drop, and provide an insight into the mechanism of how spiral flow affect gas transportation.


The authors depict the interworking required between E&M and integrated services digital network (ISDN) protocol and between E&M and Signaling System 7 (SS7). Possible scenarios are given for interworking between ISDN access and SS7 protocols to extend ISDN supplementary services interswitch, in particular, those services that require ISDN user part (ISDN UP). The examples chosen to depict interworking are call forwarding, user-to-user signaling, and call waiting.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT One issue that has risen to prominence in couple work is the development of a relationship via technology and new media with people outside of the primary couple relationship. As this issue becomes more prevalent, couples struggle with the development of rebuilding trust. Despite the previous instances of infidelity, the development of trust is also compromised by the ability to trust what is presently occurring in the relationship. The partner who has been betrayed often continues to check the involved partner's devices for evidence of a continuation of the affair. Such checking and surveillance often result in obsessive checking of such devices and the assertion that the involved partner can no longer be trusted, reasoning that the involved partner must be deleting evidence. This positioning about surveillance can compromise the ability to move forward with couple therapy. The purpose of this paper is to outline how to work with couples with this level of surveillance after an affair.


Gaining communication skills, one of the life skills included in the science curriculum, plays an essential role in reducing the conflicts that may occur in individuals' communication. The fact that pre-service science teachers have professional knowledge about this skill is an indication that they can teach this skill to their students. Based on this idea, the current research aims to examine the effect of the life skills education guidebook on the development of pre-service science teachers' professional knowledge of communication skills. The simple experimental method with a single group pretest-posttest design was employed in the research. The research sample consists of 83 pre-service science teachers studying at a state university in the 2019-2020 academic year. The communication skills professional recognition test was used as the data collection tool. The data obtained were evaluated within the framework of the determined keywords and subjected to descriptive analysis. The pretest-posttest scores of the pre-service science teachers were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The test result shows that the life skills education guidebook positively affects the development of the third-grade pre-service science teacher's professional knowledge about communication skills. The qualitative data obtained show that the professional knowledge of science teacher candidates regarding communication skills has increased from the level that needs to be developed to a weakly acceptable level. It has been revealed that the lack of prior professional knowledge of the pre-service teachers regarding communication skills makes it challenging to learn new professional knowledge.


As the idea and theory of sustainable utilization of natural resources has developed over recent years,research on the classification and evaluation of the ecological services of ecological land have become increasingly more important.Meanwhile,ecological land conservation has become the focus of land use research and ecological construction. Along with other important ecosystem services,such as water conservation,soil conservation,wind sheltering,sand fixation,climate regulation,environment purification and biodiversity protection,ecological land is an indicator of the eco-environmental quality of a region. With rapid economic development and accelerating urban expansion in China,the demand for land has increased,causing the loss of large areas of ecological land or land with special ecological value,such as wetlands.Consequently,it will accelerate the situation of a fragile ecosystem,and result in many environmental problems. Therefore,in order to change the trend of ecological land loss caused by blind economic development,it is necessary to re-examine theconcept and meaning of ecological land and study the rational allocation of the quantitative structure and spatial patterns of ecological land,which can maximize the ecological benefit of land resources. At present,ecological land has various meanings,and is not an independent land type in existing land classification. In this study,the formation and meaning of ecological land was reviewed,a classification system was proposed,and the status and change in trend were evaluated based on national land use survey data. The conclusions were as follows:( 1) Major ecosystem services should be the basic principle used in the definition of ecological land at a regional scale,differing from other criteria,such as ecological elements or comprehensive ecological functions.( 2) Based on major ecosystem services,ecological land can be classified into four types( wetland,forest,grassland,and other ecological land) and 19 sub-types. Among them,wetland,forest and grassland should be collectively referred to as fundamental ecological land and others as preserved.( 3) The total area of ecological land in China was 7. 64 × 106km2 in 2008,which occupied about 80% of the entire land surface,with fundamental ecological land of 5. 31 × 106km2. Both the gross amount and per capita possession of fundamental ecological land were the same: descending from northwest to southeast in China. From 2002 to 2008 the area of ecological land and fundamental ecological land gradually reduced,with average annual reductions of 0. 55 × 104km2 and 0. 18 × 104km2,respectively. Among 356 prefecture-level cities in China,104 increased and 251 decreased in terms of fundamental ecological land. In some regions in north and east China,the ecological security situation should not be ignored. In addition,the total amount of fundamental ecological land per capita showed the same spatial distribution characteristics with high levels in the northwest and low levels in the southeast,which correlated well with Hu' s Line of population. The ecosecurity status in some regions was facing serious challenges. For example,the density of fundamental ecological land was lower than 0. 4 in most areas of eastern North China and Northwest China,with the former caused by increased human development and construction activities,while the latter reflects the vulnerability of the local natural ecological environment background.


In this paper, we propose a new ant colony optimization algorithm, called learning-based neural ant colony optimization (LN-ACO), which incorporates an "intelligent ant". This intelligent ant contains a convolutional neural network pre-trained on a large set of instances which is able to predict the selection probabilities of the set of possible choices at each step of the algorithm. The intelligent ant is capable of generating a solution based on knowledge learned during training, but also guides other 'traditional' ants in improving their choices during the search. As the search progresses, the intelligent ant is also influenced by the pheromones accumulated by the colony, leading to better solutions. The key idea is that if tasks or instances share common features either in terms of their search landscape or solutions, then information learned by solving one instance can be applied to substantially accelerate the search on another. We evaluate the proposed algorithm on two public datasets and one real-world test set in the path planning domain. The results demonstrate that LN-ACO is competitive in its search capability compared to other ACO methods, with a significant improvement in convergence speed.


This very useful book is a source of important information on normal and abnormal cutaneous reactions to light and on phototherapy, written with the practicing clinician in mind. It is an updated version of the book first published in 1981 and has essentially no current competition (although I think most of us looking at the book by Magnus written in 1976 [ Dermatological Photobiology . Oxford, England: Blackwell; 1976] would be impressed by the current nature of most of the ideas presented there). The bulk of this book is divided into three sections: principles of photobiology and photochemistry, therapeutic effects of light, and diagnosis and management of photosensitivity disease. Seven appendices provide "how-to-do-it" information on important areas of phototherapy, diagnosis, treatment of photosensitivity diseases, and other topics. New chapters on photoimmunology and combined therapies utilizing UV radiation have been added since the first edition. In general, this is an informative, well-written, and


With the strictness of vehicle emission directives, the influence of fuel quality on vehicle emission becomes more important. The effects of gasoline sulfur and olefin content on vehicle exhaust emissions were investigated through a fleet of 5 vehicles tested with 8 different gasolines. The experiment result which was analyzed with strict statistic method showed that in the composite cycle reducing fuel sulfur content could reduce vehicle exhaust emissions; olefin content also had obvious effects on vehicle emissions.


Objective To study the effect of inhibitor of apoptosis VTCN1 down-regulation by small interfering RNA-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) on the biological features of bladder carcinoma cell line HT-1376.Methods HT-1376 cells were transfected with synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting VTCN1.Expression of VTCN1 mRNA and protein were respectively measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting,transfection efficiencies were monitored by those ways.The distribution of cell cycle phases was determined using flow cytometry.The proliferative and invasive ability of HT-1376 cells in vitro was evaluated by the colony-forming unit assay and Transwell migration assay respectively.Results Both VTCN1 mRNA and protein expression were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with controls (P < 0.05).The cell cycle was arrested in the G1 phase,and G1 phase cells increased from 37.3% to 74.6%,while the S phase cells from 46.36% down to 8.9% (P < 0.05),Transwell invasion assay showed the number of invasive cells by the no-load group 278 ± 42 and 293 ± 46 control group dropped to experimental group,39 ± 6 (P < 0.01).Conclusion Silencing of VTCN1 gene inhibits cell proliferation and decreases invasion ability of HT-1376 cell.

Key words:
Bladder carcinoma;  Cell biological behaviour;  VTCN1 ;  RNA interference


Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. The musculoskeletal system explained. Injury - Effects, repair and causes. Problem assessment. Common sites of injury in the horse conditions. Therapy. Rehabilitation. The back - Horse and human. Common rider injuries. Appendices. Bibliography. Glossary. Index


D intoxication. Giving ethinyloestradiol, on the other hand, caused a dramatic fall in a previously well stabilised serum calcium concentration. The hypocalcaemia might have been due to decreased bone resorption, as suggested by the fall in hydroxyproline excretion. Oestrogens could have antagonised DHT-induced bone resorption, since this is the case with other vitamin D metabolites.3 The osteolytic effect of parathyroid hormone is not inhibited in hypoparathyroidism. On the other hand, a direct inhibitory effect of oestrogens on bone resorption cannot be excluded, as suggested by studies in rats.4 The decrease in intestinal calcium absorption under oestrogens is at variance with the increase noted in postmenopausal women treated with oestrogen.5 But in their case secondary hyperparathyroidism is thought to cause the increased absorption. A direct inhibitory effect of oestrogens on calcium absorption may therefore be considered. Since oestrogens are often spontaneously taken or discontinued by patients themselves those with hypoparathyroidism should be warned of the consequences. Moreover, serum calcium concentrations should be monitored during the menopause in patients with hypoparathyroidism and vitamin D treatment adapted accordingly.


Greedy caliper propensity score (PS) matching is dependent on randomness, which can ultimately affect causal estimates. We sought to investigate the variation introduced by this randomness.


It can not be ignored that the lower level situation of job satisfaction of nurses cause the negative impact on nursing service. As a basic nursing administrator the charge nurse must actively explore the methods and policy to enhance the job satisfaction of nurses. The good methods and attitude of charge nurse may play an important role in enhancing the job satisfaction of nurses effectively.


Considering a quantum model consisting of two effective two-level atoms and a single-mode cavity, this paper investigates the entanglement dynamics between the two atoms, and studies the effect of the Stark shift on the entanglement. The results show that, on the one hand the atom–atom entanglement evolves periodically with time and the periods are affected by the Stark shift; on the other hand, the two atoms are not disentangled at any time when the Stark shift is considered, and for large values of the Stark shift parameter, the two atoms can remain in a stationary entangled state. In addition, for the initially partially entangled atomic state, the atom–atom entanglement can be greatly enhanced due to the presence of Stark shift. These properties show that the Stark shift can be used to control entanglement between two atoms.


Purpose – Investment capital markets have been displaying signs of disarray and are significantly damaged. This is especially manifest in the case of the USA and some countries in Europe. Symptoms of this damage are visible. The operators are declining in number, contracting in scale and losing in asset base. The products are losing glitter and are shunned by investors. The monitors have lost creditably. And the regulators have failed at regulating. This is the focus of the following article. An analysis of damage incurred within the investment capital market and the possible projection of damage parameters within a conceptual and operational model. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The paper starts with a definition of the damage concept, proceeds to relate damage to four forces, i.e. players, products, monitors and regulators and concludes with a conceptual and operational model for damage analysis. The paper is eclectic relying on finance, macro-economic and strategi...


Proper nutrition, daily exercise (to increase circulation) and adequate rest can mean you'll look as great as you feel! Science has yet to produce evidence that any vitamin or nutrient will boost the health of your hair, skin and nails. Rather, we all need to commit to healthy living.


Although fiberglass-reinforced composites play important roles in many industrial applications, the non-biodegradability of the fibers poses some environmental concerns. In this study, bamboo, cotton and hemp are used as natural reinforcing fibers for polyester and epoxy composites. A tertiary oil phase is also added to the matrix and its effect on material biodegradability is characterized. Results show that material biodegradability is increased up to 100% under controlled composting conditions with oil addition. Polyester biodegrades more effectively than epoxy under both macroscopic and microscopic mechanisms. Mechanical strengths of the polyester composites are also found to correlate strongly with material biodegradability.


The structures and optoelectronic properties of two carbazole-pyrene derivatives,namely 3,6-dipyrenyl-9-(4'-tert-butylphenyl) carbazole(BPyC) and 3,6-dipyrenyl-9-(4'-pyrenylphenyl) carbazole(TPyC),were studied by DFT,HF,CIS and TDDFT methods.Results show that the structure of TPyC varies smaller than BPyC with electronic excitation.HOMO,energy gap,ionization potential,and reorganization energy are little affected by the substituent of tert-butyl or pyrenyl on the phene ring,while LUMO and electron affinity are influenced largely.And they exhibit blue emission.Compared with BPyC,TPyC is a promising candidate as a bipolar material or blue emitter because of its better thermal stability and charge inject and transport abilities.


Drawing on a case study of pastoral areas in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, this article illustrates four forms of everyday strategies adopted by herders to deal with the risks and uncertainty generated during China's reform era. To avoid direct confrontations with the authorities, herders resort to strategies that subvert government policies rather than engage in overt forms of resistance or protests. Through analyzing how herders avoid risks resulting from imposed policies, market forces, and grassland degradation, the article shows the ways in which these everyday strategies advantage local people in their attempts to secure a livelihood.


Automated brain tumor segmenters typically run a "skull-stripping" pre-process to extract the brain from the 3D image, before segmenting the area of interest within the extracted volume. We demonstrate that an effective existing segmenter can be improved by replacing its skull-stripper component with one that instead uses a registration-based approach. In particular, we compare our automated brain segmentation system with the original system as well as three other approaches that differ only by using a different skull-stripper—BET, HWA, and ROBEX: (1) Over scans of 120 patients with brain tumors, our system's segmentation accuracy (Dice score with respect to expert segmentation) is 8.6% (resp. 2.7%) better than the original system on gross tumor volumes (resp. edema); (2) Over 103 scans of controls, the new system found 92.9% (resp. 57.8%) fewer false positives on T1C (resp. FLAIR) volumes. (The other three methods were significantly worse on both tasks). Finally, the new registration-based approach is over 15% faster than the original, requiring on average only 178 CPU seconds per volume.


This information is current as of February 10, 2009 Errata http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/content/full/86/6/1283-a at: An erratum has been published for this article. The erratum is also available onlineSupplementary material at http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/773/DC1 translated abstracts are available for this article. This information can be accessed Commentary and Perspective, data tables, additional images, video clips and/or€ http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/773#responses Letters to The Editor are available at Reprints and Permissions Permissions] link. article, or locate the article citation on jbjs.org and click on the [Reprints andClick here to order reprints or request permission to use material from thisPublisher Information www.jbjs.org 20 Pickering Street, Needham, MA 02492-3157The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery


With the presence of perfect channel state information(CSI), the achievable degrees of freedom (DoF) in wireless interference networks can be linearly scaled up with the number of users. However, with the presence of imperfect CSI, the sum rate becomes degraded and full DoF may not be achievable anymore. Interference Alignment (IA) is an appealing interference management technique since it enables us to achieve significant degrees of freedom in wireless interference networks. In IA, a complex data symbol is detected via iterative calculation on precoder and combiner in reciprocal network under a same principle, such as minimum mean square error (MMSE). A symbol detection aided MMSE (SDA-MMSE) IA iterative algorithm is proposed to improve performance. It has been shown via computer simulations that the proposed detection algorithm exhibits better performance than conventional MMSE IA algorithm.


In this research, a new method is developed for grading various types of yarn for appearance using image analysis and an artificial neural network. The images of standard yarn boards were analyzed by image analysis and four different faults factors were defined and measured for each series of yarn counts. For each series of yarn counts, a neural network with one layer was trained by measured fault factors of standard boards. The trained neural networks were used for grading various types of yarns. The yarns were also graded by the conventional standard method. The results of grading various types of yarns by image analysis and conventional standard method are compared. We found a strong correlation between the results of grading by two methods. Whereas, in the image analysis method, the grading procedure is not dependent on yarn structure and raw materials, we concluded that it is possible to use this method for grading of any types of yarns based on their apparent features.


In response to the confusion surrounding the existence of multiple definitions of orthostatic hypotension (OH), a consensus statement has been developed to standardize the meaning of this medical condition. OH is defined as a reduction of systolic blood pressure (BP) of at least 20 mmHg, or a reduction of diastolic BP of at least 10 mmHg, within three minutes of standing.1 The prevalence of OH in the elderly ranges from 5–33%.2-4 This variability may be the result of different definitions used and the range of populations considered, from frail older nursing home patients to healthy older people living in the community. The prevalence of OH can be as high as 50% in frail older nursing home patients.2


By the first-principles pseudo-potential method and approximate operating scissors,we calculate the electronic band structure,density of states and optical properties of Ba(Ti1-xHfx)O3(x=0,0.125,0.5,0.75).Ba(Ti1-xHfx)O3 structure distortions are more serious with the increase of Hf doping concentration,which leads to band gap and the reflectivity varying,and the dielectric constant,insulation properties and the refractive index decreasing.As a result,the properties of doping Ba(Ti1-xHfx)O3 make it more widely in applying of the production of optical components.


Computer assisted language learning (CALL) is one of the alternative ways used by teachers in teaching English. This research aims to find out various CALL applications used by the pre-service English teachers, the difficult skills faced by students, hindrances, and pre-service teachers' reflection. A mixed-method approach with questionnaires, interviews guideline, and observation checklist were employed by the researchers. The sample consisted of 30 pre-service English teachers and 750 students. The data analyses were done by using simple statistics calculations, codes, and categories. The results showed that pre-service English teachers applied various CALL applications, in which the majority of them used Hello English for speaking in the classroom because of the ease of use of the application. The most difficult skills learned by students were listening, and the easiest skill was reading. Another finding is related to hindrances during CALL applications which included internet connection, material understanding, CALL application procedures, assessment, discipline, cost, and learning style. However, those problems were eventually solved by pre-service English teachers. Furthermore, pre-service teachers wrote their teaching reflection to know their evaluation of their teaching. The reflections showed that they could solve the problems, made, and revised lesson plans, and brought good role models in the classroom.


Previous studies had identified various factors influencing adolescent online game playing behavior,such as the online game's design,players' psychological characteristics,and traits of the Internetas anemerging medium.However,the psychological mechanisms underlying adolescent online game playing behavior have not been fully comprehended.Based on a motivational process perspective,this study explores the main motivational determinants of adolescent online gamers' playing intention as well as the relationships among intrinsic motivations of different levels.We collected data from six high schools in Beijing.A total of 468 questionnaires were collected,and 378 valid observations made up the final sample.All the measurement scales for key constructs were adopted or adaptedfrom priorstudies.Validity of the questionnairewas confirmed through the procedure of translation and back-translation as well as a pilot study.Structural equation modeling and maximum likelihood estimation were used to examine the proposed model.Exploratory factor analysis indicated five basic intrinsic motivations(i.e.,benefits exchange,social interaction,beyond reality,self-efficacy and enjoyment/fun)and three extrinsic motivations(i.e.,time limit,subjective norm,and involvement)underlying adolescent online gamers' playing behaviors.Hypotheses testing results demonstrated that adolescent online gamers' playing intention was influenced by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.Specifically,four basic intrinsic motivations(except the dimension of benefit exchange)stimulated flow motivation,which subsequently had positive effect on playing intention.Amongextrinsic motivations,subjective norm could reduce playing intention,while player involvement towards playing online games had the opposite effect.We find that flow experience was driven by basic intrinsic motivations.Due to the significant effects of flow experience,involvement and subjective norm on playing intention,firms providing online game products/services should try to strengthen adolescents'intrinsic motivations,especially the flow experience,in product promotion and marketing communication activities.In addition,it is also worthwhile to guide adolescents to play online games in line with social value/moral.That would also help to raise corporate image of high social responsibility.


Female characters in movies often carry the gender prejudice and stereotypes of the filmmaker and society at the time. With the development of feminism, the appearance of female roles has become more and more diverse. By analyzing the character biographical film "Iron Lady", the relationship between the presentation of female characters and the authenticity and artistry of the film is analyzed. The research focuses on the content beyond the female surface to critically analyze Thatcher's performance as a female character and the balance of authenticity and artistry in this film. The results show that the reasonable relationship between film authenticity and artistry should be constructed according to the film structure and storyline, and biographical films should objectively portray the positive and negative aspects of real characters. Emotions should be avoided on the gender issue of movies, and the female characters presented in the movie should be considered essentially through real social issues, so as to allow movie observers to change their attitudes and behaviors.


This paper introduces a novel wheelchair mounted exoskeleton (WEXO) to aid patients with mobility impairment and limitation of their upper extremity. The WEXO integrates a four-degree-of-freedom (DOF) exoskeleton arm and a soft exoskeleton glove to assist arm motion and hand grasping. The kinematics of the WEXO were quantified using the Denavit-Hattenberg (DH) parameters and the possible input control modalities were investigated for accurate intention detection of ALS patients.


The article deals with the problem of dynamic measurements of temperature using thermocouple. While measuring the dramatic changes of temperature it can take quite a long time for thermocouple to show the real value of temperature. It can lead to the damages when the temperature reaches the critical value. A set-valued estimation method was applied for temperature estimation and decreasing the measurement time. The set-valued estimation approach is used when there is no statistical characteristics of noises and measured signals but the sets of their possible values are available. This method consists in constructing the set of possible values of the state of the system at each sample time. The set-valued estimates were calculated using polyhedral approximation method based on the model of the transient model, taking into account errors in model parameters identification.


We present a first-principles investigation of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the pristine and Fe-doped α -MnO 2 using density-functional theory with extended Hubbard functionals. The onsite U and intersite V Hubbard parameters are determined from first principles and self-consistently using density-functional perturbation theory in the basis of L¨owdin-orthogonalized atomic orbitals. Among the ferromagnetic and four types of antiferromagnetic (AFM) orderings for the pristine α -MnO 2 we find the C2-AFM spin configuration to be the most energetically favorable, in agreement with the experimentally observed AFM state. The computed lattice parameters, magnetic moments, and band gaps are overall in good agreement with the experimental ones when both the onsite and intersite Hubbard corrections are included. For the Fe-doped α -MnO 2 two types of doping are considered: Fe insertion in the 2 × 2 tunnels and partial substitution of Fe for Mn. The calculated formation energies show that Fe insertion is energetically favorable, in agreement with experiments. We find that both types of doping preserve the C2-AFM spin configuration of the host lattice. The oxidation state of Fe is found to be 2+ and 4+ in the case of the interstitial and substitutional doping, respectively, while the oxidation state of Mn is 4+ in both cases. This work opens a door for accurate studies of other Mn oxides and complex transition-metal compounds when the localization of 3 d electrons occurs in the presence of strong covalent interactions with ligands.


The expansion of communications infrastructure worldwide entails huge investments and in the European Union alone these will undoubtedly exceed EUR 200 bn by 2020. But the commercial success of the politically desired expansion of high-performance broadband networks in a competitive market environment is closely linked with the issue of the socially correct degree of investment protection. This protection should on the one hand be as strong as necessary, so that the required network investments can be sufficiently profitable. On the other hand, however, the investment protection must not be too extensive, thereby enabling a network operator to systematically exclude (potential) competitors from the market and in turn also resulting in insufficient infrastructure investment from a social point of view. The frequently emotional debates on this subject show that although the experience gathered in other countries can help, it is essential that the desired regulations concerning net neutrality address the country-specific technical and economic conditions – that is, there should definitely be no wholesale adoption of the lessons from other economic areas.


Recently, the afferent and efferent connections of the components of the amphibian basal ganglia, I.e., the striatum and the nucleus accumbens, have been studied in the brain of adult anurans and urodeles (Marin et aI., 1995, 1996, '997a,b). Significant differences in connections between the nucleus accumbens and the striatum were demonstrated, suggesting the presence of functional subdivisions. Moreover, those studies strongly supported the notion that a common pattern of connectivity exists among tetrapod vertebrates. The aim of the present study was to establish the temporal sequence of appearance of striatal and accumbal connections in amphibians so that the comparison with other amniotes allows to gain more insight into the evolution of the basal ganglia of vertebrates. To reach this goal, the anuran Xenopus laevis has been selected because of the existence of an accurate timetable of development (Nieuwkoop and Faber, , 967) and the existence of recent hodological data of basal ganglia connections in the adult brain of this species. The methodology used in this study is based on the neuronal transport of low molecular weight (3kD) biotinylated dextranamines (BOA). Shortly, at appropriate times, embryos and larvae anesthetized in MS222 were cooled to a body temperature of 40C and perfused transcardially with iced Ringer's solution. The brains were then removed and placed in fresh iced Ringer's solution. Applications of BDA were made unilaterally within the striatum (Fig.1) or the nucleus accumbens. After '5-24 h at 150C in continuously oxygenated Ringer's solution the brains were fixed in 4% parformaldehyde. Following crioprotection, the brains were cut on a freezing microtome and free-floating sections were reacted with avidin-biotin complex for BOA visualization. The detection of peroxidase activity was based on DAB-nickel as chromogen. After mounting the sections, the distribution of labeled cells and fibers in the brains of the tadpoles was studied. At late embryonic stages, the basal forebrain of Xenopus receives inputs from cells located in the amygdala, the thalamus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the posterior tubercle, the raphe nucleus and the rhombencephalic reticular formation. During the premetamorphosis, the distinct connections of the striatum and the nucleus accumbens start to be patent. Due to the bidirectional transport of BOA, both afferent cells and efferent fibers are distinguishable at these stages. Thus, afferent cells to the straitum are more numerous in the same areas observed in the embryos (mainly in the central dorsal thalamus, Fig. 2) but also new sources of inputs were detected in the mesencephalic and isthmic tegmentum, the parabrachial nucleus and the nucleus of the solitary tract. The efferent fibers leaving the telencephalon via de lateral forebrain bundle form a conspicuous terminal plexus in the mesencephalic tegmentum (Fig. . .~. TO "


Certain technologies have a transformative effect on an economy. Heralded as the next big thing (Giancarlo, 2016), Blockchain technology (also referred to as distributed ledger technology) carries strong potential to revamp public and private sector institutions (Walport, 2015; Swan, 2015). Blockchain technology is internet based and it allows for faster transactions transmission at extremely low transaction costs, transparent ledger capability, record keeping capacity, open access network ability and internet-based global reach. Given these benefits, Blockchain technology can be quite lucrative for the finance industry (Brainard, 2016)). Distributed ledger technology has broad applications, even beyond the finance sector. Blockchain based tools such as Ethereum and smart contracts allow for automated low risk decision-making, enhanced productivity, machine-to-machine connectivity and even (Pureswaran and Brody, 2015; Mougayar, ii 2016). Several governments, financial institutions and organizations have therefore shown an avid interest in the research, development and application of Blockchain technology. South Korea, one of the most connected (wired) (ICT, 2015) and technologically advanced countries, has much to gain by investing in distributed ledger technology. South Korea is also familiar with the older version of the technology, Bitcoin Blockchain 1.0 (Lee, 2013; Kim, 2014; Coindesk a., 2014). However, while governments and firms in the west have moved on to testing, Blockchain 2.0, South Korea is yet to move forward. By building on its existing understanding of the distributed ledger technology, South Korea has much to gain by investing in Blockchain 2.0, a sentiment also supported by Bank of Korea (Kim, 2016). In this paper, we look at Blockchai potential application in Korea with a focus on the Korean financial industry. In conducting research and analysis, since distributed ledger technology is rather new (conceptualized in 2008) and given the limited amount of data, this paper applies comparative research methodology to identify opportunities and challenges for the Korean finance markets. Additionally as distributed ledger technology has broad applications for different financial products, the paper limits its analysis to potential applications for the near future . This paper is divided in four sections. Section I provides a namely a period of approximately five to ten years (Oliver Wyman and Euroclear, 2015). iii brief introduction of distributed ledger technology in the wider context of the current fintech trend. Section II of the paper provides a literature review of Blockchain technology including details on its technical background, general advantages, limitations, and contemporary worldview towards the technology. Section III of the paper looks at the Korean case, and identifies areas of opportunity and challenges for the Korean financial industry. The final part of the paper provides policy suggestions and recommendations for application of the technology in Korean financial markets. Based on existing detailed studies of distributed ledger technology, Korean financial markets structure, and user cases, the paper concludes that lucrative opportunities for application of distributed ledger technology exist in financial functions of post-trade settlements, cross-border payments, remittances, corporate payments, trade monitoring, reporting, risk management and collateral management. In aligning these opportunities to specific financial markets, opportunities are deemed to exist in money markets, capital markets, derivatives market and foreign exchange markets of the Korean finance industry. The paper also lists challenges of regulatory restrictions, scalability issues, data security, data privacy and data reliability concerns, and social issues that need to be addressed for the successful integration of distributed ledger technology in Korean finance markets.