One hundred indigenous upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm collections grown in randomized block design with three replications were studied for their physical and thermochemical quality traits. The study revealed a relatively greater genetic variability for phosphorus and protein content, water uptake and volume expansion, than for other characters. The heritable component of variation was relatively high in volume expansion, test weight, water uptake and L/B ratio. The heritability coupled with genetic advance was high for water uptake, L/B ratio, test weight, and volume expansion. Protein content showed negative correlation with most characters studied, except grain breadth and phosphorus content. Most of the cooking quality traits had positive correlation among themselves but showed significant or nonsignificant negative association with protein. Study of qualitative traits like husk and kernel colour showed a wide range of variability. Interestingly, red kernel types had relatively higher protein content as compared to the white kernel types. A few promising lines have been identified for exploitation in further upland rice breeding programme.


Out of necessity, every business consumes valuable materials that are extracted, processed, used and then disposed of as waste. The result is both pollution and natural resource consumption. Many businesses actively attempt to realign their business models to reduce consumption and therefore pollution. Some attempt to replace what they have consumed.


The LPA Agent Toolkit allows you to write agent-oriented programs using a
logic-based approach. It has been adopted by the Open University as part of
its cours T396: Artificial Intelligence for Technology. It provides the
required building blocks for you to implement any agent based architecture
you desire. This makes it flexible and suitable for prototyping, reading and
research purposes.


The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between students' mathematics learning outcomes by type of cooperative learning think-pair-share and conventional learning on the subject of arithmetic operations in the algebra of class VII SMP Negeri 10 Samarinda. The study was conducted in SMP Negeri 10 Samarinda, the population of all students of class VII. This research is quasi-experimental. The sampling technique used in this research is the purpose cluster sampling. This research sample there are two classes, VIID as an experimental class (40 students), class of cooperative learning by think-pair-share and class VIIa as a control class (40 students), class by learning konvensional.Instrumen used in this study is a written test (initial test and final test). The conclusion that there are differences in mathematics between student learning outcomes by type of cooperative learning think-pair-share and conventional learning on the subject of arithmetic operations in the algebra of class VII SMP 10. The results of mathematical learning using cooperative learning model of think-pair- better share when compared with the results of mathematical learning using conventional learning models. Keywords: Learning Model, Think-Pair-Share, Conventional and learning outcomes


Public opinion on abortion has been changing overtime (Shaw, 2003). The attitudes toward abortion are very complex around the world and in the U.S., it is largely polarized. The debate over pro-choice versus pro-life has always been a central topic for discussion (Medoff, 2013) and the public opinion has becoming even more divided on this. For example, Shaw (2003) showed that the in 1992 35% of the public were pro-life and 59% were pro-choice. In 2003, the difference became much smaller (45% pro-life versus 48% pro-choice).The acceptance of abortion varied depending on a several factors, such as pre-adulthood factors (Pacheco & Kreitzer, 2016), demographic (Woodhams, Hill, Fabiyi, & Gilliam, 2016), media consumption (Altshuler, Gerns Storey, & Prager, 2015), and occupation (Begun, Kattari, McKay, Winter, & O'Neill, 2017; Sjöström, Essén, Sydén, Gemzell-Danielsson, & Klingberg-Allvin, 2014).Along with the change of public opinion on abortion, in the U.S. the estimated abortion rate per 1000 women aged 15 to 44 years also declined from 19.4 to 14.6 between 2008 and 2014, a 25% change (Jones & Jerman, 2017). However, the rate of decline varied depending on the demographics of women, such as age, race and ethnicity, and income.


We construct an example of a continuous non-constant function f : X → R defined on a connected complete metric space X such that every point x ∈ X is a point of local minimum or local maximum for f . Also we show that any such a space X should have the network weight and the weak separate number nw(X) ≥ R(X) ≥ c. This note is motivated by the following problem of M.Wójcik [Wój], [MW] (see also [BGN, Question 7]) on the nature of locally extremal functions on connected spaces. We define a function f : X → R on a topological space X to be locally extremal if each point x ∈ X is a point of local minimum or local maximum for f . Problem 1. Is a each locally extremal continuous function f : X → R on a connected metric space X constant? In [BGN] this problem has been answered in affirmative under the condition that the density of the connected metric space X is strictly smaller than c, the size of continuum. In fact, this result is a particular case a more general theorem treating locally extremal functions on connected topological spaces X with the weak separate number R(X) < c. Following M.Tkachenko [Tk], we define a topological space X to be weakly separated if to each point x ∈ X has an open neighborhood Ox ⊂ X such that for any two distinct points x, y ∈ X either x / ∈ Oy or y / ∈ Ox. The cardinal R(X) = sup{|Y | : Y is a weakly separated subspace of X} is called the weak separate number of X . By [Tk], R(X) ≤ nw(X) ≤ w(X), where w(X) (resp. nw(X)) stands for the (network) weight of X . On the other hand, A. Hajnal and I. Juhasz [HJ] constructed a CH-example of a regular space X with א0 = R(X) < nw(X) = c. It is an open problem if such an example exists in ZFC, see Problem 15 in [GM]. Theorem 1. If X is a topological space and f : X → R is a locally extremal function, then |f(X)| ≤ R(X). Proof. Write X as the union X = X0 ∪ X1 of the sets X0 and X1 consisting of local minimums and local maximums of the function f , respectively. We claim that |f(X0)| ≤ R(X). Assuming the converse, find a subset A ⊂ X0 such that |A| > R(X) and f |A is injective. Each point a ∈ A, being a point of local minimum of f , possesses a neighborhood Oa ⊂ X such that f(a) ≤ f(x) for all x ∈ Oa. We claim that the family of neighborhoods {Oa}a∈A witnesses that the set A is weakly separated. Assuming the opposite, we would find two distinct points a, b ∈ A such 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 54D05; 54C30.


Characterizing the rheological properties of faults and the evolution of fault friction during seismic slip are fundamental problems in geology and seismology. Recent increases in the frequency of induced earthquakes have intensified the need for robust methods to estimate fault properties. Here we present a novel approach for estimation of aquifer and fault properties, which combines coupled multiphysics simulation of injection‐induced seismicity with adaptive surrogate‐based Bayesian inversion. In a synthetic 2‐D model, we use aquifer pressure, ground displacements, and fault slip measurements during fluid injection to estimate the dynamic fault friction, the critical slip distance, and the aquifer permeability. Our forward model allows us to observe nonmonotonic evolutions of shear traction and slip on the fault resulting from the interplay of several physical mechanisms, including injection‐induced aquifer expansion, stress transfer along the fault, and slip‐induced stress relaxation. This interplay provides the basis for a successful joint inversion of induced seismicity, yielding well‐informed Bayesian posterior distributions of dynamic friction and critical slip. We uncover an inverse relationship between dynamic friction and critical slip distance, which is in agreement with the small dynamic friction and large critical slip reported during seismicity on mature faults.


Abstract: Successful breastfeeding infants in early life can contribute to the confidence the capital, giving the effect of success and duration of breastfeeding. Achievement of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia in 2012 amounted to 48.6% and 51.5% Bengkulusebesar City. Mood after childbirth affect breastfeeding success. Music therapy has been proven as a relaxation therapy that will be relaxed and the mood becomes better. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of therapy classical music (Mozart) on milk production in the first week of birth in the city of Bengkulu year 2015. This study is a quasi experimental research, with the approach after only with control design. The study population was third trimester pregnant women who were in the city of Bengkulu 2015. The sample consisted of three groups: the intervention group 1, 2 intervention and without intervention. Sampling was done by purporsive sampling, a total sample of 45 people. Symptoms of postpartum blues is measured using a questionnaire Edinbrugh Posnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Data was analyzed by univariate and bivariate. Results of univariate analysis showed that the majority (55.6%) with less milk production. There is no parity relationship (p = 0.916) and support of health workers (p = 0.932) with the production of breast milk after birth. There is a support relationship with her husband and family milk production after birth (p = 0.032). No effect of therapy classical music (Mozart) during pregnancy-puerperal to milk production, where milk production is more the group of mothers who were given music therapy during pregnancy and postpartum (p = 0.012 and OR = 11). Summed up the importance of creating a relaxed atmosphere in the mother during pregnancy and after childbirth is very important for the process of milk production. One of them is by listening to classical music. Keywords: Therapy classical music (Mozart), milk production


The task of automatically identifying and/or verifying the identity of a speaker from a recording of a speech sample, known as automatic speaker recognition, has been studied for many years and automatic speaker recognition technologies have improved recently and becoming inexpensive and reliable methods for identifying and verifying people. Although automatic speaker recognition research has now spanned over 50 years, there is not adequate research done with regards to low-resourced South African indigenous languages. In this paper, a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) classifier model is trained and deployed on a graphical user interface for real time identification and verification of Sepedi native speakers. Sepedi is a low-resourced language spoken by the majority of residents in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The data used to train the speaker recognition system is obtained from the NCHLT (National Centre for Human Language Technology) project. A total of 34 short-term acoustic features of speech are extracted with the use of py Audio Analysis library and Sklearn is used to train the MLP classifier model which performs well with an accuracy of 95%. The GUI is developed with QT Creator and PyQT4 and it has obtained a true acceptance rate (TAR) of 66.67% and a true rejection rate of (TRR) 13.33%.


This study proposes a method for selection and analysis of words that refer to emotions. A comparison of 380 synonyms corresponding to the six basic emotions in 15 Spanish thesauri resulted in 43 terms. Respondents of an online survey (n = 980) stated whether they recognized and used each word and how often they experienced the designated emotion, which resulted in 23 terms. The correlation matrix for the selected terms frequencies and a multivariate analysis of the data revealed three affective dimensions: anger, fear, and satisfaction. The frequency for the terms was higher for women, who reported more panic and irritation than men. In both, the frequency of the negative emotions of fear and sadness decrease with age, while pleasure, satisfaction, and indignation increase. The results suggest the existence of three affective dimensions (anger/repulsion, fear/sorrow, and satisfaction/admiration), which have been recognized in neurobiological, ecological, ethological, and evolutionary models.


Photochromic fabric is prepared using polyester filament woven fabric as matrix, waterproof and breathable PU as coating glue. The effects of photochromic dye amount on color changes of coating material and color matching of dyes are studied. The color change of photochromic fabric is characterized. The results show that photosensitive Red MC and photosensitive Blue SMC are compatible with PU coating glue. The photochromic effect of smart photochromic material is obvious. Color depth of material increases with the increase in the photosensitive dye content, and the increasing trend becomes less obvious when dye content above 4%.


We experimentally demonstrate a 2,160×2,160 optical circuit switch with a switching time of less than 500 μs, aiming at fast and non-hierarchical intra-datacenter interconnection. The switch comprises delivery-and-coupling switches and wavelength-routing switches based on AWGs. We implemented twin 1×135 AWGs on a monolithic PLC chip.


Dentigerous cyst is the second most common cyst. It is usually associated with the impacted third molars, canines and premolars. Clinically they present with asymptomatic swelling, bony expansion and radiographically they are well defined and the larger cyst leads to destruction of bone later leading to pathological fracture. They are chances where this cyst can be misdiagnosed when seen only clinically withan infected tooth. Radiographic investigation is the gold standard in diagnosing the lesion and its extent for treatment planning. The protein content of the cyst fluid also helps in the diagnosis. Here is a case where the patient complained of a decayed tooth along with swelling in the left side of face and how the diagnosis changed after proper history and radiographic investigation.


The urban heat island (UHI) effect is among the most critical issues caused by human activities and high building density. UHI has severe impacts on the urban and natural environment as well as on human health and wellbeing. The research presented here aims at evaluating the effects of nature-based solutions (NBS) in improving the livability of a district in the city of Genoa, which is heavily cemented and a major example of the heat island phenomenon. This study focuses on the microclimatic benefits of urban heat island mitigation as well as on psychological and perceptual aspects. A preliminary analysis of the district through CFD simulations using Envi-met software allowed for selection of the most suitable areas for a system of punctual interventions in urban regeneration using nature-based solutions. For each area identified, we simulated the effects of different design scenarios on microclimate mitigation and thermal comfort improvement. In addition, to evaluate the perceptual benefits of the most well-performing design scenarios, we set up a web-based survey that was administered to a convenience sample of Genoa residents. In terms of aesthetic satisfaction and perception of improved conditions of physical and psychological well-being, the preferred design outcomes were those which emphasized a freer and more natural environment. This study shows that nature-based solutions can improve the overall conditions of dense urban areas; microclimate performance and psychological effects should be both considered in the design process in order to improve the wellbeing of urban citizens.


To evaluate the relationship between self‐reported hearing loss and nonfatal fall‐related injury in a nationally representative sample of community‐dwelling adults living in the United States.


The human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) genes shape our immune response against pathogens and cancer. Certain HLA-I variants can bind a much wider range of peptides than others, a feature that could be favorable against a range of viral diseases. However, the implications of this phenomenon on cancer immune response is unknown. In this paper, we quantified peptide repertoire breadth (or promiscuity) of a representative set of HLA-I alleles, and found that cancer patients that carry HLA-I alleles with high peptide binding promiscuity are characterized by significantly worse prognosis after immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. This trend can be explained by a reduced capacity of promiscuous HLA-I molecules to discriminate between human self and tumour peptides, yielding a shift in regulation of T-cells in the tumour microenvironment from activation to tolerance. In summary, HLA-I peptide binding specificity shapes neopeptide immunogenicity and the self-immunopeptidome repertoire in an antagonistic manner. It could also underlie a negative trade-off between antitumour immunity and the genetic susceptibility to viral infections.


A novel hybrid excitation brushless motor combining permanent magnet with field windings is proposed,which can weaken or strengthen the magnet flux control by adjusting the field winding current.After presenting the configuration and relevant theory of the hybrid excitation motor,its static state characteristics including flux linkage,back EFM,and inductance are analyzed and simulated to verify the theory.The experimental motor confirmed the feasibility of the novel motor.


This article discusses current approaches to the study of the problems of investigative type criminal proceedings. The possibility of using the term «inquisitorialism» as a tool to study these problems is substantiated.


The finite-size renormalisation group technique introduced by Nightingale (1976) is applied to the directed percolation problem. The decay of correlations is anisotropic in this model and finite-size scaling is extended to treat such anisotropy. Precise estimates for critical exponents and percolation probabilities are obtained for site, bond and site-bond percolation on the square lattice with bonds directed along the positive axes. Both free boundary conditions for which the results converge linearly with 1/n as n to infinity , and helical boundary conditions, for which, unexpectedly, the results converge linearly with 1/n3, are considered.


Subject To study if there is difference of electrolytes and glucose levels in serum, plasma and whole blood. Methods To measure the electolytes, glucose of serum, plasma and whole blood, respectively in the same patient. Results Except for Natrium, the Potassium Chloride, Calcium and glucose in serum, plasma and whole blood with heparine anticoagulation are of very different (P0. 05 ). Conclusion It is necessary to make normal reference values of electrolytes, glucose of serum, plasma and whole blood.


Ubuntu storytelling is about engaging our relational selves. This is why my people the Ngoni say, "The story of one cannot be told without unfolding the story of many." This means that the diverse and sometimes contradictory analysis of the same story is welcomed as long as it is exercised responsibly. If we relate to each other through storytelling then our Ubuntu storytelling is a research method. In this paper I share why and how using Ubuntu stories as methodology is an effective way to encourage Indigenous Ubuntu scholars to think about the endemic tools that make their scholarship accessible to our larger Black communities. The Ubuntu have always used the art of oral storytelling to extol the power of experience as a teaching tool because a story can allow a culture to regenerate itself. As a Maseko Ngoni, I highlight how we use Ubuntu storytelling to produce knowledge, by addressing the following themes: What Ubuntu storytelling is; why I use Ubuntu storytelling and how I address the challenges of using Ubuntu storytelling in a colonial context. I end with an example of an Ubuntu story.


Summary Many different suture materials have been used for extra-articular stabilization of the canine cruciate-deficient stifle. In this study, two different materials frequently used as fabello-tibial sutures (27-kilogram-test [kgt] nylon fishing line [labeled 60-pound-test] and 27-kgt nylon leader line) and two knot types used to tie these materials (square knot and slip knot) were evaluated mechanically in vitro. Twenty loops of each material were tied with each knot and evaluated. The purpose of the study reported herein was to compare the mechanical performance of two different monofilament nylon materials and two knot types when subjected to: 1) continuous elongation until failure, and 2) cycling 10 times to 100 N followed by elongation to failure testing methods. Nylon leader line tolerated higher failure loads and deformed less than nylon fishing line for both knot types. Nylon fishing line secured with a square knot recovered resting tension more completely following cycling than nylon fishing line secured with a slip knot. Nylon leader line secured with a slip knot recovered resting tension following cycling better than leader line with a square knot and both fishing line groups. When used as fabello-tibial sutures, it is suggested that 27-kgt nylon leader line be secured with a slip knot, and 27-kgt nylon fishing line be secured with a square knot to optimize the mechanical performance of the loop. The influence of knot type on the in vitro mechanical performance of monofilament nylon fishing line and monofilament leader line used as fabello-tibial sutures was investigated. Testing of loops of the materials tied with either a slip knot or a square knot was performed on steel hook attachment points. When used as fabello-tibial sutures, it is suggested that 27-kgt nylon leader line be secured with a slip knot, and 27-kgt nylon fishing line be secured with a square knot to optimize the mechanical performance of the loop.


Some properties of the xEr 2 O 3 (1-x)[3Bi 2 O 3 ·PbO] glasses with 0 < x ≤ 0.25 prepared using the melt-quenching technique are reported in this paper. The influence of erbium ions on the host vitreous system was evidenced by analyzing the compositional dependence of the spectroscopic and density data. Raman data permitted to identify some of the structural units that built up the lead bismuthate vitreous network and to follow their evolution with respect to the erbium ion content of the samples.


In order to lower the power consumption in central heating project,circulating pump and feeding pump were transformed.The theory of saving power in frequency-changing regulating technology was introduced,and transforming program for circulating pump and feeding pump was proposed,and then were applied in central heating project,and its practical effects and saving effecting also analyzed,which has a certain practical value.


Abstract Background A huge amount of literature suggests that adolescents' health-related behaviors tend to occur in clusters, and the understanding of such behavioral clustering may have direct implications for the effective tailoring of health-promotion interventions. Despite the usefulness of analyzing clustering, Italian data on this topic are scant. This study aimed to evaluate the clustering patterns of health-related behaviors. Methods The present study is based on data from the Health Behaviors in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in Tuscany in 2010, which involved 3291 11-, 13- and 15-year olds. To aggregate students' data on 22 health-related behaviors, factor analysis and subsequent cluster analysis were performed. Results Factor analysis revealed eight factors, which were dubbed in accordance with their main traits: 'Alcohol drinking', 'Smoking', 'Physical activity', 'Screen time', 'Signs & symptoms', 'Healthy eating', 'Violence' and 'Sweet tooth'. These factors explained 67% of variance and underwent cluster analysis. A six-cluster κ-means solution was established with a 93.8% level of classification validity. The between-cluster differences in both mean age and gender distribution were highly statistically significant. Conclusions Health-compromising behaviors are common among Tuscan teens and occur in distinct clusters. These results may be used by schools, health-promotion authorities and other stakeholders to design and implement tailored preventive interventions in Tuscany.


The article discusses the features of the image of the Soviet Union in the American press in 1990–1991. Based on the analysis of the articles from the liberal weekly news magazine "Time", the research aims to identify the characteristic features of the representation of the image of the USSR on the pages of the American press in the last years of the Soviet Union and to analyze the dominant stereotypes and the specifics of their formation. The author resorts to quantitative and semantic analysis of texts from "Time" magazine covering events in the USSR.The paper examines the problems of the collapse of the USSR but for the first time from the perspective of the imagological study. Based on the frequency analysis of lexemes, the author proposes a unique thematic list of rubrics that reflects the focus of interest of American journalists when covering events related to the Soviet Union. On the pages of "Time", the concept of "Russian people" is presented as a passive object that has nothing to do with politics. There is also a division of political forces into positive ones, represented by M. S. Gorbachev and B. N. Yeltsin, and negative, pursuing a repressive policy, presented as abstractions "Kremlin", "Moscow", "Soviet Union". The interpretation of the events of the August putsch deserves special attention - the persistent drawing of parallels with the revolution of 1917.


During the year February 1, 1978, to January 31, 1979, the major activities under Task A have been (1) completion of the analysis of data -+ taken in Experiment #99, measurement of the cross section for p + w n, (2) completion of new apparatus and software for Experiment #337, measurement of the cross section for *-p + 1-1 n at 200 and 229 MeV, (3) taking data for Experiment #337, (4) continued preparation for Experiment #309, 16 40 208 w and wdouble charge exchange in the disintegration of 0, Ca and Pb, (5) consideration of a possible collaboration for detection of protons from ucapture on nuclei and (6) initiation of an association with physicists at Bates on measurements of (e,e'). The completed analysis of Experiment #99 has left previous conclusions, that the integrated reaction cross section at the lowest energy is twice that interpolated from early measurements, intact. Experiment #337 has been mounted and the preliminary results for the reaction cross section at 229 MeV agree well with Experiment #99. The more sophisticated instrumentation used in the latest measurements build confidence in the validity of these results. An experiment on double charge exchange is being prepared and one on vcapture is being considered. A graduate student from the University of Wyoming has begun thesis research at Bates. During the year February 1, 1978 to January 31, 1979, research under Task B, Mesonic Atoms, has included collection at SREL of data on the pionic hydrogen system to analyze for the fundamental wp strong interaction, collection at LAMPF of data on pionic Ti and Ca to analyze for the neutron distributions, collection at LAMPF of data on pionic Ti to analyze for a study of the Klein-Gordon equation, planning for further experiments at BNL on pH and the Emagnetic moment, and continuation of analysis of muonic data from LAMPF to determine charge distributions of deformed nuclei. TASK A: PION-NUCLEON INTERACTION AT LAMPF During 'the year February 1, 1978, to January 31, 1979, the major activities under Task A have been (1) completion of the analysis of data taken in Experiment #99, measurement of the cross section for r[-p TT-TT n, (2) completion of new apparatus and software for Experiment #337, measurement of the cross section for + 1 r[-p -• n-FT n at 200 and 229 MeV, (3) taking data for Experiment #337, (4) continued preparation for Experiment #309, F+ and ndouble charge exchange in the disintegration 16 40 208 of 0, C a and Pb, (5) consideration of a possible collaboration for detection of protons from B capture on nuclei and (6) initiation of an association with physicists at Bates on measurements of (e,e'). Several refinements have been introduced into the + analysis of Experiment #99, the measurement of n-p n Tr n. The previous results corrected for decay of r[ mesons in the spectrometer in a rudimentary way which had not been checked. A mean flight path had been assumed for the spectrometer and the decay probability calculated without considering the probability of detecting the resulting B meson. The process was computed more realistically using the LAMPF version of "Decay-TURTLE", a now standard Monte Carlo program for transport of particles through standard magnet systems with decay and subsequent transport of the daughter particles. Surprisingly enough, the improved computation corroborated the correction made by the


Objectives  This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on the methotrexate (MTX)‐induced hepatorenal oxidative damage in rats.


According to our traditional understanding of emulsion formation and stabilization, there is a need to introduce mechanical energy and stabilizing agents to a water/oil mixture in order to create stable emulsions. In bench experiments the energy input is typically controlled by means of different kinds of rotors and homogenizers. Under real oil-production conditions, pressure gradients over chokes and valves will guarantee that there will be a sufficiently high mechanical energy input in order to rupture original solution structures and to form new fresh W/O interfaces. Obviously the magnitude of the pressure gradient over the choke/ valve will be decisive for the droplet size distribution in the fresh emulsions. Since the transport over a choke/ valve will mean the creation of a new W/O interface the nature of the emulsion before and after the valve/ choke may differ significantly (1-5). The lifetime of the emulsion (and the retention time in the full-scale separator) depends on the kind of stability mechanisms involved. There exist several possibilities of finding stabilizing agents (or solid fines) in either the crude oil itself or in added production chemicals. Among the indigenous stabilizers, asphaltenes/resins/ porphyrins are mentioned as possible candidates for the stabilization of W/O emulsions. In most cases it is, however, not possible to pick out one single component responsible for the stability of the dispersed droplets, but several components/fractions in parallel are the source for the stability of the emulsion. The components/fractions in the crude oil show a large range of molecular weights. Lighter components like the resins can act as individual monomers in a similar manner to traditional surfactants. The driving force for their action is the presence of water (and the existence of a W/O interface). Usually the low molecular weight resins have a tendency to be the most interfacially active, i.e., to reach first and cover a fresh W/O interface. However, this is mostly a necessary requirement but not a sufficient one for the formation of stable W/O emulsions. The next step in the stabilization process involves interaction with the heavier crude oil components, i.e., the asphaltenes. Depending on the production history and the fluid properties these molecules can be either in a monomeric or associated state. In the latter case small particles are formed. The formation of these is normally a result of the stacking tendency of the individual asphaltene molecules. These nanosized particles will have a strong tendency to accumulate at the W/O interfaces, if the solution conditions or changes herein so favor. Obviously the final particle size or the flocculation of these nanosized particles is critical with regard to the stabilizing


Strychnos madagascariensis also known as black monkey orange is found in tropical and subtropical Africa including South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland. The fruit is consumed traditionally as food in the northern coastal region of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa and the Southern part of Zimbabwe. This study investigated the nutritional, anti-nutritional composition, and cytotoxicity of S. madagascariensis ripe fruit. Fruits were randomly selected, and the parameters of each experiment were measured in triplicates. The seed coat and fruit pulp were analysed for proximate, mineral and anti-nutrients (phytic and oxalic acid) composition using standard protocols. The cytotoxic effect of methanolic extracts from the fruit parts of S. madagascariensis was tested on human embryonic kidney (HEK293) and cervical cancer (HeLa) cell lines using the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide] cell proliferation assay. The fruit pulp's moisture (6%), ash (11%), protein (5%), fat (1%), fibre (12%), and carbohydrate (12%) contents were significantly different (P<0.05) from the compositions of the fruit pulp (5% moisture, 5% ash, 4% protein, 33% fat, 8% fibre and 11% carbohydrate). The minerals analysed were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the fruit pulp compared to the seed coat (testa). The fruit's seed coat and fruit pulp's methanolic extracts did not show any significant toxicity in the HEK293 cell line. The seed coat's methanolic extract exhibited moderate toxicity in the HeLa cell line. The methanolic extracts from both fruit parts showed a dose-dependent effect in HEK293 and HeLa cell lines. The results of the cytotoxicity analysis revealed the safe nature of the fruit pulp while caution needs to be taken when consuming the seed coat. The seed coat contained 1.39±0.01% phytic acid, but oxalic acid and phytic acid were not detected in the fruit pulp. This study suggests that the fruit parts could serve as a source of potassium, magnesium, and nitrogen, but poor sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat (pulp). Key words: Anti-nutrients, Cytotoxicity, Extracts, Fruit, Minerals, Proximate, Pulp, Seed


The utility model relates to an RS-232/RS-485 semi-duplex signal conversion circuit which is composed of a serial interface, an RS-232 interface chip, an optical coupling sheet, an RS-485 transceiver, an isolation conversion chip of a DC-DC power supply, a four-position dial switch, an instant control diode, etc. The utility model has the functions of electrical isolation and power supply isolation, all devices use a local power supply of 5V, and the disadvantages of a short transmission distance of an RS-232 interface and one-to-one communications are solved. The RS-232 interface is expanded to be an RS-485 interface by using the conversion circuit; aiming at various bus types which conclude an RS-422 bus type, an RS-485 bus type, etc., the full-duplex / semi-duplex conversion is manually set, and the use range can be extended; when the output current of devices go beyond the normal range, a heat cutting-off protective measure can be carried out, the output is made to be in the high-resistant state, and the bus conflicts are reduced; the transmission distance of output signals of the circuit is more than 1500 meters.


The United States Weather Bureau has for many years rendered an important public service in measuring the precipitation throughout the country and publishing the data for general use. During recent years, because of the rapid expansion in the field of applied hydrology, the Bureau has been called upon to improve its method of measuring snowfall, and to expand its services into new fields.

J. Cecil Alter, Meteorologist in charge of the Weather Bureau office at Salt Lake City, Utah, began experimenting with storage-gages and shielded gages in 1909. His work has resulted in the present design of the shielded storage precipitation-gage which made its debut in the snowfields of the Western States in 1937. The principal reason which prompted Mr. Alter to continue his work with the shielded .storage-gages was that several key precipitation-stations in Utah were attended from May to October, producing fine records, but because of isolation in winter the stations would be abandoned from November to April. As these were the months of heaviest precipitation, a storage-type of gage was required to hold the catch until it could be measured. At regular cooperative stations, especially in windy locations, the measurement of snowfall and its water-equivalent by ordinary means has been subject to criticism, and especially where snow-depth alone became the basis of the estimate.


Based on the principle of network,combined with climatic data and actural Panatar phyllostachysae occurrence area in Youxi County,Fujian Province,the occurrence area forecast model of P.phyllostachysae was established.The results showed that the established neural network model was good at both simulating and forecasting.For 2 preset chosen,its forecast precision was 96.55% and accuracy was 100%.


Abstract— The role of the endothelium in the effects of cooling on the response to α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptor agonists of rabbit aorta was studied. The contractions induced by clonidine (10−9‐ 3 × 10−4M) and xylazine (10−7‐ 10−3M) but not phenylephrine (10−9‐ 3 × 10−4M) and methoxamine (10−9‐ 3 × 10−4M) were enhanced in endothelium‐denuded or NG‐nitro‐L arginine methyl esther (l‐NAME) (10−5M) pretreated rabbit aorta. The senstivily, but not the maximal response, of both α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptor agonists was significantly lower at 28 °C (cooling) than at 37 °C. Endothelium removal did not affect the action of cooling. These results were taken as evidence for the specificity of α2‐adrenoceptor agonists on the production and release of nitric oxide from vascular endothelium. The results suggest that the endothelium seems to have no role in the cooling‐induced responses of both α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptors.


BACKGROUND
Trauma registries are used to identify modifiable injury risk factors for trauma prevention efforts. However, these may miss factors useful for prevention of bicycle-automobile collisions such as vehicle speeds, driver intoxication, street conditions and neighborhood characteristics. We hypothesize that geographic information systems (GIS) analysis of trauma registry data matched with a traffic accident database could identify risk factors for bicycle- automobile injuries and better inform injury prevention efforts.

METHODS
The trauma registry of a U.S. Level I trauma center was used retrospectively to identify bicycle-motor vehicle collision admissions from 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2018. Data collected included demographics, vitals, injury severity scores, toxicology, helmet use and mortality.Matching with the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) was done to provide collision, victim and GIS information. GIS mapping of collisions was done with census tract data including poverty level scoring. Incident hot spot analysis to identify statistically significant incident clusters was done using the Getis Ord Gi* statistic.

RESULTS
Out of 25,535 registry admissions, 531(2.1%) were bicyclists struck by automobiles, 425 (80.0%) were matched to SWITRS. Younger age (OR 1.026, 95% CI: 1.013-1.040, p<0.001), higher census tract poverty level percentage (OR 0.976, 95% CI: 0.959-0.993, p=0.007) and High School or less education (OR: 0.60, 95 CI: 0.381-0.968, p=0.036) were predictive of not wearing a helmet. Higher census tract poverty level percentage (OR 1.019, 95% CI: 1.004-1.034, p=0.012) but not educational level was predictive of toxicology positive- bicyclists in automobile collisions. GIS analysis identified hot spots in the catchment area for toxicology-positive bicyclists and lack of helmet use.

CONCLUSIONS
Combining trauma registry data and matched traffic accident records data with GIS analysis identifies additional risk factors for bicyclist injury. Trauma centers should champion efforts to prospectively link public traffic accident data to their trauma registries.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
IIIStudy TypePrognostic and Epidemiological.


A multi‐time‐step integration method is proposed for solving structural dynamics problems on multiple domains. The method generalizes earlier state‐space integration algorithms by introducing displacement constraints via Lagrange multipliers, representing the time‐integrated constraint forces over the individual time step. It is demonstrated that displacement continuity between the subdomains leads to cancelation of the interface contributions to the energy balance equation, and thus stability and algorithmic damping properties of the original algorithms are retained. The various subdomains can be integrated in time using different time steps and/or different state‐space time integration schemes. The solution of the constrained system equations is obtained using a dual Schur formulation, allowing for maximum independence of the calculation of the subdomains. Stability and accuracy are illustrated by a numerical example using a refined mesh around concentrated forces. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The molecular structure of 1,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1,1,2,2-tetramethyldisilane has been determined in three different phases (solid, liquid, and gas) using various spectroscopic and diffraction techniques. Both the solid-state and gas-phase investigations revealed only one conformer to be present in the sample analyzed, whereas the liquid phase revealed the presence of three conformers. The data have been reproduced using computational methods and a rationale is presented for the observation of three conformers in the liquid state.


Selective growth of aluminum with smooth surface topography is realized using a double-wall CVD (chemical vapor deposition) system in which the substrate is positioned between two heaters with different temperatures. Aluminium is deposited selectively onto silicon, metals, and silicides of the substrate; no deposition occurs on the SiO/sub 2/ surface. This technique is available for filling high-aspect via holes in multilevel metallization systems. Al/polySi two-layer interconnections with 0.4- mu m-diameter via holes have been successfully fabricated using selective aluminum deposition and a self-aligned TiSi/sub 2/ formation technique.<<ETX>>


A series of seven vinyl esters of perfluoro acids has been prepared by the mercury catalyzed reaction of the acids with acetylene. Certain physical properties of the monomers are given. Homopolymers gave clear, flexible films with the exception of vinyl caprylate and caprate, which formed waxy films. Copolymerization of vinyl perfluorobutyrate proceeded readily with vinyl acetate and methyl methacrylate, but less readily with styrene, maleic anhydride, and acrylonitrile.


OBJECTIVE In order to improve the extraction efficiency and fineness of Rutin,we did some study on new methods of extraction and purification.METHODS First,extracted Rutin from Flos Sophorae by using ethanol as the resolvent,then evaporated the ethanol and got the crystal by centrifugation.Second,purificated the crystal by cold water.RESULTS Extration Rutin was 15 times ethanol of 70% concentration,1 hour everytime and 3 times.The optimization method of Rutin purification was the way that washed by cold water 3 times,and using 20 times cold water everytime.After the third-time wash,Rutin could attain the purification of 84.26%.CONCLUSION We established new methods of extraction and purification.The methods were simple,convenient,managing and high efficiency.


The goal of HRP is to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration. The Human Research Program was designed to meet the needs of human space exploration, and understand and reduce the risk to crew health and performance in exploration missions.


Current clinical practice in Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs) in NSW and ACT regarding assessment of fitness to drive in clients with a diagnosis of dementia was examined. Of 42 ACATs with a geriatrician on staff, 38 (90.5%) responded to a telephone survey. Results showed that assessment of driver fitness is largely a medically based procedure, with functional on-road assessment of driver competence occurring in 42.1% of ACATs. Use of the Mini Mental Status Examination in determining the severity of dementia and impact on driving was common (94.7%), although such predictive ability has not been demonstrated Few ACATs (36.8%) systematically review drivers despite likely disease progression. 73.7% of ACATs reported experience of clients continuing to drive against advice. Approaches to assessment in city and rural ACATs are compared.


Analogy commands the attention of developmental psychologists, first, because like grammar and mathematics, analogy is a supremely elegant form of thought ; and, second, because of its importance in cognitive development . An appreciation of relational similarity is fundamental to learning beyond the basic level-to grasping theory-laden concepts that must be defined relationally, such as predator in biology and limiting case in mathematics . In this chapter, we explore two forces that promote the development of relational similarity . Our goal is to illuminate both the nature of the similarity mechanism and its role in experiential learning . Despite the attention given to how and when children acquire the ability to process relational similarity=to carry out analogies-a number of important issues remain unresolved . Most researchers agree that there is a relational shift from early reliance on either holistic or object-level similarities to the possibility of purely relational similarities (Gentner, 1988; Gentner & Rattermann, 1991) . However, there is disagreement as to the nature of the shift . Is it governed by cognitive stage or by degree of domain knowledge ; is it maturational or the product of learning ; is it an all-or-none shift from object similarity to relational similarity ; and finally, when does


The ultrasonic vibration extrusion process is a widely used surface treatment process of stainless steel, e.g., 304 stainless steel, to improve the surface quality and increase hardness and wear resistance. However, for high-hardness 304 stainless steel, the traditional process, i.e., a single ultrasonic vibration extrusion process, does not fulfil its application requirements. To cope with this problem, this paper proposes an improved surface treatment method based on low-temperature chromizing and ultrasonic vibration extrusion to obtain the expected surface quality of 304 stainless steel. Using orthogonal design and multivariate regression, the influence of ultrasonic impact parameters on the surface integrity of 304 stainless steel was studied in this work. Finally, the experimental results show that the hardness of the surface processed by the proposed method is increased by about 2.55 times compared with the ultrasonic vibration extrusion process, and the surface roughness of the composite process is reduced by an average of 60.8% compared with that of unfinished surface. In addition, the optimal combination of process parameters is obtained: the spindle speed of 240 rpm, the feed of 0.1 mm/r, and the static extrusion of 40 μm, which can provide the optimal process parameter support for the surface treatment of 304 stainless steel.


A method of operating a display device (1) for a vehicle having a screen (5) which is driven for representing at least one information, said screen is driven such that a straight, horizontal line (8) is displayed in a state of rest, and that for representing the information, the line (8) is deformed in at least one section (9, 13, 14) and wherein the line (8) for displaying the information in the at least one section (9, 13, 14) in a pictogram is deformed, characterized in that - The line (8) is deformed for displaying a navigation instruction in said portion (9) in an arrow icon, - That the line (8) is shaped to represent a speed information in a circular road sign pictogram, in which case a speed value is displayed, - That the line (8) for displaying a warning distance with respect to a preceding vehicle at least in one section (9) is deformed to a car pictogram and / or - That showing a switching information, the line is deformed in the section (9) in an arrow or in a circular ring member, where in addition an arrow appears.


Objective:To explore inhibitory effects of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) on proliferation of bladder cancer T24 cells line.Methods:ASODN directed against hTERT gene was transfected into bladder cancer cell line T24 by liposomal transfectin.Telomerase activity of T24 cells was analyzed by using polymerase chain reaction enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA).Cell cycle and apoptosis was examined by morphology and flow cytometry. Proliferation of T24 cells was observed by MTT method.Results:The telomerase activity in T24 cells was significantly inhibited after being transfected with hTERT ASODN as compared with that in control and nonsense oligodeoxynucleotide (NODN)-transfected cells, but no difference was found between the latter two groups. The inhibitory effects showed a dose-and time-dependent manner. The proliferation of ASODN-transfected T24 cells was statistically lowers than that of control, and the cells underwent apoptosis with apoptosis rate of 15.8%. Conclusions:ASODN directed against hTERT gene could inhibit proliferation of T24 cells specifically, down-regulate telomerase activity and induce apoptosis.


The work investigates and demonstrates the analytical capabilities of statistical methods in the development of new varieties of wheat used for the production of pasta. By using examples of Kostanay, Pavlodar, Akmola, North-Kazakhstan region (NKR) and Aktobe regions, foridentifying significant factors, there were constructed regression equations due to initial factors, on the main components, according to the panel data. Based on the analysis of various regression models, the strengths of the relationship between the number  indicators of the grain quality there was found soft and hard wheat varieties (Mereke 70, Tselina 50, Ertis 97, Astana 2, Astana, Aktobe39, Baiterek), taking into account the peculiarities of grain production in this area.


The Killing spinor equations for pp-wave solutions of eleven dimensional supergravity are analysed and it is shown that there are solutions that preserve 18, 20, 22 and 24 supersymmetries, in addition to the generic solution preserving 16 supersymmetries and the Kowalski-Glikman solution preserving 32 supersymmetries.


During subway operation, monitoring of the deformation of shield tunnels is an essential operation. The distributed nature of fiber optic sensing technology makes it an ideal method for such an operation. However, because the strain measured using the distributed strain sensing (DSS) cables is axial, existing distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) methods cannot distinguish the different deformation patterns. To address this issue, a novel DSS cable network layout is proposed in this work that consists of straight and zigzag patterns. By analyzing the characteristics of the strain variations measured using these DSS cables, the different deformation patterns can be recognized and distinguished. Based on the principles of geometry, formulas for conversion of the strain into displacement are derived. To validate the proposed method, a Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA)-based laboratory test was performed. The results showed that the calculated displacement agreed fairly well with the results from the theoretical solution and the relative error was basically within 6%, thus verifying the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method.


Compounds for the inhibition of mammalian Ste20-like kinase 1 (MST1), as well as compositions and inflammatory or autoimmune treating a disease or disorder comprising the same, are disclosed methods for their use in the management or prevention. [Formula 1] .BACKGROUND


Asian American adolescents have been reported to have the lowest amount of communication with health care providers regarding sexual health topics (sexual activity, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy prevention). This study identified Asian American adolescents' attitudes/beliefs regarding how health care providers can be most helpful in communicating about sexual health topics. Twenty participants revealed the following information: (a) confidentiality concerns resulted in lying to health care providers about sexual histories or refusing hormonal contraception, (b) a general lack of knowledge regarding sexual health topics, and (c) a hesitancy to discuss sexual histories with Asian American health care providers. Asian American adolescents expressed a need for privacy from parents regarding their sexual behaviors, and want health care providers to initiate conversations and provide information about sexual health topics.


The invention relates to a vibration reducing control device used for a manual soil compacting machine, and is particularly suitable for a plate compactor. At least a segment of the device is flexible and bendable. Such design can obviously reduce vibration transmission from an exciter to an operator. Additionally, the control device in the invention is advantaged by low production cost and simple adding.


This paper proposes the idea of integrating multiple microgrids into the balancing market to serve as additional power balancing sources in response to price signals. A bi-level optimization model is established to ensure the economic benefits of both the upper level distributed system operator and local microgrids. This is realized by developing KKT conditions of the lower-level microgrid economic dispatch problem and embedding them within the global optimization model. In addition, since the original problem is an optimal power flow problem with nonconvex constraints, convex relaxation technique is implemented to overcome the nonconvexity. Simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed idea by demonstrating a fast and accurate multi-microgrid response in real-time scenarios.


This paper presents a junction temperature controller which increases the reliability of IGBT power modules in power electronic applications without affecting the demanded output power. Power electronic applications have to deal with varying load conditions. These varying load conditions lead to temperature swings which lead to mechanical stress of common IGBT power modules. At low load conditions the switching losses are increased by increasing the switching frequency. This leads to reduced temperature swings resulting in a higher reliability. The functionality of the control system is verified on a three phase two level inverter connected to a passive load.


We developed a nano-operating system that features a stereoscopic display of AFM images that is updated in real time. In order to accurately judge the positional relationship between the nanoparticles and carry out operations, the operator is able to use this system to not only observe the change process of the nano-environment in real time while the AFM is operating, but also obtain depth information with the help of a real-time stereoscopic display. At the same time, we give the operator with a corresponding perspective in real time by obtaining the changes in the operator's head posture. This helps to increase the sense of presence and improves operational efficiency.


Primary schools in North Yorkshire have seen an increase in the number of children achieving the required standard in English and Maths in key stage two ...


E. faecalis is a commensal bacterium with specific strains involved in opportunistic and nosocomial infections. Therefore, it is important to know how the strains of this species are selected in the gut. In this study, fifteen E. faecalis strains, isolated over twelve weeks from the faeces of mice fed standard chow or one of three high fat diets enriched with extra virgin olive oil, refined olive oil or butter were subjected to a genetic "Multilocus Sequence Typing" study that revealed the presence of mainly two genotypes, ST9 and ST40, the latter one prevailing at the end of the research. A V3–V5 sequence comparison of the predominant ST40 strain (12B3-5) in a metagenomic study showed that this sequence was the only E. faecalis present in the mouse cohort after twelve weeks. The strain was subjected to a comparative proteomic study with a ST9 strain by 2D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. After comparing the results with a E. faecalis database, unshared entries were compared and 12B3-5 showed higher antimicrobial production as well as greater protection from environmental factors such as xenobiotics, oxidative stress and metabolite accumulation, which could be the reason for its ability to outcompete other possible rivals in an intestinal niche.


Analyzing the public rate of employment of our nation's graduates currently,the thesis points out some problems existed and suggest we should construct a scientific system of statistics within the country to grantee precise of rate of employment.


Children's peerassessments ofaggressive andwithdrawn behavior arefundamentally related to developmental changes intheir understanding ofothers. Thisarticle synthesizes research relevant tothethesis thatpeerassessments are dependent on children's ability bothtorecall theprevious behavior oftheir peersandtopredict their likely future behavior. Social schematheory, borrowed fromadult social psychology, ishighly relevant tosuchrecall andprediction. Agedifferences, affective biases, andgender roles may color children's assessments oftheir peers' social behavior. Suchinfluences should betakenintoaccount whenconceptualizing interventions aimedatenhancing children's peer status, andinmeasuring thesuccessofthese interventions.


Mg alloy adding different alloy was welded by CO2 laser-welding.The metallographic changes and heat-affected zone of the welding zone were examined.The welding quality of the welded joint was studied by metalloscope,XRD,tensile machine and SEM.The microstructure and properties of the welded joint was analyzed.Based on above,the effect of Al and La on the property of AZ31 Mg alloy laser-welding was studied.The results show that Al element can make the grain of welding seam turn smaller,and the amount of eutectic Al12Mg17 tends to be larger as Al element increasing.Because La element disperses intensively in welding seam,the mechanical properties of Mg alloy laser-welding seam are not very nice.


Assisted colonization is a proposed climate change adaptation strategy. Martin-Alcόn et al. (Applied Vegetation Science, this issue) report an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of assisted colonization and identify thermal distance as a critical consideration. By extension, we should consider the role that ecological distance and socio-political distance play within any plan to reduce extinction risk through assisted colonization.


This paper charts the catalytic forces of urbanism in a small area in Southern Uganda. It shows that the roads, the rail lines and the rail station played a major role in spreading urbanism in the countryside. But the main focus of the paper is on Mukono township. It is argued that the life cycle of Mukono township is closely linked to the interests of landlords. Mukono, the place and Kyagwe, the region, were accorded prominence in the oral traditions of the development and consolidation of the pre-colonial Buganda state. 1 Throughout colonial and post-independence times, Mukono served as headquarters for Kyagwe county. Since 1974, Mukono has also been the district headquarters of the East Mengo district. Mukono township as perceived by the local people consists of two dozen building structures situated at a major crossroads. Mukono is crossed by the major roads connecting the northern counties and districts to the capital city and the major road connecting Uganda to the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa. There are also minor roads connecting Mukono to the surrounding agricultural areas and the fishing points of Lubanga on Lake Victoria. In reality, Mukono is much more than the shops, tea rooms and bars at the crossroads. Mukono is surrounded by undulating hills on which are situated institutions that serve important functions to the environs. Mukono has been famous because of its schools which educated quite a sizeable number of prominent Ugandans. During the 1920s, the Church Missionary Society acquired twenty acres under the British-introduced free hold land tenure system. Initially, a beautiful stone church was built as well as Bishop Tucker Teacher Training College, which graduated primary school teachers and Anglican priests. Soon after, the Bishop's primary and secondary schools were opened. The undulating hill was planned as a citadel of Christian education. A little distance from downtown, and one mile from the church, an Anglican Maternity Center was opened to train nurses and midwives, and to provide pre- and post-natal care. The maternity center was built near the road to make it accessible to a large number of women who travelled from as far away as twenty miles. In the mid 1950s, the government found it necessary to build a dispensary for in-patients and out-patients to relieve the pressure from the maternity center. The dispensary had room for the very ill - often people with severe bums or other physical traumas, but the majority of patients with no visible pain, received out-patient treatment. Those with money often ventured to the hospitals in the capital city of Kampala.


With the successive exploration of Shendong mining area,the exploration of the 2nd main mineable coal seam had been started in some area where the 1st seam had been explored.Due to the close distance of the two seams,the specific condition of repeating mining in close distance shallow seams had formed,specifically in some particular area,the strata behaviors of the lower seam are intense,and this can be seen from the multiple cases of instant descending of support active column and supports crushing,which has severely threatened the mine safety and its efficient production.Further research on instability mechanism of key stratum structure in close distance shallow seams repeating mining were studied by using theoretical analysis,numerical simulation,physical simulation,and field test etc. Key stratum of close distance shallow seams were classified into three kinds or four forms for the first time,that is the single key stratum structure including the thick,hard single key stratum structure and composed single key stratum structure,no typical key stratum structure,and multiple key stratum structure while the upper seam had excavated;instability characteristics of single key stratum in shallow seams while the upper was been excavated and its occurring condition was analyzed.Uphill mechanical model was established,through which the influence of horizontal side force on the stability of single key stratum in shallow seams while the upper had been excavated and the main key stratum had been eroded was studied,the instability mechanism of single key stratum while the upper had been excavated and the surface was gullied was revealed,influencing factors of dynamic strata behaviors were summarized.The key stratum structure mechanical model while crossing the pillar in close distance shallow seams was established,through which the influence of movement of key stratum block of upper seam on the key stratum stability of lower seam was analyzed,the instability mechanism of single key stratum while the upper seam had been excavated and crossing the pillar was revealed as well. Based on the study,the suitable support resistance in Huojitu adit of Daliuta Mine under the condition of single key stratum while the upper had been excavated was determined.Consequently,the precaution measures of instability of key stratum in close distance shallow seams repeating mining of Daliuta Mine were proposed,which ensured the save working of face 21305 and face 21306,through the prediction of the dangerous area and location of periodic weighting as well as the monitoring of face support.


Enterprise's core values is a main factor of sustainable development of enterprises,and the employee values determines the effectiveness of enterprise core values from a certain extent. On the basis of combing the existing literature,we summarizes the theoretical basis,and employee enterprise efficiency values of the employees to build domestic and foreign scholars research achievements. Then the sort research clues of enterprise staff values are concluded to analyze the problems existing in the existing research and study of blank areas.


Most patients with esophageal cancer require multi-disciplinary management, with radiation therapy constituting a key component of therapy. In this issue, Jabbour et al. present an excellent review article on the role of radiation therapy in the postoperative management of esophageal cancer (1). The authors must be commended for this thorough, evidence-based review article. In addition to discussing postoperative radiotherapy for esophageal cancer, the authors also discuss the roles of definitive chemoradiation, preoperative chemoradiation, preoperative chemotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy.

As Jabbour et al. have discussed, multiple randomized trials have evaluated whether preoperative chemoradiation improves outcomes compared to surgery alone for esophageal cancer (1). In the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9781 trial, patients with T1-T3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma were randomized to receive either surgery alone, or surgery with preoperative chemoradiation, with a dose of 50.4 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions, along with concurrent cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (2). Patients in the preoperative chemoradiation arm had a median survival of 4.5 years and a 5-year survival of 39%, while patients in the surgery alone arm had a median survival of 1.8 years and a 5-year survival of 16% (P=0.002). However, it should be noted that this trial had a poor accrual of only 56 patients, out of a planned accrual of 475 patients.

The case for preoperative chemoradiation has been recently bolstered by presentation of results from the CROSS trial from the Netherlands (3). In this phase III trial, 363 patients with T2-3 N0-1 esophageal carcinoma were randomized to receive either surgery alone, or surgery with preoperative chemoradiation, with a dose of 41.4 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions, with concurrent paclitaxel (50 mg/m2) and carboplatin (AUC 2). Of the enrolled patients, 75% had adenocarcinoma, 24% had squamous cell carcinoma, and 1% had other histologies. Overall survival was significantly improved in the preoperative chemoradiation arm (P=0.01). Patients in the preoperative chemoradiation arm had a median survival of 49 months and a 3-year survival of 59%, whereas patients in the surgery alone arm had a median survival of 26 months and a 3-year survival of 48%. Formal publication of this trial is being eagerly awaited. Nevertheless, this trial has the potential of being regarded as a landmark study, which will pave the way for establishing preoperative chemoradiation as a standard of care for resectable esophageal cancer.

Jabbour et al. have included a detailed discussion on the relative advantages and disadvantages of preoperative and postoperative therapy. An important advantage of preoperative chemoradiation is that smaller fields can be used in most cases. With postoperative chemoradiation, the field has to be expanded to include the anastomosis, which can potentially lead to higher rates of toxicity.

While preoperative chemoradiation is likely to play an increasingly important role in the management of resectable esophageal cancer, postoperative chemoradiation will also continue to play a role. Since clinical staging is not always accurate, some patients deemed not to be candidates for preoperative chemoradiation based on clinical staging, may be found to have more advanced disease at surgery, and may then require postoperative chemoradiation. Moreover, in patients with gastroesophageal junction carcinomas, the role of post-operative chemoradiation is supported by the phase III Intergroup trial (4). In this trial, 556 patients with gastric (around 80%) or gastroesophageal junction (around 20%) adenocarcinoma were randomized to receive either surgery alone or surgery with post-operative chemoradiation. Patients in the post-operative chemoradiation arm had a median survival of 36 months and patients in the surgery alone arm had a median survival of 27 months (P=0.005).

In summary, Jabbour et al. have presented a well-written, thorough, evidence-based review article on the role of postoperative chemoradiation and other approaches for the treatment of esophageal cancer. This review article will help increase our understanding of combined modality therapy for esophageal cancer.


This Article reports the results of an empirical study showing that the United States bankruptcy courts routinely authorize and tolerate professional fee practices that violate the Bankruptcy Code and Rules. The study documents the existence of three such illegal practices. The Ordinary-Course-Professionals Practice excuses some or all professionals serving in the ordinary course of the debtor's business from the requirement that they obtain court approval for the payment of their fees. The Prior-Payment-Disclosure Practice ignores the requirement that a final fee application disclose the prepetition payments the professional received in connection with the bankruptcy case. The Disburse-First Practice allows debtors to pay 80% or more of the fees sought by professionals before the court has even seen the fee requests. The Article speculates that these practices, which apparently occur only in large, public company cases, result at least in part from competition among the bankruptcy courts for those cases.


Crystal growth occurs in nature in the form of snow flakes, igneous rocks, stalactites, stalagmites, etc., which sometimes arrest the growth pattern. The crystal growth in the lab or industry during a deposition process is generally evaluated by in situ microscopy techniques or by arresting the reaction at various time intervals. However, capturing the total growth process from the formation of nuclei to macrostructure is not easy. Here, we show a spontaneous formation of an unusual patterned growth during galvanic displacement of both gold and silver on silicon, wherein systematic concentric rings of 50–100 μm in diameter were formed at discrete places. The most striking pattern arrested the complete growth process from nuclei that formed the innermost concentric circle, to the formation of various network structures and dendrites, each forming separate circular patterns. The pattern formation was attributed to the bubble growth during the galvanic displacement reaction. We also compared the growth patte...


Why did it take so long to start writing the history of close reading? For the best part of a century, close reading has grounded literary studies in the university, structuring assessment, teaching, employment, and publication. A basic proficiency in close reading has long been a professional obligation for faculty members and a course requirement for students. It makes sense, then, that Caroline Levine's Forms begins with a description of our method in action. A reader is settling down to work with a copy of Jane Eyre. She has a lengthy education behind her and a wealth of interpretive techniques for the book in front of her. Still, one thing is certain: our critic will broach the forms of the novel by drawing from "close reading methods" while using "historical research methods to analyze sociopolitical experience." "But," Caroline Levine asks, "would our critic be right to distinguish between the formal and the social?" (1).


The experiments on the culture of giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon in the environment surrounded by pathogens were carried out.The wild crustaceans were killed with 0 5×10 -6 cypermethrin,the fishes were killed with 20×10 -6 tea seed cake, the acidity was modified with 100×10 -6 lime,the virus were controlled and the bacteria were destroyed with 30×10 -6 bleaching powder,the fungus and the protozoa were killed with 0 05×10 -6 malachite green, the organisms for food of shrimp were cultured with 3×10 -6 ammonium carbonate and 0 5×10 -6 calcium superphosphate before culture, 9~12 postlarvae were cultured in 1 m 3 water.The culturewater was added with the rain and the sterilized seawater. The culturewater and bottom mud were treated with bleaching powder,chlorine dioxide, lime, photosynthetic bacteria, zeolite and malachite green, the diet was properly given, the shrimp was scientifically managed, the ecological banance between the microorganisms, the phytoplanktons,the zooplanktons,the benthons and Penaeus monodon was preserved and stabilized, the survival condition of the pathogens deteriorated, the survival environment of Penaeus monodon was improved in culture period The disease of Penaeus monodon was improved in culture period, The disease of Penaeus monodon was effectively controlled 30 984 kg shrimps were porducted in 40 93 hm 2 ponds,$1 250 000 was obtained in 3 years.


The general biology properties and applications of glucoamylase were discussed,and its enzymatic characteristics,such as substrates,products and structure were briefly introduced.The main discussions of this paper were the secrete expressions of the gene in different systerms,such as Aspergillus,yeast and E.coli,and the secrete inductive function of the gene in Aspergillus and yeast systerms.


Semantic similarity measures are important for numerous tasks in natural language processing such as word sense disambiguation, automatic synonym extraction, language modelling and document clustering. We propose a method to measure semantic similarity between two words using information available on the Web. We extract page counts and snippets for the AND query of the two words from a Web search engine. We define numerous similarity scores based on page counts and lexico-syntactic patterns. These similarity scores are integrated using support vector machines to form a robust semantic similarity measure. Proposed method outperforms all existing Webbased semantic similarity measures on Miller-Charles benchmark dataset achieving a high correlation coecient of 0:834 with human ratings.


Summary form only given. A circuit model of the spark gap is introduced for an analytical solution, and bounds are placed on the circuit parameters that reflect that physical geometry of the spark gaps. A full circuit synthesis has been performed on a spark gap that is both fed and terminated in a transmission line. The transmitted waveforms are calculated from the model, and related back to the physical geometry of the system. Simple circuit models of a spark gap is used to investigate the effect of the geometric considerations on charge time, the achievable risetime, the critical damping condition, and its relation to notches in the spectrum of radiated waveforms.


Intrinsic unipolar SiOx-based Resistive-RAM (ReRAM) characterization, mechanism and applications have been investigated. We investigate device structures, material compositions and electrical characteristics to realize ReRAM cells with high ON/OFF ratio, low static power consumption, low switching power, and high readout-margin using CMOS compatible SiOx-based materials. These ideas are combined with the use of horizontal and vertical device structure designs, composition optimization, electrical controlling and external factors for understanding resistive switching (RS) mechanism. Modeling of RS mechanism, including temperature effect, pulse response and carrier transport behaviors are performed, to develop a compact model in energy diagram, trap-level information in SiOx RS layer, even for computer-aided design (CAD) in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design. Finally, synapse-based neuromorphic system is demonstrated in SiOx-based ReRAM, combining with bio-inspiration and biomimetics process illustrations. This work presents the comprehensively investigation of SiOx-based resistive switching characteristics, mechanisms, applications for future post-CMOS devices era.


The draft Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) contains Cryptosporidium log-inactivation CT tables (ozone-in-water concentration [residual], "C" times contact time, T). Depending on water temperature, Cryptosporidium CT values that are listed are 15 to 25 times greater than CT values for equivalent Giardia log-inactivation credit. The elevated operating dose required for Cryptosporidium log-inactivation credit has the potential to increase disinfection by-product (DBP) formation (e.g., bromate). Calculating CT value accurately will minimize ozone dose, which will decrease operating cost and lower DBP formation, and at the same time maintain disinfection protection through implementation of scientifically based safety factors. Various methods are available for calculating CT value. The method chosen depends largely on the available information concerning ozone residual characteristics and hydrodynamic features of the ozone contactor, plus local regulatory requirements. Four methods are discussed in this paper. Each method can be used to calculate Giardia, virus, and Cryptosporidium log-inactivation credit.


In the year of the Caxton quincentenary celebrations, it is fitting to write about Viewdata, the most recent development in the art and technology of electronic communication by means of the written word, intended for members of the general public


In response to new and innovating blockchain-based systems with Internet of Things (IoT), there is a need for consensus mechanisms that can provide high transaction throughput and security, despite varying network quality. Honeybadger was the first practical, asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus protocol, achieving high scalability and robustness without making any timing assumptions regarding the network. To improve the current asynchronous consensus protocols, we designed Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (ABFT) consensus protocol through integrating threshold Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) signatures and optimization of erasure coding parameters, as well as additional implementation-level optimizations. We implement a prototype of ABFT, and evaluate its performance at scale in a global WAN network and a network affected by asymmetric network degradation. Our results show that ABFT provides considerably higher performance, significantly lower computational overhead, and greater scalability than its predecessors. ABFT can reach up to 38.700 transactions per second in throughput. Furthermore, we empirically show that ABFT is unaffected by asymmetric network degradation within the fault threshold.


Corporate social responsibility, as a legal topic, has received much attention from scholars of corporate law from Western perspective. The reason behind such attachment of importance is that in the present world corporations
impact, to a great extent, people's lives, commercial, social, cultural and even political. On the other hand, they have an important role to play in connection with environment, people's morals and ethics, product wholesomeness, etc. In the process of Islamization of laws there is a need to consider this issue from Islamic perspective. In this proposed paper this matter would be addressed from Shari'ah objective perspective.


This paper aims to identify what relationships we can establish between the mathematical organization existing in the textbook and those existing in the teacher's practice about the teaching of fractional division operation. This theme has caused a lot of concern on the part of teachers and researchers about their teaching and learning conditions. The theoretical and methodological framework in which this study is supported is the Anthropological Theory of Didactics, developed by Chevallard and collaborators. This theoretical framework has proven to be a powerful tool for analyzing and describing teaching practices and textbooks. This is a qualitative investigation with descriptive and interpretative cut of the case study type. We chose as subject of the research a Mathematics teacher who works in a 7th grade elementary school class of a public school. Regarding the results, both in the textbook and in the analyzed class, it was possible to find three types of tasks related to the teaching of the division division operation: T1, T2 and T3. The techniques used in both cases to solve the types of tasks were based on the idea of inverse operation. The formation of the technological-theoretical environment was almost always based on geometric representations. However, a certain distance can be affirmed between the technological-theoretical discourse presented in the book and the one presented in the teacher's class. In addition, it was possible to realize that the tasks used in the classroom by the teacher to illustrate the types of tasks were not problematic compared to those presented in the textbook.


To effectively examine ocean processes, sampling campaigns require persistent autonomous underwater vehicles that are able to spend a majority of their deployment time maneuvering and gathering data underwater. Current navigation techniques rely either on high-powered sensors (e.g. Doppler Velocity Loggers) resulting in decreased deployment time, or dead reckoning (compass and IMU) with motion models resulting in poor navigational accuracy due to unbounded sensor drift. Recent work has shown that terrain-based navigation can augment existing navigation methods to bound sensor drift and reduce error in an energy-efficient manner. In this paper, we investigate the augmentation of terrain-based navigation with in situ science data to further increase navigation and localization accuracy. The motivation for this arises from the need for underwater vehicles to navigate within a spatiotemporally dynamic environment and gather data of high scientific value. We investigate a method to create a terrain map with maximum variability across the range of data available. These data combined with local bathymetry create a terrain that enables underwater vehicles to navigate and localize 1) relative to interesting water properties, and 2) globally based on the terrain and traditional methods. We examine a dataset of bathymetry and multiple science parameters gathered at the ocean surface at Big Fisherman's Cove on Santa Catalina Island and present a weighting for each parameter. We present efficient algorithms to obtain a convex combination of science and bathymetry parameters for unique trajectories generation.


A in nephron number results in compensatory glomerular hyperfiltration. This initiates a vicious circle of glomerular hypertrophy and sclerosis, continued nephron loss and worsening hyperfiltration, clinically characterized by proteinuria and progressive renal function loss. Glomerular hyperfiltration may be particularly important in kidney transplantation. Indeed, it has been suggested that posttransplant graft function and long-term outcome can be improved by matching nephron supply and recipient needs.1,2 In humans, nephron number cannot be measured noninvasively. It is suggested that donor kidney weight provides a suitable estimate of the number of nephrons. Several studies have reported on a positive association between donor kidney weight and glomerular filtration rate after transplantation.


Different operating conditions result in large errors when measuring the biochemical methane potential. A standard method is needed to improve the comparability of general experiment results. The impacts of sample size, sample concentration, sludge ratio, pretreatment conditions, and incubation temperature on the methane generation ratio and reaction duration were comparated to identify the most appropriate biochemical methane potential measurement conditions. The results indicate the standard conditions should use a sample concentration of 2 g/L volatile solid, a sludge concentration of 1 g/L, a sample size of 0.9 mm, and an incubation temperature of 38 ℃ with glucose and cellulose as the reference organic content. Pyrolysis pretreatment, which generates nondegradable compounds and reduces result reliability, should not be used in the standard method.


The friendly relations amongst China and Pakistan were set up in May 1951.The friendship of China and Pakistan is all weather and everlasting. The relationship is more profound than the seas and higher than the mountains. The supporting relations of China and Pakistan have turned into a model for a well disposed concurrence of creating neighboring nations. China and Pakistan are getting a charge out of solid respective social, financial and military connection. Both of the nations are endeavoring together to promote peace, steadiness and monetary flourishing in Asia.


This paper presents the wear behaviour of Biaxial glass fiber reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) and aluminium oxide (Al 2O3) composite. The test specimens are prepared and tested as per ASTM standard. The experiments are conducted by using a pin on disc wear tester. The results indicated that the wear resistance of the 15% hybrid composite is better than that of the 5% composite. The fracture surface of composites shows the ductile tear ridges and cracked SiC and Al 2O3 particles indicating both ductile and brittle fracture mechanism.In this study, different combinations based composite bearing materials were comparatively investigated under actual loading, sliding distances and time frame to configure best suitable bearing materials. Composite bearing are proven for clean functioning and show remarkable life.


We construct a space of normed, homogeneous and max-plus-semiadditive functionals and we give its description. Further we establish that the construction of taking of a space of normed, homogeneous and max-plus-semiadditive functionals, forms a normal functor acting in the category of Hausdorff compact spaces and their continuous maps.


SUMMARY Model selection by cross-validation is applied to multivariate autoregressive models for weather data. This is done in a new manner such that the main effects of the model selection are included in the cross-validation measure. Models selected from different lists of explanatory variables are compared by the method. Examples of competitive short-time forecasts are given for pressure 6-24 hr ahead and temperature 6 hr ahead.


Recently,multi agent based distributed software systems have been applied to many fields successfully In this paper,the multi agent technique is introduced into the fault diagnosis field to develop intelligent diagnosis systems for multi agent based distributed faults,and the general prototype structure and development methods are proposed Especially,several multi agent based distributed task decomposition strategies and control problems of fault diagnosis are discussed,the coordination and collaboration problems between diagnostic agents are described This study provides guide in theory and methods for real application system development


I had to know how to tie my shoelaces before I left kindergarten. It was on my report card. But apparently you don't have to know how to do that anymore, or at least not in our local school district. I find that to be a real problem for me professionally!


The infrared spectra of the following compounds have been investigated: microcrystalline NaNO2, KNO2, and AgNO2; and aqueous solutions of NaNO2 and KNO2. The spectra of N15‐labeled compounds have also been obtained. The spectrum of the high‐temperature modification of NaNO2, which exists above 160°, has been observed. The fundamental frequencies for NO2— (in crystalline NaNO2) are: ν1(a1)=1328±2 cm−1 (N14),1303±2 (N15);ν2(a1)=828.2±0.4 (N14),823.6±0.4 (N15);ν3(b1)=1261±3 (N14). These are used to calculate the following force constants, in units of millidynes/A: fd=7.69±0.10,fα/d2=1.75±0.04,fdd=1.94±0.13,fdα/d=0.505±0.113.


This study presents experimental results on quantum interference phenomena observed in gamma-optics for the first time. The idea is to employ the interference phenomena typical for electromagnetically induced transparency found in quantum optics.


Objective To evaluate and compare the clinical outcome of coracoclavicular screw and double Endobutton plate in treatment of acromioclavicular dislocation ( Rockwood Ⅲ-Ⅴ ). Methods Twenty-eight patients with Rockwood Ⅲ-Ⅴ acromioclavicular dislocation were subjected to surgical reconstruction from January 2008 to October 2009. The coracoclavicular screw was performed in 14 patients and the double Endobutton plate in the other 14 patients. Clinical evaluation was performed by using Constant score and subject should value (SSV) in both groups, and the preoperative and postoperative radiographs, curative effects and complications were compared. Results The patients in two groups were followed up for a range of 6-25 months (average 12.6 months) , which showed higher postoperative Constant score and SSV score than preoperation in both groups (P<0.05). But the postoperative Constant sore and postoperative SSV score in the double Endobutton group were (89.8 ±8.3) points and (85.7 ±7. 3) points respectively, significantly better than (78. 0 ± 10. 3) points and (71. 8 ±9. 7) points respectively in the coracoclavicular screw group ( P < 0.05). The radiologic measurement showed no significant difference in regard of the coracoclavicular distance three months after operation in two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions The double Endobutton plate can attain significantly superior clinical outcomes for Rockwood Ⅲ-Ⅴ acromioclavicular dislocation compared with the coracoclavicular screw. The surgical technique of reconstructing the coracoclavicular ligament through anatomical approach will be the future trend in treatment of the acromioclavicular joint dislocation.

Key words:
Acromioclavicular joint;  Dislocations;  Bone plates;  Comparative study


In this paper the development technique of AutoCAD has been discussed,AutoLISP,VisualLISP,ADS,VBA,Object ARX,Dot NET six technique that are used to develop AutoCAD second-ly are introduced in this paper. The merit and demerit of the six technique is analyzed and compa-reed among the technique in detail. indicating that ObjectARX and .NET API is the trend of AutoCAD secondary development, Some suggestions in choosing the tools are offered for engineers who are engaged in secondary developing AutoCAD.


This chapter examines and describes the research on older adult learning and education, summarizes the findings and their impact on practice, and suggests a research agenda for the field.


The text presents an analysis on the measures taken in the last year by the French government regarding the Roma population. Its aim is to examine if the government of that country has alleged the existence of international regulations as an strategy to legitimize their electoral interests, given the fact that this government apparently steps away from the intent shown earlier by that country to relax its borders towards other European countries, by implementing policies that suggests an intention to attract right-leaning voters in the upcoming election. This also allows me to present certain shortcomings of international law and the European Union, and the need to strengthen them in order to deal with this kind of issues.


The p53 tumour suppressor is considered one of the most critical genes in cancer biology. By upregulating apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and DNA damage repair in normal cells, p53 prevents the propagation of cells with tumorigenic potential; therefore, mutations in p53 are associated with carcinogenic transformation and can be accompanied by the accumulation of a novel gain‐of‐function oncogenic protein, mutant p53. Although p53 is most often understood to utilize context‐dependent post‐translational modifications to achieve regulation of its many target genes, recent research has also sought to define other mechanisms of regulating p53 gene expression prior to translation and to understand how this alternative regulation of p53 may influence target gene expression and cellular outcome. This review attempts to summarize what is known about p53 regulation at the transcriptional, post‐transcriptional, and post‐translational levels while paying special attention to the ways in which context may influence p53 regulation and subsequent regulation of its target genes.


The present work is highly interested in examining the transport phenomena of the thin Cross hybrid nanofluid film flow over a continuously stretching surface. The proposed thin film flow study elucidates the film extrusion process, which is prominent in the packaging industry. With the intention of improvising the quality of the coating process, the thermocapillarity and injection effects have been probed in the present model. A suitable similarity transformation and the MATLAB software aid in producing accurate numerical solutions. The accumulated numerical results indicate that an increment in the hybrid nanofluid viscosity and surface tension intensity reduces the wall shear stress past the permeable stretching sheet and improves the heat transfer rate. Remarkably, negative film thickness has been identified when the unsteadiness parameter is greater than or equal to 0.9 while the thermocapillarity parameter falls within the range of 0 and 0.6.


To design a diesel engine adapting to future exhaust gas regulation, it is important to develop a driving mode simulator which can simulate vehicle performance and exhaust emissions including after-treatment system. The combustion model for this objective must be able to simulate heat release rate, variety of emissions necessary for after-treatment simulation, and exhaust gas temperature in very short computational time. The authors have developed a diesel combustion model based on the Hiroyasu model by adding variety of modifications to minimize optimization process of the empirical constants. It was shown that the simulation results with the improvement model were in good agreement with the experimental results. By adding Tsurushima model consisting of nine reaction steps with several intermediate species, the model became available for the both combustions of spray diffusion flame and of homogeneous charge compression ignition.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Australia's big banks want the government to give their customers tax breaks on interest income, having told the Financial Systems Inquiry it would encourage more savings. In turn, the banks will have access to greater deposits to lend as the economy recovers.


Objective: This study investigates how teachers, managers, and consumers understand marketing and compares their answers with the literature in the area.

Theoretical framework: The perspectives about marketing are divided. On the one hand, some consider it a strategic feature with a social purpose of great importance. On the other hand, some consider it a tool for consumption's manipulation that induces the consumers to buy what they do not need.

Method: This study consists of a mixed research method: qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and addressed through content analysis. Then, in the quantitative stage, this study applied a survey based on its qualitative stage findings. The data collected were evaluated by correlation analysis.

Results and conclusion: The analyses indicate divergence between the theoretical approach to marketing and its practice. Managers' and consumers' definitions differ from the theoretical concepts, and the teachers' perspectives converge with what is in the specialized literature.

Implications of the research: This topic has a significant role in organizations and society, requiring the academy to observe and debate the reality of marketing since the academy is responsible for schooling and training professionally those who teach marketing and those who take responsibility for its practical activity in companies.

Originality/value: The results contribute to the literature on the subject and the practice of marketing since it is possible to know the perspectives of the main actors involved in the theoretical construction and dissemination of marketing and those who live the application of its concepts daily.


This study presents empirical evidence of the efficiency and volatility of stock returns in five stock markets in Africa namely, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Kenya. Although the markets have proven to be inefficient based on Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity Mean (GARCH-M), Augmented Dekey Fuller (ADF) and the Variance Ratio tests, there are still supporting evidences to justify that, there are profit opportunities in these markets. Therefore, in as much as stock market is a medium for secondary securities, it is an agent of economic development.


The minimum spot size from a flexible high power CO2 laser waveguide delivery system called Fiberlase® is 800 μm at the waveguide tip. In order to satisfy some advanced laser material applications where a smaller spot size is required, a reimaging optic device and nonimaging monolithic conical waveguide tip have been designed and fabricated to concentrate CO2 laser light down to 300 μm or less. The performance of this approach will be discussed in terms of the spot size, beam quality and power transmission.The minimum spot size from a flexible high power CO2 laser waveguide delivery system called Fiberlase® is 800 μm at the waveguide tip. In order to satisfy some advanced laser material applications where a smaller spot size is required, a reimaging optic device and nonimaging monolithic conical waveguide tip have been designed and fabricated to concentrate CO2 laser light down to 300 μm or less. The performance of this approach will be discussed in terms of the spot size, beam quality and power transmission.