Problem setting: Personalized activity of individuals holding offices of individual organs in the structure of international organizations is an essential part of the activities of these organizations. Meanwhile, today legal science researches this problem mainly in the context of the development of separate branches of international law. Recent research and publications analysis: From Max Weber, the development of individual organs was studied as a question how one transforms institutions that are led by high-profile individuals into institutions that have a life and energy of their own". Current international legal research in this regard provided by  H. H. Koh, F. Benua-Romer, H. Klebes, R. Kicker and the others. There are no relevant Ukrainian legal studies on this issue today. Paper objective: The purpose of the article is to review the issue on the example of a relatively new international bodies - the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. The features of organs, crucial for the study are: the features of appointment (election) of candidate, term of his office and special activities scheduled for each of these positions. Paper main body: Comparing the Institute of the High Commissioner and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in personological view, we note that the personal characteristics and expert practices of the first, second and third Council of Europe Commissioner largely matches with the same first three (in same order) United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights. This fact suggests that the election of candidates for these positions is a part of strategic transformation of the body. There is a reason to believe that the strategy of the international organizations, not only related to their desire to be effectively involved in actions within their mandate, but also with the desire to increase their influence in comparison with the other international organizations on the regional and universal level. In this regard,   international organizations may be considered as international corporate structures that, among the interests of global security and sustainable development pursue the interests of the development of themselves. Conclusions of the research: - Appointment of the defined persons for positions of executive bodies of international organizations not connected with the political (external) strategies, but the strategies of their own, internal, development; - International organizations as corporate structures manage the process of strategic institutional development of their own bodies, independently; - The case of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council of Europe  Commissioner for Human Rights shows the stages of strengthening the particular sides of the bodies through the process of the selection of candidates with certain characteristics; - Strategic stage of the development of executive body is sufficient and prevail over personal characteristics of the candidate during elections.


Production from nanodarcy-range permeability shale formations requires extensive hydraulic fracturing, large volumes of water, and close-spaced wells. The current trend, which includes increasing lateral lengths, increasing the number of perforation stages, and increasing the volume of water and proppants pumped, is unsustainable. Comparing calculations of the possible surface area created during fracturing versus production results indicate that a large portion of the surface area is ineffective to production, resulting in ineffective use of resources and increased costs. This paper describes the fundamental understanding required to improve the efficiency of horizontal completions in oiland gas-producing shales. Using extensive laboratory characterization of mechanical properties on core, core/log integration, and continuous mapping of these properties by logging-while-drilling (LWD) methods along the horizontal wellbore, appropriate guidelines are defined for effective perforation and fracturing to improve the efficiency and sustainability of horizontal completions. The objective of the study is to improve completion design and horizontal well completions efficiency. This objective is achieved by adequate selection of perforation intervals based on understanding the relevant physical processes and adequate rock characterization. Two reservoir regions, the near-wellbore and the far-wellbore, are defined and essential to completion design. Conditions at the far-wellbore region, which define the extent of the surface area in contact with the reservoir, are fundamental to well productivity. However, these conditions are often poorly understood. The near-wellbore region is the choking point to production, provided that ideal far-wellbore conditions exist. Properties along the near-wellbore region can be measured and are better understood. In this paper, these properties are used to minimize the near-wellbore choking effect by evaluating rock types that maximize near-wellbore fracture width, minimize breakdown pressures, and reduce the potential of solids production during the initial drawdown. The result is a nonsubjective and consistent methodology that defines the variability in near-well fracture performance along wellbores and allows selecting perforation stages based on measured or inferred rock properties (from LWD or drill cuttings analysis). Finally, the method that will be described provides a means for monitoring and comparing consistency between the predicted values and measured results by comparing the results to actual production data. The results of this study show the need to better understand the far-wellbore conditions as well as the near-wellbore conditions when making inferences about well production. Introduction When considering tight shale formation characterization and completion design, one should evaluate the two formation characteristics conducive to economic well production: Reservoir quality (RQ), representing the multiple properties defining reservoir potential, and Completion Quality (CQ), representing the multiple properties defining the potential for creating and sustaining large surface area in contact with the reservoir. These two conditions vary regionally as a function of the heterogeneous distribution of properties along the play, as dictated by depositional and diagenetic geologic processes. As a consequence the coincidence or lack of coincidence of RQ and CQ conditions has a strong bearing on the economic potential of the play. For example, when the two conditions are satisfied simultaneously, at some regional-scale, this region is identified as one with the highest production potential, or as an easy target region. For this, the reservoir potential is high and


Adaptive educational hypermedia (AEH) is a learning tool that adapts learning content and flow to students' needs and offers students a freedom to explore materials. Adaptation and personalization in AEH are produced from interaction of learner, pedagogic, domain, adaptation, and presentation models. This paper discusses Knowledge Map, a prototype tool for managing and visualizing domain model of AEH and it integrates cognitively-oriented and pedagogically-oriented methods. Domain model organizes knowledge space, which contains a network of concepts or topics, and hyperspace, in which adaptation and personalization are offered to students. There are two methods implemented. The first method is cognitively-oriented, by which concepts learned in a course are organized in a network of concepts. With this first method, student can get a visualization of the network and explore nodes. The main drawback of this method is that students may get lost after doing deep exploration. The second is mixed pedagogically-oriented and cognitively-oriented method that organizes a course in a hierarchic structure of topics and sub-topics and a graph of concepts for each sub-topic. A Greedy algorithm has been implemented to guide students to certain topics. To test the methods' performances, a quantitative experiment has been conducted with three tested parameters: impression, learnability, and helpfulness. The experiments results show that the mixed method visualization is more impressive as this is more helpful for students to understand learning materials than the other method. Furthermore, the mixed method is more learnable, as students find it easier to gain a whole view of learning materials organized by this method rather than those organized by the cognitively-oriented method.


This study investigates how the change in industrial diversification evaluated as the entropy index during the 1993-2010 in 5 wide-economic zones influences on the growth and stability of the regional economy. We set some research hypotheses related to the industry-specific strategies of the region and examine whether or not they are statistically valid. The main results from this empirical analysis are summarized as follows. First, there is no relationship between economic growth and employment stability of the region. Second, there exists an inverse U-shaped nonlinear relationship between the degree of industrial specialization and economic growth of the region. Third, it is desirable that in the viewpoint of economic growth only, some regions have industry-specific strategies and others pursue strategies to increase industrial diversity. Finally, there exists a U-shaped nonlinear relationship between the degree of industrial specialization and employment stability of the region, and it is different in regions. Therefore, the conventional wisdom that there is the trade-off between economic growth and employment stability of a region in the short term is not always feasible. In other words, the policy goals of economic growth and employment stability in a region can be pursued together from the perspective of the long-term strategy.


In the case that the control system performance is detected in poor state, it is desirable that the underlying cause can be found and the information can be used for the adjustment and recovery. Developing a recursive two-stage identification (RTSID) algorithm and a recursive control performance assessment algorithm with kernel partial least square (KPLS), then integrating the proposed identification algorithm into the performance diagnosis, this paper presents an online control performance monitoring and diagnosis strategy for the closed-loop system. The proposed algorithms are applied to the typical research example and the effectiveness of the strategy is validated.


Quantitative risk assessment of landslides has always been the focus and difficulty in the field of landslide research. In this paper, taking Mayang County, Hunan Province as an example, the risk assessment of rainfall-induced landslides was carried out from the regional and individual scales. On the regional scale, the risk factors of geological disasters were analyzed. Based on the slope unit, the risk analysis of slope geological disasters and the vulnerability risk assessment of hazard-bearing bodies were carried out to form the block plan. On an individual scale, based on the analysis of rainfall extreme value, the variation law of landslide seepage field and stability under different rainfall recurrence periods was simulated. Then, the vulnerability of the disaster-bearing body was studied according to the analysis of the impact range and the field investigation. Combined with the evaluation results of landslide hazard and vulnerability of the disaster-bearing body, the life and economic risks under different working conditions were further obtained. Therefore, the research results could provide not only a reference for the risk assessment of rainfall-induced landslides in other regions but also a theoretical basis for the early warning and prediction of landslide disasters.


Pássaro Junino, which literally means "Bird of June", is a variation of popular theater, widespread and live in Belém, capital of Pará State and in other cities and towns in the Amazon region. It encompasses different languages, such as operetta, melodrama, comedy, vaudeville and some contributions of Boi-Bumbá. Pássaro Junino is divided into two categories: Pássaro Melodrama Fantasiapopular theater to music, and Cordão de Pássaro whose main leitmotif is the death and ressurrection of the bird honored, by relating it to BoiBumbá and Cordões de Bichos, found both in the capital and in the countryside of the state of Pará. This research, of exploratory type, is the first to work with Cordões de Pássaros Bragantinos and, for that, accompanied Cordão de Pássaro Corrupião (2010), from Patalino community, Bragança, Pará State, in order to understand how is constructed, staged and transmitted the musical practice of the group, providing data, interpretations and explanations on the music making, musical creation, performance, history and idea of how bragantinos think the music of their Cordões de Pássaros.


A renal transplant recipient had a urinary fistula repaired and a double-pigtail ureteral stent left and later surgically removed. At this same time, an open biopsy was performed and closed with chromic 2-0 catgut sutures. A sonogram revealed an artifactual image that was interpreted as a fragmented piece of the stent that was left in the patient. An exploratory surgery performed, however, was unremarkable, and the renal incision was again closed with chromic 2-0 catgut sutures. A repeated sonogram demonstrated the previous artifact, which raised the suspicion that this appearance should be attributed to the chromic 2-0 catgut sutures. An experiment using a model of coupling gel and chromic 2-0 catgut sutures demonstrated artifacts that matched those seen during sonography of this particular renal allograft. This sonographic artifactual appearance may be seen in hypostenic patients with a high-frequency transducer centered over chromic 2-0 catgut sutures.


Large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs) suffer from the serious problem of lack of energy self- sufficiency. Indeed, providing sensors with adequate energy over long periods is a major bottleneck in the implementation of WSNs. In this regard, energy harvesting (EH), i.e., continuously capturing energy from ambient renewable sources, is a promising solution for low-power and low data-rate WSNs. The drawback is that the energy available to a sensor is random and this randomness forces the redesign of WSNs protocols. Our specific interest here is to enable the delivery of sensed data to a fusion center (FC) in a large-scale EH WSN. We propose a novel, energy- aware, opportunistic routing protocol in a large- scale EH WSN requiring multi-hop communication. In choosing the best forwarding partner, our proposed protocol considers the remaining energy at sensor nodes, their distances from the FC and the amount of data to be transmitted; importantly, we make no assumptions on prior knowledge of the network topology. As our numerical results show, the proposed protocol significantly increases the data delivery ratio as compared to the state-of-the- art. Our second contribution is to introduce an EH-aware manner for distributing sensors in the environment such that all nodes have approximately equal number of data transmissions independent of their locations.


The basic micromorphological features of fossil Pleistocene soils of the Middle Pobuzhzhya region are revealed. The early Neopleistocene (Shyrokyne, Martonosha, Lubny) and Middle Pleistocene Zavadivka soils are characterized by bright brownish, reddish and brownish colors of plasma, compact composing structural separations in the form of cleave blocks with densely packed nodular formations of ferruginous matter, cracksman ship of the mass, a significantamount of ferruginous, manganese and carbonate new formations. In the soils of the early optimum of the Kaydaky stage, signs of the eluvial-illuvial processes were observed (impoverished on the thin clays and humus fields with the «washed» grains of the mineral skeleton, the destroyed microaggregates in the eluvial and the impregnation of the plasma by calomorphic clays in the form of streaks, films, streams in the illuvial horizons). In the Pryluky soils there is a well-expressed microagregation of the mass, a branched net of twisted pores, humus coagulation in the humus and humus transition horizons, various forms of carbonate new formations as the impregnation and plasma cementation by microcrystalline calcite, presence of isolated crystals of crypto-, micro- and small crystalline calcite. The specific individual features of the Vytachiv soils are cleave block microstructure, the presence of the nodular concentric organo-iron-clay formations, and microorsteins. Dofinivka soils are characterized by a loose microstructure, fuzzy rounded microaggregates, a developed system of twisted pores, and enrichment of mass on carbonates. In order to clarify the genetic types of fossil Pleistocene soils of the Middle Pobuzhzhya, identification of the signs of elementary soil formation processes was carried out on the basis of micromorphological analysis data. The significance of the results of micromorphological researches for paleogeographical reconstruction is outlined. It has been established that certain groups of soil formation processes are characteristic for fossil soils of separate paleogeographical stages. In the soils formed up to the Dnieper glaciation (Shyrokyne, Martonosha, Lubny and Zavadivka), signs of processes of claying, rubbification, ferralization, cleaving were displayed, but weakly expressed humus formation, thoughcarbonization were diagnosed. In the soils formed after the maximum glaciation (Kaydaky, Pryluky, Vytachiv, Dofinivka), signs of the such processes as humus formation, podzolization, lessive, leaching, damp-meadow soil formation on floodplain, migration of carbonates, etc., are established. It is processes which are predominating in the modern soils of the territory of Ukraine. Assertaintment of elementary soil-forming processes, diagnosed in multi-annual fossil soils, have made it possible to identify their genetic types and as a result, to reconstruct the soil cover in separate stages of the Neopleistocene, to establish regional patterns of evolutional stadial changes and the natural environment in the Pleistocene on the territory of the Middle Pobuzhzhya.


In this study I explore the information content of bankruptcy filings by U.S. publicly traded companies by examining the behavior of bid-ask spread around bankruptcy announcements. I show that, for a sample of 56 firms that filed for bankruptcy from 1993 through the middle of 2002, average daily bid-ask spreads (quoted and effective) drop while the average daily percentage spread rises following the announcement. The latter result is consistent with earlier studies that documented substantial negative stock price reaction to bankruptcy declaration. More importantly, the adverse selection component of the bid-ask spread drops significantly while the liquidity component remains unchanged after filing for bankruptcy.


ABSTRACT We report two cases of protracted keratitis complicated by corneal ulcer. Burkholderia gladioli, primarily known as a plant pathogen, was cultured from corneal swabs. The epithelial defects healed after extended adequate antibiotic therapy. Despite identical patterns of both strains in restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, a common infection source was not detectable.


Nanoparticle catalysts, drivers of most of the world's giant chemical processes, often lose their catalytic oomph because their active sites become clogged from a buildup of carbon gunk known as co...


Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism is the most common form of thyroid dysfunction and its effect on the peripheral nerves and muscles has been a matter of debate. Diagnosis of SHT has been recently growing due to a popularized screening test for thyroid function. As a result, concerns about the natural course and prognosis of subclinical hypothyroidism and long-term consequences of a persistent subclinical hypothyroid state are on the rise. However, the clinical significance of subclinical hypothyroidism has not been fully characterized. A comprehensive understanding of the clinical significance of SHT will aid in the establishment of a management plan and treatment guidelines for SHT patients. As neuromuscular dysfunction may be associated with hypothyroidism, the nerve conduction parameters are expected to be altered in these patients. The present study was intended to assess various sensory nerve conduction parameters in subclinical hypothyroid patients and compare them with that of normal healthy control. Materials and Methods: The present study included subjects aged 18-65 yrs (60 cases of biochemically diagnosed subclinical hypothyroidism & 60 healthy age matched controls. Sensory nerve conduction parameters i.e. distal latencies (DL), compound muscle action potential (CMAP) & sensory nerve conduction velocities (SNCV) were recorded bilaterally in median & ulnar nerves using standard protocols & settings. Result: The study showed that in case of subclinical hypothyroidism there is increase in latency and decreased in amplitude, duration, area and sensory nerve conduction velocity in patients as compare to controls but the significant changes seen only in latency and SNCV of median nerve (bilaterally) and right ulnar nerve while amplitude of right median nerve only. Conclusion: According to our results, overt hypothyroidism shows an obvious involvement of the motor and sensory bundles and this is also somewhat visible in subclinical hypothyroidism using electrophysiological measures.


According to the survey data in Nantong,this article researched farmers' cognition of merchandise organic fertilizer,their fertilizer use behaviors and influencing factors.The result showed that the substitution of chemical fertilizer by merchandise organic fertilizer had a good economic benefit and could reduce the use of chemical fertilizer,which could relieve the pressure of agricultural non-point pollution caused by chemical fertilizer.The empirical analysis also showed that a positive correlation was found between the farmer' choice behavior and the cognition of fertilizer and some factors,such as the channel getting information and production scale;A negative correlation was founded between the farmer's choice behavior and the age of householder;The proportion of agricultural incomes to total household incomes seemed to be not notable influencing factors.


Oxytocin-like peptides have been implicated in the regulation of a wide range of social behaviors across taxa. On the other hand, the social environment, which is composed of conspecifics genotypes, is also known to influence the development of social behavior, creating the possibility for indirect genetic effects. Here we used a knockout line for the oxytocin receptor in zebrafish to investigate how the genotypic composition of the social environment (Es) interacts with the oxytocin genotype (G) of the focal individual in the regulation of its social behavior. For this purpose, we have raised wild-type or knock-out zebrafish in either wild-type or knock-out shoals and tested different components of social behavior in adults. GxEs effects were detected in some behaviors, highlighting the need to control for GxEs effects when interpreting results of experiments using genetically modified animals, since the social environment can either rescue or promote phenotypes associated with specific genes.


Abstract An inexpensive, computer-automated HPLC for separation and quantification of amino acids in physiological fluids is described. The system offers fully automated equipment control, data collection, processing and storage capabilities. The component nature of the system and the software flexibility permit extensive system modification, accomodating a wide variety of different separatory procedures which are not possible with many dedicated amino acid analysers. The system uses a lithium-based ion exchange column with post-column o-phthalaldehyde derivatization. A time of 128 minutes, including column regeneration, is required for separation of all amino acids through to arginine. The advantages of post-column derivatization over pre-column derivatization methods for post-separatory amino acid techniques are discussed. Accurate quantification of radiolabel in amino acids is demonstrated.


Mulberry (Morus L.) is a perennial and heterogeneous outbreeding tree of the Moraceae family. In Thailand, mulberry is cultivated mainly in rural areas where mulberry leaves are used to feed silk worms for silk production. In August 2013, we first observed leaf blight on the mulberry cultivar 'Burriram 60' in Chiang Mai province (18.79 N, 98.96 E). The infected leaves exhibited brownish to black lesions, starting from the tips or edges of lamina, mainly on younger leaves. Some lesions extended and coalesced, causing leaves fall as disease progressed. However, this leaf fall did not cause plant mortality. Four diseased mulberry leaves were randomly collected, surface sterilized in 1% NaOCl solution for 3 min, rinsed 3 times with sterile water and incubated in moist chamber to induce sporulation. Single spore isolation (Choi et al. 1999) was performed by preparing conidial suspension in 250 µl of sterile distilled water and dropping on 1.5% (w/v) water agar. After 24 h incubation at room temperature (27 ± 2...


The need to reduce energy consumption and to increase generation from renewable energy resources is imminent. However, the grid reinforcements required in order to distribute electricity from sustainable resources are rather expensive. Therefore, we investigated several innovative options that maximize the integration of renewable resources in the existing electricity grid. Our results show that innovative configurations of solar and wind resources in the current grid allow almost six times more renewable energy resources, at half of the costs per reduced tonne CO2, than following the normal modus of operation and installing only photovoltaics. At the same time, demand side management of flexible electric loads results in only a small increase of renewable energy resources that can additionally be integrated in the current grid.


This paper presents results of an initial investigation on the Modular Aeroplane System, consisting of the flying wing carrier and cranked delta wing carried aeroplane. The system takes off in "conventional" configuration with the wing of the carried aeroplane working as a horizontal stabilizer of the system. At the certain altitude carried aeroplane is detached and both vehicles continue their missions separately. Each of them maintain flying wing configuration after split. The paper includes results of aerodynamic investigation related to the whole system, the carrier and the highly maneuverable airplane as an isolate components. Moreover analysis of stability for all vehicles configurations are presented. Furthermore paper contains initial performance calculations and discussion on possible applications of Modular Aeroplane System.


In recent years, small and weak target detection technology is one of the hotspots in information processing technology. However, the detection precision and speed of weak targets still have yet to be improved. As a branch of machine learning, deep learning has become more and more widely used in various fields. Therefore, this paper improves the deep convolutional networks for the characteristics of weak target detection, including the following three aspects: Firstly, a dataset dedicated to small and weak target detection is established. The data is sufficient and representative, which is beneficial to improve the quality of the network model. Each image in the dataset has a corresponding label that indicates the name of the image, and the coordinates and width of the target circumscribed rectangle. Secondly, the image is dilated many times so that the target having only a few pixels is covered by a lot of pixels. The highlighted portion of the image is dilated, and the result image has a larger highlighted area than the original image. Thirdly, the Faster R CNN algorithm is improved. In this paper, by adjusting the learning rates, a suitable one is determined to get the best network model. The results show that the average precision on the dataset has improved. The method proposed in this paper is of great significance for the detection of small and weak targets. For the military field, the research on weak target detection has high military value for improving early warning capability and counterattack capability.


Evan Bedford, CBE, a founder member of the British Cardiac Society, and original joint Editor of the British Heart_Journal, died on 24 January 1978 in his eightieth year. He was honorary consultant physician to the Middlesex Hospital and National Heart Hospital and at one time or another occupied positions commensurate with his reputation as one of the most distinguished figures in contemporary international cardiology. He was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, and was educated at Ipswich School and Epsom College. He entered the Middlesex Hospital Medical School in 1916, interrupted his medical studies to serve as surgeon sub-lieutenant, RNVR in 1918 and returned to the Middlesex Hospital at the end of the war to qualify as a doctor in 1921. After holding resident appointments at the Middlesex, he became medical officer in charge of the cardiac wards at the Ministry of Pensions Hospital at Orpington. This hospital was to play a crucial role in the evolution of British cardiology and Bedford's new appointment must have made him the envy of his contemporaries. From the first year of the first world war, tens of thousands of soldiers were invalided from the front labelled as DAH, VDH, cardiac debility, and soldier's heart. Mackenzie with R. M. Wilson, had already reported to the Medical Research Council that the soldier's heart corresponded exactly to what he had observed in civilian life and was identical with the descriptions given by the surgeons Hawthorne and Da Costa in the American Civil War. The unravelling of these and other problems was the occasion of a series of conferences at Orpington attended by all the leading experts of the day. The discussions, centred on syphilitic heart disease, war service as a cause of sub-acute bacterial endocarditis, the use of quinidine in auricular fibrillation, and other subjects generated so much enthusiasm, that one of the most prominent participants, W. E. Hume of Newcastle upon Tyne, was moved to make the formal suggestion in writing to John Cowan that a Cardiac Club be formed. The Cardiac Club, according to Cowan,


Maps, as John Davies and Alexander J. Kent remind us in this fascinating study of Cold War cartography, are 'instruments of power'. From the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the 1990...


ABSTRACT
Mandarin language has been one of the subjects in 2013 Curriculum as one of the foreign languages taught in schools starting from elementary to universities. Due to high interest in Chinese language in opening career opportunities to people who can master the language, there is also an increase of interest on not only the language but also on how to teach the language. Teachers in this context the teachers of Mandarin language at least master the basic of teaching Mandarin language in the five elements. On this matter, there are errors in the writing of Han Characters that occurs during the learning process on learners and teachers. The errors cover the strokes misalignment on written texts of describing oneself. This study analyzes the common mistakes of Chinese stroke writing on Teachers of Chinese language teachers in Indonesia on training programmes.
Key Words: Han Characters; Error Analysis in writing; writing misalignment; Chinese stroke writing and Mandarin Language Teachers.


—The design of new tools to detect on-the-fly traffic anomaly without scalability problems is a key point to exploit the cellular system for monitoring social activities. To this goal, the paper proposes two methods based on the wavelet analysis of the cumulative cellular traffic. The utilisation of the wavelets permits to easily filter "normal" traffic anomalies such as the periodic trends present in the cellular traffic. The two presented approaches, denoted as Spatial Analysis (SA) and Time Analysis (TA), differ on how they consider the spatial information of the traffic data. We examine the performance of the considered algorithms using cellular traffic data acquired from one the most important Italian Mobile Network Operator in the city of Milan throughout December 2013. The results highlight the weak points of TA and some important features of SA. Both approaches overcome the performance of one reference algorithm present in literature. The strategy used in the SA emerges as the most suitable for exploiting the spatial correlation when we aim at the detection of the traffic anomaly focused on the localisation of social events.


We present alternative expressions for modularity in graphs. Modularity is used as a measure to characterize the community of networks, which is one of the most important features


Black-pod disease of cocoa caused by the fungus Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Butl. occurs in most cocoa producing areas of the world. The recorded occurrences of this disease are virtually CO-extensive with the cultivation of Theobroma cacao. This fungus is also frequently associated with other serious cocoa diseases ranging from tanker to wilt and die-back affecting branches or whole trees. The ubiquity of this fungus as a cocoa pathogen is equalled only by that of Botryodiplodia theobromae, a less virulent parasite associated with the disease commonly referred to as the 'brown pod' rot. Economie losses due to Phytophthora pod rot disease in Nigeria is very difficult to estimate in view of the fact that severity of the disease varies from year to year and from area to area. Various estimates (JOHN and GIBBERD, 1951 ; ANON, 1954) indicated that about 12.5 to 25 percent of dry cocoa beans are lost annually in Nigeria. However, the recent estimation is that losses may be up to 30 to 35 percent of the total cocoa trop (GORENZ and OKAISABOR, 1971). The continuation, therefore, of profitable cocoa growing in Nigeria requires a good control of this pod disease.


Future information technologies for low‐dissipation quantum computation, high‐speed storage, and on‐chip communication applications require the development of atomically thin, ultracompact, and ultrafast spintronic devices in which information is encoded, stored, and processed using electron spin. Exploring low‐dimensional magnetic materials, designing novel heterostructures, and generating and controlling ultrafast electron spin in 2D magnetism at room temperature, preferably in the unprecedented terahertz (THz) regime, is in high demand. Using THz emission spectroscopy driven by femtosecond laser pulses, optical THz spin‐current bursts at room temperature in the 2D van der Waals ferromagnetic Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) integrated with Bi2Te3 as a topological insulator are successfully realized. The symmetry of the THz radiation is effectively controlled by the optical pumping incidence and external magnetic field directions, indicating that the THz generation mechanism is the inverse Edelstein effect contributed spin‐to‐charge conversion. Thickness‐, temperature‐, and structure‐dependent nontrivial THz transients reveal that topology‐enhanced interlayer exchange coupling increases the FGT Curie temperature to room temperature, which provides an effective approach for engineering THz spin‐current pulses. These results contribute to the goal of all‐optical generation, manipulation, and detection of ultrafast THz spin currents in room‐temperature 2D magnetism, accelerating the development of atomically thin high‐speed spintronic devices.


Designated market makers (DMMs) have traditionally been a source of liquidity for exchange-traded securities and financial contracts. Recent regulatory and technological developments, however, have changed the environment in which DMMs operate, raising questions about their place in the new trading landscape. This article discusses the role and challenges of DMMs in today's trading venues.


Chapter 5 of Library Technology Reports (vol. 48, no. 6) "Running the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Operating the Library Website" by David Lee King focuses on statistics: analytics, insights, numbers, charts and graphs, and data. The author shares statistics that are tracked for his digital branch and for social media; he also shares reasons for tracking those statistics. The chapter discusses how analytics help meet library goals. Tools for tracking statistics are described.


again... "I call this place the Look-out. That is the Dwarf. The rock out there under the sun where I came swimming is Safety Rock. The place where I get mussels and stuff is Food Cliff. Where I eat them is-The Red Lion. On the south side where the strap-weed is, I call Prospect Cliff. This cliff here to the west with the funnel in it is.. .Gull Cliff. " The horizon was still empty. He climbed down the rock to the Red Lion. "I wish I could remember the name of the whole rock. The captain said it was a near miss and laughed. I have it on the tip of my tongue. And I must have a name for this habitual clamber of mine between the Look-out and the Red Lion. I shall call it the High Street. " . .He looked the other way and there were the three rocks diminishing into a dark sea. "I name you three rocks-Oxford circus. Picadilly and Leicester Square."


Summary: 24-hour blood pressure monitoring has been performed in 40 patients aged from 17 till 24 with the normal and raised clinically arterial blood pressure. Differences between groups have been revealed, correlation of clinical arterial blood pressure and results of 24-hour monitoring has been confirmed, and individual cases of their discrepancy have been also described. Appropriate and proper diagnosis may reduce probability of stroke in these persons in the future.


Insulin resistance is suggested to impact endothelial function by attenuating nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity, which is important for blood flow control. This reduction in insulin sensitivity and decrease in endothelial function leads to an increased risk for poor cardiovascular outcomes such as stroke. Many studies have examined the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) to determine the effect of stroke on the cerebral microvasculature. Neither the contralateral MCA, nor the posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) have been thoroughly scrutinized to determine the more global impact of stroke on cerebrovascular function. Obese Zucker rats (OZRs) are used as a representative model of insulin resistance, where their lean counterparts (LZRs) are considered healthy controls. To look at the possible effect of decreased NO bioavailability on the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres of the brain, OZRs and LZRs were induced with stroke by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) for 60 minutes. The purpose of this study was to compare the reactivity of both the ipsilateral and contralateral MCAs and PCAs at 24 hours post‐stroke to determine if stroke impacted the cerebral hemispheres differently. OZRs and LZRs were separated into sham and tMCAO groups. The ipsilateral and contralateral MCA and PCA were isolated and hung in a pressurized microvessel myobath. To assess endothelial function, the MCAs and PCAs were exposed to increasing doses of acetylcholine. A DAF‐FM diacetate assay was used to detect the amount of NO production in the aorta as a representative measure of NO synthesis within the vasculature. After 24 hours, LZR tMCAOs had lower NO production than the sham animals (p<0.05) but OZR tMCAOs did not have a significant decrease in NO release. LZR and OZR tMCAOs had similar NO production values after 24 hours. Both groups had decreases in their MCA and PCA reactivity 24 hours post‐stroke (p<0.05). In the MCAs, ipsilateral reactivity was lower in OZRs than in LZRs. This effect was not seen in the PCA, where both the contralateral and ipsilateral had similar decreases in reactivity in LZRs. OZR ipsilateral PCA reactivity was further attenuated from the contralateral (p<0.05). OZR MCA reactivity was improved by incubation with TEMPOL but not LZRs. This same effect was not seen in PCAs where TEMPOL did not improve dilation in either group. The results from this study suggest that NO bioavailability is important for endothelial function after an ischemic stroke. It also suggests that both hemispheres of the brain are affected by stroke, although not to the same degree. Likewise, vessels such as the PCA are also impaired by occlusion of the MCA suggesting a more global effect on the cerebral microvasculature.


We present three phthalocyanine compounds as terahertz wave amplitude modulators. More than 99% modulation depth can be achieved by using external CW laser which under low power irradiation. Three phthalocyanine compounds are CuPc, AlClPc and SnCl2Pc. We used 2 mm-thick, high resistive Si films as substrates. Using thermal evaporation we deposited 200-nm thick film on the substrate, and without using thermally annealed. A 450nm CW semiconductor laser was used as the optical modulating source. The optical characteristics of these films in the THz range were investigated by using typical THz time-domain transmission spectroscopy, and with reliable 0.2-2.6 THz frequency range. The experimental result shows that THz wave amplitude modulation efficiency of the three films quickly increased by increasing external laser power. The result presents that AlClPc/Si and CuPc/Sifilms can achieve more than 99% modulation efficiency, and the SnCl2Pc/Si is 96.3%. Moreover, these modulation effects can be achieved by a relatively lower modulating laser power. For the AlClPc/Si film with the highest modulation efficiency, the external laser poweris 94.3mW, the corresponding intensity is 1.57×102mW/cm2.


Significance Eg5, a mitotic kinesin, has long been an anticancer drug target. However, a different kinesin motor, KIF15, can rescue cell division when Eg5 is incapacitated, leading to chemotherapeutic resistance. We characterized KIF15 motor mechanics at the single-molecule level and studied the effects of combinations of small-molecule inhibitors of KIF15 and Eg5 on admixtures of motors in a motility assay, as well as on cancer cell proliferation. Taken together, our results point the way toward a strategy of combination drug therapy targeting both Eg5 and KIF15 as a means of overcoming KIF15-mediated cancer resistance. This work highlights the importance of understanding the molecular physiology of different kinesins and of exploring inhibitors that target additional mitotic kinesins. Eg5, a mitotic kinesin, has been a target for anticancer drug development. Clinical trials of small-molecule inhibitors of Eg5 have been stymied by the development of resistance, attributable to mitotic rescue by a different endogenous kinesin, KIF15. Compared with Eg5, relatively little is known about the properties of the KIF15 motor. Here, we employed single-molecule optical-trapping techniques to define the KIF15 mechanochemical cycle. We also studied the inhibitory effects of KIF15-IN-1, an uncharacterized, commercially available, small-molecule inhibitor, on KIF15 motility. To explore the complementary behaviors of KIF15 and Eg5, we also scored the effects of small-molecule inhibitors on admixtures of both motors, using both a microtubule (MT)-gliding assay and an assay for cancer cell viability. We found that (i) KIF15 motility differs significantly from Eg5; (ii) KIF15-IN-1 is a potent inhibitor of KIF15 motility; (iii) MT gliding powered by KIF15 and Eg5 only ceases when both motors are inhibited; and (iv) pairing KIF15-IN-1 with Eg5 inhibitors synergistically reduces cancer cell growth. Taken together, our results lend support to the notion that a combination drug therapy employing both inhibitors may be a viable strategy for overcoming chemotherapeutic resistance.


The basic physiological processes active in voluntary and reflexive movement are reviewed and analyzed in light of recent data. The individual and interactive actions of such processes (i.e., rate, recruitment, synergy, feedbacks) are integrated and presented as a limb joint control system including upper, lower, perceptive, and reflexive hierarchical closed-loop regulators emphasizing the role of various feedback modalities.


The European cooperative (wholesale) society represents a form of organizing and unfolding economic activities, and its Regulation issued in 2003 determines its legal nature, by also offering it a standard regulation, different from the standardization which exist as far as the trade law is concerned. The key element of this European institution or construction is its international, cross border nature, a feature which is present from the start and all through its existence. This type of company is a legal person, having legal personality, and its purpose is not to unfold a trading activity and gain profit, its objective and main purpose a social one, namely to satisfy the needs of its members.


In Ecuador's Socio Bosque programme, the Ministry of Environment (MAE) enters into conservation agreements with private and communal (including indigenous) landholders, offering yearly monetary payments in return for maintaining forest cover. The programme's other key objective is to improve the socio economic situation of the poorest among the rural population. The programme asks participants to submit a plan on how the conservation payments are to be spent, encouraging them to invest wisely in their future. Thus, Socio Bosque offers forest-dependent people an alternative to unsustainable exploitation of their resource base, thereby aiming to prevent or reverse further


Atenolol is a very important drug used to treat chest pain (angina) and high blood pressure. Due to this, medical importance, a spectrophotometric method is proposed to determine Atenolol in its pure form and pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed method relies on two important steps, the first is the oxidation-reduction reaction between Atenolol and an excess amount of cerium (IV) as an oxidizing agent in the presence of acidic medium, then the second step occurs between unreacted cerium (IV) that was deceased rhodamine 6G absorption intensity. This is an indirect method for estimating Atenolol as it relies on the decreased color intensity of a dye Rhodamine 6G, which is proportional to the increase in the amount of the cerium (IV) in the acid medium at the wavelength of 525 nm. The proposed method follows Beer's law within the range (50–800) μg/25 mL, with good sensitivity relative to the molar absorption coefficient value 2.53×104 L.mol-1.cm-1 and the Sandell value equal to 0.0105 μg.cm-2. The proposed method has been successfully applied to quantify Atenolol in pure form and its pharmaceutical preparations.


Abstract: Nigeria's new capital at Abuja was chiefly intended to enhance national unity, by ensuring equitable access for all citizens irrespective of demographic or socioeconomic background. However, after a decade and a half of implementation, Abuja promises to become a city of disharmony, a divisive element to further erode the Nigerian Polity.


Advanced medical equipment is necessary condition for modern hospital,which is very important to the hospital survival and development.In order to promote equipment to maximize efficiency and promote the further development of the hospital,equipment scientific management level must be improved and equipment must be scientifically purchased and used.


This is a case report of a 15 -year-old boy with history of diffi culty in swallowing solid food for one month. Three roentgen views following "barium swallow" are shown.


This report will examine each of these trade issues, discussing their main elements and exploring their implications for the 111th Congress. This will be followed by an analysis of key trends in bilateral trade to discern any potential sources of trade friction in the future.


For half a century at least, each new generation of computer chip, appearing every two years or so, has provided twice as many transistors per unit cost (as predicted by Moore's law [1]). Extrapolating the accelerating pace of technological potential, logic dictates that computational devices will be tiny and powerful by the early 2020s, giving rise to virtual-reality applications such as displays built into our eyeglasses [2]. By the 2030s, going to a website could mean entering a totally realistic and compelling virtual environment facilitated by miniature computers that interact with brain cells, and people will probably spend most of their time in virtual reality [3]. Although these prospects may sound farfetched, we can already see that virtual-reality-based applications are increasingly used in such common tasks as driving. We use driving simulators for assessment, rehabilitation, learner driver training, race-car driver training, research into safety, and for at-home entertainment and in amusement halls.


Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to quantitatively investigate the fractal nature of MeV ion irradiated silicon surfaces. Si(1 0 0) surfaces (with native oxide) were irradiated at room temperature using 2 MeV Si þ ions with a fluence of 4 · 10 15 ions/cm 2 . One half of the sample was masked during irradiation. Root-mean-square roughness of both the irradiated and the pristine halves of the sample has been measured as a function of STM scan size. Ion beam induced smoothing has been observed at length scales below � 50 nm. The roughness exponent of the smoothed surface is a ¼ 0:53 � 0:03. When the oxide is removed from the ion-bombarded surface by thermal flushing, the roughness exponent increases to 0.81 ± 0.04 with further smoothing below the length scale � 50 nm and roughening at higher length scales upto � 300 nm. The values of the roughness exponents indicate the self-affine nature of these surfaces. � 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.


In this paper a mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of bird flu among birds and humans is presented. The model assumes that there is no migration of birds in the susceptible bird population immediately the disease starts. The model formulated is analyzed using dynamical systems theory . The analysis of the steady state and its stability show that the system will be stable if there is a bound on the growth (birth) of birds in the community (αB). This means that the disease will die out after enough time if there is a bound on the growth rate of birds. We also looked at the endemic flu state and showed that the disease will persist if there is a bound on the infection transition rate from birds to birds (βB). KEY WORDS: Mathematical model, bird – flu disease, transmission, steady state, stability


The invention comprises a method for lossy data compression, akin to vector quantization, in which there is no explicit codebook and no search, i.e. the codebook memory and associated search computation are eliminated. Some memory and computation are still required, but these are dramatically reduced, compared to systems that do not exploit this method. For this reason, both the memory and computation requirements of the method are exponentially smaller than comparable methods that do not exploit the invention. Because there is no explicit codebook to be stored or searched, no such codebook need be generated either. This makes the method well suited to adaptive coding schemes, where the compression system adapts to the statistics of the data presented for processing: both the complexity of the algorithm executed for adaptation, and the amount of data transmitted to synchronize the sender and receiver, are exponentially smaller than comparable existing methods.


The standard error of equating is a useful index to quantify the amount of equating error. It is the standard deviation of equated scores over replications of an equating procedure in samples from a population or populations of examines. The current study estimates the SE of item response theory true score equating in the Nonequivalent Groups with Anchor Test design using simulations. Specifically, the test length of the internal anchor and the sample size are of interests. Some specialized programs, such as BILOG-MG 3.0 for item calibration, ST for IRT scale transformations, and PIE for IRT true score equating, are incorporated to accomplish the equatings. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate such a complicated and repetitive procedure through SAS®.


Simulated acoustic propagation showed a gradual deepening of the ray paths from the southern ocean towards tropics. Also the axis of the sound channel deepens from 150 m to 1600 m. Sudden jumps were noticed in the acoustic ray paths in the vicinity of the Sub Tropical Convergence. Measured acoustic signals, received at the Indian listening station has a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 20 dB on an average and confirmed their detectability over distances as far as 7000 km. The phase stability of these signals allowed coherent averaging time of 20 minutes for corresponding increase in the SNR. Measured intensity losses were about 135 dB in contrast to those computed values of 150 dB.


We report on Ge selectively grown by chemical vapor deposition on free-standing Si(001) nanostructures for future photonic applications. Si(001) substrate is patterned in the form of 140-nm-high and 150-nm-wide stripes along the 〈110〉 crystal direction with sidewalls and trenches covered by a thermal SiO2 mask. The selectivity of Ge deposition is triggered by opening growth windows of uncovered Si on top of each nanopillar. The samples with 15- and 25-nm-thick oxide mask are characterized by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy supported by finite element method simulation. The analysis indicates that, although nanopatterned Si is stressed by thermal oxide, the Si structure quality is not affected. Additionally, the epi-Ge crystal grows in a relaxed form and nearly the whole strain energy is released by the nucleation of a misfit dislocation network at the Ge/Si interface. The residual stress is mainly accumulated in the bird's beak region of Ge/Si nanostructures.


Neural models for response generation produce responses that are semantically plausible but not necessarily factually consistent with facts describing the speaker's persona. These models are trained with fully supervised learning where the objective function barely captures factual consistency. We propose to fine-tune these models by reinforcement learning and an efficient reward function that explicitly captures the consistency between a response and persona facts as well as semantic plausibility. Our automatic and human evaluations on the PersonaChat corpus confirm that our approach increases the rate of responses that are factually consistent with persona facts over its supervised counterpart while retains the language quality of responses.


Model-based D-optimal design of experiments is applied to the nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMRP) of polystyrene. Recent studies of this system (in terms of both experimental work and model development) have led to the development of a refined (detailed) mechanistic model and a substantially reduced model. Both the fully mechanistic model and the reduced model are validated by comparing model predictions with experimental data. The D-optimal designs (formulated using models of different complexity) are compared to each other, and contrasted with work done previously regarding the Bayesian design of experiments applied to the same system, in addition to comparisons with an anti-correlation criterion.


AbstractExperimental studies were conducted on a 5-L laboratory-scale activated sludge–biofilm reactor in two phases: phase I with 30% filling (Bioflow 9) and Phase II with 60% filling [Biofilm 9 (30%), Flocor (15%), and BioBall (15%)]. The substrate used in the study was prepared by diluting the vinasse with tap water and adding urea, KH2PO4 (source of nitrogen and phosphorous), and MgSO4, resulting in a chemical oxygen demand (COD)/N/P ratio of 300/10/1.COD/N/P=300/10/1. At 30% Bioflow 9 filling, increasing the influent COD concentration [while maintainig the same hydraulic residence time (HRT)] reduced the efficiency of COD removal. At 60% filling, it was observed that increasing the feed composition while maintaining the same HRT reduced the percentage removal of COD and NH4+-N. The sludge concentration within the reactor slightly increased with increase in feed concentration and a stage is reached where the sludge settling in the settling tank was very poor while the yield of the sludge increased to ...


Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is usually performed with multiple point‐by‐point radiofrequency ablation with a second multielectrode circular mapping catheter to validate isolation. We evaluated a 30‐mm high‐density mesh electrode (HDMA) for mapping and PVI in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF).


Resistance to chemotherapy is determined by the development of resistance mechanisms to one or more chemotherapy compounds. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is the process by which tumor cells exposed to a single chemotherapeutic compound develop cross-resistance to a series of structurally and functionally unrelated compounds, which reduces the effectiveness of therapies. New data that explain the mechanisms that govern the interplay between the topoisomerases TopoI, TopoII and Topo, molecules that are differentially expressed and modulated by drug treatments in tumour cells, might add to knowledge in the domain of oncologic treatment resistance. Since many studies were focused on the resistance to a single topoisomerase, while the simultaneous evaluation of the expression of the three topoisomerases and implication in resistance was less analyzed, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the involvement of TopoI, TopoII and TopoII in the induced resistance to Topo-inhibitors chemotherapeutic agents (Adriablastin (ADB) and Topotecan (TPT)). Changes in their expression during the acquisition of the resistance phenotype in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line were evaluated using MTS cell viability assay, evaluation of nuclear antigen expression during cell cycle phases and apoptotic events by flow-cytometry, or Western blotting. Moreover, we investigated the cross-resistance developed against ADB or TPT.The evaluation of apoptotic events by flow cytometry confirms the acquired phenotype during the resistance acquisition process. Furthermore, we have shown that TopoI (TPT) and Topo II (ADB) inhibitors do not interfere giving cross resistance. Thus, topoisomerases could be taken into account as important factors during setting of more selective treatment approaches for cancer patients.


The initial onset age of reentry tachycardia induced by atrioventricular accessory pathway and dual atrioventricular nodal pathways was investigated.155 patients with reentrant tachycardia were analysed,which including 106 patients with atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT) and 49 patients with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT).The initial onset ages were spectulated according to the patients' ages and history of tachycardia.The results were compared between the following groups:AVRT and AVNRT,left and right atrioventricular accessory pathway (AP) with AVRT,apparent and concealed AP with AVRT,male and female patients with tachycardia.Results:The initial onset ages of AVRT and AVNRT were 29.91±12.85 and 32.33±11.84 years respectively.No sighinficant differences were found between left and right AP with AVRT,apparent and concealed AP with AVRT,male and female patients with tachycardia.Conclusion:The high onset age regions of the initial onset of AVRT and AVNRT are all 30 years respectively,with dispersed onset in the other periods of age.[Chinese Journal of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology,2000,14(2):174~176]


Using the nonparametric DEA technique,this paper analyzes the productive public expenditure efficiency of 30 provinces during 1998-2006.The result shows that there are significant differences in the efficiencies.


Bulgaria and Romania are neighbouring countries, which have always been rivals. Following the decision on EU enlargement to include Bulgaria and Romania (late 1999) and with membership negotiations already started (2004), the race between the two countries gained momentum and comparisons of performances in the areas of economy and democracy became a regular practice. Around late 1990s the two countries took different trajectories, although in the direction of EU and market economy. The great divergence is lying primarily in the choice of monetary regime. While Romania continued to pursue and enhance its discretionary monetary policy and since 2005 has moved to inflation targeting, Bulgaria made an abrupt turn in mid-1997 and introduced a currency board arrangement.


There are various test methods of the male hormone, but as a quantitative test the capon comb-growth method is not only the best, but comparatively easy to test, so it is used by many workers. We (1), too, have tested this method to the minutest detail and proposed a new cock unit, which we believe to be most rational, but in this method we use, contrary to the seminal vesicle test, the capon's comb which is the external secondary sexual character so we cannot say this is always a complete method when compared with the test method in which accessory reproductive organs such as seminal vesicles or prostate glands that have close connection with clinical application of the male hormone are used as test object. We have, therefore, carefully examined the conditions of a test method by measurement of increase in weight of seminal vesicles of castrated rats and we propose a dependable new rat unit. Test method in which seminal vesicles or prostates of castrated rats are employed as quantitative indicators of testicular hormone may be divided into two kinds cytological test and gravimetrical test. Hansen (2) has tested the former fully. But this test gives one not only the trouble in fixation of tissues, staining, etc., but it takes eleven days to test, and moreover, does not produce dependable quantitative results, whilst the gravimetrical test is


Remote infrared observations allow us to obtain mineralogical information about micron-sized dust in circumstellar environments like young stellar objects (YSO). Comparison to laboratory infrared measurements of meteorites material from the time when our own Solar System was an YSO provides a link between astronomical observations with the known compositions of extraterrestrial materials in our Solar System.


The more laws,the more theft" is LAO Zi's only estimation on legislation in Tao Te Ching.LAO Zi had prudent and depreciatory attitude to legislation.In Tao Te Ching,he supported limited laws under control of the sage,and these laws must conform to Nature.His purpose was to build a smaller country,recover the primitive material and spiritual civilizations as well as self-sufficient economy.


In the era of globalization like now the website becomes very important to spread information or to store data. The internet is one of the tools to spread information that is easy and fast because it can be done anywhere and anytime. With the existence of the internet and websites can be used to store data inspection and note maintenance. At present the Indonesian railroad company is still reporting the results of the inspection and maintenance of the letter of notes manually, making it difficult to find inspection and maintenance information when the supervisor of the railroad company needs to conduct an inspection. The purpose of this research is to build an information system or website inspection and maintenance website (sell maintenance) so that it makes it easier for railroad company employees to store inspection and note maintenance data so that the data becomes more structured. Making a system or website is done by collecting data through Wawan Ways, Observation and Literature Review. Creating the Sell Maintenance website uses the User Centered Design method by applying the PHP programming language and using the Bootstrap framework to make the display more attractive. The result of this study is a website that suits the needs and preferences of users so that it is easier to use and intuitive because in this study conduct direct observations and interactions with users to understand how users use these products or services. In this study after testing the railroad company employees it was found that the presentation font in the reporting status display was changed to make it greater, the notes photo in the asset data display was changed to be smaller so that it was not too much scroll down, the header and footer on the printed display were removed, The font size on the print display is reduced, the size of the photo pixel and the layout are repaired so that they are not too many pages


In this experiment, we designed and tested a vibration sensing device. This vibration sensor has a flat-end fiber docking with a fiber tip. We used the self-made fiber melting and pulling equipment to make a fiber tip and use it to dock with the flat-end fiber, and then sealed them in a capillary tube. When the vibration source makes the fixing metal plate vibrate, the metal plate can drive the vibration sensor and let the fiber tip to vibrate with it, so that the intensity of the received light by the fiber tip will also vibrate. If we can detect the vibrating waveform, we can analyze the vibration frequency of the vibration source. The experimental results show that the self-made vibration sensing device using a fiber tip can successfully measure the vibration frequency of the driving sound wave.


In East Timor, the human losses suffered during more than 24 years of armed conflict from the brief period of civil war through the many years of Indonesian occupation are of immeasurable cost. Yet the newly sovereign nation of Timor-Leste and Indonesia now face political and policy decisions about the ethical ways and fiscal means to provide quantifiable compensation in the form of reparations to the victims of these conflicts.1In December 2009, in response to two truth commissions started between 2002-2005, the Timorese Parliament passed a resolution that asked for recommendations from its Committee A, which is responsible for human rights, to provide a basis for the first public governmental debate on a national reparations policy.2 These recommendations are expected by March 2010. Additionally, forms of reparations are currently under consideration in bilateral negotiations between Timor-Leste and Indonesia. This article will explore some of the core questions that comprise the debate over what kind of new opportunities, if any, a reparations program in Timor-Leste can create to move peace and justice forward beyond the work of the previous trials and truth commissions.Defining ReparationsThe most common standards referenced when designing a reparations program are United Nations (UN) guidelines.3 A growing body of international legal and historical precedents accompanies these guidelines.4 For example, some reparations programs that have been implemented between states include Germany and Israel, as well as those between Japan and other Asian nations after World War II. Reparations can also be an entirely domestic program within states, such as payments made by the United States to Japanese-American citizens interned during World War II or the reparations program that resulted from the truth commission process in South Africa.In accordance with these guidelines, reparations in the Timorese setting could be acts of redress made by an individual, institution, or state responsible for gross violations of human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law. The victim(s) or victim's dependents could receive reparations, and they could be distributed individually or collectively.But technical definitions and popular understandings of reparations can vary. As one example, reparations are often misunderstood as purely financial payments. In fact, reparations are not limited to monetary compensation; they seem to be more effective when they come in multiple forms that are symbolic and material. Material compensation may include cash payments to victims, but are also legitimate if they take the form of funds distributed to programs that address the causes or impacts of the human rights abuses. Historically, reparations payments between nations have taken many forms and have been used for purposes other than directly cultivating human rights,5 but if the nations adhere to the international standards referenced above, funds would need to be earmarked specifically as reparations for human rights abuses and directed to the benefit of victims. Therefore, reparations are distinct from other kinds of interstate funding that are offered purely as Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). Symbolic governmental acts are often overlooked as reparations, but they include official apologies, the provision of truth, accountability, and memorialization.Historical BackgroundEast Timor is a former Portuguese colony. In 1974, the fall of the authoritarian regime in Portugal spawned a series of political developments that resulted in a civil conflict in Portuguese Timor.6 On December 7, 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor. The territory was ruled by Indonesia until 1999. East Timor remained on the UN's non-self-governing territory list throughout this period and continued its campaign for independence. In 1998, when the Indonesian ruler Suharto was deposed after 32 years, Indonesia began the process of reinstating democracy. …


We study asymptotic expansion formulae for numerical computation of Greeks (i.e. sensitivity) in finance. Our approach is based on the integration-by-parts formula of the Malliavin calculus. We propose asymptotic expansion of Greeks for a stochastic volatility model using the Greeks formula of the Black-Scholes model. A singular perturbation method is applied to derive asymptotic Greeks formulae. We also provide numerical simulation of our method and compare it to the Monte Carlo finite difference approach.


Abstract This paper presents research on precursors that can generate unique and attractive retail experiences when using artificial intelligence. Among them are safe technology, ethical aspects, and customer-friendly technology. The motivation for choosing this topic is that it gives a global, current perspective and arouses interest, curiosity, uncertainty, even fear. Quantitative research was implemented with the help of an online questionnaire. The conceptual model derived from the literature was then analysed through regression analysis. Data collected from 272 consumers allowed the research hypotheses to be validated. The results reveal that artificial intelligence applied in retail is the solution for achieving higher performance in the retail field, but without being used unethically. The results provide an overview of AI in retail today, with survey participants expressing confidence in AI's ability to improve their shopping experience. The originality of the research consists of approaching for the first time in the considered emerging market the perception of consumers toward the vectors that enhance their in-store shopping expectations. Considering the direction in which technology is evolving and based on the arguments of specialists, it can be stated that Artificial Intelligence will represent an element of distinction and competitive advantage. Companies in the retail sector that will invest in the development of Artificial Intelligence will benefit in the long term. Artificial intelligence should not be absent from the retail context, and further investment should be made in its development. The present study did not determine the actual purchase experience in virtual retail stores but was based on a hypothetical situation. Also, this study used a limited sample of respondents, with only Millennials participating. A future research perspective could be based on this study, but using a larger and more representative sample.


Penetrative sex has not the only path to orgasm. Even non-genital stimulation, like kissing, petting, or nipple play can
do the trick. Whether you have in a new relationship, on honeymoon or approaching the 10-year mark of marriage,
having a good sex life takes a deep case intimacy that goes beyond the physical. Having good sex means knowing
how partner's body works and what needs. It means knowing own needs, and owning sexuality and pleasure. What
better way to do this than by discovering new, interesting facts about female orgasms, these interesting facts about
female orgasms will make sex with partner feel new again.


Dust produced in nonferrous metal high grade nickel matte crushing is an important issue that impact high efficiency environmental protection production in smelting plant.On the basis of analysis on the reason of dust production and dispersal,this paper makes a comprehensive discussion on dust controlling and recovery of valuable metal in dust,and introduces the application condition of filtering cartridge dust-removal system in a certain mine by combining practices of dust controlling and valuable metal recovery.


Background In previous studies the incidence of associated congenital anomalies for infants with oesophageal atresia(OA) ranges between 40–57%. OA mostly associated with Tracheoesophageal fistula is a part of VACTERL association (Vertebral anomalies, Anal atresia, Cardiovascular anomalies, Tracheoesophageal fistula, Renal/or radial anomalies, Limb defects). Aim To determine the incidence of associated anomalies in babies with oesophageal atresia. Methods 32 babies treated for oesophageal atresia at our regional surgical neonatal unit between the period February 2007 to February 2012 were included in the study. Results Out of 32 babies, 17 were male and 15 were female infants with gestation ranging from 31–40 weeks. 10 babies (31%) were born in-utero and 22 babies were transferred from local neonatal units. Birth weights ranged between 1380g–4300g. In total 15 babies (47%) had some form of Cardiac anomalies with 5 babies either having Atrial septal defect or Ventricular septal defect and 8 babies having a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). 3 babies (9%) had associated anorectal anomalies. In total 10 babies (31%) had associated anomaly excluding isolated PDA and 16 babies (50%) if isolated PDA were included. Conlcusion Association of anomalies with Oesophageal anomalies is well documented in literature. It is important to identify vertebral anomalies early for follow up as the risk of scoliosis is 13 fold after repair of OA in relation to general population. This small study showed incidence of 50% for babies with OA to be associated with other anomalies and supports current literature.


Recent advances in antenna technology have made the design of multi-beam antennas (MBA) feasible. Compared to an omni-directional or a single beam directional antenna, an MBA equipped node can achieve a throughput of up to m times, by simultaneously communicating on its m non-interfering beams. As a result, a few multi-beam directional medium access control (MAC) schemes have been proposed in the literature recently, which are implemented mostly on the in-house simulation setups in Matlab or C/C++. These implementations make many assumptions to simplify their design, without a thorough implementation of other network layers. However, the implementation of a multi-beam MAC scheme on the well-known discrete event network simulator platforms (such as the Riverbed Modeler, NS3, QualNet) is challenging as it requires extensive changes and additions to various source code modules. In fact, the network protocols in these simulator packages have been mainly designed for omni-directional communication, and very few implementations of directional MAC and other network protocols exist in the literature. This paper presents a framework to implement a multi-beam directional MAC scheme in multi-hop wireless networks, by using the Wireless Suite of Riverbed Modeler. The detailed implementation procedures are described for multi-beam antenna module, multi-beam node model, concurrent packet transmission and reception, scheduling, collision avoidance, retransmission, and local node synchronization. These MAC modules and methodology can be very helpful to the researchers and developers for implementing the single-beam as well as multi-beam directional MAC and routing protocols in Riverbed Modeler.


Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone)s (SPPEKs) and zirconium hydrogen phosphate (ZrP) hybrid membranes for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) were prepared by the impregnation method and direct blending method. The physicochemical properties of these hybrid membranes were studied by means of field-emission scanning electron microscope (FSEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). For the hybrid membranes prepared from impregnation procedure, the highest proton conductivity could reach 0.074 S/cm at 80°C under 100% relative humidity and the methanol permeability at room temperature is more than 10 times lower than that of Nafion 117. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This article provides a review of the research literature related to the experience of homesickness among college students. Research-based findings of the symptomology of homesickness, risk factors that increase vulnerability to experiencing this psychological phenomenon, and the effectiveness of treatment strategies aimed at reducing symptoms of homesickness are examined within this literature review.


Two new isotomid species of the genera Archisotoma and Isotomodes and new record of Folsomides from Restinga de Marica, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil are presented.


This paper highlights the effects and impacts of quarrying on Forest Land, with Mwache Forest, located in the Kwale County, whose land use is defined as conservation –as the study case. Despite the defined land-use, Gami Quarries Ltd had been given the rights of exploiting the rock out-crop in the forest to make ballast –a raw material needed in the construction industry. Ballast processing operations were initiated through blasting the rock structure using explosives inserted onto holes drilled on the rock, disseminating it into boulders that were sized into smaller rocks that were transported for processing into ballast. The explosions resulted into the generation of wave energy that weakened the rock formation and, damaged the existing neighbouring infrastructure; it produced dust and higher levels of noise. Transport of the rock material for processing into ballast, resulted in the emission of fugitive dust due to tracking on the unpaved road. This was in addition to the emission of the oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, carbon monoxide, suspended particle matter (SPM) and, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the poorly maintained diesel engine powered tracks. The significance of air pollution from the ballast-making operational processes was low, bearing the wind regime, which scattered and diluted the pollutants. Run-off from the quarry spoils however introduced undesirable elements in water; while lack of sanitation on-site was recipe for transmission of water borne disease. Quarrying for ballast exposed the groundwater aquifer, making it vulnerable to contamination; it at the same time led to the potential of altering the existing drainage characteristics, interfering with stream flow and aquifer recharge. Quarrying created Bad Lands, exposed the bed rock to erosion and reduced the moisture content usually experienced in forested land with impact on local ecology, arising from the destruction of the habitat. The effects of enhanced noise from the blasting operations was traced into hearing loss among the workers; the noise also disturbed wildlife and grazing animals. Fire-outbreaks were also potential due to the explosives use, it could also result from the domestic activities of the workers. Fire outbreak on dry forest could lead to severe and significant effects, including the loss of life. On occupational health and safety matters, the workers have had to do with the consequences of potential exposure to dust, potential injuries from flying blasted rock debri, from the impacts of water borne and, water related diseases and, high levels of noise. To minimize the identified effects and impacts, operating rules had been given. These offered adequate protection. However, it was recognized that the rules and procedures ought to be engraved into an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan in order to promote sustainability of the actions. This had not been done. Key words : quarrying, dust, noise, pollution, habitat destruction, water borne and water related diseases, cancer, operating rules and procedures


Traditional agricultural systems are increasingly being recognized as important examples of ecologically sustainable production methods and as such deserve agroecological attention. In a study of terrace agriculture in Tlaxcala, Mexico, the authors identify several management features which have been used for as long as three thousand years. The theoretical approach employs the notion of open versus closed agroecosystems for examining soil and water management, species diversity, and nutrient cycling. In the traditional system, conservation of existing resources is the distinctive feature whereas, with modern techniques, the emphasis is on replacement. The most distinctive feature of the Tlaxcalan agroecosystem is the terrace/cajete complex which serves to contain heavy downpours and trap eroded soil, ensures diversity of plant species, and traps and concentrates nutrients. The functioning of this traditional system is endangered by new management strategies that have responded to external political, economic and social pressures for change. This article discusses the ecological repercussions of these new practices and suggests ways that appropriate elements may be integrated to promote the sustainability of food production.


IT IS accepted that by far the greater portion of infectious foci are found above the clavicle and that these comprise practically all primary foci. These may be divided into four groups: Tonsils, sinuses, throat and pharynx, and teeth. The X-ray is of no diagnostic value in tonsil, throat or pharynx diagnosis, is of value to a degree in diagnosing involvement of the sinuses, and is of great value as a diagnostic adjunct in determining the presence and potentiality of dental foci. For when it is considered that with a full complement of teeth there are present, possibly, thirty-two separate foci, the numerical preponderance of this type of focus, and the importance, therefore, of careful diagnosis is apparent. Rosenow's work following hard upon Hunter's excoriation of "American Dentistry," has brought about an enforced, albeit reluctant, change in attitude on the part of the dental profession toward "dead teeth." Devitalization, which had been considered heretofore an elective procedure really presenting ...


In robotics, solving the direct kinematics problem (DKP) for parallel robots is very often more difficult and time consuming than for their serial counterparts. The problem is stated as follows: given the joint variables, the Cartesian variables should be computed, namely the pose of the mobile platform. Most of the time, the DKP requires solving a non-linear system of equations. In addition, given that the system could be non-convex, Newton or Quasi-Newton (Dogleg) based solvers get trapped on local minima. The capacity of such kinds of solvers to find an adequate solution strongly depends on the starting point. A well-known problem is the selection of such a starting point, which requires a priori information about the neighbouring region of the solution. In order to circumvent this issue, this article proposes an efficient method to select and to generate the starting point based on probabilistic learning. Experiments and discussion are presented to show the method performance. The method successfully avoids getting trapped on local minima without the need for human intervention, which increases its robustness when compared with a single Dogleg approach. This proposal can be extended to other structures, to any non-linear system of equations, and of course, to non-linear optimization problems.


This research works out a design of signal adaptor circuit of serial communication port between PLC and PC,including input interface circuit and output interface circuit.This adaptor does not use hardware or software resource.Students can make the drawings and connections in a normal way.


The problem of rising Islamic sect and Menhuan is not a new problem,and that emerge one after another appear frequently in the Chinese Islamic history.Be close to one or two decades,on every place in China especially in Gansu,Ningxia and Qinghai of the Northwest region,the rising sect and Menhuan take on the gradually active situation again.The deep source of the rising Islamic sect and Menhuan produce that is the religious inner reform,the difference of religious doctrine,the contention of religious resources,the drive of economic benefits and the weakness of religious manage work etc.But the rising Islamic sect and Menhuan produce continually that is not particular phenomenon of Chinese Islam,it is ubiquitous problem in world.among important subjects of explore mutually adapt to Islam and the socialism societies how to alleviate the internal conflict of Muslims for bring the social stable problem because of the produce of the rising Islamic sect and Menhuan.Establish the homologous counterplan,strengthen the social control.The Muslim also should look for a kind of aggressive mechanism,strengthenning the religious self-discipline,reducing the social tremor because of Islamic sect and Menhuan conflict.


: A mechanical apparatus of coupled oscillator chains which are levitated on a track by air has been constructed with designing anew nonlinear springs. By use of the apparatus, excitation of mobile type of intrinsic localized modes has been demonstrated with driving sinusoidally at one end of the chains. The apparatus consists of twenty identical oscillators, nonlinear springs, a long and straight air track with a blower at one end and a driver unit for forcing the chains. The oscillators are connected with neighboring ones through the nonlinear springs and levitated above the air track. The relation of restoring force of the spring to deflection is piecewise linear but approximately cubic. In the apparatus with appropriate tensions, the curve of relation is to be symmetrical with respect to the equilibrium position. One end of the chains is fixed and the other is driven sinusoidally in the direction of the chains at a frequency. It has been observed that, driven with a frequency above the cutoff, localized oscillations can be excited intermittently at the driven end and they are propagated along the chains at a constant speed.


In this paper, the role of cellulase in hydrolyzing steam exploded corn straw was investigated. It was shown that when cellulase was directly used in the enzymatic hydrolysis of steam exploded corn straw, the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis came up to 70.0% under the rate of substrate to water being 1∶10 and the enzymatic dosage of 8.80FPU/g corn straw for 48 hours. The methods were also proposed for comprehensive utilization of lignin from enzymatic hydrolysis.


Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery In times of economic crisis, with the government cutting funds in various sectors, including science and technology, with serious consequences in scientific research and, consequently, the production of good articles, periodicals must learn to reinvent themselves in order to be most read/accessed by attracting more interesting studies. To make matters worse, the difficult moment that crosses the country makes that Brazil is no longer an attractive market even for science, without obtaining funds from international institutions for the development of research with sufficient potential to develop into good standard original articles. Linking this situation to the modus operandi of the Brazilian and international science, in which the impact factor of a journal ends up being one of the main attractions, but the principal, for an author to submit his study to a particular journal, those who know how to unite quality and creativity are more likely to get along in this "race for good articles". It is not an easy task for Brazilian publications in general. While the international journal with the highest impact factor (IF), according to data from the Journal Citation Reports, from Thomson-Reuters, 2015, the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, has an IF of 115.840, followed by New England Journal of Medicine, with "only" 55.873, the Brazilian journal with a higher IF, the Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, achieved 2,173 index. It means, an abysmal distance. We feel a reflection of this cooling situation on the interest in Brazilian scientific production also in the Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery (BJCVS), whose site that has come to be accessed by more than 100 countries in the recent past, had this number reduced to almost one-third, even with an intense work on the disclosure of the journal and many actions to attract more readers and authors from abroad, using only the English language throughout its structure, including the articles, by recognizing this as the "lingua franca" of scientific communication. The reduction, fortunately, was not reflected in the number of articles submitted from abroad. Just as an example, in this issue we have studies produced in the China, Iran, Turkey, and USA. But this scenario is a warning to intensify the search for more readers and more manuscripts, so we can grow again in FI and Qualis, from Capes. We are taking important steps to ensure that the BJCVS can approach competitively to potential readers and authors, drawing attention to our values, as being our journal the only publication of the specialty in the Southern Hemisphere, completing 30 years of fruitful existence. EDITORIAL


As part of our development of Meerstone Archaeological Consultancy and the services that we offer we are writing a series of white papers to share our experiences of testing new approaches and techniques. As part of our commitment to ethical archaeology and making high quality archaeology accessible to all we are particularly interested in open source and freeware solutions. This is our second white paper which reviews our tests of AgiSoft PhotoScan.


Media has the power to influence the popular perceptions held by the public, they can either uplift and strengthen the image of a group or devalue it. The present study aims to examine and understand the impact of adult Bollywood comedy movies on the perceived social reality by the consumers of such content with a special emphasis on gender differences. A qualitative study was conducted with a cross-sectional research design, employing close-ended interviews on a sample of 30 participants to explore the impact of cinema on perception of women in society in everyday life. It was observed that respondents were able to discern the existing strong gender stereotypes in the female character portrayals with female participants being more sensitive and observant towards discrepancies in the real-life and reel depiction of female roles.  These prevalent stereotypes put unrealistic expectations for women to uphold in their relationships as well as personal conduct


International SEMATECH(ISMT) has operated a 157nm Resist Test center since June of 2000. During this time, we have processed hundreds of 157nm photoresist samples from major resist suppliers and research organizations. Almost all of these of these early 157nm resists have demonstrated unusual susceptibility to airborne molecular contamination (AMC). Tests were completed at ISMT comparing post exposure delay stability of 157nm fluoropolymer resists to production level 193 and 248 nm resists. The 157nm resist samples were approximately 5X more sensitive to AMC. We have implemented extensive AMC control measures including the introduction of mini-environments and filtered wafer carriers to mitigate the AMC sensitivity of these resists. The effectiveness of the control measures was measured using a real time airborne base monitor, grab samples, and resist delay studies. 157nm resists were severely affected by relatively low airborne base concentrations of approximately 1 ppbv NH3. Hold time stability was significantly improved when the airborne base concentrations was reduced to < 0.5 ppbv using carbon filtration. Small variations in of +/- 0.2 ppbv NH3 appear to be influencing resist profiles and delay response.


This study examines the impact that political cynicism, political information efficacy, and media consumption have on voter participation. Through the use of an online social network, 238 participants completed a survey that included scales of media consumption levels, political information efficacy, political cynicism, and overall cynicism. Political information efficacy and political cynicism accounted for a 19.5% variance in likelihood to vote, a contradictory finding to previous studies that indicate that media consumption is more significant to voter turnout. The results suggested that the leading source from which most participants obtained their political information from was social media sites followed by online newspapers and news sites. Those citizens not affiliated with a party (N = 46) seem to have lower political information efficacy than those with an affiliation. Minimal differences were found in relation to ethnicity and political cynicism. Political cynicism was found to be different among different political affiliations, specifically when comparing the much higher level of political cynicism amongst non-partisans (N = 46) and to the lower levels found in Democrats (N = 110). Overall cynicism and political cynicism were correlated, but political cynicism, not overall cynicism, appears to drive voters away from the voting booths.


Modern football sport is characteristic of high intensity,fast speed and high—level counteraction.In order to adapt to the needs of the development of modern football sports,it is required that players should cultivate their comprehensive abilities in playing skill,physical and psychological conditions,mental awareness,of which,a sense of position is a specific indication.Therefore,understanding and realizing the role of a sense of position,and developing and improving players' sense of position play an important part in improving players and team levels on the whole


The present study was conducted to investigate the recognition and experience of adverse events by patients and/or their families at dental clinics. A self - administered questionnaire mail survey was conducted in 2,000 subjects ( response rate, 29.0% ) . The responses included descriptions of 19 experiences of adverse events at dentists, and one of these subjects was interviewed. In regard to the recognition of adverse events at dental clinics, the patient and his/her family first recognized unusual pain, a decline in oral function, or other unusual changes, and then recognized and judged adverse events according to the information provided by medical professionals, such as discrepancy between the diagnosis/treatment and treatment outcomes. In addition, inappropriate communication by medical professionals had some influence on the recognition of adverse events. Medical professionals are required to interview patients regarding their past treatments and outcomes, and the treatments and outcomes they want, and then are required to provide patients with sufficient explanation about potentially negative treatment outcomes and symptoms.


A total of 96.4 raw live-days of data were acquired, corresponding to 63.6 raw kg d summed over BLIPs 3 through 6. Raw live-days denotes the live time of the DAQ system, before any cuts are made, excepting periods where the raw data are completely discarded due to obvious problems. Though BLIPs 1 and 2 were alive during the first half of the run, they are neglected when quoting exposures because they do not contribute to the WIMP sensitivity due to their electrodes. In Figure 7.1, the integrated real and live times for which the DAQ was on and taking dark-matter data (i.e., excluding grounding, pulser runs) is shown. For the DAQ live time alone, the largest slope observed is ∼ 0.6 live-day/real day, and there are of course many periods where that number is not achieved. In Table 7.4, the expectations for data-taking efficiencies are shown. The lowest efficiency expected during stable running is 67%, which is only about 10% higher than is observed: most of the dead time is understood. Dead-time reductions can be made in every category except for cryogen transfers. However, it should be realized that, even with 0.95 efficiencies individually for cryogen transfers, grounding, and DAQ, and without phonon-pulser runs, one still only expects a live fraction of 0.95 3 = 0.86. In addition to the normal losses during running, there are significant blocks of time where the data rate drops to zero. Early in the run, the bulk of these were due to DAQ and electronics debugging and detector-operation optimization. From April onward, downtime occurred primarily because of assorted phonon-system pathologies and veto repairs and upgrades. Pathologies in the phonon-channel behavior resulted in a nonnegligible loss of live time during Runs 19A and 19B. Such periods are easily cut out of the data set because they have obvious symptoms, such as phonon-trigger-rate excursions, obvious changes in phonon-pulse shape, or large excursions in the thermistor DC refs. The symptoms and possible explanations of this behavior are discussed in Appendix C. Ionization-and phonon-trigger-rate distributions for the entire run for each detector are shown in Figure 7.3. The ionization trigger-rate distributions are very clean. The tails to low rate are an artifact of the way the distributions are calculated. The phonon trigger-rate distributions are not as clean, but clearly the periods with trigger-rate excursions constitute a very small part of the data set (note that both axes …